Viewpoint by Cody Daniels/reporter

Eliminating stressful social pressures from one’s life is extremely important because too much daily stress will have serious long-term health effects on the body.

How people are perceived and how that affects their social status are some main reasons why people worry. Some of these worries include weight, height, clothing style, music choice, religious character, social adaptability and social participation. Judgment of our peers is fueled by popular culture on high-rated television shows and kept burning by the everyday social behaviors of people in work or school settings while ignoring how much individuals tend to stress over it.

According to the American Medical Association, our bodies are hardwired to react to stress to fend off predators and offenders, which isn’t much of a worry in modern-day America. Because we stress over smaller things in life, the created “synthetic” stress can cause the brain to feel constantly under attack.

When this occurs daily, too much adrenaline is released, the heart rate is  elevated and a stress hormone called cortisol is released from the kidneys increasing glucose in the bloodstream decreasing the body’s availability of resources it uses to repair tissue. Over time, this can cause health effects such as digestive issues, depression, heart disease, sleep apnea, weight gain and cognitive memory damage.

Students need only take a step back and realize the average adult already has to worry about supporting oneself, staying physically healthy and balancing school and workloads — things that truly matter. Because it has become such a norm to think about others based on shallowness, we have come to think subconsciously of ourselves the same way every morning before we even leave the house.

So much stress can be avoided if one just asked the simple question, “Am I doing this because it is making me happy?”

Societal norms need a turnaround before we forget that unique traits that make someone happy is what truly make us individuals.