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Stress Management

What is Stress?

Stress is the wear and tear your body feels in response to pressures of the outside world. Stress may make you feel low, depressed, anxious, fearful and frustrated, among other things.

We use the word Stress to describe everything from being late because of traffic to hearing life-changing bad news.

Does everyone go through Stress?

Most certainly! As long as we are alive, stress will be part of our lives. Stress affects us at all ages, and all stages of life.

What is stress?

You receive bad news, the dreaded khala who loves to ask you a million questions is coming over to spend the weekend, your computer crashes just before Exams, you fight with a friend – these are examples of stressful situations. They cause you worry, anxiety, frustration. Your head throbs and the muscles across your shoulders and in your neck feel tense and ache. Too much stress can cause chronic fatigue, digestive upsets, back pain, reduce concentration and impair your decision-making ability.

So what happens when I’m stressed?

Stress causes the production of a chemical called cortisol. It has recently been identified as possibly causing weight to pile on around your tummy – not a good thing because of the implications that has for heart disease. Cortisol has also been shown in some studies to destroy brain cells.

The idea here is not to frighten you as stress is absolutely natural. In fact, in some cases stress may motivate you to action. Disease only occurs in prolonged and very chronic extreme cases.
Sometimes professional advice can help. Don’t hesitate to send an email to askcounselor@srhmatters.org

25 Stress-Busting tips

Spend more time with friends who make you feel good.
Talk to a Nani/Nana or Dadi/Dada for advice. Or just ask them about their lives and get fascinated.
Do something every day that or ‘you’ want to; not what somebody else wants you to.
Don’t gossip.
Drink lots of water. Often we feel weary when in fact we need to hydrate our bodies more.
Break up tasks so you can deal with them one piece at a time.
Reduce noise in your life. Turn off the phone, cut back on email, and leave the TV off.
Adopt a pet.
Simplify your surroundings. Get the clutter out of your life. If something doesn’t work, fix it or throw it out. If you haven’t worn it in 2 years, give it away.
Count your blessings daily. Write them down, count them, instead of sheep.
Find a joke to tell. Laugh more.
Be free with compliments, call an old pal and catch up on what they’re doing.
Pamper yourself. Buy yourself new clothes or sports equipment or whatever catches your fancy. Everyone can splurge once in a while.
Make new friends, compliment the waiter who serves you at the restaurant.
Try any music that lifts your spirits. Music can have an enormous impact on your mood.
Don’t get pressurized and say “yes” to a request you don’t want to accept.
You forgive others, right? Now, forgive yourself.
Treasure selftime. Every day. Give yourself a compliment daily.
When you start the day, say aloud, “today is going to be a good day!” It will be. Sit on the edge of your bed every morning and do this – it sets up the expectation!
Consider failure for what it is – an opportunity to learn something new.
Be as kind to yourself as you would be to your best friend. Be as non-judgmental too.
Don’t fall for unwelcome Peer Pressure, at any age.
Organise a cricket match or give your football some real good kicks.
Write down all that is bothering you. Vent. And then tear the paper up.