A Not-So-Cliche-Or-General Talk About Stress

Stress is something that comes very naturally, to all of us.
Especially in today’s times, apart from duties, roles and responsibilities assigned
to an individual, factors such as competition, the need to be better than
others at a given task and meeting deadlines have us all stressed out. For some
people with more fragile mental health, this stress can tantamount to
anxiety. Even people who seem to have ‘got-it-all’ actually go through a lot of
pressure, be it work, family, peer or related to one’s own self.

So how do we deal with stress?

I am sure we all know that we cannot look for answers for the questions that we do not even understand. Most of us have read about what are different stress-busting activities, but what I write here is not totally about it.

To begin with, it is crucial that we first try understanding
the source of the strain. On the internet, we read various articles that talk about
dealing with stress but as we know, there is no one medicine for all types of
problems. The way you handle the feeling of being overwhelmed, depends on what
factor puts you in the situation. For instance, sleep is a major stress buster,
but that cannot be applied to a situation where you are probably at work and
have a deadline in the next few minutes.

In such a time, organizing and prioritizing will help you more to
understand how to go about the work, which also involves trying to multi-task.

After having identified the source, the next ideal move would be to firstly tell yourself -
“Hey, I’ve got this.”

Anything that would lift up your spirits is important, so just tell yourself that. Following that, think of a possible solution. Music, having the food that you like, reading, retail therapy, talking to someone close to you are some solutions. However what is pivotal here is selecting which one best serves the need to channel the level of pressure in the right direction either actively or passively. Suppose you have an assignment that needs to be submitted the next day and you only have the night. You could either take the
passive route of listening to music, refreshing yourself or you could simply
try seeing what work can be done first, in a short span of time, and work on
the assignment using selective diversion of your stress and energy.

In the image shown below, we see what reality is and what stress induced scenarios are like. It is necessary to have tense thoughts, but not letting them define your reality is much more needed.

A huge misconception:

Many think that stress is bad.

Well, positive stress actually serves as a booster and motivational force. It gives us the push that we require to go the extra mile. People who procrastinate alot tend to rely on stress to pull them up and while it has become such a millennial and ‘cool’ culture to glorify procrastinating, one should realize when positive stress turns into negative and has an effect on one’s health and when delaying work becomes a habit, just to fit in with the ongoing trend of defining yourself as a ‘Procrastinator’.