Say no to stress!
By: Puneet Ahuja
Stress-Buster
It’s not the load that breaks you down , but the way you carry it .
Stress is something that affects many people each and every day. Life is full of hassles, deadlines, frustrations, and demands. Stress can be very harmful or helpful. It could help motivate you to meet a deadline and perform a task under pressure. Stress can also be very harmful, such as memory problems, moodiness, aches and pains, and eating more or less. Stress is a natural feeling of not being able to cope with specific demands and events. However, stress can become a chronic condition if a person does not take steps to manage it.
Stress can be a motivator, and it can even be essential to survival. The body’s fight-or-flight mechanism tells a person when and how to respond to danger. However, when the body becomes triggered too easily, or there are too many stressors at one time, it can undermine a person’s mental and physical health and become harmful.
Talking about Stress , the first thing which comes to our mind is ,
IS STRESS PRODUCTIVE OR DESTRUCTIVE ?
When stress is handled effectively it provides the motivation which encourages people to overcome the obstacles which separates people from them goals and hopes. It can be helpful and pleasurable because stress can make people progress faster. Some stress is necessary because sometimes without it, people most likely slack off and waste times. It can help to keep us mentally alert and stable. It also can lead to satisfaction of accomplishment.
We can also say that stress is not always good . Some of us may not be able to deal with peer pressure and other things and this might lead us to depression, change in eating routine as well as sleep , etc . So , it is very important to find a proper stress buster as it will help you to improve your efficiency .
Now ,
What is STRESS-BUSTER ?
People must know how to dealing with stress. People need to learn to keep a balance with our body and our mind . Well , to maintain a balance with our body and our mind , or to handle mental health during tough times , we can perform certain activities which will help to reduce the pressure( or stress ), these activities can be termed as stress buster . It is really important for us to find an appropriate Stress Buster or else , stress can have dreadful effects .
Now , since we have known what is Stress Buster , let us discuss various Stress Busters .
NATURE IS THE BEST STRESS BUSTER
It is said , ‘ We do not see nature with our eyes but we understand it with our HEARTS ’ . Spending time in nature can help relieve stress and anxiety, improve your mood, and boost feelings of happiness and well being . Imagine yourself in a garden , surrounded by long palm trees , small bushes on the ground , bright colour flowers with their pleasant odour and the whole ground covered with wet grass . Thinking of being in that scenario gives me immense relief and calmness that I eventually want to be there . It can be a calming and regenerative exercise improving your mood and easing anxiety, stress, and depression. Many health care providers are giving their patients “nature prescriptions” to get outside for help treating a wide array of medical conditions, from post-cancer fatigue to obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes . If you are struggling with stress or managing a medical condition, some time spent enjoying nature can surely help .
LISTENING TO THE JINGLES
Music is the language of the soul. Where words end, music begins . Music is the best medicine when we feel sad . Whenever we feel low or depressed , we can easily switch to our best tunes or playlist and can listen to them endlessly . Music soothes us in a way nothing else can . While everyone responds to music in his own way, the benefits of music are universal. Everyone may not prefer the same music, but everyone can be healed by music. Music help us to express our exact emotion in an easy way . Nowadays, Music has never been so accessible, with all kinds of genres and artistes easily available on You tube, different apps .
Music has always been associated with emotions, and you will know better than anyone which songs in your favorite playlist which makes you smile and laugh . Anxiety, one of the most common, and most devastating, of all mental conditions, has become somewhat of an epidemic in modern-day society. So listening to music lowers down the stress level we suffers in our everyday lives. No matter whether you are suffering from emotional or physical stress , there’s a track for every occasion . If your sleeping pattern is messed up, you’re not getting enough sleep , listening to music could provide the answer you’ve been looking for . Listening to music can provide many of the answers and solutions you’re looking for, allowing you to live the life you want to live. So music is the solution of everything.
DANCING TO THE TUNES
Engaging in activities that you love can be a definite stress reducer. Many people start taking dance lessons as a hobby, and over time, they may also find that it makes them happier. Dance isn’t just dance , but it’s just something which is totally magical and it sets you entirely free . Dance can act like a ‘mini vacation’ from the stress of the entire day . Busy workplace , numerous calls and texts and immense amount of work can be very tiring and stressful , hence a person can opt to dancing which will surely act as a stress buster . If you are working at a crowded place and feeling stressful , go to a quiet place where no one is watching and start dancing to the tunes .This can also help you to think more clearly, lower your blood pressure, and improve your overall self-image. Not only is dance stress-relieving, but it also has many other health benefits such as improving memory, balance, flexibility, and easing depression. Dance also helps to express our emotions in the best way possible. There are feelings which can’t be spoken but can be expressed with dance . Many people have also confessed that they usually dance while taking shower and it acts like a proper stress buster for them .
Bust your stress with Dance . There’s nothing like a vigorous 45 minute session on the dance floor to loosen up that attitude and feel recharged .
