STRESS MAT LE YAAR!
Stress- the word itself gives me more stress than anything else.
Being irritated, getting anxious, thinking too much on small issues, headaches- these are my usual signs of being under stress. And it sometimes frightens my friends and people around me. But it only makes me work more harder to achieve my goals. To correct my mistakes and move forward by learning as much as I can. But like every coin has two sides, stress has its negatives.
All though all the ages are affected today by stress, most results are seen in youth population. A recent series of suicides in top most institutes of IIM’s and IIT’s gives an alarming rate of stress levels youths are facing today. As it is understood that youth are the building blocks of the country, they are the bright future of the nation, it becomes highly expectant of people to lean on youth for a bright future and for youths to come under the radar of stress.
Being a college student and a youth, I myself face a fairly good amount of stress consistently. Sometimes I feel my head will burst like a pressure cooker if it is not attended at the proper time. There are times when I want to shut all the doors leading to work and sit back and enjoy some good music with a hot cup of cappuccino. Sadly, that rarely happens. Although I have often heard that young people are the ones with most energy and can accomplish tasks successfully, I don’t see ourselves immune to stress.
All my friends come face-to-face with stress everyday so I decided to ask them to define stress in their own words.
“Stress is like tension on a higher level. A level where you have pulled all your potentials to the highest extend and are trying to balance them all together like i try to balance friends, family, career, college , learning new skills etc .”
“Stress is our response to situations where they turn out the way we don’t want them to be.”
“Stress is when I have to give in to demands of my friends just to fit in.”
“Stress is when I really don’t have a clue about my future and my parents keep asking me about it.”
These were the words they used to describe stress which made me ponder over what are the causing agents of stress in youth.
Some I can answer myself- peer pressure, studies, career, job, expectation fulfillment of parents and relationships. Although these are quite common answers, they are the sole and core reasons for a stressed out youth. Some more reasons contributed by my friends are- financial problems, failure in personal relationships, meeting deadlines for projects assignments, family conflicts, managing college committee and fests, handling job and study together if they are doing a job.
All these are known as stressors which trigger stress in youth. These stressors have bad results as they have behavioral, psychological, physical impact at a very young age. And the result is a disoriented disturbed individual with several health and self-worth problems.
Behavioral symptoms include lack of organization, problem in concentration with verbal aggression or even blaming others for own problems.
Psychological symptoms may include feeling of self worthlessness; feeling overwhelmed at small things, being too emotional, crying easily, anger, excessive worry.
Physical symptoms include change of appetite or loss of appetite, recurring headaches, tensed muscles, excessive tiredness or fatigue, insomnia.
Past few year of medical histories show growth in health problems among young population. Some common medical problems faced today are back problems, migraines, fatigue, high blood pressure, depression.
The consequences are drug abuse, falling academic levels, involvement in crimes, verbal abuse by the individual, alcoholism.
Coping with stress is not difficult as it may seem. It just requires patience, acceptance and some work form our side.
Firstly and most importantly is to remain calm and think cool. I know it’s a big no-no to think calm in stressed situation but it’s the basic yes yes towards coping.After mastering calmness, one can do the activity which he or she loves to do or is passionate about. I love to read so I grab a book and sit down and slip into relaxed mode.
Other steps may include:
1- Meditation: Yoga and meditation techniques help a lot. It calms you down and lets you discover inner peace with self.
2- Act happy- Put on a happy face. When people smile it releases chemicals that make them feel better and when they frown opposite happens.
3- Talk it out- A good social support system always keeps you stress free. Talking about your problems to friends or family makes you feel lighter and gives solutions to problems which are causing stress.
4- Get a new hobby- Learning a new skill or hobby distracts our attention from stress
5- Success is not happiness- Money power and fame do not guarantee happiness. Start accepting and be grateful for small things in life .
6- Play an outdoor game- Outdoor games are a great stress busters. Endorphin, a hormone associated with stress, is released when physical activity is there and they decrease stress giving a feeling of euphoria.
7- Get some sleep- Oh how much I love to sleep! Loss of sleep or less sleep is one of the main reasons for stress. So sleep at least 6-8 hours.
8- Focus beyond self- Helping others makes people feel good about oneself. So go on help someone who is in need.
9- Nurture your spiritual self- Having a strong sense of faith also helps to keep you stress free. Communities based on shared belief systems about faith provide a good support system. These communities can also give a person a sense of purpose and provide help during stressful period.
10- Jot it down- Writing what you feel is great way to venting out of unwanted feelings. Since I love writing I take at least 10 minutes out of my schedule to write what I feel. Believe me it would work wonders.
Stress has become an integral part of young population but it’s up to us how we perceive it- negatively destroying ourself and hurting others around us or positively which make us work towards betterment of ourselves.
