The Stress of Life - contd...

Most of us exercise only inconsistently. For a few months or years we become addicted to jogging, aerobics, cycling, swimming or even muscle building, but then give up when faced by setbacks or difficulties, however much good we feel the exercise may be doing us. Sometimes we get bored by the exercise; our bodies may be exercising but our minds remain unsatisfied. Sometimes we train too hard, sustaining injuries that prohibit doing that sport for a while, thus eroding our determination and weaken our will. Once that happens, exercise becomes too much like hard work, so we give up.

We need some form of exercise that gently and steadily exercises and relaxes the body and most importantly, refreshes the mind. We need to be able to control the stress we are experiencing, instead of being controlled by it. We need to develop our spiritual and emotional resilience so that we can put the demands and stresses of life in proper perspective and not be plagued by them. We need to prevent health problems before they happen.

Tai Chi can help achieve well-being and balance in one’s life, as a highly beneficial daily health-care program best known for its relaxing effects. Tai Chi is a recreational and refreshing exercise art being practiced by the Chinese people for more than seven centuries. It is a system of flowing movements from exercising and developing the body and mind.

Tai Chi’s basis lies in a philosophy derived from the principles of nature, which place it in harmony with the needs of our minds and bodies, rather than at odds with them, as are so many other forms of exercise.

The Stress of Life

We spend good amount of time feeling tense, hasty and exhausted, which is the characteristic of urban life style in modern world. The hectic pace of modern living and lack of exercise leave us tired and drained. End of the day what we look is to spread on sofa in front of television, worrying about responsibilities with lots of stress and indulging ourselves with sweets and snacks.

We rarely find a person who feels peaceful and content, who actually wants to use his mind, imagination or creativity to enrich his life with a good book, a creative hobby or pursue a whole new area of interest. We have neither physical energy nor the mental space to live beyond the relentless demands of office-work, housework, shopping, taking care of children and so on. No wonder so many of us do so little to improve the quality of our lives! Apart from the requirements of everyday leaving, there is a tremendous demand on us in terms of time and increased efforts to keep up with changes; deal with constant pressure and cope with fear or failure.

We may think that this is an exaggerated scenario and is not applicable to us. We may also think that everything is under control and we are doing much more than required to keep things under control until we suddenly find – we have high blood pressure or we are suffering from migraine headache or unexplainable digestive disorder or some such similar symptoms indicating a health problem.

We already know the theory of how we can cope better with everyday life; become physically fitter and reduce any stress we may feel. This involves attending to our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs. Yet it is hard to know exactly what to do, let alone to actually do it.

Causes of Stress

There can be innumerable stress factors since different individuals react differently to the same stress conditions. Extreme stress situations for an individual may prove to be mild for another, for yet another person the situations might not qualify as stress symptoms at all. Stress is often termed as a twenty first century syndrome, born out of man's race towards modern progress and its ensuing complexities. For that matter, causes such as a simple flight delay to managing a teenage child at home can put you under stress.

A stress condition can be real or perceived. Yet, our brain reacts the same way to both causes of stress by releasing stress hormones equal to the degree of stress felt. The brain doesn't differentiate between real and imagined stress. It could happen while watching a horror movie or when one is apprehensive of some imminent danger.

Life’s Situations

Major life events such as a divorce, death, midlife crisis, financial worries, persistent strain of caring for a chronically sick child, nagging health problems or managing a physically or mentally challenged family member can act as potential stressors. Even conditions such as prolonged unemployment or a sudden lay-off from a job can leave you under tremendous stress. One just can't wish away situation. Moreover one has to live through these situations, in the right spirit, to make living a worthwhile experience. Stress also comes from our personal and social contexts and from our psychological and emotional reactions to such conditioning. Here, our mental and emotional disposition, built over the years, decides whether to accept these situations with a fighting or fleeing spirit. Accordingly, we may either be under harmful influences of stressors or be out of it.

Children and women subjected to mental or physical abuses are known to suffer from tremendous stress symptoms of depression, constant anxiety and burnout.

Though anger, fear and other negative emotional reactions are natural and necessary we need to channel them constructively to create a balanced state in our body and mind.

We all react differently to different potential stressors. One person’s mild stimulation from life is another person’s intolerable burden. What is severely stressful for one person may be no more than a tiresome niggling incident to another. The degree of stress you experience is determined not simply by external events but by how you perceive the event and respond to it. The way in which you perceive the event and respond to a potential stressor is called ‘stress motivation’. 

