Stress Management

By A.K. Rai

Shri Ashok Kumar Rai started his career in 1969 as a Mechanical Engineer and worked in various organisations like Control Switch Gear Co., Hyderabad Asbestos, NBCC, and BHEL. Since 1982, Shri Rai has been working with NTPC. He was also on deputation to NASL (Joint venture of NTPC& Alsthom) from 2000 to 2001. Since 2002, he has been working as Manager, APDP-R&M, NTPC. Shri Rai has travelled to many countries.During his visit to France he got an opportunity to visit 240 MW Lawrance Tidal Power Station installed near English Channel owned by EDF, France.

Since his childhood, he had been fascinated with aviation mechanics and wanted to become a Pilot.Though fortune did not smile on him still he enthusiastically pursued his love and passion for aviation and kept himself updated with latest advanced techniques in aviation mechanics.

He is a voracious reader. His passion for reading made him leap all bounds and even explore into astrology, human behaviour, stress management, art of happiness & healthy living. He shared his views in the form of presentation in different forums like NTPC, BSNL, Escorts Heart Institute, Tihar Jail and Police Training Centre.

He has also completed Jyotish Visharad from Indian Council of Astrological Science, Regd. Chennai. He has been involved in social activities by ameliorating the condition of destitutes and rendering financial assistance to the needy children in the form of merit scholarships.

Through this endeavour, he wants to throw light on all the relevant aspects concerning stress, strain, depression, sleep, meditation and yoga. This book will serve as a guide to the inquisitive readers who are perplexed with mood disorder/stress related illness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diamond Books
• Release date: Dec 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9788128829536

Book preview

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Chapter—I

Stress Management

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1.0 What is stress?

The word stress is derived from ‘strener’ (Latin word), which denotes hardship. It is a psychological state attained when a particular external situation is evoked and our body and grains of brain refuse to face unwarranted situations and as a consequence, the chemistry and metabolism of the body get changed and one feels uncomfortable because of high heart rate, high blood pressure, high level of anxiety and fast excretion of all wastes from our body. Stress is both an asset and liability since it is very important to have some kind of stress in our daily life without which we would not get up the bed in the morning for our daily work. Basically, stress affects mental level which in turn affects our physical well-being. Stress can be minimized by developing positive thoughts and overcoming our negative thoughts. It is also known as nonspecific responses of the body to any demand. If stress is managed well, it can work in a positive manner but if managed badly, it can be a killer. Different people react differently against stress situations depending upon their attitude, thoughts, chemistry and metabolism of body. Certain types of personalities are more prone to produce extreme reaction to stress. The reaction to stress will depend on the background, upbringing and circumstances of a person. The way one reacts to an unwarranted situation is based on one’s personal disposition. Stress first affects the lower centre of brain called peripherial nervous system and then moves to central nervous system. There are a number of symptoms based on the effects of stress.

Stress is any pressure, good or bad. Negative experiences-work hassels, traffic jams, fight at home or more serious ones like a death in the family, a divorce, or the loss of a job- are obviously stressful. But even happy events- a new job, marriage, buying a house, having a baby- can be challenging. Reacting to these tensions can elevate blood pressure. When that reaction becomes chronic, it can contribute to more serious problems such as heart disease. That is why it is important to learn how to handle stress.

1.1 Negative imagination

It is an inherited quality that makes one always think negative in unfavourable conditions because of fear and apprehension. We imagine or visualize negative aspect of life and make life worst and miserable. Our thought is our life: as we think so we grow and it triggers the chemistry of body instantaneously. In the above clip, it is about a girl who is married only one month ago. Usually her husband comes home at 6 pm but one day he gets late for six hours. During the six hours, the metabolism of her body gets damaged by her negative thoughts as to her husband being met with an accident and getting serious injuries. The damage to her mind is registered immediately in brain and it might affect her life in the long run. Therefore, in all conditions we have to accept the situation rather than changing it according to our choice. When an emotion hits us, it first affects the subconscious mind, later it manifests itself in our conscious behaviour. Subconscious mind is more powerful in its function than the conscious mind.

1.2 Positive imagination

By thinking in a positive manner one can eliminate fake, negative or worst situations from our mind (software). The thoughts are developed in the mind and executed by brain (hardware). Brain is the servant of mind which executes the job. In the above clip, it is about a boy who has gone to a friend’s home by his motorcycle and told his parents that he would come within two hours but for some reason, he could not return to his house within the stipulated time and his parents started worrying by developing negative thoughts as to the son being met with an accident with a blue line bus and he was no more in this world. On the other hand, his parents could think that his son might have gone to his friend or the motorcycle might have got broken down. Basically, this is a positive imagination. Therefore, by developing positive thoughts one can overcome negative thoughts existing in the mind.

A genetic component plays a very vital part in stress condition and adjusting our mind in conformity to the circumstances and situations but one’s positive thoughts enable one to pacify the evoked situation.

2.0 Evoluation of stress—Flight or Fight

The evolution of stress can be traced to the inception of human being. In the olden days, people were roaming in jungle in search of food and living items. During their stay in jungle they faced fatal attacks by wild animals. Hence at the sight of wild animals, they started feeling fear stress and during such conditions they had only two options—flight or fight. Therefore, the person either faced the situation or got away from it to avoid the unwarranted situation. Actually, what happens during the sight of the tiger? Our hypothalamus section of brain gets activated and sends a message to adrenal gland mounted on the kidney via the pituitary gland and within seconds, it summons all the power of the body to run faster and the heart starts pumping blood to various organs at two to three times the normal rate. Therefore, it establishes that we have only two options—Flight and