TAKE IT EASY

 

                                         TAKE IT EASY

                 To be Stress free, adopt ‘Take it Easy’ Policy

‘Stress’ has always been with mankind.

Stress is a complex physical and psychological response of an individual to any challenging or intimidating stimulus.

Stress, on the positive side, enables us to step up our efforts to survive and fight back. If there was no stress you would become lazy and remain in your comfort zone forever.

Stress, on the flipside, jolts us, threatens our cheerfulness, overwhelms our psyche and unless managed effectively ends up in inflicting several bodily and mental disorders.

Today, we are perpetually fatigued. Our mind is muddled. We have meagre resources to fight back, as we have to content with an unfriendly environment, natural disasters, polarisation, fragile and distant relationships and a workspace that demands success at any cost.

Though we can blame external factors for the mess we are in, we have to admit that stress is our inner response to the issues that pin us down. Stress, in most situations, can be effectively managed if we understand our discontent and learn to rewire ourselves.

There are two steps to manage stress.

First, disconnect ourselves from information, tasks and worries that are unimportant. Employ your time, energy and mental resources judiciously. Tell yourself, there are tasks that can wait, there is a lot of information you need not be aware of and there are worries that would never be life threatening.

Second, never carry a profound wish to bring about a change in people close to you. Perhaps they may not vibe with us. Please accept that in real life, some things will remain out of our control and will never match with our vision. Let go of them. Focus on what we can do to make our life more peaceful, meaningful and fulfilling.

De-stressing becomes a way of life when we learn to take it easy and discard superfluous baggage.

For, feelings of peace and happiness are not dependent on what is happening beyond us, but are based on how we feel within us.

 

Condensed from an article, in Times of India of 30^th November 2023, by Pulkit Sharma, Clinical Psychologist, Puducherry.