Stress is not always an enemy: It can be a friend

Stress is not always an enemy: It can be a friend

What comes to your mind when the word stress is mentioned?  Probably a beating heart, sweaty person, incapacity of holding up in the situation you are. You might think of all bad and unhealthy situations, heart diseases, anxiety and depression. And therefore, you conclude that stress is an enemy. You are right! Apparently most of the workers and students imagine the same thing. But, is there another way to perceive stress? As a motive to work, a boost to our brain power or a resilience. Yes, there is a way to make stress an ally or a friend.

It’s only when stress becomes chronic, or when we feel we’re no longer in control of a situation, that it negatively affects our health and wellbeing. Some people might think that the level of stress is measured by how many problems someone has: that’s partially true. Stress is a person’s adaptive response to a stimulus that places excessive psychological or physical demands on that person. This response has three stages: Alarm, Resistance and exhaustion. It is only at the last stage that your body resistance will be very low.

Some stress lead to positive events; it’s called Eustress. And others lead to negative events; it’s called Distress. Obviously, we are looking for the first one (Eustress). Your thoughts of a problem matters in order to classify the problem as a stressor or an opportunity for you. Managing stress is all about taking charge: of your thoughts, emotions, schedule, and the way you deal with problems. If you can put away negative thoughts and control your emotions; you don’t only become a steel shield against stress, but you make it work for you.

And if it happens that stress went out control; don’t worry! There are plenty of coping strategies that allows you to reconquer stress and dominate it. Some are more effective than others depending on the nature of the stressful situation and the person who is employing them. Therefore, the first most important step is to identify the sources of stress in your environment or life. Because we are in academic milieu or habitat, the major stress sources of students are the studies

Since everyone has different source of stress, there isn’t a single definitive solution for that; since “one size doesn’t fit all”. Different stress management strategies might be adopted.

Strategy 1: Get yourself moving

Physical exercises are proven to be the best stress reliever. Exercise releases endorphins which boost your mood and make you feel good and it can also serve as a valuable distraction to your daily worries. Well, there is no better place for fitness and physical activities than UTP.

•Big fields for football, plenty of different sports courts (futsal, badminton, tennis, volley ball…);

•A beautiful Oval park for Frisbees, walking or jogging

•jog or cycle around the campus;

•workout in the gym

•put some music and dance around (in the Dancing Room, Block B)

Strategy 2: Avoid unnecessary stress or alter the situation

Learn to say “no” to some stressors and avoid people who stress you out. If you can’t avoid the situation, then try to alter it. Figure out what you can do to change things so the problem doesn’t present itself in the future. Manage your time, reframe problems, adjusts your standards and focus on the positive.

Strategy 3: Make time for fun and relaxation

Humor and laughter are always a powerful remedy for stress and depression. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy. It is a priceless medicine that is fun and easy to use.

Yoga is also a very useful relaxation technique for stress management. It decreases stress and tension; increases strength, balance and flexibility. Plus, it lowers blood pressure and reduce cortisol level.

Ultimately, in conclusion, stress itself does not impact or affect your health; it is the way you react that matters. Life can be challenging sometimes and stress is virtually unavoidable. The person then should take a defensive action in order to adapt and cope with stress.

A bit of stress is always needed to push ourselves to accomplish our objectives and expand our limits: That’s the useful stress.it should be of a little amount and not chronic:
’’ too much of salt spoils the sauce”.