The last thing that should be on your mind

Starving yourself due to Stress?

Just the word brings on a rushing of my heartbeat, a tightening in my chest and upper back, and a strain in my neck and mouth ulcers. These are the signs of stress for me. When my stress level gets high, I might feel a pulse in my left temple that is alarmingly out of my control and a pit in my stomach.

Work life or preparing for an MBA degree is no cake walk. With countless deadlines and expectations, its easy to fall into the Stress Trap and ever so difficult to get out. We skip our meals or lose our appetite when we find the pressure closing on us causing us to break. None of this is healthy nor is it sane.

During stress, our level of cortisol and adrenaline, hormones prepare us for reacting under an imminent threat. This response is useful not just for escaping from a physical attack, but also for handling non-life-threatening challenges that come our way.

We propose a few tried and tested techniques to reduce your stress levels and allow you to be more productive without harming yourself.

Tip 1: Pause. Breathe. Repeat. Stop for a second from the madness that stress brings you and just breathe. Shut out all the white noise and take a moment for yourself. Calm down.

Tip 2: Be focused on the now. Spend less time on “what ifs” and “how come” and just live in the moment.

Tip 3:  Question your thoughts. Your thoughts aren’t always right. In fact, they are rarely right, especially if they make you feel bad. Whenever a negative thought arises, take a step back, and look at if the thought is true.

Tip 4:  Make time for hobbies. The beauty of hobbies is that it is something we enjoy doing. Keeping aside just 30 mins a day for our hobby is enough to keep the stress at bay. It may be dancing, singing, painting or reading. Whatever it is, it is something to look forward to.

Tip 5: Talk. Just talk. It could be a colleague, a friend, a family member or even your manager. But nothing works better then just talking it out and having that weight just lifted from your shoulders. As funny as this sounds, talking to yourself also helps. As long as you play good cop, bad cop. Hehe.

Try these simple yet effective tips and get back control in your life. Don’t fall victim to stress when the power to control it lies in your hands.