All about stress and anxiety, how to get rid of them
In this blog, you will read all about stress – What is stress, its types, causes, and how to reduce stress and anxiety?
Stress is a feeling that causes emotional, psychological, or physical strain in the body. In simpler words, stress is a state of mind that leads to tension, restlessness, and anxiety. In medical terms, stress is a physical, mental, or emotional factor that leads to tension. It is a reaction of our body against a challenge.
The word stress came from the Latin words ‘strictus‘, meaning tight or narrow and ‘stringere‘, meaning tighten. These words reflect the internal feelings of tightness and constriction of the muscles and breathing. Stress is a normal feeling that can happen to anyone.
Good stress VS Bad stress
One of the most common questions that people ask is, “Is stress good or bad?” First of all, we need to understand what is good stress and bad stress.
In the dictionary of a psychologist, good stress is called “Eustress“. This is that type of stress which we feel when we are happy and excited. Sometimes, due to good stress, our pulse fastens. Some instances when a person feels good or positive stress are-
A bride feeling stressed on the day of her wedding
A student feeling stressed before exams as it helps him/her to work hard
Going for a job interview
Representing your school in a competition
Good stress encourages us to work harder and give our best. It is one of a person’s best assets for achieving peak performance. Sometimes it even helps us to become aware of dangers and take precautions in time.
Bad stress and ways to get rid of bad stress
Another name of bad stress is “Distress“. It happens when we feel so much stressed that it starts affecting our physical, psychological and emotional health. Unlike Eustress, it hinders our ability to do our daily tasks effectively and efficiently. It causes our body’s wear and tear. Negative stress causes anxiety and feels demotivating. Here are some examples when a person feels negative stress.
Health problems of oneself or closed ones
Conflicts within family members
It is rightly said that stress is like electricity. It provides energy, arises arousal in human beings, and affects performance. However, if the electric current is too high, it can fuse bulbs, damage appliances, etc. Thus high stress can lead to distress and may cause our health to deteriorate. Whereas good stress or little stress motivates us to take steps for our betterment.
There are many ways to reduce bad stress. Some of them are discussed in detail in the upcoming topics. A few ways are –
The above ways are discussed in detail in the coming topics.
Stress hormones and how to reduce stress hormones naturally and with medication
Cortisol is the main stress hormone. It is a steroid hormone that is released during stress. It is made in adrenal glands. Many people misunderstand cortisol as just a hormone that causes stress. It should be noted that it also helps to control blood sugar levels, reduce inflammation, and control metabolism. Thus it is clear that cortisol is important for your health but a very high level of it can cause many problems in your body.
High-level cortisol can cause a problem called Cushion syndrome which leads to rapid weight gain in the chest, around the face, and abdomen. It also leads to irritability, severe fatigue, high blood pressure, and headache. Tension and depression are also related to high cortisol levels.
How to reduce cortisol levels (stress hormone) naturally?
1- Reducing your stress and anxiety
2- Have foods that help to reduce cortisol like dark chocolate, green tea, and yogurt
3-Sleep well and enough
4-Do not consume caffeine at night
How to reduce cortisol levels(stress hormone) with medication?
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1-Acute stress – This type of stress is the most common one. It is short-term stress and is experienced by a person multiple times in a day. Some examples are – being stuck in traffic, having a test at school, an argument with the boss, having a job interview, pending office work for the day, etc. Generally, single acute stress related problem doesn’t affect a healthy person.
There is another form of acute stress which is known as “Episodic acute stress.” It is a situation when a person feels acute stress for a longer time period. It’s symptoms include high blood pressure, fast heartbeat for a long time, headache, etc.
2-Chronic stress – It is long-term stress as its effects can be long-lasting. Examples include financial difficulties for a long time, repeated failures in career, ruined relationships, etc. If not worked upon, it can have adverse effects on the health and may lead to problems like high blood pressure, heart problems, anxiety disorders, etc.
What are the causes of stress?
Have you ever wondered what causes stress? There are many sources of stress. They are as follows:
1-Thinking too much about the result – Everyone wants to succeed in whatever he/she does. Be it a student studying before exams, a person preparing for an interview, a professional cricketer playing a match, someone starting a business, a woman cooking food for her family, so on and so forth. Everyone wants to get the best results and that’s absolutely all right. Aspiring to be the best is a very good thing but in aspiring to be the best, sometimes people think a lot about the end result. “What if I fail to clear my exam?“, “What I will do If he doesn’t like my food?“, “What will I do if I don’t get this job?“.
These are just a few of the questions which many of us ask ourselves even before starting something. Focusing too much on the end result instead of the process deprives one of the joy of the process.
2-Believing something which is not true – This is one of the most important causes of stress. Many people believe in advance as per their own imagination. If you anticipate success, that’s good but if you anticipate failure, that becomes a source of stress and you don’t feel like completing that task.
