The largest mental wellness threat confronting the world today is stress. In the face of developing economic uncertainty, stress is raising its ugly head in the form of anxiety. Hence stress management is the need we all must be equipped with.
The private and public spheres are both mindful of the enormous effect that stress-associated illnesses bear on their workforces; with millions of dollars being lost because of them each year.
Stress is subjective
Everybody responds differently to stressful states of affairs, and a situation that one individual discovers stressful might not be stressful to someone else. Consequently, almost anything can cause stress and anxiety and it has different triggers.
The general causes of stress
Some of the times, barely the thought of something, or numerous little matters that develop, can activate stress and anxiety.
Some of the more common causes of stress include matters such as moving house, bereavement, financial trouble, relationships, and troubles in the employment place.
Even so, some of the times there are no decipherable causes of stress.
Some people by nature feel more frustrated, anxious, or depressed than other people, which may lead to them experiencing stress or anxiety more frequently.
Our body responds to stress
We should remember that whilst stress is in the mind it manifests itself in bodily symptoms. Once we are stressed our body responds to it.
For this reason, an understanding of holism can assist you to fend off the consequences of stress and anxiety.
The Holistic Approach for stress management
Holistic education depicts the fundamental interaction between the mind and body and has been formulated over a number of years. A lot of investigators into holistic therapy have been slow to catch on to its benefits, but modern studies have established its potency.
Holistic therapy required addressing the mind and body as an undivided organism because of the connectedness between what we feel and how we think.
Negative thoughts manifest into negative behaviors and the other way around.
Some treatments center on group psychotherapy and meditation, while others focus upon a combining of methods, such as relaxation training, meditation, hypnosis, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Holistic therapy used to be seen as a ‘quack’ science by the medical profession but is now applied in a lot of the world’s top medical establishments.
Try this exercise
If you are searching for validation of the mind-body connectedness, attempt the next exercise.
Take a minute to close your eyes and imagine a bright, ripe, yellow lemon. Now, picture taking a knife and cutting a slice of that lemon, smelling its fragrance as you do. Now how about bringing that slice of lemon closer to your mouth and feeling the taste of the juice, just imagine it.
Most people will react to this mind/ body connection ‘test’ by having a sour sensation, pulling a face, and maybe even salivating more.
Mind and Body are linked
Because the mind and body are intimately linked, the body reacts to the mental imagery of the lemon as though it were an actual experience.
The body reacts to the mind’s messages, both in thought and image form, founded upon its prior experience and knowledge of lemons.
For stress management, lessen your anxiety, improve your health, and ultimately acquire a sense of inner peacefulness, you must be willing to make a dedication to yourself to make a difference yourself.
Manage your stress this way
You must as well be willing to risk thinking and behaving in healthier, more effective ways.
You will need stress management techniques the most when you will be least able to use them.
So the right time to learn how to manage stress is when you are relaxed, you’re in control.
Learning holistic interventions and incorporating them into your lifestyle before stress or anxiety becomes a problem will ensure that when stress or anxiety does arise, we will have a healthy coping strategy to deal with them.
Your aggressive response to stress in the form of anger and tantrums will force your body also to react in a negative way. You need to become open to the idea that there are healthy and unhealthy ways to respond to a situation.
Do you know that just relaxing can soothe both your body and soul?
When you are stressed or experiencing anxiety your muscles often tense, which can cause muscular aches to develop later on.
A shrug of shoulders with a shake of arms can also help you decrease the level of your stress and anxiety by loosening your muscles.
Think of peace to feel the peace. Imagine a place that depicts peace in your mind, a river, forest, desert, mountain, or tranquil water.
Picture your presence in that place, see what you see, hear what you can hear, and feel that sanguineness in you. Live that moment, let it soothe you.
Diverting your mind to a calming environment will help to distract you from the stress and relax your body and discard negative thoughts.
There of course are a couple of more ways you can think of stress management along with the mentioned ones.
Having a better understanding of what causes the emotion gives you great leverage for your stress management abilities.
