Stress Management

  • Stress
    Stress is what happens when you have too much to handle. The body goes into fight or flight mode. Your heart rate may go up and you may breathe faster or sweat more. This response is fine within normal limits. But beyond that, it can be harmful. Stress is a global issue and increases with Age.  
Submitted by PatientsEngage on 26 October 2015

Your doctor may suggest some of the following self-help strategies: 

  • Self-understanding: Know what is causing you stress 
  • Self-management: Be more organised, control your thoughts
  • Self-talk: Stand in front of a mirror and counsel yourself
  • Conflict resolution: Make ways to resolve smaller conflicts that may snowball into bigger ones.
  • Positive attitude: See the upside of the situation 
  • Breathing exercises: Do pranayama
  • Try meditation 
  • Exercise
  • Alter your diet: Add vegetables and fruits (lot of fibres) to your diet
  • Time management: Prioritise your actions so you are not swamped with work. Always leave time to some things you enjoy. Make a “to do” list 
  • Get enough sleep: 8 hours minimum
  • Avoid recreational drugs, substance abuse, all nicotine products like cigarettes, cigars, hookah, etc. 
  • Reduce alcohol, caffeine and sugars

Diet: Eating healthily helps the body cope better with stress. Include the following in your diet:

  • Oatmeal, nuts and low fat milk help counter stress by lowering blood pressure
  • Foods that increase serotonin levels, like carbs, wholegrain breads and pastas
  • Oranges, black tea, fatty fish strengthen the immune system and reduce stress
  • Spinach, soyabean, salmon are rich in magnesium, which lower the effects of stress.

Exercise: Exercise is enormously helpful in reducing stress. It fills you up with feel-good endorphins, takes your mind off worries and helps you sleep better. Take up any of the following:

  • Aerobic exercises
  • Swimming 
  • Yoga
  • Gym
  • Cycling
  • Walking for 30 mins three times a week
  • Any activity that raises your heart rate is good.

Take charge - Your action plan

  • Eat healthy
  • Manage your time – don’t pack your day with endless activities 
  • Get self-assessed – with the help of a questionnaire or by assessing and analysing situations that make them feel more stressed – and coming up with solutions
  • Exercise 

Support team

  • General physician
  • Psychologist
  • Hypnotist
  • Behaviour therapist
  • Nutritionist
  • Fitness expert

 

Community
Caregiver Community
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Condition
Stress

Stories

  • Manage Stress to Stay Healthy
    “Stress clearly promotes higher levels of inflammation, which is thought to contribute to many diseases of aging. Inflammation has been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, frailty, and functional decline,” says Dr. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, a leading stress researcher at Ohio State University. She and other researchers have found that stress affects the body’s immune system, which then weakens your response to vaccines and impairs wound healing. Research has linked…
  • Bullet-proof yourself against stress with these foods
    Registered Dietitian & Diabetes Educator Ujjwala Baxi offers stress-relieving diet tips We’ve all done it. Reached for the box of chocolates, or tub of ice cream or drink or cigarette when feeling stress. You put a calorie-dense food into your mouth. The result: It shuts off the brain from feeling the negative effects of the stress and you are disconnected from worry temporarily. Isn't it a nice feeling to forget your worries while you are busy spooning ice cream…
  • STRESS
    What is stress Stress is what happens when you have too much to handle. The body goes into fight or flight mode. Your heart rate may go up and you may breathe faster or sweat more. This response is fine within normal limits. But beyond that, it can be harmful. Stress is a global issue with 77% of people in just the US saying that they experience physical symptoms caused by stress, according to Statistic Brain, a research institute.