Everyone knows that we should pay attention to health, and few people can do it.

Writing | Yan Rui

Interview | Yan Rui and Xu Yan

“I want the feeling of drowsiness approaching. This kind of sleep is the expectation of life, not the rest of life.” -Fernando Pessoa, “The Slave of Life Chapter 13” “What we want is Sleep when you want to sleep, instead of having to sleep for work, study, or interview.”

Recently, according to the “2021 National Health Insight Report” issued by Dr. Ding Xiang, the average life expectancy of Chinese residents has increased from 35 years in 1949 to 77.3 years in 2020, which has more than doubled—that is, we His “life belief” doubled.

However, is living a lot easier than it was seventy years ago?

Judging from the signals released by the participants, this is not the case. Looking back on 2020, “alive”, “weakness”, and “save money” are the most frequently used keywords, “health”, “anxiety”, “grateful”, and “come on” come in second, “lost” and “stubborn” , “Lost”, and “bad” followed closely.

The people who participated in the above report are mostly middle-aged and young people in first- and second-tier cities. They are the backbone and active force of social and economic development, and they are also the leaders of social development trends. Their feelings can probably reflect the general feelings of society—— Face the difficulties of life, just live.

In the minds of this group of people who talk about “alive”, perhaps because of the sense of crisis brought about by the raging epidemic, or for the consideration of the status quo of survival, “physical health” is overwhelmingly worthy of 93%. Earth becomes the ultimate thing in their lives.

The term “health” has become diverse in public opinion discussions in the past year. Some people think that health has long become a symbol of consumerism and an exclusive product for the wealthy and idle people. Others think that health and unhealthy are just a mentality of life. In other words, everyone knows that health should be paid attention to, and few people can do it… …

In the social competition environment of race against time, it should belong to peopleWhat is the “health” that is similar to the natural state of the body by us?

“Everyone Knows” Things

From “the body is the capital of the revolution” to the complex connotation and extension of “health” in medical science, health is obviously something that “everyone knows”. When it comes to it, it seems that everyone-from the old to the young-can easily comprehend a large number of regimens and the whole set of scientific health planning models behind it.

For Song Yue, a college student who is about to enter work, health has been turned into a specific requirement in life, covering all aspects of food, clothing, housing and transportation.

First and foremost, healthy skin and excellent appearance are the common labels pursued by professionals. As the saying goes, “people look at the face and the tree looks at the skin”. In the aesthetic era, it is a self-evident law that society prefers people with good looks. But how can there be so many natural beauties with good skin and plain makeup? ——They were all cleaned up. She said that at the age of twenty-two, “cleaning up” one’s appearance is no longer a witty saying “no ugly women, only lazy women”, but unhealthy since childhood. Work and rest have made her skin age much higher than it actually is.

Whiteheads, blackheads, acne, acne. Small promotion, early promotion, college entrance examination, question sea tactics. Test-taking pressure is like a curse, so that all students believe in the truth that they must stay up late to study and should pay all costs for it. After such a cold window of ten years, entering university or graduating work, these people who are used to overdraft time will naturally continue to struggle for final exams and thesis, for sudden accumulation and difficult work.

However, when they get through work and school and finally can rest, they still have to stay up late. Only by using sleep for meaningless consumption and entertainment can you achieve psychological balance. In this way, Song Yue’s mobile phone screen usage time can reach 19 hours/day during the vacation.

From the report data, the overall health effort of young people is indeed lower than that of the elderly. Maybe it is because of their youth or their own difficulties. The bad habit of staying up late can never be corrected by them.

So, she had to accept that skin diseases had become the norm in her life, and that her glamorous appearance was an illusion made with money and cosmetics.

In order to cover up skin blemishes, the consumption of medical beauty and big-name skin care products has become her daily routine, and makeup has also become an indispensable preparation for going out. Song Yue has to do small bubble cleansing and photorejuvenation on time every month. It is best to do essence import projects when he is rich.Saving money for Remaggie.

