Thu, Apr 17 01:10 AM
Do you skip meals because you're too busy with work? Does a vacation from work give you a headache? Do you fear losing your mobile phone? Are you obsessed with exercising? Well, if any one (or more) of these explains your newfound behaviour, chances are that you've fallen prey to any of these new lifestyle diseases - Stressorexia, Leisure Sickness Syndrome, Nomophobia and Athletica Nervosa. Stressorexia If you're so busy with work that you find no time to eat and end up losing a whole lot of weight - a result you like - so you stay busy and skip more meals, you are suffering from Stressorexia.
It's most likely to affect women aged between 20 and 40, who are struggling to balance professional and personal lives. "There's so much to do that sometimes even 24 hours seems too little; missing a meal to fit work in is normal," confesses investment consultant Anju Jain, 29.
Expert speak: "Women have to meet deadlines on both professional and personal fronts and they are also expected to be perfect at everything they do. Skipping meals regularly could lead to a lot of problems including malnutrition, difficulty in delivering babies, low calcium count, etc," says nutritionist Dr Seema Malik.
Leisure Sickness Syndrome Does a holiday give you the hives? Do you catch a minor illness on every off? Does a weekend make you feel sick, nauseous or head-achy? If you answered yes to any of these, you've got Leisure Sickness Syndrome. However, not too many people need worry about this; according to experts, it mostly affects perfectionists.
"It's a competitive world and one vacation could ruin everything. What if someone replaces me in the department or I miss out on an important project? I'm glued to my Blackberry even on my off.
" says Vineet Kumar, a software developer. Expert speak: "Insecurity is a prime reason for this syndrome.
But another contributing factor is not having structure to your day off, unlike on a work day. These people also desire to be recognised and considered important; an absence from the office leaves them feeling guilty," says clinical psychologist Neeru Kanwar.
Nomophobia Does the very thought of losing your mobile phone gives you the jitters? Can you never switch off your mobile, do you worry about your phone losing its charge? Nomophobia or 'no mobile phobia' occurs when you suffer from high levels of stress at the thought of not being in mobile phone contact. And according to experts, 53 per cent of cell phone users will be affected by it.
"What's more important than a mobile - everything that you need is just a button away! I remember to recharge my phone more promptly then I remember my girlfriend's birthday - what if I run of credit? The thought of the battery dying is scary," says CA Amit Saxena. Expert speak: "Connectivity is the key word for Gen-Z. They are so obsessed with staying in touch that the absence of a cell phone, even if they have just misplaced it, leads to a personality change: makes them impatient, hyper-vigilant, panicky, anxious and even temperamental, symptoms that can lead to depression at a later stage," says psychiatrist Jitendra Nagpal.
Athletica Nervosa Finally a disorder that affects more men than women. This one is apparently caused by an obsessive need to build up a muscular physique.
So, if you find yourself obsessed with building muscle, constantly reading up ways to improve your body, overdoing your workout.
you probably have Athletica Nervosa.
Researchers at Winchester University studied men between 18 and 36 and found that the more men's magazines they read, the more likely they were to suffer from the disorder. "I can skip my office but not my workout schedule.
There have been times when I've hit my personal gym after 11pm because I couldn't sleep. It gives me such a kick that I don't mind doing it for hours," says garment exporter, Arvind Mathur.
Expert speak: "There's no logic behind this assumption. A muscular build results from a combination of factors: workout; nutrition and rest, not swimming, running or lifting weights for endless hours.
It is during rest that muscles repair and grow. If you overdo the training, you tear more muscles then you repair.
This can have serious implications," says fitness expert Som Tugnait.
