10-point approach to stress management

Stress is the state of the body when it is made to cope with more physical, mental or emotional load than it can handle or is used to.

Long term or chronic stress can lead to a number of manifestations. These may be:

Physical Impact

• frequent headaches
• rise in BP
• increased load on the heart, and palpitations
• fatigue and low energy
• body pain and muscle tension
• acidity and digestive complaints
• reduction in immunity
• decreased sleep
• rise in blood sugar and diabetes risk
• weight gain
• irregular menstrual cycle and PCOS.
• flaring of acne
• decreased sexual drive in both genders.

Psychological, Cognitive and Social Impact

• mood swings, anxiety and epression
• poor concentration
• decreased memory
• distorted thoughts and interpretations
• decreased work efficiency and learning ability
• social withdrawal and strained relationships

If your body is giving you signals that it is under stress, try to implement and follow the 10-point approach below. It may sound easier said than done! But use these 10 pointers as a weekly checklist. See how many points you achieved or were able to incorporate. For the ones you could not achieve, it helps to write down the reasons why, and try to follow them the next week.

1. Regularize working hours – Define your working hours as much as possible in accordance with what suits your personality, efficiency, and capacity, and do not think of work outside those hours. There may be days when this is not possible, but it is important to aim for and manage this on most working days in a week. If work involves daily arduous commuting, discuss possibilities of working from home on one or two days a week. It is important to note that the duration of work does not correlate with the quality of output, which depends more on working comfort, good health, low stress, and holistic living.

2. Take breaks– On every working day, after 2-3 hours of continuous work, take minibreaks of 10-15 minutes for walking around, and performing simple stretch and breathing routines. Every week at least one full day should be reserved for rest, spending with loved ones and rejuvenation. Plan a vacation of a few days every 6 months and take one extended vacation of at least 2-3 weeks every year.

3. Use gadgets and technology appropriately – Gadgets like mobile phones, laptops, and social media have become the pivot of our existence. It is important to use them to increase our efficiency, comfort, and connectivity, but also prevent them from becoming a significant contributor to stress. Maintaining correct postures, limiting hours of use, taking digital time-offs, along with incorporating some recommended health precautions and techniques while using mobile phones and laptops can help to reduce the associated stress.

4. Include physical exercise, breathing and meditation – 30-45 minutes of physical exercise like brisk walking, cycling, yoga, jogging or swimming, should be part of at least 4-5 days in a week. Include 10-15 minutes of breathing techniques and/or meditation in your daily routine.

5. Get adequate sleep – Lack of sleep can worsen stress and vice versa, turning the mutual impact of stress on sleep into a vicious cycle. Make sure you get 8 hours of undisturbed sleep on most nights in a week. If sleep is disrupted on any one night due to some reason, avoid this consecutively on two nights.

6. Keep a daily relaxation or leisure time – This should be a technology and work-free hour allotted daily or at least 5 times/week, and apart from your exercise time. This time should include spending time with family and loved ones, engaging in a leisurely or relaxing activity, following a hobby or sport, or socializing.

7. Seek help and support – Do not hesitate in discussing your stress, problems, and challenges with family, friends, support groups or a professional counselor, and keep an open mind. This can help put many things in perspective and untie knots, give reassurance and comfort, and also help find solutions to many problems.

8. Inculcate positive attitudes – This may sound tough to follow but a daily auto-suggestion of detachment, forgiveness, and empathy helps reduce pent-up anger, misgivings, frustration, and anxiousness all of which amount to strained relationships, unhappiness and significant stress. It is good to sometimes list down the stressors, or make a priority ‘to-do list’ to smoothen out overwhelming feelings and situations.

9. Eat a healthy diet – A healthy and nutritious diet is rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, proteins, yogurt, and plenty of water.  Cut down on high sugar items, processed and packaged foods, deep-fried items, too much caffeine, alcohol, and smoking/chewing tobacco. Timely, unrushed meals (lunch break should be at least 30 minutes) with adequate chewing and savoring the food are important to reduce stress.

10. Medical care: Often an underlying medical condition may cause or compound stress, or vice versa. It is important to seek a medical consult in case of persistent symptoms. It is also important to get a medical check-up done annually if one is over 45 years of age. Some common investigations advised for stress are BP check, complete blood counts (CBC), blood sugar, vitamin D and B12, thyroid function and ECG. Other routine medical check-up tests include lipid profile, renal and liver function tests, and hormonal levels in women. The sheer normalcy of a medical check-up is often a stress-relieving thing in itself while timely detection of any abnormality can help apt treatment and better stress management. The physician will also advise on the need for a course of medicines or supplements to manage the health condition contributing to stress.

Also read –

5 Important points for a good long-term relationship

Ways to be Happy – 15 Useful Happiness Tips to incorporate in Daily Life

Basic Meditation Practice to Improve Mental, Physical and Emotional Health

Not getting enough sleep can be detrimental to health: Tackling Insomnia

Depression and Anxiety – Causes, Signs and Holistic Treatment

Understanding and Managing Chronic Fatigue

Understanding and Improving our Immunity

Sometimes you get more, sometimes less

So be sincere, but do not stress

If life begins to seem like a mess

Just pause, breathe and do not suppress

Connect with your health to de-stress

Reach out to loved ones who care and bless

That will help you rejuvenate and harness

The energy and capacity within, to impress

References: AHA stress management