Handout

=Slowing Down in a World Built For Speed=

The slow movement is spreading, many people have joined and are vowing to lead a more relaxed and slow life. They have even written a Declaration of Slow Rights:


 * Universal Declaration of Slow Rights:**

1. All human beings are born slow and have equal slow rights. 2. Everyone is entitled to all the slow rights set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as age, race, colour, sex, language, religion, opinion, geographic or social origin. 3. Everyone has the right to live slowly. 4. No one shall be held in the prison of fastness. 5. No one shall be forced to use motor-driven vehicles. 6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a slow person before the law. 7. Everyone has the right to recovery from acts violating the fundamental slow rights. 8. No one shall be subjected to advertising. No one shall be forced into consumerism. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference. 9. Everyone has the right to freedom of slow movement. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy conviviality in other places. 10. Everyone has the right to a slow identity. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his slow identity.

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When someone gets used too moving quickly and working as much as possible, they can put more and more things on their plate, worsening the effects of stress and tension. Burnout is a common thing found among workaholics and teenagers in many accelerated classes. Burnout is a sign that you need to slow down, and stop trying to take on so much at once. These facts are contirbutors to the opinion that as a people we move too fast:=====
 * Highly stressed teenagers are twice as likely to smoke, drink, get drunk and use illegal drugs.
 * Stress contributes to such life-threatening problems as heart attack, stroke, depression and infection, as well as to chronic aches and pains.
 * 62 % of Americans say work has a significant impact on stress levels.
 * 43% of adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.
 * 2/3 of all office visits to family physicians are due to stress-related symptoms.

**How you can slow down:**

 * Spend time with your family and friends
 * Relax
 * Organize your thoughts, take some time to think
 * Do something enjoyable or fun
 * Spend time with children/siblings with scheduling it
 * Think about the choices we make
 * Cherish life