Stress Management

In our daily lives we often utter the word ‘stress’ under various situations, though we hardly know what causes us stress or how to manage stress effectively. Stress generally arises out of different internal and external influences that affect our mind, body, and behaviour deeply. In order to know effective stress management strategies, we must identify various sources of stress at first.

Stress can get very hostile to suffering people. Mild stress is an admitted inclination for students and professionals, but extreme pressure is a therapeutic concern. Several medical researchers analyze regular yoga and exercise as a treatment for managing stress. Still, most people fail to develop proper exercise routines due to restrained work schedules. For this basis, the demand for the stress management/relief supplements market is on the rise.

Most people will continue to do fine in life so long as their coping skills exceed their stress level. For instance, a stress level of 56 relative to the above noted 68 on the coping side. In fact, most of will endure and get through even when stress goes above our coping level, so long as it comes back down reasonably quickly. It is vital that our stress level not exceed our coping abilities for extended periods of time or we fall prey to burn out and become susceptible to issues with depression and anxiety. This is what we see in clinical practice every day. We have good people who have become overwhelmed by stress levels that have exceeded what people can cope with on an on-going basis and it takes them down.

Download PDF Brochure, Click Here

Sources of Stress

Stress is generally experienced from four basic sources-

Environmental: Various environmental stressors like extreme weather, noise, pollution, crowding, traffic, unsafe and inferior living conditions etc. can influence us with intense, competing adjustment requirements.

Social: We can experience multiple stressors resulting from the demands of our various social roles as parents, spouses, caregivers and employees. Some examples of social stressors include deadlines, financial problems, job interviews, presentations, differences, time and attention demands, loss of a loved one, divorce and co-parenting.

Physiological: Physiological stressors may be experienced in situations and circumstances affecting our body. Examples of physiological stressors include disease, aging, accidents rapid adolescence growth, menopause, delivery, lack of exercise, poor nutrition, sleep disorders etc.

How to Manage Stress?

Before managing any kind of stress, we should know the exact causes behind the stress. Knowing the sources would be easier to manage stressors effectively.

Mindfulness: Mindfulness refers to the quality of being fully involved in the present moment, without overthinking or analysing the past experience. Instead of worrying about the future or living in the past, practicing mindfulness meditation focuses on what is happening. Meditation cultivates awareness and helps in reducing stress, anxiety, depression and other negative emotions effectively. Mindfulness is a potentially powerful strategy to reduce everyday stress causes such as, distraction, time pressure, agitation and interpersonal conflicts.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation: Progressive relaxation of muscles is another efficient and widely used stress relief strategy. It’s a great technique to reduce body tension overall. This involves a two-phase processes- tense and relax of the body muscles. Progressive muscle relaxation helps us to understand causes of tension and total relaxation ways.

Deep Breathing: Deep breathing is an effective self-relaxation technique. When we feel anxious, we tend to respire shallowly or even hold our breath. Breathing quickly limits your intake of oxygen and this adds additional stress to our body. Deep breathing reduces body tension and clears the mind and improves physical and mental well-being. The key to deep breathing is to breathe deeply from the abdomen and get as much air in the lungs as possible.

Thought Managing Techniques: Negative and scary thoughts always precede negative and scary emotions. The overall stress levels can be significantly reduced if negative thoughts can be controlled.

References:

http://www.brainwareuniversity.ac.in/blog/stress-management-during-lockdown/

https://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/stress-management-market/