We thrive on performance, competitiveness, and perfection in today’s culture, which leads to an insidious increase in stress. Stress produces harm that is frequently underestimated, and it is a social phenomena that should be thoroughly investigated and assessed.

What is Stress?

Stress is our bodies’ reaction to pressure. Stress may be caused by a variety of conditions or occurrences in one’s life. It is frequently triggered when we encounter something novel, unexpected, or threatening to our sense of self, or when we believe we have little control over a situation. We all react differently to stress. Our capacity to cope can be influenced by genetics, early life experiences, personality, and social and economic conditions. When we are stressed, our bodies create stress hormones, which cause us to fight or flee and activate our immune system. This enables us to react swiftly in risky circumstances.

This stress reaction can be beneficial at times: it can help us overcome anxiety or pain in order to run a marathon or make a speech, for example. When a stressful incident is done, our stress hormones typically return to normal soon, and there are no long-term consequences.

However, excessive stress might have a detrimental impact. It can keep us in a constant state of fight or flight, leaving us exhausted or unable to cope. This can have a long-term impact on our physical and emotional health.

Stress: The Bane Of Modern Existence

Our forefathers used to claim that “work is health,” but we now know that this is no longer the case. People are subjected to unprecedented levels of stress in today’s society and job. The symptoms of stress are everywhere, and the repercussions are diverse. The stress we feel on a daily basis is mostly produced by a number of phenomena that are inherent in today’s culture, including, but not limited to:

1. Increased workload to boost productivity improvements
2. Continuous pursuit of perfection;
3. Obsession with winning;
4. Balancing job, personal life, and family life;
5. Significant shifts in attitudes and societal standards.

Stress affects all social groupings and age groups; no one can fully escape it. However, depending on their personal, psychological, professional, and health background, some people are more severely affected by its repercussions.

What is the source of our anxiety? Stress is the body’s natural reaction to everyday occurrences. There are several sources of stress and numerous strategies to deal with it. Fundamentally, stress is a human defensive mechanism, but it is critical not to allow it to take control.

Stress may originate from a variety of factors, including physical, psychological, emotional, social, and so on. A stressful occasion might be either joyous or sad (wedding, birth, travel, etc). (getting fired, going through a divorce, the loss of a loved one, etc.). The stimulus might be modest or large, and it can be brief or persistent. Because we do not all react the same way to stressors, it is critical to understand your stress triggers in order to effectively deal with them.

Signs of Stress:-

When confronted with a stressful circumstance, the human body responds by producing a variety of chemicals, including adrenaline. Stress can induce symptoms such as palpitations, a lump in the throat, worry, discomfort, and so on in its early stages. These symptoms are generally transient. Uncontrolled stress, on the other hand, may be damaging to one’s well-being and health over time; symptoms can then be physical, emotional, psychological, or behavioural in character. Here are a couple such examples:

• sleep disorders
• muscular tension
• digestive disorders
• irritability
• agitation
• depression
• anxiety
• burnout
• increased isolation
• relationship problems
• work absenteeism
• lower performance
• loss of self-esteem

Aside from such obvious short-term consequences, stress leads to the development of a number of chronic illnesses, including heart disease, vascular disease, and cancer.

Obviously, stress has a bad impact. However, when correctly handled, it may have a positive impact. Indeed, it can assist to improve attention, contribute to creativity, enhance productivity, and aid in the development of new abilities. However, in order to do so, you must first learn to regulate and manage it.

How you might behave:-

1. Withdraw from others or lash out at them
   be unable to make a decision or be flexible
   be moved to tears
2. have difficulty falling or staying asleep
3. encounter sexual issues
4. More than usual, you smoke, consume alcohol, or use drugs.

How can you help yourself?

1. Recognize when stress is a problem.
2. Review your lifestyle.
3. Build supportive relationships.
4. Eat healthily.
5. Be aware of your smoking and drinking.
6. Exercise.
7. Take time out.
8. Be mindful.
9. Get some restful sleep.
10. Don’t be too hard on yourself.