Category: stress

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People Explain What They Realized Only As They Got Wealthier

There’s no doubt that making more money can change the way you think and feel.

Research into this field has only increased in the years since the 2008 recession while high rates of income inequality and limited socioeconomic mobility have become more apparent than ever.

Psychologists found having more money can drastically affect the way we see and experience the world.

Why is that?

Well, wealth gives you more autonomy and freedom. And with that can come other changes, too.

The wealthier someone is, the less empathetic they are to others. By contrast, those who make much less money tend to be much more empathetic, generous and compassionate.

Wealth can cloud your moral judgment, according to one UC Berkely study.

But guess what? So can merely thinking about money, according to a study conducted by researchers from Harvard and the University of Utah.

We haven’t even gotten to the way other people treat you when they know you have more money!

We were reminded of all the ways money can both simplify and complicate life after Redditor SheelahSchimek1980 asked the online community,

“What are some things you realized as you got wealthier?”

“There’s a lot less stress…”

“Money doesn’t buy happiness so much as it buys security. There’s a lot less stress about really critical issues with money, which has the unfortunate effect of freeing up your brain to be worried about more trivial things.”

“But not having to worry about certain expenses or fret over whether a minor indulgence will set you back is simply relaxing.” ~ AmigoDelDiabla

“You’ll always want one of those things…”

“Time is money.”

“You’ll always want one of those things more than the other. I’m not wealthy, but my income is enough to cover my expenses and still save a little bit, and I now realize that time is worth far, far more than money.”

“It’s why I always use my PTO time for vacation instead of cashing it out for extra money like all the dupes I work with.” ~ Polumbo

“Also, the cushion of safety…”

“Fortune and luck are not ignorable… they matter more than a lot of people are willing to admit, perhaps for ego reasons, or perhaps they’ve simply fooled themselves.”

“Also, the cushion of safety and ability to have most of what you need provides a lot of dignity that can’t be ignored either.” ~ ZookeepergameNo4680

“The difference in quality…”

“The difference in quality between cheap crap and middle range is often far larger than the difference between middle range and very expensive, even though the price gap is about the same or more.” ~ Arctelis

“Buying things in bulk is cheaper…”

“I realized how being poor makes you poor. Everything costs more when you’re poor.”

“Paying six or 12 months at a time on car insurance is way cheaper than month to month. So, when I was poor I spent more on that because I couldn’t save or plan ahead.”

“Buying things in bulk is cheaper, aka Sam’s Club. But when you’re poor, you’re not buying a toothpaste multipack. Too much upfront.”

“When you’re poor, you’ll buy a $50 pair of boots every year. When you have a financial cushion, you’ll buy a $300 pair of boots that last ten years.” ~ foodzillavsgothra

“The Dollar Store chains…”

“The Dollar Store chains are literally the biggest ripoffs you’ve ever seen. When you do unit pricing for things like toilet paper, diapers, etc. it’s amazing they’re allowed to market anything as saving.” ~ PetiePal

“I started hiding my wealth from people.”

“Wealth changes relationships and not in a good way. I lost friends because they found out I had wealth and felt that they were entitled to it and I was a bad person because I wouldn’t pick up the check for everyone at a restaurant.”

“They never expected this before but now they did. I started hiding my wealth from people. I drive beaters. I live in a small house. I became more conscious of people who just hate wealthy people.”

“Found out that I have several friends who believe they are poor because other people are rich and they blame rich people in general for all their problems not knowing that they’re literally talking to someone they hate and loathe.”

“The thing I really found more than anything though is that money doesn’t really make you happy. I’m just as lonely and isolated as I was when I was broke and money doesn’t help with that.” ~ agreeingstorm9

“I realized that time…”

“I realized that time is my most valuable asset. That’s why wealthy people pay someone else to do things like cleaning their house, mowing the yard, etc.”

“That’s low-value work. Wealthy people use that time to make more money.” ~ [deleted]

“As someone who’s moved over time…”

“As someone who’s moved over time from sleeping in my car and ‘staying late’ at the office just to have a place to rest my head to someone with a mortgage and a family, I’d say that it takes such a short time for improving circumstances (housing, decor, employment, financial freedom) to become ‘the new normal.’” ~ Following_the_Sun

“My effective tax rate…”

“How unfair the tax system is. My effective tax rate went down as I made more money. My lowest effective tax rate was 17% in my highest earning year (I was in the top 1% of earners). Tax regulation around real estate is absurd in particular.” ~ greeperfi

“We keep financial information very private…”

“I realized that you can’t talk about raises, promotions, or bonuses with certain people.”

“Those certain people will either not be happy for you at all or will expect to be able to borrow money from you. Or both.”

“We keep financial information very private for this reason. There are still people who are mad at us for not being their personal ATM. It sucks but you learn quickly how people see you.” ~ SnooSketches63

Is the grass always greener? Perhaps.

