5 21st century diseases that came about because of advanced technology

The development of science and technology makes our lives as simple as possible. But there is also the other side of the coin – technological breakthroughs have endowed humanity with a number of new diseases that are not so easy to fight.

Despite progress, medicines and the full-scale development of medicine, new diseases are not becoming less. We talked to representatives of psychology and medicine about some of these ailments.

Ekaterina Shmorgun

psychologist, author of the Free Apple transformational methodology

The development of technology is an evolutionary factor. And although it brings us a lot of problems both in the field of psyche (growth of depressive and anxiety states, complex autoimmune and psychosomatic diseases) and in the field of body (diseases of musculoskeletal apparatus, hypodynamia and vision problems). All this exposes deficits in personal development and aggravates addictive states.

If before the development of technology the most common addictions were drug, alcohol and love addictions, nowadays the inner emptiness and lack of awareness become an excellent substrate for the development of new addictions: addiction to news or addiction to the phone – nomophobia (see below).

The need to process a huge amount of information increases the degree of stress, the rate of development of dramas, the influence of circumstances and other factors increases.

Social networks are a separate story: imitation of friendship, love, surrogate of living life, clip thinking, superficial feelings and lack of depth. All this only emphasizes the inner emptiness of people, their loneliness and self-devaluation.

But the development of technology cannot be evaluated as an unambiguously negative factor.

Diseases that have appeared in the XXI century

Nomophobia

In other words, this is the fear of being without a cell phone. Despite the fact that this phobia is recognized by the medical community, it has not received an official number and code as a disease. Along with this, experts recognize that this disorder is there and confidently progresses.

The word “nomophobia” itself is formed from: “no mobile phone phobia”. Sometimes this term is used to describe a general dependence on mobile devices, although it is primarily the fear of being without it.

It’s not about a simple: “Where’s my phone?”, but about an irresistible desire to find his gadget or to be near it (for example, in case it is left at home). A person gets into a state where all thoughts revolve around it.

In the previous material told how to learn to fall asleep without a smartphone.

Irritability, inability to concentrate, severe discomfort and sadness are noted. It is worth noting that some of the symptoms are manifested when the phone is physically near, but there is no cellular network signal and Wi-Fi, because sometimes the cause is hidden not in the very presence of the phone, but in the ability to go out into the “big” world.

Carpal tunnel syndrome and “overload” disease

Stanislava Ratush

rehabilitation therapist, hand therapist

The syndrome is caused by incorrect position of the hand on a mouse, keyboard or touchpad – there is a great compression load on the median nerve, which is located in the carpal tunnel of the wrist.

Constant load and increased pressure cause changes in the nerve, which subsequently lead to numbness of the first three fingers and weakness of the thumb muscles. The disease does not develop in two weeks, but over the years. Initially, you may not notice the symptoms at all: numbness of the fingers at night, falling out of the hands. But over time, the situation will get worse and worse.

Disease “overload” – a disease associated with poor occupational hygiene when working at a computer. Here any tendons can suffer, because due to the incorrect position of the hand, these or those structures are overloaded and do not have time to recover. All this leads to the fact that there are pains that eventually intensify and do not allow a person to function normally. Most often women suffer from such “overload”.

In the early stages, doctors try to manage patients conservatively, but in the case of “neglect” there are also surgical methods of treatment.

How you can help

• The first thing that is necessary is to provide rest and relieve inflammation. To do this, specialists use orthotics (making individual fixators for immobilizing the hand).
• Next, anti-inflammatory drugs are connected.
• Finally, the most important stage is the selection of individualized exercises that will restore mobility, strength and confidence of the hand.

Probably the most valuable stage of treatment, which many people do not pay attention to, is to find the cause of why this or that disease happened. By finding the cause and affecting it, future complications can be prevented.

Basic rules for preventing the development of “overload” diseases and compression neuropathies

• The hand when working at the keyboard with a mouse should be in a neutral position. To do this, you can put a roller under the forearm or use a vertical mouse.
• The computer screen should be at eye level.
• Elbows should not be bent at an acute angle, optimally 90-110 degrees.
• Every hour and a half it is ideal to take a break for a little exercise. Walk a little, do gymnastics on the mobility of the cervical department, stretch your arms, hands, make a few bends.
• Change your sitting posture frequently.
• Lead an active lifestyle outside of work.

If you do not pay attention to prevention, then in the near future nothing terrible will happen, but over time the consequences will make themselves known. Diseases develop slowly, and noticeable problems will gradually manifest themselves within 10 years after the first symptoms appear.

Progressive myopia

It is impossible to ignore the fact that 90% of a person’s time is spent in front of a screen. We know how to use the technology itself perfectly well, but it is still difficult to do it in such a way that it does not harm us. Visual impairment is one of the fastest growing health disorders of the XXI century.

The main factors in vision loss nowadays are working with computers and devices in the wrong position and at critically close distances. As a consequence of which the eye muscle does not relax. To avoid the consequences, you need to follow a few rules. Read more about it in our previous material.

The painstakingness of the work performed also makes sense. Scientists have noted that in the process of reading text documents on the screen, a person begins to blink less than when working with printing. The flickering of the screen itself makes a difference, too. Such moments lead to “computer-eye syndrome”, which is characterized by additional strain on the eye muscles.

The combination of all factors, including reduced time in natural light, leads to reduced vision even in those who do not have a genetic predisposition.

Dysmorphophobia syndrome

The condition when a person is extremely preoccupied with his or her appearance, unable to adequately assess the features of his or her body and tries in every possible way to correct far-fetched flaws – dysmorphophobia. It may seem like a joke, but such a phobia really exists and quite strongly affects the psyche of a person.

During such a disorder, men and women are addicted to plastic surgery, diets and anything that can help them make themselves attractive. It often leads to bulimia and anorexia.

Signs of dysmorphophobia:

• obsessive certainty of lack;
• depressed mood;
• attention to oneself and search for the “right” angle, in which the flaws will not be visible;
• a morbid attitude towards being photographed.

The syndrome can be noticed if you carefully observe a person and try to note peculiarities in his behavior, habits and style of dress. Sick people mostly stop sharing their problems with loved ones and others.

Among other things, one of the signs of phobia is the fear that it will not be possible to achieve an ideal figure and appearance. In this case, the symptoms of depression may appear, as well as the appearance of suicidal thoughts. Treatment of dysmorphophobia in women and men requires deep psychotherapy, and it will not be possible to do without the intervention of a doctor.