Disturbing studies keep seeping out from these technological times of unfettered advancement: Of kids having greater anxiety, being placed on medications at earlier and earlier ages; of technology — Facebook, Instagram and other “Social Media” outlets — contributing to how we see ourselves.
In a predominantly agrarian society — of which we were until after WWI (the Great War to end all wars — how did that work for us?) — with no technological connection between towns, cities, and even families, how we saw ourselves differed drastically than in the modern era.
We did not compare ourselves to total strangers. We did not snap images of ourselves constantly and obsessively. We did not view pictures of ourselves, nor had the capacity to alter, modify, “improve” or otherwise change the way we were reflected. In fact, the grainy images of black-and-white photographs barely captured the outer shell of who we are.
So, how did we see ourselves “back then”? We didn’t. Instead, the focus was outward — towards the objective world we had to maneuver through in order to survive.
In modernity, the focus has shifted inward — within the universe of words, language, thoughts, images, and the aggregation of an insular world. This shift is important to recognize, for we have to counterbalance the overemphasis upon how we see ourselves.
For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who are suffering from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, How We See Ourselves is important in light of the devastating impact that the loss of one’s career and instability of one’s future is looked upon.
Greater stress and anxiety likely dominates. The insular and the objective feed upon each other and trigger greater difficulties.
Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of taking a greater balanced view of How We See Ourselves by prioritizing your health, and therefore, your future.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill
Lawyer exclusively representing Federal and Postal employees to secure their Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
OPM Disability Retirement, Et Cetera… 