STRESS …… Health…….Our Life

“Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.
Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional”

Whether you are a CEO of a multinational company or an ordinary housewife at home, every one complains about one thing common: STRESS.

People these days spend long hours at work, have their children involved in more activities and maintain busier life style than ever before. This can be exciting but it can also lead to a feeling of constant stress and chaos.

Stress is a modern-day affliction that is being blamed for everything from marriage breakdown, career burn out, lower back pain, stomach disorders, hyper tension, double vision, perpetual fatigue, alcoholism, high blood pressure, heart attacks and suicides. It lowers the body’s defense mechanism thus increasing susceptibility to depression and disease.

Doctors say that more than half of all doctor visits are for stress-related problems. When you consider how powerfully our emotions and attitudes affect our bodies, it shouldn't be surprising that doctors estimate that 60 to 90 percent of all patient visits are for stress-related symptoms.

According to Herbert Benson, MD, chief of the Division of Behavioral Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, chronic stress can lead to the following:

Depression
Anger
High blood pressure
Cardiac arrhythmia
Insomnia
Atherosclerosis

Stress in the workplace reduces productivity, increases management pressures, and makes people ill in many ways, evidence of which is still increasing. Workplace stress affects the performance of the brain, including functions of work performance; memory, concentration, and learning. In the UK over 13 million working days are lost every year because of stress. Stress is believed to trigger 70% of visits to doctors, and 85% of serious illnesses (UK HSE stress statistics).

The 'Quality of Working Life' report published by the Chartered Management Institute and Workplace Health Connect uncovers a high number of physical and psychological symptoms and highlights the impact these have on business performance.

The survey questioned 1,541 managers in the UK revealing a poor picture of health, with only half (50%) believing they are currently in 'good' health.

Key findings of the report were:

Anger and mood: 43% admitted to feeling or becoming angry with others too easily and one third (31%) confessed to a loss of humour creating workplace pressures.

Muscle tension and headaches: More than half of those questioned (55%) complained of muscular tension or physical aches and pains. 44% said they experienced frequent headaches.

Tiredness and insomnia: Asked about psychological symptoms, 55% experienced feelings of constant tiredness at work. 57% complained of insomnia.

The report also shows that ill-health is having an impact on morale and performance. One-third (30%) admit they are irritable 'sometimes or often' towards colleagues. Some managers also want to avoid contact with other people (26%) and many (21%) have difficulty making decisions due to ill health.

Mind and body were once thought to operate completely separately, but increasingly, science is showing that this isn't the case. There's now biological evidence that what we think, feel and believe can have a direct effect on the way in which our bodies function – and, consequently, on our well-being.

Stressed out

Stress, for example, is one area in which body and mind are strongly linked.
Stress and anxiety raise levels of cortisol
Many conditions appear to be exacerbated by stress. Studies have shown, for example, that relapses in people with multiple sclerosis can be associated with stressful events.

To be more specific, what causes illness is stress. When we say “stress” don’t imagine a busy day, or an exhausting run to catch a bus. That’s not stress, but just a high level of activity; in fact, you can be very busy and tired and also in a positive mental status at the same time.

So, what is Stress?
Stress is a temporary or a prolonged coexistence of active contrasting beliefs, activated by the current situation, and clashing one against the other.

Contrasting beliefs have the effect of pulling your sub-conscious in two or more directions. The result is stress and, as a consequence, the development of physical illness.

A popular greeting card attributes this quote to Henry David Thoreau: “Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”

Diamonds cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials. With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.

As we have seen, positive stress adds anticipation and excitement to life, and we all thrive under a certain amount of stress. Deadlines, competitions, confrontations, and even our frustrations and sorrows add depth and enrichment to our lives. Our goal is not to eliminate stress but to learn how to manage it and how to use it to help us.

Insufficient stress acts as a depressant and may leave us feeling bored or dejected; on the other hand, excessive stress may leave us feeling "tied up in knots." What we need to do is find the optimal level of stress which will individually motivate but not overwhelm each of us.

We welcome you to attend our workshop on Stress Management “BLOW THE STRESS & FEEL THE LIFE” a one day program where insights are given ‘HOW’ to mange and cope with Stress in a simple interactive and holistic way.