The fact of the matter is, don’t expect money to suddenly fix all your problems. It sometimes creates some entirely different ones.

But wouldn’t it be great if you or I could just find that out for ourselves?

Who do I have to give my bank account information to?

I’ll be here, just waiting patiently.

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What’s the Worst Idea You’ve Had During a Stressful Situation? Let’s See What People Had to Say.

Some people thrive in stressful environments and some really don’t at all.

I think I fall into the latter category if I’m being totally honest about it…

But some people are REALLY bad when the sh*t hits the fan.

Folks on AskReddit admitted the stupidest things they ever thought of during a stressful situation. Let’s take a look!

1. Not the pizza!

“Forgot I had a pizza box in the oven and started to preheat, not my best moment.

Ran down after smelling smoke to see the box on fire. Instead of using the fire extinguisher right next to the oven, I grabbed the box… and instead of throwing it immediately in the sink behind me, I ran outside with it…

My hands were pretty much cooked 1/4 the way through for a few weeks.”

2. Maybe?

“A woman yelled, “Did you sleep with my boyfriend?” and my dumb *ss said “Who’s your boyfriend?””

3. Mommy!

“My dinner was in the oven and it caught on fire.

Instead of attempting to put out the fire, I took a picture of it and texted it to my mom for advice.

I was 39 years old.”

4. A time to cry.

“Happened to me in college. Had been up all night studying.

It was 7 am, had a chemistry exam at 815. Went to shower, came back, I’d locked myself out of my room. Could have a gone and gotten an RA.

But logically I sat down naked, wet, only in a towel and cried.”

5. Hey, it’s cool.

“During the initial stage of an anaphylactic shock from my nut allergy, I didn’t want to kill the vibe of the party I was at, so I told my friends I wasn’t feeling well and left.

Everyone tried to help but I insisted I was just tired.

Called 911 about 2 mins on my walk back home when I realized it was a much worse reaction that practically paralyzed me on the sidewalk.”

6. Did it work?

“My hair was getting long, hard to manage, I was also just stressed in general about school.

For some reason I associated these two things and thought getting my head shaved was the answer to all my problems.

I actually went ahead with it.”

7. Not a good idea.

“I was once in a fight. The guy ran at me to tackle me and I put him in a headlock and fell backwards. So, my back was on the ground with him in a head lock.

A huge crowd was around us. I knew if I let him go, he’d have the advantage being I was on my back. So, I started just talking to the crowd, giving a commentary, and making jokes.

It just made him super mad and go into a savage state. I learned never hold a guy in a headlock that has a free hand.”

8. Don’t do that.

“Was having a panic attack.

Tried to calm myself with some whisky.

Turns out taking a depressant to relieve anxiety only makes your anxiety worse.”

9. This is amazing.

“When I was a youngster this guy and I broke out of of jury during the night. I suggested we go to this park where there are usually people smoking weed.

Nobody was there. Just 3 dudes off to the side. We went over to talk to them and after a bit we ended up snorting heroin for the first time. We both got really sick. Vomiting every 5 min. We were both in such bad shape with nowhere to go, we figured we only had one choice.

We broke back into juvy. Never got caught.”

10. Scary.

“On my very first backpacking trip, we had a bear encounter just as we were eating supper.

There were two small cubs coming toward our campsite, when we heard mama bear crashing through the brush toward us. My (now ex-)boyfriend and I were sharing a rehydrated meal, and eating it straight from the pouch, instead of splitting it into two bowls, because I couldn’t be bothered washing the bowls.

Anyway, I’ve had the saying, “A fed bear is a dead bear,” drilled into me from a young age, and I’ve always been really good about not leaving food out where bears or other wildlife might get it. So, as I was starting to freak out about this ginormous, pi*sed off mama bear lumbering toward me.

I thought I’d better make sure she didn’t get any of our food, so I quickly started shoveling the rest of that meal in my mouth and swallowing as fast as I could.

My ex and I are still good friends, and to this day he still makes fun of me for how quickly I stuffed almost two full servings of Mountain House teriyaki chicken and rice down my throat because I was afraid the bear would eat it.”

11. SPENIS.

“When I was in high school we had to complete a notebook full of work and get it graded. It was time to hand them in and my friend wrote PENIS on the front cover!

I panicked and wrote an S in front of it to spell out SPENIS. I’m glad my teacher had a good sense of humor.”

12. Dynamic duo.

“My kitten started choking and my family didn’t know what to do.

I said “should we do mouth to mouth?” and my dad leaned forward to do it but then stopped and realized that you don’t do that on a choking person.

So at least I wasn’t alone in my stupidity.”

13. Fire!

“When I was a kid I was playing with matches in my room. I started a small fire and began to panic.

My solution?

