What is Stress? And how to effectively deal with stress?
Definitions of “stress” range from “distress of any kind” to “physical strain” to “stressing a point in a conversation”. At a chemical level, stress is simply a response to stimulus that alerts you to change your behavior. This is mediated by chemicals called hormones.
When facing imminent danger, your body tells you to either run or fight. Your body floods the blood with the tools you need which make you ready to change course in a millisecond. For example, faster heart rate, more energy in the form of glucose and a heightened state of awareness. This is a lifesaving response.
If you follow any news channels you will get a sense that the world is becoming a more dangerous place to live in. However, we do not have the same challenges that our ancestors faced before modernization. Newer stressors are present in our daily lives. Our days can feature:
– waking up without good sleep
– running to catch the train
– driving in traffic
– work with 3 presentations due
– exams tomorrow
– childcare issues
– aging issues.
We may store some of these responses internally, with more susceptibility to diseases, chronic neck and back pain, and mental health issues. Combating this impeding chronic stress is complicated.
Strategies for combating stress.
• A simple strategy is to take a mental step back and breathe. Sounds easy. But it is very difficult to inculcate when you are amid imagining your world falling apart. Nowadays, our concept of a deep breath has changed – we don’t really use the diaphragm as well. Picture the above pinwheel in your hand. Take a slow breath in. Hold. And blow out. Let the pinwheel show its prowess! After a few minutes of repeating these steps, take stock of the reality of your situation.
• Here are some questions you can reflect on in that moment of stress:
– What can you change right now?
– What about next time?
– How can you do better?
• The most important questions you can ask yourself in this moment include:
– What can you not change?
– What can you let go?
– Whom can you ask for help?
Note – Please seek help from your physician if things are affecting your daily function and/or you have thoughts of taking drastic steps. Some good helplines to call in India include:
1Life Helpline
Aasra Helpline
Connecting India NGO
iCALL Helpline
Samaritan’s Helpline
Sumaitri Helpline
Vandrevala foundation
References and links:
– https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28676286
– https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11874-stress
Dr. Kanabar
Dr. Mitika Kanabar is a board certified physician working primarily with patients in California (USA). After completing her education, Dr. Kanabar has been practicing both Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine.
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