"This city is killing me." It doesn't matter what city you live in, if you live in a city, you've probably said that before. I often wonder what keeps me in New York City. Growing up in the suburbs, about an hour north of Manhattan, I felt stifled. The living was too easy. I yearned for crowds. I loved attention, I loved noise, and I loved the buzz of opportunity that sounds in every big city.

But once I got here, I was completely overwhelmed but the apparent constant state of chaos the city exists in. There's always a fire, always an arrest, always an accident. People shout into their phones to be heard over the sounds of people shouting on the streets. Cars and trucks drag their weight over potholes and cracks in the road. It's always loud. The subways are either full or late. The food is either dirty or expensive. The crowds are either excited or angry. The people on the streets are mostly indifferent or ambivalent.

Just one day in the city will likely cycle through anger, disappointment, anxiety, stress, frustration, and mania. You go through so much in one day that by the time it's time to tell someone you love how your day was over dinner, you can't remember half of the things you did. There's no 'off' button for the city. You can buy blackout curtains. You can buy a noise-canceling machine. But you can't hide from the city when you're in the city. The city doesn't just change your perspective, but it affects your health, too. Here are seven ways the city endangers your well-being.