Stress – The Curse of Modern Life
The man of today leads a fast-paced competitive life. Ambition is the buzzword and success, money, affluence—the ultimate goals everyone strives for. This rat race for a comfortable and well-heeled lifestyle surely takes its toll by generating ‘stress’ which is an inevitable outcome of burning the candle at both ends.
What is stress? It may be defined as pressure, anxiety syndrome or strain. In layman’s language, it is generally referred to as ‘tension’. An inability to cope with the hectic lifestyle generates emotional, physical and mental stress. Stress is often generated by a high degree of commitment to one’s goal—vis-a-vis the time available at one’s disposal, and the fear that one is likely to be left behind. People hasten their pace, inevitably leading to a lot of stress. The lure of money often tempts one to work more than one’s capacity, breeding stress and strain. Moreover, in today’s world, money and prestige have become synonymous with each other. It is a matter of prestige to do better than one’s relations and friends, to earn more money, even if it wreaks havoc with your emotional and physical well-being.
A mechanical lifestyle further aggravates stress. Lack of exercise or being confined to one’s `workstation’ for long, results in obesity and stress. Not having balanced meals and compounding this lack of proper nutrition by consuming endless cups of tea and coffee makes one more prone to stress.
It’s time we think about how to overcome stress. Perhaps following a disciplined lifestyle and managing one’s time better can help one to overcome stress to some extent. It is also necessary to priorities as to which areas need more attention than others. One can counter stress to some extent by taking breaks while working. Regular holidays provide the much-needed relief from monotony of daily life. Treks in the mountains bring you closer to nature as well as your own heart. Meditation, yoga or other such spiritual forms of relaxation enables one to counter the stress generated by everyday routine. ‘Meditate—don’t devastate your peace of mind,’ should be the maxim one should follow. Diet control and physical exercise are other ‘ways to minimize if not eliminate stress completely. Yet, another way of overcoming stress is spending quality time with near and dear ones that promotes the sense of emotional well being. Though taking recourse to all these measures may not completely remove stress, it might make stress more manageable.
