Thursday, April 2, 2009

Yoga for Stress

Essential Tips To Relieve Stress At Work

by Josh Simpson

With the lapse of time, man is continuously reaching newer heights. In science and technology, the arts and various other fields, man is tapping into previously unexplored territory. Unfortunately, such an achievement has brought with it certain negative issues as well. War, violence, pollution and other things have marred this march of progress. But it is still unfinished. Yet another disadvantage of being such highly developed and advanced human beings has been described by a word that was coined by an endocrinologist Dr. Hans Selye, in the 1930s, and that word is "stress".



Stress is an ordinary phenomenon in our lives today. Certain stress levels mark whatever we do. The word "Stress" is used to describe negative reactions in difficult situations. There is an advanced level of emotional tension, characterized by fear and tension that builds up within the subject's mind. This kind of disorientation usually takes place when one is faced with a problematic situation. Thus stress gives rise to intensely negative outbursts, which is expressed through suicide, self-mutilation, and unpredictability of temperament, verbal and physical abuse and so on. These occurrences are growing in number. The fast paced societies that we inhabit condition us to accept stress as an undeniable and necessary evil. All our daily problems, be it financial or emotional, act as catalysts to increase our stress levels. But, when there is a will, there is always a way. Man has found certain ways to counter this problem too.



However, man always looks for a way out. He has been compelled to find solutions to fight the problem of stress. One such feasible solution is anxiety therapy. Anxiety therapy has various relaxation techniques including meditation, to combat stress. Hypno-therapy is often used to combat stress-related issues using a combination of both mental and physical relaxation to calm the subject's mind. Another feature of anxiety therapy is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or CBT. This therapy uses three methods to help a patient suffering from stress related problems i.e., it is a three pronged process using cognitive, behavioural and emotional methods. That is, through the thinking patterns of the subject's mind, his/her daily actions and by channelizing one's emotions in positive ways.



In today's world, even children are suffering increasingly from depression related issues due to pressures such as academic performance and peer pressure. Teenagers are committing suicide, as confused young people look to escape. There are so many expectations on our young people. They must multi-task and cope with a new breed of pressures. When multitasking becomes a burden it leads to emotional claustrophobia and ultimately, stress.



To fight this rapidly spreading epidemic, different solutions are being experimented with. Therapists have to deal with thousands of patients look for anti depressants and anxiety therapy. Also, anxiety therapy includes personal counseling sessions, physical exercises, massage sessions, standard medication including anxiolytics which are drugs. ACT or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is another method used in anxiety therapy.


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