3 ways to handle Stress

Yesterday evening ,  during my customary call with my daughter, she sounded very low.  

"Ma, I am stressed ! Too much workload. So many expectations , the sheer volume of files is really burning me out ! "

She is a class 1 officer in  Indian Railways, posted in  Mumbai.  She is new to the place and trying to cope up with the driven work culture of Mumbai.  On top of that, her boss is going for a year long study leave and she apprehends that she might be put in charge of the entire department.  So, the current work and the fear of the unknown future had bogged her down. 

I tried to reason with her that stress is an inevitable part of life and sometimes stress can be good for you.  Too much stress is bad . When the situation is very stressful, it blocks your productivity and learning. It dampens your enthusiasm and initiative at work and has an adverse effect on health.  Too much stress, called distress or chronic stress, can bring on certain diseases and disorders, make existing pain and chronic illnesses worse, and lead to such problems as depression, isolation and burnout. 

To check whether you are stressed or not, ask yourself the following questions :

1. Are you feeling overwhelmed and helpless  - like there is nothing that you can do to resolve the situation ?

2. Do you feel hopeless ?

3. Do you want to hide or escape  from the stressors by external things like alcohol and food or isolating yourself from the world ?

If the answer is yes to these questions, that means you are deeply stressed and need help.  We all should be aware of ourselves and take the necessary action before the situation engulfs our lives. 

"But how do I manage the stress ? " she asked .

• You  be feeling pressure because you are involved in three or more complex work projects at the moment, but at the same time, these work projects are providing you a lot of meaning and purpose. Rather than seeing them as stressors, view them as rewarding opportunities that you’d rather have in your life .

• When  stress pressure is just too much. Your health is worsening. Your relationships are becoming more tense  In such situations, it can be helpful to select one of your many pressures and reduce it. After you zero in on one pressure, use your judgement and critical thinking to consider ways you can lighten its load.

• When you consider taking on a new project ask yourself: Will this new project or new action help me or harm me? Of course such ideal situation rarely occurs – usually the situation is forced upon you.  But this question allows you to be fair and kind to yourself and to keep your pressures from growing out of control.
  
  

And of course , last but not at all the least, learn to say “No”.