Stress is a common term in today’s fast-paced world, often heard across various age groups and contexts. From adolescents to middle-aged individuals, complaints about stress are common: “Life is so stressful,” “I’m very stressed,” or “I have a stressful lifestyle/workplace.” However, do we truly understand what stress is? Stress is not just a reaction to major challenges but can also arise from small, everyday situations and thoughts.
Stress is a natural response to difficult challenges and changes in life. It can manifest at three levels: emotional, mental, and behavioural. When faced with overwhelming situations, stress can lead to unhealthy anxiety, panic, and behavioural changes. Many people believe that stress (eustress) motivates them to complete tasks, but chronic stress/ distress can become deeply ingrained, affecting physical health as well. Eustress is moderate stress explained as beneficial. However, distress is the harmful stress that impacts the mind and body negatively. The Yerkes-Dodson law explains this concept. The laws suggest that performance improves with arousal but only up to a certain level. This relationship is depicted as an inverted ‘U’ shaped curve.
According to a global survey by Ipsos, a significant portion, i.e., 1 in 2, of urban Indians have experienced stress to the extent that it impacts their daily lives. Stress is not merely a psychological term; it plays a crucial role in physical health, contributing to conditions like High blood pressure, hypertension, palpitations, and severe headaches.
Managing stress involves identifying its triggers. Emotional regulation is key; if you struggle with managing emotions, it can lead to stress. Similarly, unmanaged thoughts and overwork can cause stress at the mental and behavioural levels. Identifying these triggers is crucial as they can occur anywhere—in the workplace, at home, in romantic relationships, or within family settings.
To manage stress effectively, it’s essential to address it at all three levels: emotional, mental, and behavioural.
Journaling: Writing down your feelings helps regulate emotions.
Grounding Techniques: Grounding techniques are relaxing or healthy coping strategies to help engage our senses in the moment, manage our emotions well, and relax our minds. These can include painting, drawing, reading, clearing up the mess, rearranging cupboard or listening to music and much more.
Breathing Exercises: Fifteen minutes of daily breathing exercises can significantly reduce stress by calming the nervous system.
Concentration Exercises: Focusing on an object for an extended period sharpens your mind and improves focus.
Meditation with replacing thoughts: Meditation is not just focusing on our breaths but also on our thoughts. Replacing unhelpful thoughts with helpful ones while meditating impacts positively on both our mind and body.
For example.- While in stress, we often end up saying that ‘the task is too difficult, I can’t do it.’ Such thoughts result in decreasing our threshold and deal with the situation. Therefore, replacing such thoughts consciously to ‘It is difficult, but I can deal with it or I can do it’, a positive self-talk helps our mind regain confidence, and meditation helps increase blood circulation.
Exercise or Yoga: Regular physical activity is one of the best stress-relief methods for improving overall well-being.
Quality Rest/Sleep: While the number of hours slept is important, quality sleep is crucial. Poor sleep can increase stress levels and lead to health issues like high blood pressure.
Regulated screentime: Taking frequent breaks from screentime at regular intervals.
Supportive Network: Having friends or family for support plays a vital role in stress regulation.
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) can be a powerful tool in managing stress. By identifying and challenging irrational beliefs, REBT helps replace them with more rational, constructive ones, leading to healthier emotional responses and behaviours. For instance, if you believe “I must do everything perfectly,” REBT encourages you to reframe this as “I can strive for excellence, but nobody is perfect.” This approach reduces stress by promoting realistic expectations and emotional resilience.
Conclusion
Identifying stressors and practising stress-relief techniques daily with discipline can help regulate stress and contribute to better physical health. By incorporating REBT principles, such as disputing irrational beliefs and fostering rational self-talk, you can enhance your ability to manage stress effectively. Regularly practising these techniques can lead to a healthier, more balanced life.
About Author –
Tanvi Haria –
Counseling Psychologist | Psychotherapist
Tanvi Haria has completed her P.G. Diploma in Guidance and Counseling from S.I.E.S. I.C.E and Master’s in Counseling Psychology. She also holds a Master’s in Philosophy. Tanvi has been trained in Advanced level in REBT from the Albert Ellis Institute, New York. She is experienced in working with and teaching street children and orphans at NGOs. She strongly believe Philosophy and Psychology to be inseparable parallels to lead a healthy (especially mental) life. Tanvi is also a baker and painting is her go to therapy to maintain her emotional balance and sanity.
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