With everything going on in the World today, it is now more important than ever to focus on health. Although Covid-19 is a disease that physically affects a person’s body, the chain reactions of the global pandemic have caused many other problems for people, specifically in regard to one’s mental health. Therefore, it is important to discuss and understand certain underlying factors that greatly contribute to the wellness of your mental state and overall well-being such as your environment. As a small town girl from Augusta, GA, moving to the city has definitely brought some factors of mental health to my attention.
While living in a city, such as Atlanta, has many benefits like more opportunities, more adventure, more people, and bigger events to improve mental health, the excitement can easily become overwhelming and add to the negative sides of living in the city such as the increase in danger, the fast-paced lifestyle, harder access to healthy foods, and more people.
This image is titled “Entrance to the City” and I couldn’t think of a better name to call this piece of artwork. The hustle and bustle of city life when at first glance can seem new and exciting for most. However, after gazing at this picture for a while, I start to feel a tad overwhelmed by all the chaotic movement occurring.
Negative Affects of Living in The City:
Now, let’s start off with the cons to mental health of living in the city, specifically living in Atlanta.
Higher Crime Rates:
Atlanta has a higher rate of crime in comparison to other cities in Georgia. In fact, according to area vibes, “in Atlanta you have a 1 in 19 chance of becoming a victim of crime” and “violent crimes in Atlanta are 103% higher than the national average”. While the total crime per 100k people in Georgia was 2,717, it was 5,423 in Atlanta last year (AreaVibes Inc., 2021). Even though a person may not be directly involved in an act of violence or crime, the presence can cause much anxiety to some, especially young females who live in Atlanta. There is more of a need for not only women, but everyone to be a little bit more defensive and “on-guard” as they roam the streets of Atlanta.
Fast-Paced Lifestyle:
This picture is the view of the Atlanta highway from the North Avenue Apartments. To me, this picture accurately represents the chaotic lifestyle of Atlanta….always moving…. everyone on the go….. always having something to do or someone to see.
First off, I just want to say that I do not believe that fast-paced lives are necessarily bad or detrimental to mental health. However, I do believe that often fast-pace lifestyles can lead to stress and anxiety if not balanced in the right way. Too often, I see people walking extremely fast or running to get somewhere. This constant feeling of always having somewhere to be can take a toll on one’s mental health as it stems from a sense of stress and anxiety. While a little bit of stress is good in one’s life, constant exposure is not good and can have serious health effects. Living in a city offers more of a fast-paced lifestyle and it is very easy to become caught up in the rush of everyone else.
Limited Access to Healthy Foods:
I have always been a firm believer in the saying, “you are what you eat”. Though this is a silly, old saying, there is more and more evidence that correlates one’s nutrition with not only their physical health, but also mental. Healthcare is a basic human right and therefore access to healthy foods should also be included in that right. Unfortunately many cities are what as known as food deserts, which is a term used to describe a location where the people do not have access to clean, healthy foods. According to Ross Terrell, a reporter for the GPB news, “more than a third of Atlanta is considered a food desert” (Terrell, 2019). Without access to healthy foods, the citizens of Atlanta are forced to venture elsewhere such as fast food or just not eating at all. This has extremely detrimental on one’s mental health and is a problem that needs to be fixed in Atlanta.
So Many People:
This picture probably looks extremely strange to many people today… “where are all their masks?” you may be thinking or “Covid-19 could never handle all those people in one place”. However, if you live in a city, you will come into contact with more people… it is just a fact.
Regardless of who you are or where you live, you cannot deny the fact that cities are crowded full of people… that is the basic definition of a city. To some, this can be a great thing, However, to others, the amount of people constantly surrounding them can be overwhelming. On the other hand, bing surrounded by tons of people all the time can sometimes have the ironic effect of making one feel extremely alone as though they are just another individual lost in a sea of people. This is why having many people living in a city can be seen as either an advantage or disadvantage, depending on how the person deals with social events. There is also another side of the excess of people living in the city. Since moving to Atlanta from Augusta I have noticed an extremely high number of homeless people. Yes, I have seen a homeless person before living in Atlanta, but I had never seen homelessness on this sort of scale. In that regard, to me at least, I think it can be a bit depressing to see these people suffering on the side of the road and feeling as though there is little to nothing that I can do about it.