She has oil in the T-zone and dry U-zone on her face. Pay attention to the use of different skin care products, and often replace cleansing and makeup removers to protect the skin barrier… At the same time, as long as you go out, you will spend one almost every time She used makeup for hours, and she joked that she “has been soaked in cosmetics.”

But under such dedication, the battle with acne-prone faces is still endless-“As long as I continue to live in this state, I can only get acne while putting on makeup, continuing the vicious circle”-staying up late The unbalanced work rest and diet structure can also cause endocrine disorders, leading to Song Yue’s menstrual disorder, frequent stomach pains, sleep disorders…

She understands that her expenditure on medical beauty and cosmetics is contradictory, and it is not even out of health considerations. But at present, she can only maintain this state. After all, many times, consumption in the name of health is a last resort or peace of mind.

“Sometimes these things can’t be studied deeply. Many things won’t be used if they are bought, but they may be bought next time. Everyone knows that, in fact, it’s just a peace of mind.” Song Yue said.

Fitness cards, private lessons, massage equipment for sedentary occupational diseases, steam eye masks for long-term screens, cereal meal replacements, various health products such as multivitamins, fish oil calcium tablets, grape seed olive oil, etc. And other health consumer products, it has become the greatest “effort” that people running around in life can make for health.

Everyone knows that health is a state of life from the inside out. It is not a kind of “keep” that stays up until two o’clock or that after eating at night Haidilao contains two enzymes to save it. It needs to build one Long-term healthy habits.

But who can do it? Song Yue, who is in her 20s, can’t, nor can He Litao, who has been in the industry for more than ten years. People’s awareness of their own health status is far below their expectations of their own health status, and there are very few people who make full efforts to maintain their health.

He Litao preached that the “giant expensive” fitness card he applied for in the city’s CBD had been abandoned for a long time. He divided the membership fee by his exercise frequency and the result was that a swim cost thousands of dollars. Most of the people who think that they have the motivation to exercise if they pay out, just like him, give up halfway, “being chaotic and finally giving up”.

The sub-health state is a tough life state that penetrates daily and is difficult to control. In a certain work, the leader who talked with He Litao forwarded him a link afterwards-“The epidemic is continuing, and prevention and control will not be slack! Improve immunity and keep in mind the “June 4th” rule.”

The main idea of ​​the article is to point out six common unhealthy behaviors in people’s lives and propose four healthy habits. He clicked on it and found that the six bad habits are the same: uneven diet, long-term lack of sleep, excessive stress, lack of exercise, sedentary and fast food, he all accounts for them; the four good habits are of course the above He couldn’t do the opposite of those bad habits, such as eating and sleeping patterns.

I can’t do it, I don’t have time. Behind the health that money can’t buy, it reflects the general anxiety status of human beings in modern society. It has almost become a consensus to consume health and then consume health products for psychological comfort.

It can be seen that the growth of life expectancy and the proliferation of life desires are going in parallel. There are always difficulties and dissatisfaction in life. It is indeed too difficult to achieve a “healthy” state where life is naturally easy.

How about knowing?

“The normal age of a person is 250, but why can you only live a few dozen years? Because you still have to struggle… Put people in the mountains and old forests, eat and drink all day, and you will definitely live a long life.” In a certain conversation, Song Yue’s mother said to her. If you want a better life, you have to fight life, or in fact, fight yourself.

There is a fake health.

Chen Chen, a sophomore in Beijing and a part-time intern, feels deeply about this. He is a college student who is relatively pursuing physical health. He will insist on doing exercises, sleeping regularly and with dietary nutrition as much as possible, and will insist on going to the gym when he has time. Although he also loves milk tea and relies heavily on caffeine.

When people enter the fitness circle, it is normal to internalize “intake”, “carbohydrate”, and “body fat” as a conditioned reflex habit in life. But “sometimes a lot of people go to extremes. They don’t eat a lot in order to pursue fitness effects. They are malnourished and look healthy, but they are actually very crisp.” Chen Chen commented on the exquisite body pictures of muscular men and women on the Internet.

