🌼GIVE NO CHANCE TO STRESS
By J.Adil
Give
your stress wings and let it fly away.
(Terry
Guillemets)
Be like a little kid, with no stress,
no worries laugh and dance it out!
Stress is a natural part of
life and to a certain extent it is fine, fascinating and motivating
but too much stress leads to problems like high blood pressure,
weight gain and heart issues.
According to the MedlinePlus
US National Library of Medicine; Stress is a feeling of emotional or
physical tension.
It can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry or nervous. Stress is your body´s reaction to a challenge or demand.
Stress
is classified into two types; Acute and Chronic stress
.
Acute
stress is short time stress which goes away quickly and chronic
stress lasts for a longer time.
Examples of acute stress; fight
with your partner or ski down a steep slope etc.
Examples of
chronic stress; money problems, unhappy married life or problems at
work.
If you don‘t find ways to manage stress, it may lead to
health problems.
Your negative thoughts can affect your health
in ways you may not realize. Besides, it matters what your habitual
thought patterns are. (But don´t worry, you can change them!)
The
physical and mental factors which cause tensions in the body such as
muscle pain, tiredness, anger, digestive dilemma and sleeping
difficulties are signs of stress.
Verily, with every
hardship comes ease.
(QURAN Al-Insharah,
5-6)
On no soul do we place a burden greater than
it can bear.
(QURAN Surah
Al-Baqra 23:62)
Anxiety and depression are
extensions of stress.
Anxiety is immense worries that don´t go
away while depression encompasses sadness, disinterest, hopelessness,
feeling bad and guilty, restless and irritable, annoyance etc.
You
have to keep in mind that the persons in your life should be a source
of reducing stress but not causing it.
So do not fear,
for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will
strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous
right hand.
(BIBLE
Isaiah 41:10)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your understanding; in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
(BIBLE
Proverbs 3:5-6)
There is a deep relation between
stress depression and anxiety.
a) Stress is a feeling
which comes when you are under pressure for a long duration of time
and too much stress makes you exhausted.
b) Anxiety is a sense
of fear and worries which warns you of forthcoming troubles.
c)
Depression always brings you in low moods and dis-interest in
everything you like and keeps you away from others. It also brings
changes in your sleep, appetite and motivations.
The
common signs of stress are;
1) Lack of concentration in any
kind of activity
2) Difficulty in getting sleep and staying
awake
3) Memory problems and feeling angry
4) Often getting
sick, body pains, headaches and a variation in eating habits.
The
common signs of depression for (at least two to three weeks) are;
1)
Hopelessness and sadness
2) Keeping away from other persons
3)
Loss of interest in all activities and feeling restless
4)
Guilty feelings and suicidal thoughts
5) Angry and ardent
feelings
6) Loss of energy and motivations
The common
signs of anxiety are;
1) Feelings of panic and fear
2)
Feeling worthless and helpless
3) Feeling in danger and
nostalgia
Stress is linked with Insomnia (a sleep
disorder) as well;
Insomnia is an inability to sleep and
is connected with stress. The stress produces different bodily
reactions in the brain, nervous system, immune system and
hormones.
The brain and bodywork as if on alert and this
state is known as hyperarousal which is the central operator of
insomnia. According to different scientific models, hyperarousal is a
function of cognitive factors and neurophysical elements, specific
reactions in the nervous and endocrine system. In general,
hyperarousal is caused by various types of stress in the brain and
the body.
Research studies have found that all types of
stress can harm sleep quality. The good news is that insomnia can be
treated in different ways.
How to deal with stress and
depression according to help guide.org
1) Exercise;
physical activity releases endorphins, the feel-good chemicals in the
brain and
improves your ability to sleep which reduces
stress.
2) Laugh; Laughter decreases stress hormones and
releases endorphins to promote an overall sense of well being.
3)
Learn something new; Learning a new language or hobby builds
confidence which helps deal you with stress.
4) Avoid alcohol
and drugs; Alcohol and drugs give temporary relief from stress but in
the long term, they make your problems worse.
5) Volunteer;
Volunteering or community work or helping others in need can help to
reduce your stress.
6) Breathing exercise; Deep breathing
increases the supply of oxygen to the brain and triggers the body‘s
relaxation response, which promotes a state of calmness.
7)
Meditate; Meditation allows you to focus your thoughts and calms the
worries in your mind causing stress.
Taking steps to manage your
stress on your own can help prevent depression.
According
to HelpGuide.org >Harvard;
Stress can also lead to emotional
problems, depression, panic attacks or other forms of anxiety and
worry.
Gastrointestinal disorders are linked with stress;
The
gastrointestinal system is very sensitive to emotions, anger,
anxiety, sadness, and excitement. These factors can all trigger in
the gut (gastrointestinal tract or digestive tract).
There are
close connection and similarities between the nerves in the brain and
the gut.
The gut is controlled by the enteric nervous
system(ENS), a complex of about 100 million nerves that oversees
every aspect of digestion. It is strongly influenced by the central
nervous system and by the gut.
