PUBLISHED: 09-22-08

Scoop in the Loop

Second City comes first in stress

You really don’t have to look hard to see why Chicago was named the most stressful city in the United States by Forbes Magazine on Sept. 15.

While the angst-ridden standing is based on “quality of life indicators” such as rising unemployment rates, expensive gas, a high population density and relatively poor air quality, Chicagoans have to wonder how it’s possible to neglect the trials of the daily commuter and all the crazy characters this city has to offer.

In the South Loop:

When I’m walking around campus, for example, dodging the ever-increasing construction sites, I can only imagine how other commuters work the maze of inaccessible sidewalks. Deciphering the inconsistent train and bus station closures seems to be an acquired skill as well.

Further up on State Street, in front of Old Navy, I’ll cringe thinking about passing that microphone-armed preacher telling me I’m going to hell for God knows what. He once called me an “abomination” and told me that I should repent. Whenever I pass him, I pray he doesn’t notice me and point me out again.

On the Magnificent Mile:

North Michigan Avenue is by far the worst, however. It’s awfully difficult attempting to make it through the crowds of slow-walking tourists and suburbanites staring blankly at street performers in metallic paint and the plastic bucket-beating musicians. Most “locals” probably develop heated animosity toward tourists waddling on this shopping strip.

I always find myself coming up with new ways to avoid various organizations soliciting on North Michigan Avenue, hitting me up for money. Even before the bums get to me, Children International, Greenpeace, Environment Illinois and Streetwise vendors seem to think I’m made of money because they always manage to obstruct my path.

When I worked on North Michigan Avenue, I remember frequently dodging fur protesters carrying gruesome picket signs while I’m trying to get to work. Since I worked below a fur salon, it was a bit nerve-wracking listening to their catchy chants until cops broke them up. The cries of protesters shouting over bull horns became a common occurrence.

In Lakeview:

Outside the obvious tensions of the downtown area, every neighborhood carries its own unique annoyances. Where I live, in Lakeview, the Red and Brown lines become inundated with loud, drunken Cubs fans during baseball season.

I usually have to go out of my way not to bump surly frat boys and foam-fingered tourists. What’s worse is coming home, tired from work, only to find elevated rail cars packed to the brim with sweaty drunks. It got to the point where I would schedule my closing shifts around the Cubs home games.

Ultimately, one of the harshest realizations I’ve made since living in Chicago is that there’s no pleasing 2.8 million people tightly packed together in a highly segregated city. Although Chicago is set up more like a cluster of small villages than a metropolis of skyscrapers, we still lack that smile-at-a-stranger connection you’d expect from Midwest residents.

According to the Forbes analysis of stressful cities, Edward Hallowell, a former professor at Harvard Medical School and founder of the Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health in Massachusetts, said general security issues are what manifest anxiety.

Hallowell said some stress is common in large cities that he describes as “human beehives,” but when one is feeling anxious and stressed it’s best to look to friends and family to cope throughcommunication.

It seems that in largely populated cities, without a general connection to the people around you, catching a break from social anguish is too far out of reach.

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