Dr. M. Selvakumar
Assistant Professor
PG and Research Dept. of Commerce
Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College, Sivakasi 626 124
Tamilnadu, India
INTRODUCTION
Stress management is the need of the hour. However hard we try to go beyond a stress situation, life seems to find new ways of stressing us out and plaguing us with anxiety attacks. Moreover, be it our anxiety, mind-body exhaustion or our erring attitudes, we tend to overlook causes of stress and the conditions triggered by those. In such unsettling moments we often forget that stressors, if not escapable, are fairly manageable and treatable.
Stress, either quick or constant, can induce risky body-mind disorders. Immediate disorders such as dizzy spells, anxiety attacks, tension, sleeplessness, nervousness and muscle cramps can all result in chronic health problems. They may also affect our immune, cardiovascular and nervous systems and lead individuals to habitual addictions, which are inter-linked with stress.
Like "stress reactions", "relaxation responses" and stress management techniques are some of the body’s important built-in response systems. As a relaxation response the body tries to get back balance in its homeostasis. Some hormones released during the `fight or flight` situation prompt the body to replace the lost carbohydrates and fats, and restore the energy level. The knotted nerves, tightened muscles and an exhausted mind crave for looseners. Unfortunately, today, we don`t get relaxing and soothing situations without asking. To be relaxed we have to strive to create such situations.
There have been many different definitions of what stress is, whether used by psychologists, medics, management consultants or others. There seems to have been something approaching open warfare between competing definitions: Views have been passionately held and aggressively defended.
Now, the most commonly accepted definition of stress by Richard S Lazarus