According to laboratory
experiments, the digestive system responds to emotional arousals and
mental stress.
Stomach acid secretion can increase, which may
lead to heartburn and inflammation of the oesophagus. Stress can also
cause a contraction in the small intestine and colon and influence
the rate at which food travels through the gastrointestinal tract
worsening irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Furthermore,
stress plays a role in many cases of asthma.
As you breathe in,
air passes through the bronchioles (small airways inside the lungs)
to air sacs called alveoli, where oxygen from the incoming air is
passed into the bloodstream.
Meanwhile, blood returning to the
lungs gives up carbon dioxide, which collects in the alveoli and is
drawn back through the bronchioles to be expelled as you breathe
out.
As
a result, stress and intense emotions, such as fear or anger, can
trigger asthma attacks (combats of breathlessness and gasping) in
some people who have asthma.
Also, cold weather and exercise can
do the same.
Some of the key risk factors of stress are genetic
tendency, exposure to certain allergens, viral infections, raised
levels of certain allergy markers in the blood and intense family
stress early in life.
Laughter is a great stress reliever in
that it´s fun, easy and free. It´s also effective even before it
happens! New research shows that even only expecting or awaiting
laughter can affect stress hormones in a positive way which impacts
your health in an optimistic move.
According to
helpguide.org Stress Management;
Improve your ability to
handle stress:
1) Get moving, regular exercise can lift
your mood. Your body can fight stress better when it is fit.
2)
Connect to others, spend time with people who improve your mood. It
helps to calm your nervous system and trigger relieves hormones.
3) Engage your senses, another fast way to relieve stress is by engaging one or more of your senses- sight, sound, taste, smell, touch or movement. The key is to find the sensory input that works for you. For instance, listening to a song makes you feel calm? Or smelling coffee? So experiment to find what works best for you.
4) Boost your resilence, becoming more flexible doesn´t necessarily happen overnight, but with some practice, you can work to optimize your response to stress.
Science-based strategies like reframing
your thoughts, carefully facing your fears, employing
self-compassion, meditation and practising forgiveness can all
provide a noticeable boost to your resilience.
5) Find time to exercise, as daily exercise can help reduce stress and make it easier to get quality sleep. It also gives other benefits for your health.
6) The concept of sleep hygiene is to focus on how
to use your habits and routines to your advantage when it comes to
sleep.
It also includes optimizing your sleep environment so
that you can relax and rest easy when you turn in for the night.
7) Upgrade your sleep hygiene; Avoiding caffeine late afternoon, setting consistent sleep schedule and following same bedtime routine every night. Also making your bed comfortable and supportive and your bedroom free of excess external light or sound that might be disruptive.
8) Get your rest because feeling tired can increase stress by causing you to think irrationally. At the same time, chronic stress can disrupt your sleep.
Whether you are
having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night, there are
plenty of ways to improve your sleep so that you feel less stressed
and more productive and emotionally balanced.
9) Learn to
relax, you can´t eliminate stress from your life, but you can
control how much it affects you.
Relaxation techniques such as
yoga, meditation and deep breathing activate the body to de-stress.
When practised regularly can reduce your
everyday stress levels and also increase your ability to stay calm
and collected under pressure.
10) Learn to say ´No´. A
common cause of stress is that many people will still agree to take
on additional responsibility. Learning to say ´No´ to additional or
unimportant requests will help to reduce your level of stress and may
also help you develop more self-confidence.
11) Be
assertive instead of aggressive and keep a positive attitude. Accept
that there are events that you cannot control.
12) Manage
your time; At times, we all feel overburdened by our list of tasks
which is a common cause of stress. Accept that you cannot do
everything at once, therefore prioritise your tasks.
13)
Get enough rest and sleep. Your body needs time to recover from
stressful events. Don´t rely on alcohol, drugs or compulsive
behaviour.
14) Rest if you are ill. If you are feeling
unwell do not carry on with your illness. A short spell of rest will
enable the body to recover fast.
15) Eat a healthy diet!
Eating refined carbohydrates and sugary snacks can worsen symptoms of
stress, while a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables,
high-quality protein and omega 3 fatty acids can help you better cope
with life´s ups and downs.
There are stress management
techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person level of
stress especially chronic stress for everyday
functioning.
CONCLUSION
Understand stress and learn how to de-stress yourself in different ways and different situations following the guidelines and tips given from the HelpGuide.org >Harvard and other sources. De-stress for progress to lead a stress-free and healthy life.
In
my opinion, everyone has more or less stress but to de-stress
yourself for progress is a great thing. De-stress yourself by helping
others in stress, to reduce their stress.
Disclaimer:
The contents expressed in this article or blog are author´s personal
views only and are at the sole discretion of the reader to agree or
disagree and in no way constitute any direct or indirect obligation
of the author in the way it perceived or practised. The author
strongly recommends readers to disregard any part of the content
deemed to interfere with the reader´s well being.
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