How Unhealthy Competition Put More than Half Americans in Depression

Hard Evidence

Like all other living beings, humans have had numerous competitions along the course of life. And the list has expanded astonishingly in today’s world, and has resulted in unhealthy and destructive competition. This unhealthy competition has now seeped into every part of the society and society has also greatly played its role in encouraging it.
Family is one important unit which through it fallacies, emotional biases and rules of thumb not only teaches children what is good and bad but all their life’s choices and mind set. In relation to the concept of competition, the impact of family pressure is too great to be ignored. We come across a number of situations right in the family where competition is imparted, like parents pushing their children to the edge to do better than their fellows, their cousins and their siblings even, in all aspect of life; in academics, in sports, and all other extracurricular competitions. It is evident in parent’s promising gifts to their children if they are able to score more than others and bring a trophy home. It emphasis is on to be ahead of everyone else, adding to it the element of devastation and ill-will.
It is furthered cultivated in schools and other academic institutions where the yardstick favors the achievers only. Management Guru Ken Blanchard says that “as we go through the educational system, resources become scarce and we learn that in order to attend the best schools, make the football team, etc., we have to compete with each other”. There is also a battle going on between schools to be in the limelight, be it the struggle to get the highest number of A graders, highest university placement, medals in sports or having the most fancy building and campuses.
When it comes to friendship and keeping up with the social circle, competition gets savage. The effect of peer pressure is undeniable and it plays a great role in creating an environment of negative competition amongst friends. The expectations to be at the same level, to be of same standards and lifestyle lead to ill-will feelings only. Aggression, fear, insecurity and jealously then lead to unhealthy behaviors like faking one’s personality, compromising one’s values, de-valuing others and taking revenge.
Competition continues as we reach the workplace. The workplace rivalries include competition for pay, promotions, benefits, getting the best project and making it to the best employee card and standing out from all others. Sadly, our workplace environment is framed in a way that says ‘I am better and I am going to beat others to prove it’. There leaves no room for positive collaboration that can lead to better productivity and growth, instead the opposite happens as the workforce is on consistent social pressure of keeping up with the destructive competition and sometimes at the expense of somebody.
In a broader level, we see competition in the business sector. It won’t be wrong to state that businesses run on competition. All the food brands, clothing and service industries are battling with one another to get the highest customers, highest sales and highest profit, more outlets and the most eye-catching advertisement. The message that all these quoted brands covey is not that their product is the best, but how other competing products are bad.
In the same way, the digital world that we proudly brag about is no different. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat function as a competition contest wherein users constantly compete to get the highest followers, likes on posts and more popularity. They strive to make their profile most catchy and engaging of all. Like bad competition in real life, it is equally unsafe and promotes adversity.
Where there is adverse competition, there are catastrophic consequences. All the examples that have been mentioned illustrate the negative implications both at micro and macro level. The undesirable side effects of this destructive competition include; hatred, feeling of jealousy, aggression and anger are all destructive. They not only harm the individual but also the person he or she is competing with. It destroys a person’s self-worth. He or she sees himself or herself on the basis of others and tries to be like them, without realizing his or her skills and potential, trying to fit with the idealized version of society. When competition gets fierce, it leads to hostile motives. When a person sees or believes that he is not good enough and cannot see others get ahead, they plot ill-will actions, like taking revenge and harming others.
In addition, this kind of unhealthy competition has been linked to mental health problems. The fear of judgment, of being imperfect, feelings of worthlessness, guilt and negative self-image not only poison the mind but lead to harmful consequences. The implications of such competition have particularly affected the mental wellness of youth, who are at more risk than the elders due to the inherent naivety of young age. This phenomenon to some extent explains the prevailing high mental illness and, consequently, suicide, among youth in Pakistan, particularly those belonging to the North.
When the focus is only on competition, quality gets undermined. Be it related to people, brands, businesses or schools. In people, when a person competes, he loses sight of his or her own abilities, ambitions and directs his or her actions in terms of the person he or she is competing with, which is just naïve. In the case of businesses and brand, the focus is on quantity at the cost of quality and same is with our educational and other social institutions today.
Altogether, destructive competition is unsafe for the society as whole. Because a society can only flourish on the values of healthy competition, good-will for each other and a sense of cooperation to achieve common good. Sadly, it functions on ill-will, hatred, jealousy and revenge today, all fueled by negative competition. Negative competition is inherently destructive, overtime on all parties, positions including your own.
Amid the harsh hitting facts, it is important that these kind of harmful and ill-will desires are not allowed to control the lives of human beings. Parents, schools, workplaces, media and society at large should play their role in constructing a culture that benefits everyone, unlike such destructive competition. Because the word competition conveys a positive meaning and motivates a person to do his or her best and also spices up life? However, it’s important to know the types of competition one is involved in and pay attention to its consequences because the dog-eat-dog attitude has never and will never benefit anyone.

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