Picture this, that a student is waiting for her result. While waiting, she starts thinking that she would fail. What would she feel? She would be stressed out. Another example is that a person got cold and cough and he got his Covid-19 test. Even before the report, he starts thinking that he has got Covid. What would he feel like? You guessed it absolutely correct.
3-Always saying “Yes”- It is a natural instinct of human beings to impress others. It feels very good to be a people’s person. Sometimes, in an attempt to impress others, many of us accept everything the other person says. We always become available for others.
Example- Your friend asks you to go out with him. Though you have your classes or you are busy but just to impress him or not to disappoint him, you go out with him. It becomes our habit to say yes and we agree with other person without thinking and if later on, we are not able to do that thing, we feel stressed.
4-Comparison – Comparison is the root cause of stress and anxiety especially in youngsters. Many times, comparing yourself with others makes one feel inferior. “See, my car is bigger than yours or My father earns more than yours” attitude makes one feel inferior and less important. Many parents also compare their children with the other children. Teachers also have a habit of comparing the marks of the students and you know what is the result of this comparison? Yes. That is stress.
5-More expenses than earnings – This is another reason for stress. The most common reason for stress, and anxiety when Covid-19 came was that livelihood was affected. People were expelled from their jobs which drastically affected their earnings but expenses never lessened.
1-Focus on the process – If you ask me, “How to reduce stress and tension?” I would tell you that whatever you do, always focus on the process instead of the result. Fall in love with the process and enjoy each and every step. The result would automatically come in your favor. So, from now on, make it a habit to focus on the journey rather on the destination.
2-Visual meditation – “How to reduce stress immediately?” Visualization exercise/meditation is a very effective stress buster that helps in the relaxation of your body and mind. Practice this stress, and anxiety relief technique whenever you feel stressed, anxious, or depressed. For long-lasting results, you should practice this exercise daily. Before you begin with the visualization technique, do deep breathing exercise till you start feeling comfortable and your anxiety starts diminishing. This visual meditation technique is as follows:
“Sit on a chair or sofa and close your eyes. Relax. Deep breathe in. Completely relax. It’s going to help you and take you to a different zone. Allow it to happen.
Imagine that you are sitting on a beach chair. Imagine everything in detail. The warmth of white sand, crystal clear blue ocean with cool water which is touching your feet, birds chirping, calm sound of waves. There is no rush. You are very happy and relaxed with no stress or anxiety. Very calm and living your life to the fullest. You love your life, yourself, and your work.
There is a purpose in your life and you are working happily to fulfil it. You are completely out of your bad past experiences. The mistakes you made only helped you to learn and grow. Each day you wake up with full enthusiasm and thank God for this wonderful and blessed life and each night you sleep with full satisfaction that you made the best of your day. There is a roof over you, clothes to wear, and food to survive.
You do not have grudges against anyone and people also don’t have grudges against you. You forgive all those who have hurt you intentionally or unintentionally. People love your company. You are an inspiration. Relax.
Now slowly open your eyes and imagine that you are walking away from the beach and remember that this beautiful place is with you every time you feel depressed.”
3-Say no to comparisons – Each and every individual on this planet has something unique. You can’t compare yourself with someone else. Comparison would only increase your stress and you won’t be able to appreciate your talent. Parents and teachers should stop comparing children with one another on any basis. This will help a lot to reduce stress and anxiety.
4-Yoga for stress management – One of the most useful tool in stress management is to practice yoga daily. There are many yoga asanas for stress relief. Here are some of the yoga poses for stress relief.
I-Corpse pose (Savasana) – Legs should be close to each other but not touch each other
-Arms at the side with palm facing upwards
-Close your eyes and do deep breathing for few minutes
II-Easy pose (Sukhasana) – Sit straight and cross your legs, place each foot beneath the opposite knee as shown in the picture
-Place your hands on the knees with palms facing downwards
-Lengthen your spine but relax your feet and legs while sitting in the same position and make sure that your body weight is balanced
-Hold this position for one minute and change the cross of your legs
5-Food for stress relief – There are many stress buster foods that help to reduce stress and anxiety levels.
A- Dark chocolate – Dark chocolate contains fiber and antioxidants which help to prevent cell damage and improve blood flow.
B- Yoghurt – Yogurt contains good bacteria which have a positive effect on brain health and thus helps in reducing anxiety, and stress.
C- Green tea – Green tea has an amino acid called Theanine which helps to reduce anxiety and stress.
D- Pumpkin seeds – Pumpkin is rich in Potassium which helps to reduce anxiety and stress levels.
6-Listening to stress-relieving music – You might get surprised to know that there is no stress relieving music genre in particular. So, which music to hear when you are in tension? Listen to your favorite music, the music you like the most.
7-Pursuing your hobby – It is a very interesting way to get rid of stress, tension, and anxiety. Doing what you like and that too daily is a great anxiety reliever.
I heartily thank you for reading the article. If you found it useful, please share it. If you have any suggestions for me, feel free to contact me.
