STRESS MANAGEMENT—IT IS THE ATTITUDE AND PREPAREDNESS

Dr. Albert Ellis, an American psychologist who in 1955 developed rational emotive Behaviour therapy stated that:

“People and things do not upset us, rather we upset ourselves by believing that they can upset us”

Yes this is one reason which leads us to stress. Different situations which they face for survival by each human being in their lives are to be managed. Here comes one’s attitude and beliefs, these two things determine how one behaves. This may be influenced by internal thinking, external circumstances which lead to management by self to survive different situations as mentioned above.

As we know the body is gifted to serve others. Here different situations are faced by the body (which includes internal self and systems) to survive the demand made on it. Body responds to the increase in demand by more physical, mental and chemical variations in it. This change affects the attitude and behaviour. This influence is by the nervous system which allows the human beings to think—the pressure is generated through increased demand which produces stress hormones by pituitary and adrenal glands regrouping the body to face the demand.

Richard S Lazarus, a renowned psychologist of 20^th century stated that stress as a result from an imbalance between demands and resources.

If we think from the angle of a service provider or a manager—he has to face agitated customers, shortage of staff /resources, his authorities for not reaching the allotted targets even after putting in his best efforts etc etc. he cannot explode nor express his emotions and therefore the stress situations keep on repeating day by day, breaking down his adaptability capacity forcing him to breakdown. This affects his health leading to increased blood pressure, palpitation, sleep disorders, insomnia, heart diseases, stomach problems etc

To cope up with stress is to manage it properly. Stress is that one occurring when pressure exceeds one’s ability to cope. We cannot avoid stress altogether in life. One have to live with it. One should not ruin life by ignoring it and this is where management comes. Without stress, what is life? Life is a Snakes and Ladders game. Snakes are the risks and ladders are the opportunities in life. We need to play it and move forward. Shocks in life leads to stress, overcoming it is management. One needs to be resilient to adapt to these conditions. Always try to be the right person for the situation demanded and adapt to the circumstances, enjoy it and use it to one’s advantage. Learn to prioritise and do what you love. It is the technique one can use to relax and this will definitely lessen the stress level. Physical exercise is another way to counter stress like yoga, exercises etc. Be positive and cheerful in attitude so that negative thoughts are driven away. These are the healthy ways to deal with stress.

Many people resort to unhealthy ways to deal with stress like drinking, smoking, drugs etc which will lead to more harmful things like addiction rather than lessening the level of stress.

To conclude, don’t ignore stress but tune your belief system to interpret and judge things positively avoiding negative thoughts. This allows a positive behavioural pattern, preparedness and expectations which gives a solution for stress management.