The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to chose one thought over the another
Stress is a natural feeling to cope with any situation which is impacting our physical, emotional, and/or psychological state.
STRESS is a common word nowadays. But we do not know why it is happening and even if we know the reason why it is happening, we don’t know how to manage it. Basically, stress is our body’s reaction /natural feeling towards and demand, challenge, or unacceptable situation.
Let’s dig deeper into it and try to understand what is STRESS, how it happens and how our body reacts to it.
Broadly stress can be acute or chronic. Acute stress stays for a short term and goes away on its own and happens in a situation like- having an argument at the office or with a partner or when you slope down a steep slope. It helps us in managing the situation. It also happens when we do something really exciting. Chronic stress happens for long-term issues like- financial loss, unhappy marriage, and unhealthy work culture. Most of the time, people are so used to such situations that they do not even realize that they are going through stress.
Chronic Stress can be further divided into –
- Physical Stress– It happens because of any trauma ( Physical injury/surgery), environmental pollution ( Pesticides, Radiation, Noise, and Radiation)
- Psychological Stress– It happens because of emotional stress (resentments, fears, frustration, sadness, anger, grief/bereavement) 2-b.cognitive stress (information overload, accelerated sense of time, worry, guilt, shame, jealousy, resistance, attachments, self-criticism, self-loathing, unworkable perfectionism, anxiety, panic attacks, not feeling like yourself, not feeling like things are real, and a sense of being out of control/not being in control), and 3. perceptual stress (beliefs, roles, stories, attitudes, world view)
- Psychosocial Stress– When we face -relationship/marriage difficulties (partner, siblings, children, family, employer, co-workers, employer), lack of social support, lack of resources for adequate survival, loss of employment/investments/savings, loss of loved ones, and bankruptcy.
- Psycho-spiritual Stress– When we don’t understand our values, meaning, and purpose of life, joyless striving (instead of productive, satisfying, meaningful, and fulfilling work; and misalignment within one’s core spiritual beliefs.
If we do not manage our stress effectively, it takes a toll on our bodies and results in health complications-
| Physical | Emotional / Cognitive | Behavioral |
|---|---|---|
| Asthma Headaches Migraines Back pain Sweating Nausea Indigestion Chest pain Fatigue Sleep disorders Weak immune system Poor diet and exercise habits | Worry Irritability Anger Loss of motivation Difficulty concentrating Mood instability Decreased sex drive Memory problems Heart disease Anxiety disorders Skin diseases | Nail biting Constant thoughts about stressors Restlessness Teeth grinding Disrupted sleep Interpersonal conflict Social withdrawal Substance use Procrastination Depression Memory impairment |
To manage our stress in the first place we should identify our stressors ( reason for getting stressed). Once we identify them we can follow below practices-
- Resilient – follow being resilient, which really helps in overcoming stress. There are various qualities like- social support, optimism, a sense of humor and adaptability that contribute to being resilient.
- Relaxation– follow the relaxation technique. Assign daily relaxation practice as homework. It helps in overcoming stressful situations.
- Time management– focus on the priority of what to do, and prioritize your task by limiting distraction.
- Self-Care- take out time to do what you enjoy, set specific self-care goals, and practice to achieve the same. Make self-care a habit and do not stop it even if you are feeling good.
- Cognitive restructuring– Last but most important technique to overcome stress, is to restructure your thoughts regarding any situation, e.g.- instead of thinking “I have to be perfect all the time” we should focus on It’s ok If I am not perfect all the time.
Stress should be a powerful driving force, not an obstacle.