Direct the air from my fan towards the fire to blow it out. You can imagine how that went…”

Have you ever had a really bad idea during a stressful moment?

If so, we want you to tell us about it in the comments.

Please and thank you!

The post What’s the Worst Idea You’ve Had During a Stressful Situation? Let’s See What People Had to Say. appeared first on UberFacts.

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Frequent Napping Has Health Benefits, Including Reducing Stress

This is great news for me! As a self-described expert napper, I’m always looking for a good reason to take a quick snooze. And I can do it anywhere. Couch, chair, floor, under tables, in cars. Whatever you got, I can make it work.

And I know I’m not alone; there are tons of people out there who love the napping life just as much as I do. Well, research shows that not only are naps enjoyable, but they are good for you, too.

Nap

A napping habit can help you have sharper brain function and hone your problem-solving skills. A short slumber can also help you deal with stress better, regulate your blood pressure, and even assist you with maintaining a healthy weight.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, there are three types of naps that they suggest taking:

1. Naps that you plan before you get tired. These help out with tiredness and fatigue.

2. Emergency napping is when you are too wiped out to do your everyday work and activities. These are good for people who deal with fatigue and drowsiness.

3. Habitual naps describe ones that are taken at the same time, each and every day. A lot of babies and elderly people are on this schedule.

Nap

Napping is frowned upon in the United States because of our hectic work schedules, but in other countries, it’s very common to take a nap during the day. A study from Greece – where napping is culturally much more accepted – found that napping three times a week can lower your risk of developing a serious heart condition by up to 37%.

Nap time

The amount of time you nap has benefits for different aspects of your health. If you nap for 20 minutes, you can look forward to enhanced memory and mental alertness. A 20-30-minute nap can help boost creativity and memory. Snoozing for 30-60 minutes helps you optimize memory and decision-making skills. And if you want to nap for 60-90 minutes, you’ll experience REM sleep, which will help you to reset your brain and can improve your problem-solving skills.

Take that, anti-nappers!

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When You’re Stressed About Money, This Is What Happens to Your Body and Your Brain

I think a lot of us can say that we’ve felt this kind of stress before: stress about being broke or very close to it. But how does this stress affect us, physiologically speaking?

We all have a fight-or-flight response system in our bodies that developed when our ancestors were roaming the land trying to avoid the many threats that could literally kill them at any time. Stress hormones are released when we’re presented with what we interpret as these kinds of situations – times when we humans have to decide whether to stick it out and fight or to run for our lives.

Stressed

But there are fewer saber-tooth tigers these days, and your fight-or-flight reflex is much more likely to be triggered by social issues – including dealing with money problems. When it does happen, the fight-or-flight reaction is very hard on the body. It can tense up our muscles until they hurt and mess up how our immune systems work, leaving us more vulnerable to getting sick. It can also cause constant stomach aches and headaches.

Stress

Another bad side effect: you might make bad decisions, even though, deep down, you know better. Aimee Daramus, a clinic psychologist, said, “Under stress, blood flow and electrical activity are reduced in the frontal and prefrontal lobes and increased in the survival parts of the brain, such as the amygdala.”

Since the parts of the brain where blood flow is reduced influence impulse control and planning, your decision-making process might get thrown for a loop, causing you to do things you normally wouldn’t do. Basically, you start to feel the walls closing in, which pressures you to act in ways that actually hurt your situation.

Daramus added, “We act quickly and decisively, but not always as accurately as usual.”

Depressed

On top of that, frequent stress reactions – whether caused by money issues or not – may cause anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Chronic stress might even lead to long-term physical ailments such as heart disease and diabetes. Finally, the stress may lead you to take comfort where you can find it – and that can sometimes mean in alcohol and drugs, which may lead to substance abuse problems.

Money problems are hard – really hard – but try to take care of yourself.

Remember, your only real wealth is health.

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A Study Shows That Cats Are Less Stressed When They Have Access to Cardboard Boxes

If you have a cat, you’ve probably suspected this for a long time, but now we know that it’s official: cardboard boxes help alleviate cats’ stress.

Researchers from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands conducted the study on shelter cats to see if access to cardboard boxes genuinely helped lower their stress levels in a scientifically measurable way. The scientists used 19 shelter cats in the study, 10 of which were given access to boxes, while 9 were not.

What...?

The study showed that the cats who had access to the boxes showed a faster recovery ability and adapted more quickly to their new environment than those cats that didn’t have access to boxes. The researchers noticed major differences between the two groups just three or four days into the study.

Nap time photoshoot

The researchers explained, “Stressful experiences can have a major impact on the cats’ welfare and may cause higher incidences of infectious diseases in the shelters due to raised cortisol levels causing immunodeficiency. Though several studies showed preference for hiding places and stress-reducing effects of hiding boxes on cats in combined studies, none of these studies determined if proper hiding enrichment would be effective in a quarantine cattery.”

