All of us in the world seem to be more stressed than ever before. Everyone is focusing on health, wellness and diet. However, the most crucial aspect is often forgotten or not paid enough attention. This is stress management. Why do we say that this is vital? There are various studies done across the world which bring out the following:
– 90% of all young adults and teenagers have stress.
– 80% to 90% of all adults in all age groups have stress.
– This incidence of stress is common across age groups, social groups, economic strata, countries and races.
– The health impact of stress is getting more significant with each passing day. More than 80% of all diseases are caused or triggered due to stress. Some of these are cardiac problems, cholesterol related problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, ulcers, PCOS, asthma, migraines, body aches and even some types of cancers.
– Stress is probably the most significant challenge to the human race; as much as environmental and social issues.
What is stress?
Stress is the body’s response to some external condition, situation, catalyst or pressure which it views as a threat to it. The threat could be big or small. Could be fatal or not. It is enough that the body views it as negative. This results in upsetting the body’s internal functions causing various problems. These problems impact us negatively at the mental and physical levels.
Emotions a prime cause
Even though adverse situations today are not really life threatening, the body does not understand that and treats anything adverse as life threatening and reacts accordingly.
Example: Someone inadvertently pushes you on a subway. Your first instant reaction is anger or irritation. Your first instinct is to react and ‘tick off’ the person who has banged into you. This is a complete ‘non-event’ but the body will still react as if it is threatening and put into gear various survival mechanisms.
All such reactions and emotions of irritation, anger, anxiety, fear, sadness, need for control and power, greed and excessive ego lead to real and actual physiological stress. This in turn leads to various diseases.
How do we manage stress instantly?
Stress management is a long term approach requiring lifestyle changes, discipline and attitude shifts. These can be achieved by various techniques and by practicing true Yoga principles. However the bigger challenge is to manage stress instantly when faced with a sudden stress causing situation. If you are very angry, anxious or fearful, we also need to do something on an immediate basis. The following are the “Top 10 wellzee stress management things to do”. Each of these come with some guidelines. Please read them carefully and follow them to make a positive impact.
The Observation Stroll
– Stroll slowly around where you are. Be it the office, home, campus, cafeteria, street, etc. Consciously look for things which you did not notice before or something new.
– Try to look for at least 10 new things in 5 minutes and try to remember them. It could be anything under the sun.
Count Your Heartbeat Manually
– This is essentially your pulse rate. Now don’t use any implement or phone app for this. Do it yourself. Find and feel your pulse either on your wrist or at the side of the neck just below the bone area. You will find this throbbing vessel normally straight below the outer edge of your eye in the neck region. If you feel around a bit, you will find the correct spot. Now count the number of beats continuously for 5 minutes. If you miss a single beat, start all over again.
– Keep noting down the counts for every minute. E.g. 100 for the first minute, 90 for the second minute etc; and total. Maintain a tracker for this. Do this each time you are suddenly or severely in stress or anger. After every 3 such instances, keep observing the differences and trends in the pulse rate between minutes at a given time and between various situations. It will be quite interesting for you to see how your body responds.
Listen To Selected Instrumental Music
If you are listening to instrumentals, listen to something which has a rhythm or pace of less than 60 beats per minute. Ensure it is something soothing. Make sure there are no electronic sounds in the music. You have to hum along with the music.
Listen To Selected Songs
The number of beats in the song should be less than 60 beats per minute. Ensure that the lyrics are motivational, positive, non-violent and contain no abusive language. You have to hum along or sing softly.
Equal Breathing
Practice equal breathing. You should ideally do this sitting cross legged. You could also do this sitting on your chair or on a bench or even in a bus or train. Opt for our stress management program to learn these and various other techniques.
Focus On Your Breath
You should ideally do this sitting cross legged. You could also do this sitting on your chair or on a bench or even in a bus or train. You can opt for one of our Yoga programs to understand equal breathing.
Practice Trataka
You should do this in a stationary place only. You should ideally do this sitting cross legged. You could also do this sitting on your chair or on a bench.
Playing Cards With A Real Deck
– Play solitaire, blackjack or any other card game with yourself. Keep real playing cards and don’t play the computer versions of these games.
– Also try making card houses.
Games; Non Electronic & Non Computer
Explore games (but no online versions) like checkers, chess (you play both sides), scrabble or sudoku. Play with a lot of focus and as if you have participated in a real contest.
Hobby Or Interest
If you have some hobby or interest, get immediately engaged in it. Sketching, designing, practicing a language, playing an instrument, writing, singing, anything which is ‘offline’.
Shopping, eating, gossiping, sex, movies, serials, television and social media do not qualify as hobbies or interests.
These are the top things you could do when you are facing an adverse situation. These are instant things to do. However, as mentioned, long term stress management requires long terms solutions. If you want to know all about stress and how to manage it well, you can get your FREE STRESS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK ON WELLZEE.COM when you sign up.
