A Few Things About Stress And Its Management.

           In today's lifestyle stress is the major reason for many of our problems.

 Basically, what is stress? - So say about it, stress is a natural human response that prompts us to deal with challenging situations in our lives. It is defined as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation. 
  

There are many types of stress and these include:

                 1. Physical stress - Often the most obvious form of stress. Common signs of it are headaches, noticing tension throughout your body, and getting sick more often than usual. You may also notice an increase in heart rate.

                2. Mental stress - Quite common, and fairly easy to recognize. Often presents itself in the form of memory problems, an inability to concentrate, or anxiety.

                3. Behavioural stress -  Indicated by the change in your typical habits, such as food intake (eating more/less than usual), sleep patterns, isolating yourself from others, or avoiding your typical responsibilities. More difficult to self-diagnose.

              4. Emotional stress - When the body is experiencing stress emotionally, it tends to prepare its “fight or flight” response, which can manifest in sneaky ways. This can include an increase in agitation and moodiness. It is also very difficult to diagnose.

         All these four types of stress are those which are identified by healthcare professionals. Managing them effectively can solve nearly 90% of our problems.

           Nowadays work-related stress is very common. This can be triggered even by a small message or an email or call from your workplace. If you are a student then the word EXAMS is more than enough to may you feel anxious. Feeling some tension is normal, especially when you are facing some challenging situations or if the deadline for your assignment submission is nearby. But when it becomes chronic it ends up affecting your physical as well as mental health. This may also sometimes affect your personal and professional life.

           Even if you do what you love, experiencing work strain, study-related stress, etc. is unavoidable. But it can be effectively managed by taking certain steps :

• Know about how it affects you - Stress can negatively affect our body. If you feel very exhausted or overwhelmed at the end of the day then take note of it. Long-term exposure to unmanaged stress can take a toll on your body and mental health, and recent research suggests a potential link between work-related burnout, depression, and anxiety.
  
  
    
• Identify what is bothering you and make a note of it - Try to figure out what are the stressors which trigger you. Write it down and also keep a record of it. Note your reaction to it, how did you feel? Think of ways to resolve the problem.  
• Take time to recharge and take care of yourself - Taking out a few minutes for yourself from your busy schedule is of great help to prevent burnout. During this step, you can do any activity of your choice ( singing, dancing, simple stretching, listening to your favorite song, reading a book or podcasts, writing, or taking a simple troll). Provide your body with nutritious food, proper rest, and care. Have fun and keep time aside for self-care on daily basis.
  
  
  
• Learn to manage your time effectively -  Prioritize your work. Do the most important work first and schedule the other things accordingly.
• Maintain a balance between personal and professional life - This is a very important key to a healthy lifestyle. Creating boundaries between work and home life will help you avoid potential stress.
• Re-evaluate negative thoughts - When you’ve experienced worry and chronic stress for an extended period of time, your mind may tend to jump to conclusions and read into every situation with a negative lens. Instead of making automatic judgments, try distancing yourself from your negative thoughts and simply observe.
• Whenever necessary relax and go on a vacation - Learning a few relaxation techniques like meditation, deep breathing exercises, and mindfulness and including its practice on a daily basis has been proven helpful in reducing your anxiety to an appreciable extent. Disconnecting yourself from the workplace and going on a vacation for a few days also helps us to rejuvenate ourselves and reduce strain.
  
  
  
• Stay out of workplace gossip - Conflicts in your workplace can cause emotional imbalance and further lead to stress and its sequelae. Staying away from gossipy situations can help you keep calm and away from negative thoughts.
• Don't hold too many things learn to let them go - Many a time we think that no one will understand us or we will be judged for some or the other reasons. But what we often forget is that No One Is Perfect and We Cannot Make Everyone Happy. Rather we can't control what other people think about us. So just learn to let things go and flourish the moment you are in and live it to the fullest.
• Seek Counselling - Being counseled doesn't always mean it is to be done by professional personnel. Discussing the problem and finding its solution with any of your close ones will also solve the purpose. But at any point, if you feel that you need professional personnel then just go for it, don't hesitate or be reluctant to do so. Doing this will make you feel much better and light. 
  
  
     

                     Practicing these steps can help you manage your stress to a certain extent. Low levels of stress will help you focus and concentrate more on creative thinking and enhance your overall personality. Spending some time in nature (at least 5 - 10 mins daily) will also be of great help.