The stress of modern living is a part of life and here to stay, things will continue to spiral out of control with the thirst for growth, success in our careers. Time has become the most valuable commodity. Turnaround is expected at rapid speeds with next in class outputs. Value add, future fit, relevance and solutions are the maxims of survival of the fittest. With all Covid19 restrictions lifted after almost 2 years, every business identity is racing ahead, full throttle on fast forward to make up for lost time and business.
How do you develop an ideal mindset to cope and stay ahead?
Let’s first see what stress does to us
Life has become stressful in today’s times of uncertainty. Broadly there are two types of stress. Both good and bad.
When stress becomes bad it creates tension and you may not be able to handle the situations at hand and at times, in the absence of the stressor, you are unable to return to a relaxed state. Whereas good stress provides an opportunity for creativity and growth, bad stress reduces productivity and creativity.
Feelings of stress are normally triggered by things happening in your life which involve: being under lots of pressure. facing big changes. worrying about something. not having much or any control over the outcome of a situation. However in today’s environment of aiming to over perform and deliver quality under tight deadlines, we are under stress most of the time.
What are the effects of stress on health?
Chronic stress can cause or worsen many serious health problems, including: Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, and strokes.
Elevated stress levels can impede performance on tasks that require divided attention, working memory, retrieval of information from memory, and decision making. The stress that leaders are put under can often result in short tempers and a loss of focus, ultimately leading to failure to do their job properly. Not only can a stressed leader be bad for business, but it will also often lead to them missing the signs of stress within those they lead
Stress can disrupt synapse regulation, resulting in the loss of sociability and the avoidance of interactions with others. Stress can kill brain cells and even reduce the size of the brain. Chronic stress has a shrinking effect on the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for memory and learning..
Stress therefore has many damaging effects on our minds and bodies. As your body perceives stress, your adrenal glands make and release the hormone cortisol into your bloodstream. Often called the “stress hormone,” cortisol causes an increase in your heart rate and blood pressure. It’s your natural “flight or fight” response that has kept humans alive for thousands of years
What is a ‘Relaxed Awareness Mindset’ and how does it help you?
The communications profession, just like other professions has stressful work routine, primarily because the right action has to be taken at the right time. Right perceptions are a business tool today.
If you would just let go of trying to “focus” through your mind, you will easily understand what the state of relaxed awareness is – it’s basically when the mind lets go of its constant preoccupation with “attention”
Relaxed Awareness gives you a seamless mind power to think, analyze, execute without clouding your mind with stress. Just relaxation reduces stress and the symptoms of mental health conditions like depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. Relaxation also has other related health benefits, including: lowering your heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate. reducing muscle tension and chronic pain. Relaxed Awareness lets your body know it’s OK to save energy. Your parasympathetic system takes over and releases a hormone called acetylcholine. That slows your heart rate down
When you are relaxed, you can boost your mind with heightened awareness. This is the essence of ‘Relaxed Awareness’. You might need professional help for relaxation techniques. Yoga and meditation are simple but great!
“It’s not stress that kills us; it’s our reaction to it.” Hans Selve
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
Leave a comment