Having abdominal muscles does not necessarily mean health. The more beautiful the muscles, the healthier they are. It is an extreme expression of aesthetic pursuit. Sometimes people will sweat frantically for the so-called health, but they are not necessarily pursuing health. What they need is the recognition of social vision and the sense of value to stand out in social competition.

This person is very good at work and still maintains such a good figure. He must be very good—but being good is not synonymous with health. “However, nowadays, when everyone sees a person’s health or unhealthy, don’t you just look at your face and figure? They don’t communicate much with each other. They are colleagues and classmates. They can only be judged by their appearance.” At the same time, Song Yue, who is troubled by her figure, said, The equating appearance and health are actually a kind of competition.”

Competition is the basis of animality. Although the progress of civilization is trying to bring people to equality and freedom, social Darwinism and the law of the jungle are still insurmountable barriers in social life. People orMore or less have to enter the competitive system for the sake of life, this step is difficult to turn back.

Data shows that people’s working hours are clearly positively correlated with their health problems. This also corroborates this problem to a certain extent: stepping into a circle of competition that conflicts with one’s natural state and consuming one’s health, there is no turning back.

He Litao worked freely and happily before deciding to have children. “Happy” is his own description and summary of his previous work experience. There are not too many restrictions to be engaged in the writing profession, no need to sit in classes, and to communicate with different people to broaden your horizons. He has his own professional enthusiasm and has achieved remarkable results in the industry. As long as he wants to maintain a high-quality life in Beijing, it is easy to maintain a stable life with his wife DINK for ten years, a stable family and a free life. A rare ultimate ideal for most of the Northern Drifters.

Ten years ago, he might not have imagined that he would voluntarily give up such a life, fall back to the ground from the freedom of rebelling against the traditional view of marriage and childbirth, decide to have a baby, and therefore have to compete for the child Tired, more mechanical, but higher-paying jobs.

This may be a bit of “giving up ideals”. Young people have to struggle when they first set foot in society, because society generally promises them a promise that “work a little longer and get over it will make it easier”. From the perspective of He Litao’s ten years later, entering middle-aged life is a gap between life The fight has not disappeared. Even as we grow older, every drastic change in life may be a more difficult test.

“My current hope for health is to at least bring them (referring to my sons) to eighteen years old.” After being promoted to a higher position, he looked five or six years younger than his peers. He Litao evaluated his health in this way.

With the tiredness of obvious lack of sleep and the black green under his eyes, he rushed to the manuscript and showed a sigh and helpless expression in the interview: “Life is about gaining and losing.”

For such gains and losses, 25-year-old Liu Hao has a very concrete experience, in other words, the blessings and blessings of becoming a “workaholic” are more extreme in him.

He is a game anchor on Douyu platform. He once had a working experience of live broadcasting for more than ten hours a day, skipping meals or even rarely going to the bathroom. Later, the popularity of the game declined and he was gradually in endless competition. Feeling tired, so as to reflect on and reconstruct my work mentality.

The report shows that the career with the highest percentage of worrying about sudden death in the past year is the anchor. In this regard, Liu Hao is not surprised. Facing the computer, doing the same thing every day, mechanized performance in front of the camera for the live broadcast of the number of people, in addition to watching the computer, only eat and sleep buy Taobao-this kind of closed life state, it is easy for people to lose the regularity Control, thereby affecting their health.

He introduced that only big anchors and people who do some fine indie games can guarantee shorter live broadcast duration and higher revenue. If other popular game anchors want to do well, and want people on the platform to know you, they can only rely on the live broadcast time span and exchange health for money.

Moreover, the particularity of the anchor’s work type has pushed the necessity of “spinning” to the extreme. The cost of laziness and relaxation will be fully quantified, making people unable to stop even for a short while without reason. “Let’s put it this way, I get up to go to the bathroom, maybe people in the live broadcast room will drop 1,000 or 2,000, so they can’t get up.” When it comes to the experience of not even going to the bathroom, Liu Hao’s tone is complicated.

