Stress Management

BY SUSHANT

All of us are living a fast paced demanding life, dealing with work pressure, home responsibilities, and other commitments all the time. We all live and deal with stress at some point or the other. Sometimes, this stress becomes a part and parcel of our life. However, managing stress is extremely important. Stress has a lot of harmful effects on our body and mind. People under stress often experience headaches, anxiety, depression, negative thoughts, nausea, anger, frustration etc. Hence to avoid these problems, maintaining stress is extremely important. You may feel that there is not much that I can do about stress however that is not quite true. You need to exercise regularly to keep stress at bay. Exercising is not the only thing that will help. One needs a change in ones routine and you need to inculcate a sense of positivity. You need to take charge of your thoughts, feelings and actions.

It is said that yoga, medication and breathing exercises are great ways to combat stress. The ultimate goal to manage stress is to lead a balanced life. Work is not everything in life. You need to make some time for recreation and leisurely activities that can calm and soothe your mind.

Some people say that you can manage stress by keeping a journal. Every time you get stressed, just note down in your dairy what caused you that stress. In this way you can identify the things and the people that stress you. Once you see this journal after some days you will realize that there are some common things that stress you. Identifying these things is half the job done. Now, note down your reaction and response to things that stressed you out. You will realize that an alternate peaceful action would have caused less stress. Write down that alternate action and what you can do to make yourself feel better whenever such situations arise.

One of the worse ways to deal with stress is to smoke and consume large amounts of alcohol. Also, avoid eating or sleeping too much when you are stressed because this will make you lethargic. Avoid sitting in front of the TV for many hours. Instead, choose healthier ways to manage your stress. First and foremost, you need to organize and plan your life to keep unnecessary stress away. For example, plan your day in advance – schedule meetings and be punctual for them, reach home on time from work, do not waste time gossiping etc. Always keep a to-do list with you to know what is it that is pending and how much can be achieved in a day. One thing that needs to be kept in mind is the fact that while preparing this to do list, be realistic and set achievable targets so that there is no stress. Learn to say no to certain things. As a human being, there is only so much that you can do. Do not expect too much out of yourself. Relax, rejuvenate and recharge yourself so that you can function more efficiently.