Dentists in the UK are noting a recent phenomena, the grinding of teeth or bruxism. This has lead, in some cases, to healthy and previously undamaged teeth fracturing to the root. It seems that recent developments have lead to a rising incidence of teeth grinding behaviour, apparently it goes on unconsciously on the part of the grinder and often as they sleep. It has been described as sounding like a concrete mixer running down a blackboard.

Like so many behaviours that present within the arena of what we do this is another one indicative of the rising stress and anxiety levels that we in the West have to contend with. In my book, The Mechanics of Happiness I discuss this pressure pile up and the way in which the brightest undergraduates feel overwhelmed by the pressure put on them to succeed. The difficulty is that we are in a mobile landscape. Our world is shifting so old expectations become massive pressures as society places vastly expanded requirements upon us all.

There was a time when decisions that affected us all were made in secret behind closed doors by people who we would not know or recognise. The hunger for copy or material to satisfy the demands of global rolling news networks such as the BBC or CNN means that the most trivial matters become international headlines and the presure upon those in the spotlight increases exponentially.

I’m not a Luddite, there has to be accountability on the part of decision makers and their anonymity in previous generations undeniably allowed for a more cavalier attitude to prevail. However, there is a demand from a confused population for enlightened leadership to spring forth and show us the way forward. The world looks and is chaotic, systems that guaranteed relative stability and order are now bankrupt and the hunt is on for those who can move the situation forward in a positive way.

This is the origin of the huge pressure being felt by what Daniel Hilberstom called the brightest and the best; always the usual suspects for advancement but now subject to complete scrutiny from what they wear to what they eat to whom they associate with. There is no proving ground, no arena for protected apprenticeships as a million, apparently morally ambiguous, media studies graduates are released into the world like a tidal wave all looking for their big break and their Watergate. The result is that a generation of people are feeling completely disenfranchised, they are not interested in politics because they can’t relate to the politicians and the people who might make good political leaders in the future have already blotted their copybook with so called scandals that at one time would have been no more than part of the learning curve.

In the age of the great cathedral building an apprentice stone mason was given cast off bits of masonry to practice with. In this way they honed and refined their craft, they developed their skills. They were supervised by a master mason who would guide and mentor them through the development of problem solving strategies, they would pass on tricks of the trade and allow the apprentice mason to spread their creative and technical wings. Imagine if everything they did was scrutinised by a headline hungry media whose only concern was for a scoop and a lead in the ratings war.

With the advent of reality TV and thousands of channels to fill – I have seen trailers for a series based upon a pawn shop where people are filmed taking items in to be pawned and then mocked by a knowledgeable assistant who tells them their valuation of the item is way off the money – every aspect of our lives has become fair game for pundits, commentators and gossip columnists. And the frightening thing for me is, I’m in the minority when it comes to my distaste for the dumbing down effect.

So now we grind the enamel off our teeth as we subconsciously react to this scenario of huge intrusion and pressure. Once we were members of a community, a society and those who could worked to improve the conditions at every level for the benefit of all. Now we have all become the quarry of predatory agencies looking for stories, scoops and exclusives.

And then there is dear Jo Frost, the supernanny who demonstrates how little girls as young as six are already feeling the pressure to conform to a body image consistent with the symptoms of malnourishment or starvation. Already conditioned at this previously innocent and uncorrupted age to think of acceptable healthy body types to be grotesque and howling with derision when shown pictures of the same. What are we creating if not an unfolding nightmare? All the extra comforts and the advances we have made in technological terms have created a generation of insecure, under fire misfits with nothing better to do than turn upon each other. We owe it to them and to ourselves to get real. Lionising stick insect ’supermodels’ and placing anyone daring to open their mouth about anything on a witch trial in the kangaroo court of the banana republics we are imagining to be the way forward will not benefit anyone in the long run. This period of human history will be looked upon as a time of mass psychoses and self perpetuating delusions. We are placing ourselves and our children in jeopardy, we are handicapping any chance of cohesive development by distractions that amount to idle tittle tattle. Be careful what you fill your time with, you cannot have it twice, when the well runs dry, it is gone, there is no reserve.

Pressure? Just hope you don’t do too well in your exams, look like this year’s clothes hanger or you’re next.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8545243.stm