I took this picture on the Beltline of Atlanta and feel as though it captures the chaos of Atlanta with the grafiti and how the people of Atlanta express their emotions through art, much like modernists did..
Positive Effects of Living in the City:
Onto the better and more positive aspects on mental health of living in a city…
More Opportunities and More Adventure:
It is no question that moving to a city offers every person more opportunity… opportunity for anything that they want. Every time I am walking around Atlanta, it seems as though there is always something new happening. There are always new openings for jobs, new restaurants opening up to try, and new places to adventure. This never ceasing opportunity is a form of hope that every citizen of Atlanta has access to right outside their doors. Sometimes just the idea of a city and everything that awaits inside it excites and motivates me. For a lot of people, the city presents opportunity to whatever dream they have in their minds and goals in their life.
This picture was taken from Willage and just reminds me of all of the opportunity and hope that the city of Atlanta holds.
More People:
Ah, yes…. the other side to having people constantly around you. If you are like me, then you are probably an extrovert who likes to have little time on their own. For me, being around people forces me to get outside of my own head and I love meeting and interacting with those around me. People can teach each other many things and help each other and connections are always important in life. Having a social life is also extremely important to mental health, because when a person is isolated and alone…guess what… they tend to start feeling isolated and alone. This is why for many, living in a city is great, because there are so many people and you can always find someone to do practically anything with. Again this is a complicated point, because at the same time, not everyone is like me and some people really hate being in large crowds or find that being around people can be overwhelming, which is totally understandable. However, for people like me I would say that there are more advantages to having people around than to not.
Bigger Events:
This point could also just be a perspective one, but growing up in Augusta I always felt like nothing ever happened. There were no big concerts, no huge shopping malls, no big aquariums to visit, no zoos, etc. These sort of things allow for people to have an outlet from their routine of life that can sometime feel boring. This is very important and beneficial to mental health, because many people today have feelings of being “stuck” in life. Being “stuck” in life is just another way of saying that you are not growing in some way and a great way to grow is by trying something new. In this sense it is beneficial to live in a city, because there is always something new to try or do.
In conclusion:
I find this picture extremely fitting with the overall theme of this blog post. For example, the outsider’s view of the city is beautiful and yet the artist makes the painting of grays, whites, and blacks.
This shows how every city, including Atlanta, is not without its faults and that the city can be an exciting, amazing place to live as long as one can handle the negative aspects to city life. In the end, no matter how Atlanta affects you, it is all what you make of it and how you grow through whatever problems or experiences the city throws at you.
Sources:
I really liked your blog and thought it was very well structured with how you listed positive and negative aspects to life in the city. I wonder how different cities in the US would stack up against each other if you went through all of the different aspects you listed. I also really felt the part about healthy eating because whenever I’m going out to eat I am always tempted to try something new that sounds good, and this is rarely the healthy choice. Having grown up in a more suburban area outside of Atlanta, I definitely understand where you are coming from. I also felt as if there was never anything going on in my hometown and there was nothing to do. Thats why I think its good to move to the city for college and get to experience a different lifestyle for a few years and see if that’s somewhere you want to live for the rest of your life or not. I think everyone has sort of an ideal environment based off the kind of person they are and what they are into, so city life can be super beneficial for some people like you said, or be more of a burden to others. Overall I thought your blog was very intriguing and beneficial to read.
Of course, mental health is always extremely important to an individual’s overall wellbeing, but especially with the negative effects of Covid-19 itself and the changes it has brought about, people are learning the necessity of actively seeking to improve and maintain their mental health. I like how you took advantage of the blog medium and sectioned your writing into categories from one point to the next. In reflection, I feel as though the typical audience for a blog would be more drawn to this type of structure, as it is very digestible and similar to many online article formats. I love that you mentioned the limited access to healthy foods, as people often overlook the intrinsic connection between physical and mental health even though they’re two sides of the same coin, and I’m now curious about how city life affects the average physical health of a person. I really enjoyed reading this blog post, especially as it is directly applicable to my daily life and written through the lens of the city of Atlanta.