Social Anxiety Disorder
Social Anxiety Disorder or social phobia is a persistent and irrational fear of situations that may involve scrutiny or judgment by others, such as parties and other social events.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), people with social anxiety disorder have an “intense, persistent, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and of doing things that will embarrass them,” and that fear can be so intense that it interferes with work, school, and other ordinary activities and can make it hard to make and keep friends. But the condition has physical manifestations, too, including trembling, upset stomach, heart palpitations, confusion, and diarrhea. The cause hasn’t been nailed down, but social anxiety disorder is probably due to a combination of environmental and hereditary factors. About 15+million people in the United States are affected by social anxiety disorder, which usually begins during childhood. Like other anxiety disorders, treatment often involves medication and psychotherapy.
Sick Building Syndrome
Rising energy costs aren’t just harmful to your wallet; if you work in an office building, they could be making you physically ill.
Businesses have found that by packing buildings with insulation, they can seal buildings tight, keep indoor temperatures constant, and cut energy costs in the process. After all, when the building is sealed, you can’t open a window to let fresh air circulate. The result is sick building syndrome, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies as a situation where building occupants experience discomforting health effects even though no specific cause can be found. Symptoms include headache; eye, nose, or throat irritation; dry cough; dry or itchy skin; dizziness; nausea; fatigue; and sensitivity to odors. The EPA estimates that 30% of all U.S. office buildings could be “sick,” so they recommend routine maintenance of HVAC systems, including cleaning or replacing filters; replacing water-stained ceiling tiles and carpeting; restricting smoking in and around buildings; and ventilating areas where paints, adhesives, or solvents are used.
Orthorexia Nervosa
Orthorexia nervosa is a term to describe people who have developed a fixation with healthy eating. In rare cases, this focus may turn into a fixation so extreme that it can lead to severe malnutrition or even death. Even in less severe cases, the attempt to follow a diet that cannot provide adequate nourishment is said to lower self-esteem as the orthorexics blame themselves rather than their diets for their constant hunger and the resulting cravings for forbidden foods.
Among the signs of orthorexia nervosa are: spending more than 3 hours a day thinking about healthful food; planning meals days in advance; feeling virtuous from following a strict healthful diet, but not enjoying eating; feeling socially isolated (such strict diets make it hard to eat anywhere but at home); and feeling highly critical of those who do not follow a similar diet. Although the psychiatric community does not officially recognize orthorexia nervosa as a disorder, those with the condition benefit from psychological treatment and sessions with eating-disorder specialists.
E-thrombosis
This condition is related to deep vein thrombosis, where blood clots form in deep veins, such as those in the legs. These clots can be fatal if they migrate to the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism. Clots can form when blood supply slows or stops, such as in a period of prolonged immobility. Similarly, e-thrombosis is the development of clots in the deep veins of someone who spends long amounts of time in front of a computer without moving.
Although only a handful of e-thrombosis cases have been reported, millions of people who spend most of their time in front of a computer are at risk. Avoiding e-thrombosis is simple: stand up and move around every hour, tap your toes while you work, put equipment and supplies in different parts of your work area so you have to move to get them, don’t cross your legs while sitting at your desk, don’t spend your lunch break at your desk (go for a quick walk instead).
Earbud-related Hearing Loss
Earbuds are the headphones used with many digital music players. They fit inside the ear but don’t cancel out background noise, requiring users to turn up the volume, often to 110 to 120 decibels — loud enough to cause hearing loss after only an hour and 15 minutes.
And today, people spend much more time listening to their portable players, exposing themselves to damaging noise for longer periods of time. As a result, young people are developing the type of hearing loss normally seen in much older adults. Experts recommend turning down the volume and limiting the amount of time spent listening to music players to about an hour a day. Headphones that fit outside the ear canal also help, as can noise-canceling headphones that reduce background noise so listeners don’t have to crank up the volume.
Computer Vision Syndrome
If you spend all day staring at a computer screen, you may be at risk for computer vision syndrome (CVS), also called occupational asthenopia. CVS encompasses all eye or vision-related problems suffered by people who spend a lot of time on computers. According to the American Optometric Association, symptoms of CVS include headaches; dry, red, or burning eyes; blurred or double vision; trouble focusing; difficulty distinguishing colors; sensitivity to light; and even pain in the neck or back.
As many as 75% of computer users have symptoms of CVS due to glare, poor lighting, and improper workstation setup. To overcome CVS, keep your monitor about 2 feet away from you and 6 inches below eye level, and be sure it’s directly in front of you to minimize eye movement. Adjust lighting and brightness to reduce any glare,reflections and eyestrain. Even simple steps can help, like looking away from your monitor every 20 or 30 minutes and focusing on something farther away. And you can always use eyedrops to perk up your eyes!
Let’s take one day at a time and with some proper lifestyle changes we can help keep ourselves away from these modern day diseases.