| In the US, $300 billion are spent annually on an average on stress related problems; nearly half of the health insurance claims are for stress related disorders. In the UK 6.7 million working hours are lost annually due to stress related problems and around 60% of absenteeism at the work place is due to stress. More than 100,000 persons commit suicide in India every year due to stress and the number is growing at alarming rate. Stress has become the intrinsic part of the jobs in certain professions. Stress is a physiological and psychological imbalance. It arises due to the demands on a person and that person's inability to meet these demands. Stress is the body's way of reacting to any situation and it can have serious repercussions on individual's life. Ayurveda can help in many ways to get rid of the stress and its consequences. But most serious problem is that people do not recognize the importance of stress management and come to a physician at later stage. Effective time management, work planning, good diet, adequate sleep, exercise, yoga, massage etc can prevent stress related problems. Various herbal medicines and treatments like Shirodhara, Tarpana, and Rasayana are proved to be very effective for the treatment of serious stress related disorders. What is stress? The stress in individual is defined as anything that disrupts the normal person's physical or mental well being. It occurs when person faces extra ordinary demands. A person caught in traffic jam while rushing to office, is under stress. A student preparing for examination is under stress. An employee working on computer for longer hours, a businessman trying to make profits in a competitive market are under stress. Stress is everywhere and influences everybody. A stressor is a factor or stimulant that creates stress. A stressor is not itself either positive or negative or good or bad, it is how one reacts to it that determines its positivity or negativity. For example, one person may perceive stressor as a motivator, whereas another person may perceive it as a constraint. Positive stress is called as eustress and negative stress is called as distress. A little stress is essential to keep the person motivated, but distress if left unchecked, can have a serious effect on the body and mind over a period. Some of these problems are sleeplessness, eating disorders, heart problems, hyper tension and suicidal tendencies. Stress represents the wear and tear of the human body. At beginning every stress acts as a motivator. Later person starts feeling this stress as a problem; at this stage he tries to overcome the stress. Later if he could not overcome the stress it turns into distress and when distress last for longer period it results into burnout. The health issues at the burnout stage are hard to manage, hence it is always better to be proactive than reactive about the distress. Sources of stress Internal stress Human being have tendency to worry about actions that may or may not take place. Internal stress happens when individual worry about things outside their control. The personality of the individual plays an important role in stress management. Every individual can be categorized into Type A and Type B personalities. A type A has a continual sense of urgency and has an excessive competitive drive. He is always in hurry and impatient. They are obsessive about winning and do not have ability to spend leisure time. Vata and Pitta dominant Prakriti people as stated in Ayurveda, exhibits Type A personality. Such people are likely to be under stress even in minor situations. People with type B personality never sense the urgency of time. They work at their own pace. These people are less likely to be under stress. Type B personality exhibits the characters of Kapha dominant Prakriti. External stress This type of stress is the result of environmental influence on an individual. This can be stress from family, health issues, job incompatibilities, peers and friends. Physical conditions such as poor lighting, loud noise, poor seating arrangement, uncomfortable workplace temperature and long work hours are also stressors. Now days we carry an unnecessary stress that is techno stress. Technological innovations like mobiles, laptops, game stations and social network sites are adding to the stress levels of individuals. E-stress or techno stress is a physical and physiological reaction to the changing technological environment. Computer vision syndrome is a well known example of techno stress. Effects of stress on health Physical effects -
Increased heart rate and blood pressure. -
Sudden increase or decrease in weight, obesity, malnutrition. -
Change in appetite and digestion. -
Frequent head ache, fatigue and respiratory problems. -
Nervous weakness, e.g. biting nails, over sweating etc. -
Insomnia -
Reduced immunity to common cold and cough. -
Tooth and gum disease, Ulcers and weak digestive system, irritable bowel syndrome that may turn into severe problems like ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease etc. -
Sexual dysfunction impotency and sterility. -
Menstrual disturbances in ladies, frequent miscarriages and difficulties in conceiving. -
Arthritis, other orthopedic and neuromuscular problems. -
diabetes hyperthyroidism -
hair loss -
Even cancer Psychological effects -
Difficulty in concentration -
Depression -
Unable to spend leisure time productively -
Always anxious, obsessive-compulsive or anxiety disorder -
Bad decision making -
Mood swing -
Increased usage of food, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs -
Developing fears and phobias -
Feeling out of control and confused -
Suicidal tendencies How Ayurveda can help cope up stress? Many times we are biased about rationality of our behavior. Hence, sometimes it is better to discuss your issues with someone third who can professionally guide you overcoming your problems. This will help reducing internal stress. Ayurvedic Prakriti Parikshana includes evaluation of both your physical and psychological constitution. Thus we can predict the stress factors to which a person is more susceptible. For example, Vata Prakriti people are more stressed in cold weather, dryness, sound pollution, physical and mental exertion, etc. The people of Pitta Prakriti are hot tempered. They cannot tolerate hot weather, hot and spicy food, they can't sustain with anger; on the other hand Kapha Prakriti people are more stable in emotional and physical stress. Detail history taking of the problem and health status examination makes most of the stressors revealed. Person's physical weakness is many times responsible for some factors to become stressor to the individual. For example, underlying anemia, malnutrition reduces physical exertion tolerance. Ill effects of stress as per Ayurveda Ayurveda has blamed stress as cause of depletion of vital resources of body called Dhatus. For example depletion of Rasa dhatu (plasma) makes person irritable and intolerant to noise. Doing sedentary jobs produces stagnancy and deposition of toxins in the blood. This causes liver and kidney related problems, chronic skin problems, anemia and even auto-immune diseases. Continous strain on eyes, brain and nervous system causes depletion of Majja Dhatu (bone marrow and nervous system) produces symptoms like fainting, tingling, nervous dysfunctions etc. Stress and fatigue seriously affect the Shukra Dhatu (Vitality and fertility) causes sexual dysfunction, impotency, sterility etc. A person under stress from long time starts losing immunity, he is susceptible to diseases even due to minor reasons, problems like Diabetes, Auto immune disorders, allergies, incompatibilities with different proteins and foods etc. Hence identifying the problems and rectifying them with appropriate remedy helps individual to stay unaffected by the stressor. To be continued........ |
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