The Good, the Bad, and the Solution

In todays world, most techies spend every moment of their lives working,
caught up in the race to stay competitive with rapid technical advances in the
IT sector. So much so that most techies arent even aware of their deteriorating
health until they are forced to see a doctor. In general, cell phones,
computers, and other such gadgets keep people plugged in 24x7. It is as if we
are all wireless beings. As a result, stress has become a part of our everyday
lives.

What is Stress?

Stress is our bodys response to external or internal prompts. An external
prompt can be a move to a new city, job, or a promotion. Internal prompts
include both physical and emotional triggers. Physical triggers may be
uncomfortable chairs, cramped workplace, overworking, etc, while emotional
triggers include anxiety or emotions that accompany a conflict in personal and
work relationships. Apart from these, personality traits like the need to please
others or trying to be perfect at everything you do can also cause stress.

The term stressors is used to refer to events that provoke stress, and they
cover a whole range of situationseverything from a nasty international client
being handled by a BPO employee to making a presentation. The body reacts
naturally to fight stressors, and this reaction of the body is called the stress
response. It accomplishes this by activating the nervous system, and specific
glands and hormones. These hormones speed up the heart rate, breath rate, blood
pressure, and metabolism. Blood vessels expand to let more blood flow into large
muscle groups, putting our muscles on alert. Pupils dilate to improve vision.
The liver releases some of its stored glucose to increase body energy. Moreover,
sweat is produced to cool the body. All of these physical changes prepare a
person to react quickly and effectively to handle the pressure of the moment.

If your body is working properly, then the bodys fight response actually
helps you to perform better under stress. However, fight response can cause
problems if after a stressful situation, your body doesnt reset itself to its
normal condition.

Stress can be good as it keeps you on your toes. For example, being alert at
work is a good stress for it helps you avoid mistakes. But good stress lasts
only for a small period of time and helps you enhance your performance. Once the
event/act is over, the nervous system goes back to its normal mode.

Stress becomes bad when the body has to fight back constantly. This can be
due to overworking on a regular basis, displacement from familiar work
environments, or coping with physical or emotional abuse at the workplace.
According to Dr Catanza Rite, who runs the Center for Better Health, USA,
Long-term stressful situations can produce a lasting, low-level stress thats
hard on people. The nervous system senses continued pressure, may remain
slightly activated, and continue to pump out extra stress hormones over an
extended period. This can wear out the bodys reserves, leave a person feeling
depleted or overwhelmed, weaken the bodys immune system, and cause other
problems.

Stress Overload

Pressures that are too intense or last too long, or problems handled alone
can cause people to feel stress overload. This leads to stress related injuries.
According to a study by the National Institute of Mental Health and
Neurosciences, software engineers between the ages of 24-32 years fall into the
high-risk category of stress related diseases and injuries.

According to the Encyclopedia of Occupational Safety and Health, some studies
link stress overload with suicide, cancer, ulcers, and impaired immune function.
Work stress is linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease,
musculoskeletal disorders such as neck pain, back pain, workplace injury, and
psychological disorders such as depression and burnout.

Everyone experiences stress overload differently. Some people become angry
and take it out on others. Some people internalize it and develop eating
disorders, substance abuse problems, suffer burnouts or commit suicide.

With revolutionary advancements in medicine, living a stress-free life should
be a reality. Instead, more people are suffering from stress and stress related
illnesses than ever before. Why? According to Dr Rite, The reason is that
individuals fail to change as they are literally slaves to unhealthy behaviors
and are compulsively driven by habit formed in the subconscious. Bad habits
foster an unhealthy lifestyle and over time, as poor choices become engrained in
the subconscious mind, the ability to overturn these poor living habits seems
overwhelming.

However, when there is a stress overload, your body is warning you to take a
break.

Bursting Stress

If you would like to see what stress does to your body, go to the mirror and
clench your fists, frown or glare hard and tense your body as the participants
do at Mister Universe competition. Look at yourself now. Do you make a pretty
picture? No? Well, this is what happens inside your body when you experience
stress overload! If you think you look horrid on the outside in this pose,
imagine what it is doing to your delicate nerves, tiny veins, and your fragile
body parts on the inside. It is not surprising that stress overload is ruining
your health. Can you now see why you shouldnt be stressed? Here are seven steps
to reduce stress.

• Dont overwork: Never take on more work than you can complete on your own.
  If you feel stretched, consider cutting down a task, ask for more time and do
  the ones you think are the most important.
• Get enough sleep: Getting good sleep at night keeps your body and mind in
  good shape. If you are a late nighter and sleep a little longer in the
  morning, then ensure you get 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
• Dont be a perfectionist: Dont try to be perfect and stop expecting
  others to be perfect. The truth is that no one is perfect. This expectation of
  yourself and others will only add to your stress level. Delegate tasks instead
  of doing all of it yourself. If you dont delegate, you will end up in the
  hospital due to the cumulative effect of the stressors.
• Solve the little problems: Learning to solve everyday problems will give
  you a sense of control but avoiding them will only cause depression and
  stress. This build up over time will cause a stress overload.
• Treat your body well: Your body is the canvas on which you paint your
  life. Treat it well. Experts agree that regular exercise helps combat stress.
  However, excessive or compulsive exercise routines can only add to stress. Eat
  nutritious food full of vitamins and minerals. Otherwise, during stressful
  conditions, you would turn to junk food, alcohol, and drug abuse.
• Learn to relax: Do yoga or simple breathing exercises. Ensure your
  schedule is relaxed by making time for relaxation activities on a daily basis.
  When the body and mind relax, it triggers a relaxation response that can
  combat stress.
• Change your attitude: You are what you think. See setbacks as temporary
  problems. Believe that youll achieve your goal if you work toward it.
  Remember your attitude, outlook and thoughts influence the way you see and
  react to events around you. Be more optimistic as optimism helps combat
  stress. This is how some people stay cool under pressure.
• Follow the seven ways to reduce stress on a regular basis and not just
  when you have a stress overload. Learn to think of challenges as opportunities
  and not as disasters. Practice building resilience by solving small problems
  before turn in to big ones.

Deepa Kandaswamy

The author is the founder-moderator of the IndianWISE e-group.

(c) Deepa Kandaswamy. First serial rights, CyberMedia 2008.

Any quotes or reprints from this article must link to this article and credit
author Deepa Kandaswamy and Dataquest.

This article may not be distributed in any manner without written consent from
the author.