Positive responses to manage stress

Any change whether for good or bad causes stress to the human being. With rapid globalisation, few people escape the effects of stress. Stress affected by the mind/body connection has repercussions on health and wellbeing. These range from anxiety; digestive disorders; lowered immunity predisposing one to frequent colds, infections; muscle tension, fatigue; herpes simplex (cold sores); headache; insomnia; hypertension and even heart diseases. Shallow breathing associated with stress, results in cells not receiving optimal level of oxygen to keep them healthy. This hastens the ageing process.

High scales of stress impact include emotional stress like divorce, environmental stress e.g. working in extreme heat/cold temperature, physiological stress e.g. during a major business venture proposal

Adopt positive response in managing stress

The following are some practical strategies which will greatly reduce your stress level

·         Pause, reassess your lifestyle. Slow down, take a break and check your wellness level, realistic goals and work-life balance. Do not let the battle of life interfere and compromise your health and safety. Convince yourself that life is not an emergency. Ask yourself this question “will this situation be as critical next year?”

·         Be genuinely happy. Smile and laugh more often. These are free! Find happiness in simple delights savouring a plate of richly coloured sliced fruits. Watch a comedy! Be socially engaged with friends/family. Discover and enjoy the energising effects of home-made moisturising mask like mixing egg and sunflower oil.

·         Be optimistic. Create positive mood, have hope. Interpret troubles as transient, controllable specific to one situation. Develop this mindset to build up your resilience during challenging times at the workplace or on personal grounds. Also, an optimistic person wins more friends.

·         Don’t sweat over small stuff. There is no need to blow any trivial matter out of proportion. Make peace with imperfection whether it’s 60 marks in your child’s test paper or your spouse has bought a different brand of rice grain. Save your energy to embrace life’s beauty and goodness. Practise patience and graciousness towards the people around.

·         Be an early riser. Let go the thinking that gentle, relaxed people can’t be super achievers. Abandon the habit of waking  up, rush to prepare breakfast, hurry the children to school, catching the scheduled MRT train, arriving flustered just in time to start work, reversing the ritual for the return trip and ending exhausted just before bedtime. Allow ample time and prioritise tasks to enable meaningful and fulfilling time for you and loved ones.

·         See your work as a vocation. A rubbish collector who sees the work as making the world a cleaner, healthier place finds it fulfilling, meaningful and will enjoy his efforts.

·         Ask and seek clarification when in doubt about job roles etc. Unload all anxieties, fears with open communication with respective persons. Work efficiency and safety increase with clear understanding of expectations.

·         Set aside quiet time for yourself each day. Ascertain your favourite time and spot either at home or elsewhere like in a park nearby before you reach home. Spend time alone to spring clean yourself. Listening to soothing music or in silent prayer helps to balance the hectic activities and your aims.

·         Move your body! Exercise is a great stress buster. Exercise creates amazing physiological changes. Endorphins are released during exercise and make you feel good. Dancing in the privacy of your home is fun and revitalising.

·         Beautifying sleep. Nourish and recharge your vitality through restful sleep. Fix your sleep/wake cycle. Don’t go to bed less than 2 hours after a heavy meal, neither on an empty stomach. Lavender is a well-established traditional sedative for the brain. Use lavender aromatherapy in your bed room.

Appreciate life and love people more. Be less uptight about any situation or person/s. Remembering that you don’t have to catch every ball thrown to you is a very effective way to reduce life stressors.

Contribution by Health Management International (HMI) Ltd