Relationships

Changes In Our Society

Changes in society can be stressful. Below are a few tips to combat the changes that are occurring in today’s world. How many of these changes may be affecting you?

IN FAMILIES:
Family values have changed. Clearly, more parents are choosing to stay home with their children during their formative years. One would think this would simplify life, but it hasn’t. Families are busier than ever. Parents are scheduling their children to participate in numerous activities after school and on weekends.
• Keep your life and your children’s lives simple. Focus on creating a dinnertime together instead of scheduling another sporting activity. Anytime you encourage a family event over an individual event, the child and the family benefit.

SPIRITUALITY:
Statistics show that after a serious decline in spirituality, it is now on an upswing. Since spirituality is such a powerful influence on people, we are noticing that people are reconnecting with a support system that strengthens both their moral inventory and their sense of community. As you can imagine, this helps to combat all of the negativity in today’s world.
• Keep attending spiritual events and reading spiritual literature to strengthen your sense of self.

SEXUALITY:
Many adults (and children, for that matter) are viewing 10- to 20 hours of pornographic material on the Internet weekly. Some researchers believe this is a conservative estimate. Scientists are doing studies and are finding that people who are consumed with cyber sex are producing a new chemical in the brain that we have never seen before. This chemical mirrors the same chemicals that are released when an addiction occurs and cause a craving that reinforces the need for more pornography. Twenty-five years ago, I helped couples face infidelity, and now couples will need to work through sexual addiction and infidelity via the Internet.
• As a society, we need to acknowledge the problem and create a much-needed support system to combat these neurochemical changes. These books can be very helpful.


Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction by Patrich Carnes, PhD
Talking to Your Children About Sex by Mark Laaser, PhD
Sex, Lies, and Forgiveness: Couples Speaking Out From Sexual Addiction by Jennifer P.
Schneider and Bert Schneider

MATERIALISM:
We have become a very materialistic society. People are pressured to experience the best, no matter what the cost. Credit is issued at the drop of a dime and bankruptcy is often the result of such immediate gratification. Character is typically built from reaching a goal, not being handed it. Therefore, we have created a generation that has not experienced the sense of accomplishment one feels when they create and grow success. The mindset has shifted from ‘how do I get what I want’ to ‘how do I pay for what I already have’. The incentive is gone, because you already have “the outcome”.
• As you look at your life, create a strategy that ends with attaining with your goals. This ensures that you work in the right order.

Life is ever-changing and it is healthy to look at where we have been and where we are going. Self-reflection allows you to make changes in areas of your life that maybe controlling you. Learn to manage your life differently if it doesn’t coexist with your own personal values. Deep down…you know what feels right. Act on it.