Stress is a normal human response to threats or challenges. There are physiological and psychological changes to stress. Again the body changes to stress which is long standing is different from stress which is for a short duration of time . Moderate stress is good for the optimisation of the performance. But too much stress is harmful. Too much stress increases the stress hormone cortisol in our body.When the amount of cortisol is continuously high , it can lead to a hyperglycemic state in our body known as diabetes, increases the risk of cardiac diseases, decreases immunity , poor sleep , and maladaptive behaviours like substance abuse. Stress can have differential effects in the acquisition, consolidation and retrieval of memory. Experiencing an acute, highly stressful situation disrupts adequate subsequent information processing. Prolonged exposure to stress can induce deleterious effects on brain structure and cognition. Stress can also decrease a person’s threshold for manifesting irritability, aggression, bring fluctuations in mood, Different pain symptoms may increase due to chronic stress. Digestive issues may also arise due to high levels of stress for a long time.
Everyone experiences stress . It is important to identify the cause of the stressor and work to mitigate it. In today’s world, one of the better ways to decrease stress is to maintain a good work life balance. It is very important that time be effectively managed and our priorities be set so that we are not at conflict about how much time we would like to spend at work and how much time should be for ourselves including family. There must be a clear demarcation and there should not be spillover of work to home.
However we can keep flexibility of our work hours once in a while to handle emergencies and to cope up with work demands . Since a significant amount of time is spent at work, a proper , friendly , accepting work environment is a must, where we make it a habit to minimize the stress at work by solving work related issues with the help of our mentors and colleagues. At work we can take meaningful breaks in between , which would also decrease stress and increase our productivity. When we are not at work, we should invest our time in building relationships. Such relations would build a safety net for us and provide support during stressful times. Involving oneself in activities which we like doing would also help us to feel refreshed and improve our efficiency at work. We should also try as much as possible to live our lives in the present mindful of all that is happening around us.
