Sacha Tarkovsky asked:


What is stress in today’s world, and why and how should we manage it?

Stress is medically defined as something that evokes a response from a person’s natural defense mechanism known as ‘fight or flight’.

Additionally, we define stress as a physical or psychological stimulus producing both mental tension and physiological-physiological reactions. In any definition, left unmanaged, it generally leads to illness. That is why it must be managed.

What is Stress Management then?

Stress management are techniques that enable a person to cope with and eventually eliminate stress.

What are the Causes of Stress?

Stress can be different to each person, but we generally today find stress being caused by our work, daily events in modern life, or any of the classic stressors that evoke the stress reaction.

These often include danger (or perceived danger), threats, anxiety, and especially illness. There are other classic stressors such as moving homes, changing jobs, the death of a loved one, which are all stressors of the first category.

What Stress Can Do to You Left Unmanaged

Doctors today, from all over the world, and in almost every medical system, acknowledge unmanaged stress as a major cause of most illnesses. Stress is known to directly reduce the effectiveness of our immune systems.

Unmanaged stress leads to stroke and heart attacks, and some doctors believe even cancer. Unmanaged stress can lead to severe complication in pregnancy and can affect the unborn child as well. Simply we must learn to manage our stress..

Stress Management Techniques

There are today many techniques of stress management, which include, but are not limited to regular exercise, meditation, developing a positive attitude, relaxation exercises, yoga, and self-realization exercises, special massage, regular vacations, and more.

It has been suggested a major cause, and thus a major relief from stress is time management. Most people get bogged down in their chores and responsibilities, and these nag away at your conscience. This creates a huge amount of stress.

Instead, if a person can become more organized, set their goals, realize what their priorities are, and manage their time well, they can alleviate much potential stress.

Sure Fire First Aid for Stress

When stress is just too much to bear, withdraw yourself to the nearest restroom there you can (usually) lock the door and be alone.

The first thing to do is to wash your face and wrists with cool or cold water. Do this slowly, and while you doing so, inhale and exhale deeply.

Drying your face and hands carefully, and not rushed, sit down (there is always a “seat” in a restroom), and close your eyes, fold your hands in your lap. With closed eyes, continue to inhale and exhale deeply, but now, start “watching” your breath. Pretend you can see the incoming and outgoing breath rushing in and out of your body. Feel the incoming air oxygenating your system with living giving oxygen and energy. Feel the spent air leaving your body, and as it leave, attach to it the particular stress which has just been bothering you so.

Do this for 10 minutes only, and return to the world. You will find you are refreshed, re-energized and have in a way, managed your stress rather than your stress managing you.

Peter Gitundu asked:


Effective stress management is very significant because it ensures that you are able to go on with your life and get to enjoy every minute of it. You cannot have effective stress management if you are not aware of all the aspects that come to play to ensure stress levels are controlled. Stress is that feeling of being cornered where you are not willing to look at any possibility of positivity. It is pretty hard to look for something positive in a grave situation but, even at such a time, effective management will seek to bring out the good and discard the negative. Stress is commonly caused by stressors which might be external or form the inside. Human beings are constantly dealing with stress and this means that stressors are in plenty.

Stress has the ability to change your life negatively if only you allow it. We are therefore not helpless because we can engage management tips that will help us overcome. Firstly, you must know what stress is and how it shows itself in our lives. In this modern age, you are probably too busy to even consider whether you might need to deal with stress in your life therefore, everyone needs to take the following caution to heart. Do not think that you are immune and before stress strikes, you have to have some tools or weapons which you will use to fight it. If you are constantly feeling inadequate as if you are missing something you cannot get and it is frustrating, make a point of dealing with those emotions effectively.

It is okay for you to have such feelings once in a while then they go away after you form a defense mechanism against them but, if you feel like this everyday, you are doing a disservice to your body. It is a sign of stress and it is usually passed on to the people around you who might fear you because of your temper and lack of patience. Stress will also be known when you are handling people. You might display insecurity and also seem to be withdrawn from people. This are just a few signs of stress and they do not reflect how everyone acts and this is because the effects of stress are very individual, you have to know the main signs so that you can have a general overview.

Effective stress management will require you to seek the help of a professional who has had some experience in the field. They might prescribe all sorts of remedies like relaxing or even watching some comedies that will enable you laugh and appreciate life again. You will be advised on how to handle stress. Many women have been stressed over men who they are in relationships with. This goes to show that many people are facing different stressors and it will be more than helpful to have effective management so that they do not have worse consequences which may come from severe stress in their daily lives.