Stress Management

These days, stress is even more rampant than it was in 1983, when Time magazine declared it to be “the epidemic of the eighties.” Stress is growing and so is the health care cost for treatment of stressed employees. But what exactly stress is? Classically it is defined as - 'a non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it or to an external stimuli.' Generally speaking, “stress” refers to two simultaneous events: an external stimulus called a stressor, and the emotional and physical responses to that stimulus (fear, anxiety, surging heart rate and blood pressure, fast breathing, muscle tension, and so on). Stress is not always harmful. Good stressors (a ski run, a poetry contest) inspire you to achieve. In fact it is the spice of life. Only thing is that, one has to learn - how to cope with stress? Commonly stress refers to our internal reaction to negative, threatening, or worrisome situations-a looming performance report, role ambiguity in organization, a dismissive superior, rush-hour traffic, and so on. Oxford Dictionary defines stress as 'a state of affair involving demand on physical or mental energy'. Accumulated over time, negative stress can depress you, burn you out, make you sick, or even kill you. This is because, as our research shows, negative stress is both an emotional and a physiological habit. How to identify stress How to identify stress? In the human context, stress is synonymous with goal striving.It is by and large a matter of perception. Therefore it is impossible to measure stress completely because 1:- it never stops, and 2:- the complexity of stress – involving psychological and emotional and spiritual components does not allow complete disclosure of all processes. However with the help of some behaviour signals and mood signals we can identify stress levels. Causes of Stress Due to inability in coping with internal or external threats one falls prey to stress. • Much stress today is occurring through emotions such as aggressions, impatience and fear kindling the body’s stress responses. • Other causes could be unhealthy diet, smoking, drugs, improper work pattern and financial insecurity. But the most basic cause of stress, anxiety and depression is conflict of inner being - resulting from lack of noble aims and ideals in life, negligence of sentiments, life not in communion with Nature. Types of Stress Stress can be classified into two major types Eustress and Distress How to manage stress At one point or the other everybody suffers from stress. Relationship demands, physical as well as mental health problems, pressure at workplaces, traffic snarls, meeting deadlines, growing-up tensions—all of these conditions and situations are valid causes of stress. One problem with all stress management techniques is that while you are into it like getting relaxed on a vacation or taking time out from work to involve in physical activity or some yoga, once you return back to work, the body response again put them to stress some time under more stress than previously experienced. Study of human nature remained the main area of interest of rishis, who dwell deep into human psyche and experienced the true nature of Self - immortal, indestructible and ever blissful. The physical body merely being the instrument of the Self must be used as a tool to experience that ever blissful existence and elevate the level of consciousness.