Stress- the word itself gives me more stress than anything else.
Being irritated, getting anxious, thinking too much on small issues, headaches- these are my usual signs of being under stress. And it sometimes frightens my friends and people around me. But it only makes me work more harder to achieve my goals. To correct my mistakes and move forward by learning as much as I can. But like every coin has two sides, stress has its negatives.
All though all the ages are affected today by stress, most results are seen in youth population. A recent series of suicides in top most institutes of IIM’s and IIT’s gives an alarming rate of stress levels youths are facing today. As it is understood that youth are the building blocks of the country, they are the bright future of the nation, it becomes highly expectant of people to lean on youth for a bright future and for youths to come under the radar of stress.
Being a college student and a youth, I myself face a fairly good amount of stress consistently. Sometimes I feel my head will burst like a pressure cooker if it is not attended at the proper time. There are times when I want to shut all the doors leading to work and sit back and enjoy some good music with a hot cup of cappuccino. Sadly, that rarely happens. Although I have often heard that young people are the ones with most energy and can accomplish tasks successfully, I don’t see ourselves immune to stress.
All my friends come face-to-face with stress everyday so I decided to ask them to define stress in their own words.
“Stress is like tension on a higher level. A level where you have pulled all your potentials to the highest extend and are trying to balance them all together like i try to balance friends, family, career, college , learning new skills etc .”
“Stress is our response to situations where they turn out the way we don’t want them to be.”
“Stress is when I have to give in to demands of my friends just to fit in.”
“Stress is when I really don’t have a clue about my future and my parents keep asking me about it.”
These were the words they used to describe stress which made me ponder over what are the causing agents of stress in youth.
Some I can answer myself- peer pressure, studies, career, job, expectation fulfillment of parents and relationships. Although these are quite common answers, they are the sole and core reasons for a stressed out youth. Some more reasons contributed by my friends are- financial problems, failure in personal relationships, meeting deadlines for projects assignments, family conflicts, managing college committee and fests, handling job and study together if they are doing a job.
All these are known as stressors which trigger stress in youth. These stressors have bad results as they have behavioral, psychological, physical impact at a very young age. And the result is a disoriented disturbed individual with several health and self-worth problems.
Behavioral symptoms include lack of organization, problem in concentration with verbal aggression or even blaming others for own problems.
Psychological symptoms may include feeling of self worthlessness; feeling overwhelmed at small things, being too emotional, crying easily, anger, excessive worry.
Physical symptoms include change of appetite or loss of appetite, recurring headaches, tensed muscles, excessive tiredness or fatigue, insomnia.
Past few year of medical histories show growth in health problems among young population. Some common medical problems faced today are back problems, migraines, fatigue, high blood pressure, depression.
The consequences are drug abuse, falling academic levels, involvement in crimes, verbal abuse by the individual, alcoholism.
Coping with stress is not difficult as it may seem. It just requires patience, acceptance and some work form our side.
Firstly and most importantly is to remain calm and think cool. I know it’s a big no-no to think calm in stressed situation but it’s the basic yes yes towards coping.After mastering calmness, one can do the activity which he or she loves to do or is passionate about. I love to read so I grab a book and sit down and slip into relaxed mode.
Other steps may include:
1- Meditation: Yoga and meditation techniques help a lot. It calms you down and lets you discover inner peace with self.
2- Act happy- Put on a happy face. When people smile it releases chemicals that make them feel better and when they frown opposite happens.
3- Talk it out- A good social support system always keeps you stress free. Talking about your problems to friends or family makes you feel lighter and gives solutions to problems which are causing stress.
4- Get a new hobby- Learning a new skill or hobby distracts our attention from stress
5- Success is not happiness- Money power and fame do not guarantee happiness. Start accepting and be grateful for small things in life .
6- Play an outdoor game- Outdoor games are a great stress busters. Endorphin, a hormone associated with stress, is released when physical activity is there and they decrease stress giving a feeling of euphoria.
7- Get some sleep- Oh how much I love to sleep! Loss of sleep or less sleep is one of the main reasons for stress. So sleep at least 6-8 hours.
8- Focus beyond self- Helping others makes people feel good about oneself. So go on help someone who is in need.
9- Nurture your spiritual self- Having a strong sense of faith also helps to keep you stress free. Communities based on shared belief systems about faith provide a good support system. These communities can also give a person a sense of purpose and provide help during stressful period.
10- Jot it down- Writing what you feel is great way to venting out of unwanted feelings. Since I love writing I take at least 10 minutes out of my schedule to write what I feel. Believe me it would work wonders.
Stress has become an integral part of young population but it’s up to us how we perceive it- negatively destroying ourself and hurting others around us or positively which make us work towards betterment of ourselves.
