MANAGING STRESS

The consequences of allowing stress to rule our life are not only emotional. Physical structures throughout the human body take a beating. Tiny spines on the dendrites of brain nerve cells are worn away by the effects of stress hormones. Stress also affects the immune response and is associated with increased fat around the organs, which is a serious health risk. A zone at the tail-end of each chromosome, called a telomere, unravels as we age. In recent years, scientists have found that when we are under stress, telomeres come apart more quickly.

The good news: For most of us, avoiding this onslaught of harm may be as simple as spending focused time with loved ones, and learning to consciously dwell on the positive things in our lives. A life of contentment doesn’t come from external sources. We have to create it through our own thoughts and actions. People under chronic, extreme stress may require more involved interventions to avoid serious health effects. But taking a deep breath and appreciating what we have is a good first step for all of us.

As professionals, managers and leaders, what advice can you share with others about managing stress in your professional lives?

Whenever there is a disconnect between the world and our expectation of it, the outcome is stress. When there is a disconnect between our outer being and our inner being, once again the outcome is stress. Pretence and losing the connect from within again leads to stress.

The fight or flight syndrome is the biggest stress producer. The way to silence this is through:

a) Eating well and on time
b) Excersing: The excuse of having no time is a pattern of resistance
c) Spend time with friends and alone too (walk in the park is not a bad idea)
d) Keep learning and studying (a language, a new skill)
e) Sleep 7 to 8 hours
f) Criticise no one and blame no one; accept responsibility ALWAYS!
g) Speak less and only if you have to.
h) Wake up with a prayer and say something nice
i) Appreciate your spouse or partner and do more than you get
j) Try and go blank (let the noises in your head die out).

Stress, is more often than not self inflicted and leaves one with a feeling of being stuck in the rut. Losing one’s self esteem is stressful too and often comes when one feels threatened with ones surroundings or peers. So let go and empower your own self from within. There is nothing out there. We are all space time events and probabilities of existence; constructs of our own consciousness. But then our logical mind and our penchant for rational thinking always come in the way. That is a pattern too.

Stress produces Cortisol (negative emotion releases a biological toxic chemical called Cortisol) and causes pain. Smiling releases Serotomin a chemical that has a calming effect on your mind – the perfect antidote for stress.

If you worry about a trouble, it becomes double. But when you smile at it, it disappears like a bubble.

Yoga and meditation have long been known to help people eliminate stress, be mindful of others and approach situations with peace. Bringing those skills to our work environment can be a crucial factor in our personal and professional success.

We are worried about our physical future, financial future and family future and are materialistic. We call anxiety nowadays as “Stress”. We have to move from distress to destress for which we have to read Vedas. Vedas help us in discovering Peace, Security and Happiness. Saraha of Vedas is the Scripture called “Bhagavad Gita”. Bhagavad Gita gives peace, Security and Happiness. If we have all these three then Life becomes an asset. If we lack these three things then Life becomes a liability.

Thus we can see that Smile, Yoga and Meditation and reading Scriptures like Bhagavad Gita will help us confront life and destress ourselves. Let us take passion in whatever we do and also be happy with ourselves and create a stress free work.

S.SEKAR

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com