Demystification Stress!

What is Stress?

We hear the word so often nowadays that the actual meaning of the term has been misinterpreted a whole lot often. Simply defined stress is a response to any external stimulus that disturbs our mental or physical equilibrium or in other words a change can put our body’s reflex system into action. We under go long term, short term, positive, negative, minor, major as well as real and perceived changes throughout our lives. We go through a change everyday even when we are performing our routine tasks.

Stress as a response mechanism is not bad, in fact it is essential for survival. In all animals this stress response can be life saving when chemicals and hormones are released in face of predatory threat. This puts us in a ‘’fight or flight’ where bodily functions which may not be essential for immediate survival are suppressed such as digestive, reproductive and excretory while also lowering immunity.

Different people feel stressed in different ways though our body’s response to this stress is pretty much the same. For example some might feel urge to eat while others might lose their appetite. Once the threat passes, normal functioning of these processes is restored. But when the stress is chronic and goes on for too long, the response to it also continues for long.

Types of Stress:

• Stress related to pressures from day to day routine and responsibilities
• Stress brought on by sudden or major changes in life, mostly negative changes
• Stress caused by some traumatic event like accident, natural etc

Dealing with Stress:

Stress can build up over time which can in turn lead to serious effects on your mental as well as physical health. There are simple ways to bust routine stress but tackling traumatic stress can be above and beyond individual capacity and may require professional help. This may be due to several reasons such as lack of an understanding of one’s problems and ways of dealing with it, unavailability of familial support, social stigma etc.

• Concentrate on keeping yourself healthy-physically and mentally. Eat a balanced diet to keep yourself light and fresh. Also inculcate a habit of walking or doing gentle exercises like yoga or meditation to boost your mood.
• Keep yourself in company. Stay in touch with friends, family and try to enroll yourself into social groups, religious organizations or hobby clubs.
• Try and keep a check on bodily changes like difficulty in sleeping, fatigue, irritability or increased substance use, to start changing these things one step at a time.
• Learn to say no politely. Turn down new tasks if you think they are going to put a burden on you.
• Set priorities when it comes to family and work responsibilities. Spend time and travel with people you love.
• Avoid thinking about the past- what was, what could have been, problems and mistakes. If you want to change for better then accept them and move on, you know you cannot change what happened by going over them in loops inside your mind.
• Seek help for a counselor/ psychologist/psychiatrist if you think that your state of mind is overwhelming you and you are unable to cope with it individually. Sometimes the ability to talk to someone with a non-judgmental attitude and requisite knowledge about mental health conditions can do a lot to put us at ease.