Dark Rings Under Eyes: Conspiracy In Society?

I have been wondering for a while now why I see so many people who have darkness under their eyes, rings or bags. Has this always been the case or is it more of a cultural situation? If it is a health issue than I would generally attribute it to the massive intake of chemicals we are subject to and consume in our society. For reference, I live in a US city.

It could be in part to many things, including the massive amount of sleep deprivation and depression in the United States. But perhaps people with darker skin are more liable to naturally have these features.

Anyone in other countries here on ATS experience this?

Thanks,
Nyorai

OP, One thing I have learned from living in New Zealand, I am from Texas originally and came to NZ on a contract.

We Americans have a skewed work ethic, too much time dedicated to work and not enough to life...

Here in NZ the whole country basically shuts down for two weeks during christmas...my first year here, this almost drove me mad...

my opinion is we have too much of "ourselves" tied up in our jobs/careers.

Dark circles, bags, bleary eyes...sleep deprivation!...we work ourselves into an early grave.

reply to post by deadbang


I heard in some places of Italy it is fairly lenient and it is common to take a couple hours off for lunch or to take a nap during the day. So I definitely agree we overwork ourselves. But is it really worth it?

Originally posted by Nyorai
reply to post by deadbang

 

I heard in some places of Italy it is fairly lenient and it is common to take a couple hours off for lunch or to take a nap during the day. So I definitely agree we overwork ourselves. But is it really worth it?

I think what you really should be asking yourself, is whether it's worth working yourself to death and not the other way around (as it seems to be pointed out in your post.)

I have always had this sort of saying. There are three different kinds of people in the work world. People who work for a living, people who live to work, and people who live for themselves.

The people who work for a living are your average 9-5 ers that at least have some personal time for themselves and their family (Which I still honestly think it's just too much time working).

The people who live to work is pretty self explanitory. These are people that are so engrossed with their job that they won't take a time off, even if the job stinks. I used to work for a company where everyone but me was like this. They would work from 9-10 pm with NO overtime pay. But it didn't matter to them because they "had" to do it. They never understood that NO you don't "have" to do anything! if you're miserable in your job and you're not even getting paid for your extra time put in your work, then you shouldn't be working there. I got fired from that job because I didn't conform to their work habits (staying later than I legally should). Not to mention some of their very illegal practices. Go figure.

The people who work for themselves are not who you think they are (not in my honest opinion, not by my definition anyway). Maybe I should clarify that these are people that work for their career. People that put all their efforts toward reaching their dream job. Here you have your actors, artists, directors, writers, musicians, sports athletes, video game testers, business owners etc. etc. etc. What is the difference between these people and the other two? simple, they actually enjoy what they do, even if there are some hard times. But this doesn't mean that they have to be in the world of stardom to have a "career" one can for example, pursue a career in biology, archeology, accounting, and the list goes on. These are the people that don't dread going to work, or see their work as "just another job to put food on the table" but as an experience that challenges them to be better.

Do people who fit this description usually have or end up with a lot of money? God no! it would be very naive to think so. There are still many actors out there that have a crummy job because they still haven't reached stardom. There are still many people who open a business because its their dream. But then it comes crashing down because of lack of experience. I think this would make for an interesting question as well. What kind of person would you rather be? the average worker? the worker who works too much because they're panicked about loosing their job? Or the one that will take a big chance in actually doing something they actually want to do.

But I digress, I apologize for going off topic there. I think that it is very sad to see people overwork themselves to death. I think there's a big problem when you work so much, you can't properly maintain your house, raise your kids because you're not home long enough to be with them. I do think that the europeans have some good ideas worth adopting. I say enough with this stupid ego trip of the chest pounding "working american" the "oh we'll show them we're better because we can handle working longer" Working long hours does not equal better, and anyone that thinks that way isbeing very naive. The better worker is not the one that works the longest to perform a task, but the one that finds a more efficient way of doing the same task in a lot less time. You want to get rich? follow that idea. "working hard" is an outdated motto and now a days should really be replaced with "working smart". Don't get me wrong. Some hard work will be necessary, but the idea is to outdo the effort or time needed. Why else do you think we have computers today instead of doing everything by paper like before?

reply to post by Question


Just wanted to clarify on my previous post regarding my co-workers who worked from 9-10 with no overtime pay. That's not completely true. What I meant to say wasn't that they didn't get any over time pay. What I meant to say was that they didn't get paid PERIOD for the extra 5 hours that they put into the job.

reply to post by Question


That is a really good point, and I have definitely thought about this before. The choice between doing what you think is expected of you by others or following what brings you real joy is a difficult one for many people. I know my father probably had a sense of fear in him and so did not follow what he truly loved to do. Instead he now works the same job but gets paid decently. I am sure he would be so much happier if he had done the things that fed his soul.