The number of live broadcasts is not only a precious treasure that gives the anchor a sense of value, but also the sword of Damocles that urges them to stay awake. In the face of computers, the only thing that can make them feel real is perhaps the fluctuating number of viewers and the harvest behind the number.

“People are in the rivers and lakes, and they can’t help themselves.” It may be this state. Riding a tiger and being pushed around by work is a true epitome of modern people’s work and life. But now, he hasn’t been able to stick to the live camera for more than ten hours, holding back pee and hungry to watch the numbers.

The reason is that the decline in physical condition is not the main reason. He said that the most important thing is that now the game is not as popular as it used to be, and the competition is slowly becoming less fierce. The competitive momentum has fallen, and the original robot-like working state is no longer sustainable.

It can be seen that as long as “competition” is involved, and if you want to pursue “better” things, you must sharpen your head and go against the “healthy” state that requires nature and peace. For the children, for the first, for the higher level, for more dignity… for life.

Walking around, all topics have returned to the seemingly simple but bottomless concept of “alive”. How can I live to be satisfied, and when can I live healthier? Everything depends on what kind of life we ​​want, and the cost of getting it.

In this regard, Li Xin, the 34-year-old advertising agency owner, is relatively open-minded. The advertising industry, being Party B, is actually a very competitive industry. When he was young, he would also make a pass in order to win a “big case”.Even for hours of sleepless night.

But after setting up his own company, he has reduced his fault tolerance requirements. Li Xin said that he would no longer think of a way to take down a certain project without eating or sleeping, because it was actually unnecessary. On the one hand, he said that he didn’t like competition in the first place. Moreover, “If you grab it hard, you must always leave. Only if you appreciate each other with Party A, it will last long.” This is a kind of confidence and a self-consistent life logic.

“Twisted melons are not sweet”, of course the truth. But when it comes to choosing between health and money, he is not open-minded in the case. He said that money is more important.

First of all, there is no major problem with the body now. If you have money, you will have a higher perspective and a new promotion. It is useless to have health. Furthermore, people are going to be born, old, sick, and die anyway, no matter how much health they are now,” You will always be born, old, sick, and die.” Just like Song Yue’s mother comforted her, if people don’t struggle and don’t worry, they will live to 250 years old. Now most people who choose to compete and “better future” can only pretend to be confused about health.

Li Xin’s choice may not be health, but cost performance.

Science is rigorous and ruthless. It will directly point to the crux of our lives and make no difference. Therefore, health cannot be fooled by applying for a fitness card or soaking wolfberry in beer. What is reflected in this fooling and psychological comfort behavior is the imbalance of people’s desires for their lives.

Knowing what you want and then doing it comfortably is a very difficult thing. In modern society, especially in metropolises with abundance of talents and fierce competition, people have too few opportunities to make choices that they fully approve. It is difficult for them not to feel anxious about the anti-human and mechanized things at work.

He Litao also said that although there are gains and losses, choosing the current job, although tired, can indeed bring better income. However, in the afternoon when you need to sign a simple document more than a dozen times and read the streamlined document dozens of times, you still feel broken.

▲ Stills from the movie “Guess the Train”

“Choose life, choose work, choose career, choose family.

“Choose big TV, washing machine, car, CD player, electric can opener, choose health, low cholesterol, dental insurance, choose low profitInterest loans, choose a house, choose a friend, choose casual clothes and matching suitcases.

“Choose installment payments, three-piece suits, a series of fabrics, DIY, still wondering what you are doing on Sunday morning, choose to sit and watch the quiz show that numbs the mind and breaks the heart, filling the mouth Junk food…”

Choosing a better life and bearing the price of choice is the only way for adults and the standard for accepting the reality of life.

“Everyone knows how to be healthier, but what can be done if you know it? You have to live.” After the interview, Song Yue, who had to stay up late to work, looked at the word health and felt that perhaps the so-called adult collapse Du Zheng is quietly hiding in the next work that needs to be completed.

(The author is an intern researcher of Caijing)