Muffin9

The study lasted 14 days and the cats who had access to the cardboard boxes had a lower mean CSS, which means they had lower stress levels than the cats without the cardboard boxes. Also, the 10 individual cats with the boxes showed little difference in their stress levels while the 9 cats with no access to boxes showed high variance in their levels.

Bottom line: if you have cats, you’ll probably make them feel a lot more comfortable if you toss some old boxes around the house. It makes sense – in the wild, cats are pretty small, and would likely spend quite a lot of their time hiding out of sight.

So help your kitties keep those stress levels down!

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17 Memes for All the Stressed-Out Moms Out There

Stress. Playing referee to the kids. Dealing with an incompetent husband (I’m just assuming).

A lot of moms out there got it rough.

That’s why all you bad ass moms out there need to check out these funny memes.

Take a break and enjoy!!

1. Throw it away

Photo Credit: someecards

2. Truth bomb

Photo Credit: someecards

3. That’s reasonable

Photo Credit: someecards

4. Sure…

Photo Credit: someecards

5. Nightmare fuel

Photo Credit: someecards

6. That’s really weird

Photo Credit: someecards

7. VERY hard

Photo Credit: someecards

8. Like a 30-something man with a beard

Photo Credit: someecards

9. Tragic

Photo Credit: someecards

10. This’ll do

Photo Credit: someecards

11. Thanks…for nothing

Photo Credit: someecards

12. Maybe over the line?

Photo Credit: someecards

13. Hmmmm

Photo Credit: someecards

14. Don’t anger them

Photo Credit: someecards

15. Human GPS

Photo Credit: someecards

16. It’s true, don’t lie

Photo Credit: someecards

17. What was that?

Photo Credit: someecards

Moms, I hope that gave you at least a brief respite from your stressed-out existence.

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Enjoy These Funny Tweets About Anxiety When You Need a Break

Dealing with anxiety really sucks. It can affect your job, your relationships, and every other aspect of your life in negative ways. But one way to deal with the ailment is to try to laugh at it, at least every once in a while.

As the old saying goes, laughter is the best medicine.

At the very least, these tweets will remind you that you are not alone in your struggle.

1. This should help

2. You can do it!

3. Please?

4. Need a little change

5. Pretty funny

6. #GetAnxious

7. Pleased to meet you!

8. Ahhhh, that’s better

9. Which one will it be today?

10. Get prepared

11. Damn!

12. Hahahaha

13. Nothing but mumbling…

14. Very true

15. That’s not a bad idea

16. Uh oh

17. Run!

18. That’s a brilliant idea

19. Don’t tell me that!

20. Oh, the possibilities…

Keep your chin up! Things will get better!

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The WHO Just Officially Recognized Burnout As an Actual Medical Condition

The phenomenon of “burnout” is one that people have been talking about for decades, but it’s still not understood very well. It goes beyond a simple feeling of exhaustion – it’s a feeling of not wanting to continue with what you’re doing at ANY cost, even if stopping might have catastrophic effects.

And now the World Health Organization (WHO) is officially recognizing the condition.

Image Credit: Pixabay

They describe it as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,” and characterize it by “feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion,” “increased mental distance from one’s job,” “feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job,” and “reduced professional efficacy.”

Though the WHO currently only defines burnout in relation to work, there is hope that the addition will aid doctors in diagnosing and treating the issue anywhere and everywhere it pops up.

The Mayo Clinic points to certain risk factors for developing burnout, including having a poor work/life balance, having a high workload, too much overtime, being in a “helping profession” like healthcare, being a perfectionist, and having a boring job.

Image Credit: Pixabay

They describe symptoms of feeling helpless, trapped, and/or cynical about work, all of which can make you detach from the world, lack motivation, increased procrastination, and even turning to drugs or alcohol to cope with the mounting stress.

WHO also states that there can be physical fallout – anything from stress and fatigue to heart disease, high blood pressure, muscle pains, and sleep disruption. It can also lead to headaches and a weakened immune system.

If you think burnout could be affecting you, you’ll want to seek out support from your friends, family, and perhaps even a professional or two. Getting more exercise and sleep, taking up relaxing activities like yoga, and purging your diet of unhealthy components could help, but searching for a new, more satisfying job could end up being the answer, as well.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Burnout will officially be listed in the new International Classification of Diseases as of January 2022, along with a new classification for compulsive sexual behavior (a mental disorder) and recognizing video-gaming as an addiction like gambling and drugs.

The WHO will also no longer classify transgenderism as a mental disorder.

Yay, progress!

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It’s common for Dentists to have…

It’s common for dentists to have aquariums because they reduce stress and anxiety. Aquarium Therapy has been shown to reduce stress, insomnia, and high blood pressure; achieving results that are the same, or better than, hypnosis.