Of course, events in our life occur that could change all our plans and place upon us burdens or responsibilities.

And while one may be dirt poor following these things, and while they may be very difficult to do at times, I personally have concluded that I must do them. In fact, when I do not feed my love for the things I am passionate about, I lose a part of me, and something lacks.

an interesting point. It seems that it is a health problem, probably because of radiowaves or smth.

Actually, I do have dark "rings" under my eyes, and although it's definitely not one of the severe cases, its not quite mild either. In all honesty I don't know why I have it. I don't overwork myself and I do get 8 hours of sleep almost all the time (although late-sleeping habits might play a role). In fact, I've been trying to get rid of them and can't seem to.

One thing I have noticed however, is that some days it is lighter and some days it is darker. I have not tried any medication but I have read that a lot of folks attribute it to genetics. I don't know, but I want to get rid of it

reply to post by Nyorai


It's not just sleep deprivation (although that is no small matter), but it also signifies liver and/or kidney problems. Sad but simple.

I don't think there's any conspiracy there.

I find people that are workaholics by choice that slave at their jobs are generally uncreative, or unimaginative people or not terribly intelligent. They use work to give them direction, as a means of a social life, and a reason for living.
(this is different from being a good employee)

How many time have you people heard this:
"I may as well work tomorrow (day off) or stay late as I have nothing better to do".

As for myself, I tell these people: "F-that! I find that work gets in the way of the things that I really want to do, If I won the lottery I can guarantee I won't be showing up for work the next day"!
There is just too much I want to do, and not enough time, or energy after working and ass busting to fulfill my dreams.

I would find lots to do.

As far as dark circles under the eyes, my boss has them, probably doesn't get enough sleep, and makes it no secret that he drinks a lot.

I have dark circles under my eyes and have been feeling crampy lately. So maybe it has something to do with hormonal changes. The coloration appears more pronounced as I got older. So maybe age is a factor.

Interesting. So we have liver/kidney problems, awkward sleep habits, overwork, little sleep and rest, age, depression, alcohol, genetics...

I still think that the chemicals in our environment and those that we consume (food, etc) play a role in this.

It could be caused by certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

reply to post by Nyorai


couldn't agree more. Unforseen circumstance will definetely have a huge impact if for example your wife got pregnant, now you can't pursue a film career more vigorously because now you'll have to worry about not only your wife, but your child.

As for me, I'm trying to continue pursuing a film career at least part time while I continue working. It's hard though because I can't dedicate as much time as I'd like behind the camera, but if I don't, I'll be in debt very quickly. My brother is an aspiring musician and he has even bigger burdens (family of three, works longer hours etc.) yet somehow he manages to at least do music competitions.

" You may be surprised to learn that fatigue usually isn't the cause of dark circles. Instead, the most common cause is nasal congestion. When your nose is congested, veins that usually drain from your eyes into your nose become widened (dilated) and darker.

Another cause of undereye circles is eyelid swelling during sleep. When you lie down, gravity can cause fluid to collect in your lower eyelids. This swelling may create the appearance of shadows below your eyes. In addition, dark circles can result from chronic skin conditions, such as atopic eczema. Dark circles can also run in families "

www.mayoclinic.com...


it is possible that there is nothing more to this than the scientific observation given...

Many of the above postings are true to the cause of blackness under the eyes. The primaries, I would say, is to little sleep and to little exercise.

The natural way to gid rid of them, will be to remove some of the earlier reasons posted, from your life.

There are some simple helping ways, to remove them also...if you want to give it a go i'll tell you:

Try this for a week and see the difference:

every evening just before sleep, but a slice of cucumber over each eye, making sure they cover the black/swolling area. remove them after 3 - 5 minuts.

Every morning before shower, rub the halfcirle shaped "bone" under your eyes from one side to the other gently for 1 minut.

This will cause a clearense of the waste asampled there and make the blackness disapear.

Good luck... conspiracy...that depends if your are letting you self be run by the system or if you are running your own life?