RELATIONS AND LOVE
A Physician once said ‘The best medicine for human is Love .’ Someone asked ‘What if it doesn’t work’ . He replied ‘Increase the Dose ’
Talking to someone can also act like a stress buster . Having someone talk to you , no matter what time it is , no matter who it is , maybe your family member or your friend , it just gives us a feeling that we have someone to hold our backs and that we can always rely on them . Hence , no matter how big the problem is , knowing the fact that you have someone to hold your back , itself reduces lot of stress . Love does wonderful things for your state of mind, and it also offers natural stress relief. In healthy relationships, the power of love is strong enough to keep your heart happy and your mind and body healthy. A loving partner can share the responsibility of stressful situations, offer support, a listening ear, and advice when you need it. And when you need to remember happier, easier times, a loving partner can help with that as well.
Life presents many challenges and stressors, and you need someone there to support you through the difficult times — whether it’s a good friend, family member, spouse, or partner. And it’s equally important to have someone to share in happy times and celebrations. Take time to focus on the relationships in your life, and reap the benefits. Just knowing that you have love, support, and help from a loved one can give you positive stress relief.
MEDITATION AND YOGA
“ Deep sleep and meditation are the best medicine for a Disturbed Mind . ”
Meditation can wipe away the day’s stress, bringing with it inner peace . Meditation is considered a type of mind-body complementary medicine. Meditation can produce a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This process may result in enhanced physical and emotional well-being. When you meditate, you may clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.
Yoga is more than just stretching . Yoga poses are good exercise and can help loosen up the tense muscles in your body. The areas of the body that tend to carry the most stress are the neck, shoulders, and back. But other parts of the body (like the face, jaw, fingers, or wrists) also can benefit from simple yoga stretches. Yoga is so much more than just physical exercise, though. The key to getting the best out of each pose is to focus not only on your body, but also on your mind and breathing. Even a simple pose like mountain pose is a stress reliever when you focus on keeping your breathing slow and even, and visualize yourself as firm and steady as a mountain
Staying ‘In the moment.’
There is only one time and place where you can be and have any control over,The present moment . But most of the times , we are busy thinking about the happy past moments or the scenarios which may take place in future or maybe not but thinking about them in the present will only give stress and tension . We are told to live in the present and not to worry about the future . Well , we all should think little about the future and plan accordingly but thinking about it a lot will reduce your focusing power on the present work going on and may have a negative effect on your life .
Well , we all should deal one thing at a time and mainly the work which is going on in present . Pay full attention to your present and ignore all the dreadful fear about the future . Things may go South in the future but you can’t change it , so it’s better to concentrate on present and start giving your one hundred percent .
STAY NEAR ‘HAPPY STUFF ’
Try to surround yourself with stuff which makes you happy and gives you eternal pleasure . Have you ever walked into a room full of vibrant, bubbly and smiley people and instantly felt positive? I know I have on numerous occasions, even if prior to that I hadn’t been feeling all that fabulous. Similarly, have you ever found yourself surrounded by a group of negative, unhappy and fed up people? You’ll find that other people’s emotions will rub off on you and have an impact on the way you feel. You want to surround yourself with people who you love, who you are inspired by and who you can look at and think, ‘wow — they’re great and that’s why they’re in my life.’ “Your vibe attracts your tribe.”
It’s scientifically proven that your body language cuts out 80% of the negativity into the energy around you. So , try to have a good posture , sit straight , have a proper sleep , keep your shoulders upright and your head held high and try to be active . Once you start working or solving the issues , slowly the stress levels will start going down . Start doing things which gives you happiness . You may feel relaxed after sleeping or maybe working or dancing or anything which you can do for hours and not feel tried but do keep yourself around the things which actually keeps you healthy and happy .
SMILES and LAUGHTER
Holding smile on your face will reduce stress during difficult situations . Having a positive look to any situation holds the key to solving it .
Laughter does lots of good things for us. Laughing enhances job satisfaction and performance, especially for those who work in creative fields or rely on their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Laughing increases engagement, creativity as well as productivity .
To conclude , I can say that living a healthy and happy life has no procedure or a manual of guidelines to it. It is a lifestyle, not a process. No matter how much we have confused the definition of a happy life with how wealthy we are and how many trips can we afford in a year, a healthy lifestyle, on the contrary, remains all about being content in what you do and breathing in stress-free air. A major part that we ignore or rather avoid is the importance of a Stress-Buster and how effortlessly it contributes to our well-being. Stress-Buster, in any form, be it writing, sketching, painting, drawing, dancing, absolutely anything has proven to be great in terms of relieving us from stress and tension . We all have our busy schedules , we all have numerous calls to make or you might have to attend back to back meetings , but if you ain’t having a proper Stress-Buster , then you won’t be effective in all the meetings . Today , the world is growing , each day each hour , there are new updates , new discoveries and for you to make one of them , you need to be properly relieved from stress . How can you expect a person to work properly if he is not free from all the other things ? Hence , it is really important to find a proper Stress-Buster or maybe , some task which gives you eternal joy or something which you can keep on doing endlessly without being tired .
We talked about various Stress-Busters above but did you find a perfect one for you ?