We are becoming more and more materialistic at the expense of our health. More so the young ones. They want to acquire so many things that they are putting more and more hours into their jobs or into economic ventures to have more money to buy things—from flashy gadgets and cars to houses or condo units in expensive or exclusive addresses. Most of these they would acquire on installment and beating monthly amortizations would really stress them out.
Others don’t earn enough to dream of these expensive things but they still have to work so hard to make both ends meet or to finance expensive lifestyles. A very contemporary example are the call center agents or workers. They would work all night keeping themselves awake through free flowing coffee in the work place and chain smoking sending their blood pressures into the red line way above normal. The next morning they are supposed to sleep to compensate for the rest they missed but they don’t do that. Many of them would drink alcoholic beverages in groups and the carousing would go on and on. They would later find out that they only had a few hours before their next shift. So they would go back to work with eyes ableary. And they would again keep themselves awake through the free flowing coffee, oftentimes in addition to some energy drinks, and chain smoking.
And their jobs are not that easy. Stressful is the word. Their foreigner clients would curse them by shouting invectives like “stupid” or “moron.”
The effect is many practicing doctors are happy. They have many of these young professionals, in their mid-twenties, as their patients due to hypertension. Others are not lucky. It is the funeral homes that made money from their folly. And we will be seeing more and more of these professionals keeling over in their mid-20s or even early 20s.
The only way out is for the younger generation to appreciate and value moderation more than money or material things beyond what is really required to have a decent life with some savings for life’s usual contingencies.**