'Workout, yoga key to lead a stress-free life'

Stress has become a way of life for many people. Like it is taxing to manage tasks in the office as well as in getting things done at home, and irrespective of whether one gets salary on time, bills have to be paid. There is just no escaping it.

As long as one has control over oneself and doesn’t allow it to take the better of him/her, the issue can be dealt with, feel experts feel.

Managing stress refers to taking control over one’s thoughts, emotions, and their reaction to tense or depressing situations. The whole process of stress management begins with identifying the problem.

Most often than not, the cause of the problem isn’t obvious. And that’s when clinical psychologists and psychiatrists come into the picture. They try various therapies like hypnotherapy, Rorschack tests and the like to find out the cause behind it. If the stress is not chronic, one can opt for some stress-busting techniques that can address the issue on an individual level.

Clinical psychologist Desiree Manuel said, “The best way to reduce stress is to exercise regularly. Yoga and meditation are also considered helpful as the method of relaxing the muscles helps in reducing stress.”  

While exercising helps in reducing some of the emotional intensity that one feels due to stress, a positive attitude towards things also helps in combating stress.

“Every time one feels tensed or stressed out, he/she should stop and think for a while if it’s truly worth it. A conscious effort needs to be taken to change one’s attitude towards a problem. Soon he/she will see things change for good,” clinical psychologist Natasha Pirani said.

She said that communication with loved ones also helps in busting stress. “A problem shared is a problem halved. Support from colleagues, friends and relatives can ease your troubles and help you see things from a different perspective,” she said.
 

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How to deal with it

Take out some time from your daily routine to do things that you really like

Avoid relying on unhealthy habits like alcohol, drugs, smoking and caffeine to cope up with stress

Organise stress management workshops that focus on time management as well as effective problem solving on a regular basis

If you cannot change certain things, accept it and move on