18 th century: The age of Inventions
19 th century: The age of Revolutions
20 th century: The age of Technology
21 st century: The age of Stress
What is stress? An urge/call for action in a "Do/Die" situation. Stress is a defense mechanism used by the body when its survival is at stake.
But is the situation that gives you stress, really a "Do or Die"? This is the question which needs to be pondered and thought about.
During stress there is no thought process happening in the brain. The body has geared itself for a fight/flight response. This is characterized by hypothalamus injecting adrenalin hormone into the blood stream, high blood pressure, short and fast breathing, heartbeats get faster, eyes expand, muscles strengthen, no saliva, digestion stops, no appetite, stiff neck and shoulders, perspiration starts and the whole body is charged. This is stress in physiological sense. If the body stays in this state for a longer time, without doing anything to discharge the accumulated extra energy then toxins may be released into the brain and this has dangerous side effects.
How to cope with stress:
SPIRITUALLY: Saying a prayer, meditating, forgiving, showing faith.
MENTALLY: A positive self talk, re framing the situation/perceptions, visual imagery/creative visualization, a peaceful trip.
EMOTIONALLY: Humor and laughter, through love, touch, support systems, mood management.
PHYSICALLY: Nutrition(tea, coffee etc.), deep breathing, yoga, massage, sleep.
Today every person is an island. Stress can be addressed by individuals when they cross the river of personal fears/anxieties and merge/unite with the ocean of universal love.
Stress is when you don't engage with the work at hand but with those things that are beyond your reach. Stress is when you work not for passion but for goals which are not yours.
When you are doing/being/having something which you like/love and you believe in its usefulness,goodness,relevance then there won't be any stress. Stress comes when you change your focus on to something which is not in your control. For eg. a person wants to make a movie and he is in love with the script, his crew and his audience. So whatever he is doing in connection with making that movie, it's enjoyable to him. It's not work, it's passion. It's fun. But the moment he/she starts thinking about making the movie a hit/super hit/mega hit the STRESS appears on scene. So the choice is in the hands of the doer, whether he/she wants to be above stress or under stress.
Making peace with Anxiety/stress/expectations/emotions
Take a deep breath and hold in for a count of four and then breathe out through your mouth slowly. Do it for three cycles. This helps to reduce the adrenaline level in the body.
TO BE CONTINUED...