There are four identifiable categories of stress motivation –

Cognitive, Emotional, Psycho-dynamic and Situational

Cognitive Stress

A natural phenomenon of the human brain is the constant chattering (talking to ourselves) that goes on inside our head. However, few people are aware that what we say to ourselves has a strong bearing on our mental well being.

If you tell yourself that a particular situation is hopeless, or that here is no way out, it will more than likely end up that way. Also, worrying that something will not work out, as you would like, causes anxiety and even harmful distress.

Less destructive, but still unsatisfactory, is a much used half – hearted attempt: ‘I will try to do my best’. The correct self talk is ‘I will do the best I can’. A positive, self-assertive statement is more likely to get the job done, and thereby help you to avoid a lot of unnecessary stress.

Emotional Stress

Frustration is another common phenomenon we face in our daily lives. The resultant emotional stress can lead to maladaptive behaviors which make us even more ineffective to handle the cause of the frustration.

When faced with a frustrating and stressful situation we may repeat negative behaviors because they are familiar. Another response includes anger and irritation – not a relaxing response and one which probably will not calm an already tense situation. Both these responses simply compound the initial stress.

Psycho-Dynamic Conflicts

When you are under stress you are quite likely to do over and over again the things that got you into trouble in that first place. This unconscious preoccupation with past events can keep you in the same stressful situation, and even aggravate it further and thus intensify your stress.

When your proper perception of a situation is blocked by stress, you may not see that you need to respond to the problem differently than you have in the past. Instead, you replay past responses, becoming frustrated and further stressed when these methods don’t prove effective. Also it is easier to use an old method of coping rather than to try a new One, particularly when you are under stress.

Situational Stress

This is Imposed upon us by the physical environment and Takes many forms: crowding, sudden or repetitive noise, cold, heat and so on.

 

How stressed are you?

The word ‘stress’ is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "a state of affair involving demand on physical or mental energy". Stress is a condition or instance which can disturb the normal physiological and psychological functioning of an individual. This demand on mind-body occurs when it tries to cope with constant changes in life. 

A 'stress' condition seems 'relative' in nature. Extreme stress conditions are detrimental to human health but in moderation, stress is normal and, in many cases, proves useful. Stress normally is synonymous with negative conditions. Today, with the rapid diversification of human activities, we come face to face with numerous causes of stress and the symptoms of anxiety and depression.

In a challenging situation the brain prepares the body for defensive action the fight or flight response by releasing stress hormones, namely, cortisone and adrenaline. These hormones raise the blood pressure and the body prepares to react to the situation. With a concrete defensive action (fight response) the stress hormones in the blood get used up, entailing reduced stress effects and symptoms of anxiety.

When we fail to counter a stress situation, (flight response) the hormones and chemicals remain unreleased in the blood stream for a long period. It results in stress related physical symptoms such as tense muscles, unfocused anxiety, dizziness and rapid heartbeats. We all encounter various stressors (causes of stress) in everyday life, which can accumulate, if not released. Subsequently, it compels the mind and body to be in an almost constant alarm-state in preparation to fight or flee. This state of accumulated stress can increase the risk of both acute and chronic mental illnesses and weaken the immune system.

Stress can cause headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, eating disorder, allergies, restlessness, backaches, frequent cold and fatigue to diseases such as hypertension, asthma, diabetes, heart ailments and even cancer.

Everybody- men, women, children suffer from stress. Relationship demands, chronic health problems, pressure at workplaces, traffic jams, meeting deadlines, growing-up tensions can trigger stress conditions. People react to it in their own ways. In some people, stress-induced adverse feelings and anxieties tend to persist and intensify. Learning to understand and manage stress can prevent the counter effects of stress.

Medically, it has been established that chronic symptoms of anxiety and stress can deteriorate our body's immune system. Irrespective of the nature of the causes of stress — real or superficial — our subconscious mind reacts with the same body response by releasing stress hormones equal to the degree of our fear, worry or sense of threat. It also induces increased palpitation and blood pressure in the body with mental manifestations such as anger, fear, worry or aggression. In short, stress creates anomalies in our body. When the extra chemicals in our bloodstream don't get used up or the stress situation persists, it makes our body prone to mental and physical illnesses.

Aging is a natural and gradual process, except under extreme circumstances such as stress or grief. The constant stressors or stress conditions result in a loss in neural and hormonal balance. This loss of balance will cause increased oxidative damage, accelerating aging in our body. That's because, chronic disturbances in body ultimately affect our hormone secreting glands, cell repair and collagen in our skin and connecting tissues. Immune and neural degenerative diseases prevent this otherwise inevitable process from following the normal and healthy course of events.