Stress and Anxiety

“It’s a hard day’s night, and I’ve been working like a dog”, the lyrics of the Beatles’ song aptly describes the work life be it blue or white collar workers, or stay-at home moms or dads. Physical and mental fatigue results in stress and burnout.

Stress is basically mental anxiety created by difficult situations. The situations that cause stress are commonly called stressors. These stressors can be internal as well as external. Not all stress can be viewed as bad, as stress keeps you alert and helps the body cope with emergencies and dangerous situations. This is referred to as the “fight or flight response” of the body. Adrenaline produced by the body keeps you alert, sharpens your concentration and tenses up the muscles in your body preparing it to fight or flee the situation. But prolonged periods of stress can lead to various health problems. They can be mental/emotional and physical ailments, such as:

1. Depression and anxiety
2. Migraines
3. Insomnia
4. Irritable bowel syndrome
5. Eczema
6. Heart Disease
7. High blood pressure
8. Weight gain or loss
9. Memory Retention problems
10. Ulcers
11. Autoimmune diseases
12. Mood swings

Stress can affect interpersonal relationships as well.

Relaxation

Best way to relieve stress is to find ways to relax mentally and physically. Unwinding at the end of the day enables you to face another day at work.

Relaxation is not only about staying in one place and having peace of mind. It is a process of letting go of levels of stress and anxiety from the mind and the body. There are many processes of relaxing befitting for each type of person or personality.

1. Read a book – Choose a relaxing book with an uncomplicated plot line so as not to further tax the mind.
2. Listen to music – Easy listening music can really relax your mind.
3. Hang out with friends and family – There’s nothing like relaxing yourself with your loved ones. Also playing with your kids can relieve anxiety.
4. Relaxing bath – A warm soaking bubble bath can relax your body like nothing else can. It relaxes and relieves pain in aching muscles.
5. Meditation – There are many types of meditation to relax your mind and body. Anapanasati meditation concentrates on inhaling and exhaling. Focus on the nostril and focus on breathing in and out. Count the breaths while doing so. Keeping your mind focused on breathing helps you to release anxiety and relax your body. Yoga is also a form of destressing.

Benefits of Relaxation

Relaxation is beneficial for keeping your stress levels in check and relieving your mind and body of anxiety and tension. Due to numerous competing demands and responsibilities in your life, relaxation can often take a back seat. This is a mistake that you should avoid at all costs as  relaxation provides many priceless health benefits, such as:

1. Lowering of blood pressure
2. Improvement of digestive health
3. Blood sugar stabilization
4. A healthy heart
5. Improved blood circulation
6. Improved quality of sleep
7. Better concentration and focus
8. More energy

Improved quality of sleep and reduced anxiety results in better concentration and focus in work leading to increased efficiency and productivity. Increased energy provides better work and family relationships which results in happier individuals. Relaxation thus provides many benefits to people by lowering fatigue, anxiety and stress levels and increasing energy, focus and happiness.