Stress related problems are the main epidemic of the new millennium. There is a vedic
expression, which says: As is our Perception, so is our Thought,
As is Thought, so is our Interpretation, As is our Interpretation, so is our Experience, As is our Experience in Eustress,
so is our Choice, As is our Choice, so is our Health, As is our Health, so is our World, Inside us and outside us.
Eustress
is positive stress, where stress is taken as a challenge to perform better in life and is productive. Distress is negative
stress, where one is unable to cope and tries to escape from it it is counter-productive.
Conflict at the place
of work is the most common example of negative stress.
The commonest causes of conflict is lack of communication,
miscommunication or no communication. There are a number of other causes as lack of understanding, lack of confidence, lack
of faith, vengeance, vindictiveness, arrogance, violence, bigotry, terrorism, war, ego, anger, hopelessness, helplessness
and lurking grief.
Every disease, you come across has its link with negative stress, such as heart attack, angina,
high blood pressure, stroke (paralysis), hyperacidity, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, sleeplessness, a migraine
attack, asthma attack, pre-menstrual tension, post menopausal syndrome, impotency, anxiety, addictions as smoking, alcoholism
and other drug addictions; even recurrent infection and cancer are directly linked to negative stress. It is, therefore, necessary
to manage stress by a good lifestyle to remain healthy.
Since modern times stress has been identified as the single
biggest contributor to depression.
People generally choose to respond to stress in one of the two basic ways. They
choose either a syntoxic response (i.e ignoring response) or catatoxic response (Fight or Flight). However one should take
the right action which is that you sit comfortably, analyse the problem and come up with a positive solution, this is known
as Response of Action.
Every individual should learn how to deal with a stressful situation in a positive way and
not to react negatively. Stress Management should be practiced right from childhood, throughout your life
Dr. H.K.Chopra’s gives you a “Self Stress Score Evaluation Chart” to
help you assess your potential for developing stress-related diseases. Look at the questions given below and
answer them on a scale of 'Never, Seldom , Sometimes and Always'
FACTORS
1. Do you talk too fast?
2. Do you interrupt people and complete your sentence first?
3. Do you hate
to wait in a line?
4. Are you short of time to get everything done?
5. Do you like to waste time?
6. Do you eat
too fast?
7. Do you often drive over the speed limit?
8. Do you do more than one thing at a time?
9. Do you become
impatient if others do something too slowly?
10. Do you have little time to relax and enjoy things at leisure?
11.
Do you take on too many responsibilities?
12. Do you think about other things during a conversation?
13. Do you walk
fast?
14. Are you irritated when kept waiting?
15. Do you find that your fists are clinched or your neck or jaw muscles
are tight, if under stress?
16. Does your concentration often waver while you think about other responsibilities?
17.
Are you competitive?
Score yourself as follows:
Never - 0
Seldom – 1
Sometimes - 2
Always -
3
Now total up your score.
-
If your score is 45-65, then you have a high potential for stress related illnesses.
If it is 35-44, then you have medium potential and if it is 25-34 then you have a low potential for stress related illnesses.
If it is less than 25 you are in a state of Healthy Stress – Eustress.
Continued........ Stress Management Part-2
