Stressing with Karl Marx

             Stress has been looked at for years and there are hundreds of studies on stress.  With the many different studies, there are also many different perspectives, or lens, one may view stress through.  Different lens will provide different opinions about stress and in this blog post, I will view stress through a Marxist lens.

             The Marxist lens will look at something while keeping ideas about capitalism, the proletariat, and class struggle in mind.  Arguably, the most important thing in life is happiness.  Happiness is unique to every person, but there are still some basic things that most people can agree make someone happy, two of which are family/love and money.  Love in any way will make a person happy, and families are perfect representation of love.  However, money is needed for a family to survive and a surviving family is a happy family.  Wealth allows for an easier life and when already happy with love, an easier life is icing on the cake.  

             Unfortunately, we live in a society where money is not granted to everyone and people will lack the money to live comfortably or even to shelter or feed their families.  A lack of money may cause severe stress and this can be blamed on capitalism.  The bourgeois are living easily while the proletarians are stressing just to live the next day, to make sure their family survives.  In a capitalist system, it is the survival of the fittest.  While capitalism may grant some people all the wealth they can imagine, the system is unequal and seen in the stress of people.  Even those who are well off are stressed by capitalism.  Having to manage money, pay extraordinary taxes, and maintain a affluent lifestyle will put stress upon a person.  In an equal Marxist system people would not stress about these issues and thus viewing stress though a Marxist lens it is easy to critique capitalism and blame everyone’s stress ultimately on capitalism. Diagnosing stress is similar to diagnosing a mental illness.  In the same way mental illness is subjective to a time period, stress is subjective to a lens.  There is no one correct way to view stress (or mental illness), but the more lenses understood, the greater the understanding of stress as a whole.

Stress is in the Air!

February 14, Valentine’s Day.  It’s that time of year again where either you are with someone or alone.  No matter what situation you are in, Valentine’s Day can be quite stressful and I’m here to help relieve some of those unwanted feelings.

If you are the person who doesn’thave that someone special in your life then there are some simple mentalities you need to have to de-stress your Valentine’s Day.  First, you cannot sulk and feel downtrodden over the fact that you don’t have a boy/girlfriend because the truth of the matter is, there are so many people that still love you.  Spend time with your family on this day and be surrounded by those who do love you, including pets!  Try to no focus on the romantic part of Valentine’s Day and be grateful for all you have.  It’s stressful to see some of your friends with their partner, but realize that there are many of your friends who don’t have anything to do on that day either and that you should try to be with them as well, (unless you enjoy family time more).  A completely different idea on how to deal with the stressful Valentine’s Day is to completely ignore it and pretend that it doesn’t exist.  Just live that day like any other Thursday in your life and don’t even fret about the events that go on during that day.  Don’t falter from your regular routine and zone out the love birds that are obnoxiously swooping and swooning around you.  Find the people who love you, the people who care, or just choose ignore it all, and I guarantee your Valentine’s Day won’t be stressful.

Not every is necessarily alone on this day and for those of you who do have that significant other, it can be quite the stressful day.  For the guys, I know that you are expected to bring a bouquet of roses and hearts of chocolate and take your girl out to a fancy dinner and be all romantic and perfect.  But it’s the last word that causes all the stress: perfect.  Being perfect is impossible and you need to accept the fact that you will not be perfect.  Tradition states that you need to heighten your romanticism, but to what extent is the question, a question that you need to have with your partner.  Make expectations.  You should be comfortable enough with your significant other to be able to ask how Valentine’s Day should be spent, what they find romantic so you don’t have to guess, and just their overall feelings on the holiday (they might even despise it!)  For the girls, I understand that you like spontaneous and extravagant, but lower your expectations.  Don’t stress over whether or not you will get flowers, but as odd as it may sound, have low expectations, that way if your boyfriend decides to do that extra something, then you will be twice as happy and certainly feel no stress.  Communication is key for any stress-free relationship, especially during Valentine’s Day.  In addition, if your partner only sees your love on Valentine’s Day then you have not been doing a good enough job the rest of the year.  Remember to not “make it into a huge test. Express your love every single day and you will be better off in the long run."  Have a stress-free, happy Valentine’s Day.