Stress management

Symptoms Of Stress
After working for months, years altogether without taking a break for ourselves, we feel stressed. Our difficulty tends to be reflected in certain physiological and psychological symptoms, whose importance we may not fully understand. These are normal signs that indicates we should re-evaluate our priorities. Our body, or our state of mind, is telling us that something in our lives needs to be changed. Listed here are some of the common signs:
1. Loneliness – We may feel isolated from friends and family, or have a lasting sense of being "lonely in a crowd".
2. Insecurity – We may suddenly feel shy or exposed around people with whom we are usually filled with confidence. Or we may believe that we are always being judged or criticized.
3. Loss of concentration and memory – We may find it hard to recall recent conversations or promises. We may often feel confused, so that understanding and retaining information could also be very difficult.
4. Fatigue and sleeping difficulties – Although we may feel constantly tired, we could also find it impossible to get to sleep.
5. Tears and mood swings – One of the most common symptoms is that we cry easily. We may also be prone to mood swings – bouts of joyousness alternating with sadness.
6. Restlessness - We could have difficulty sitting still over even short periods of time and we may play with our hands, twiddling our thumbs or playing with the rings on our fingers.
7. Impatience And Short-temperedness - We could find ourselves becoming angry at any moment for simple reasons; or we may snap at people, too quick to assume that they are accusing us.
8.. Obsessive Working - Treating work as a refuge can be a stress symptom, although stress can also manifest itself as absenteeism.
9. Loss Of Appetite - Food doesn't interest us anymore. Either we don't eat, or we over-consume junk food, or whatever is in the store cupboard or fridge.
10 . Fear Of Silence - Silence may cause us discomfort, so that we "over-talk" when with other people or leave on the radio or television when alone. Alternatively, we may be intolerant of noise.


How to tackle Stress
Most of the times we are mainly concentrating on maintaining our physical body,. we give importance to diet, exercise and to proper rest or sleep .
What about our the non-physical self or soul,. Do we ever think about that? Lack of proper diet, exercise or sleep can make us physically unhealthy but simultaneously we need to make sure that we feed our intellect also with positive thoughts. Attention needs to be kept on the diet of the intellect also. If we keep feeding it with positive thoughts, then automatically it will make us free from any heaviness and we will feel the lightness of our own mind.
Our mind is always occupied with thoughts, that we are scared of the silence. It is very important to give enough rest to the soul. The way we sleep to energize the body, we need to give rest to the soul also by maintaining ourselves in the form of silence. Refuse to do anything for only one minute. Try to maintain just one minute of silence and calmness every hour to gives rest to our mind and believe me it will empower you for the rest of the hour. So we are able to do our work more efficiently and effectively.
The regular practice of meditation for 5-10 minutes every morning is the best exercise for the soul. Meditation will help us master our senses, think more peacefully and powerfully. It helps to maintain our focus of inner attention and therefore remain undisturbed by external events that keep on happening during the day(at the workplace or at home).
The question comes in our minds, how to medidate? Would I be able to medidate without the help of a guide. Yes , anybody can medidate. The only thing needed is the wish to attain the calmness of mind.
Meditation For Beginners
Make an appointment with yourself for 5 to 10 minutes each morning or evening and follow the instructions given below:
1.. The first step in your journey towards experiencing your true state of inner peace is dedicating a place or space in your home where you will practice your meditation regularly, even if it's just an armchair. Always use this chair, this space when you can.
2. In this space, place two or three objects, which represent peace to you. Soft music, soft red light and lighting an incense stick ('agarbatti') can make the atmosphere soothing and relaxing Keep your eyes open and without staring, gently rest them on a chosen point somewhere in front of you in the room. After using this space for your practice of meditation for a few days, you will experience that the atmosphere of this space has elevated itself to a higher spiritual plane and this will help your practice further
3. Don't try to stop thinking; just be the observer: not judging or being carried away by your own thoughts, just watching.
4. Now, create one thought about yourself; for example, "I am a peaceful being of light, situated in the centre of my forehead".
5. Hold that thought on the screen of your mind; visualize yourself being peaceful, quiet and still.
6. Stay as long as you can in the awareness of that thought. Don't fight any other thoughts or memories that may come to distract you. Just watch them pass by and return to your created thought, "I am a peaceful being".

Exploration and experimentation of a few methods of meditation is required before one decides which is the most appropriate method for him/her. One can know through a combination of intuition and experience. One may experience a few moments of peace while gazing into a candle flame but it is unlikely to help one change a pattern of negative thinking and acting. The rhythm of a mantra being chanted verbally, or even mentally, may erase anxious and angry thoughts (stress) for a while, but it won't change the hidden beliefs and perceptions which are responsible for one's stressful emotions.

The soul has seven original positive virtues - peace, joy, love, bliss, knowledge, purity and power. In meditation, we create an awareness of ourselves as a soul, which leads to an experience of these qualities. The non-physical soul is closely connected with each cell of the physical body. These qualities of the soul flow as spiritual energy to each cell and nourish them. The mind acts as a sieve (mesh) between this spiritual energy and the body. When the mind creates negative thoughts, the sieve of the mind gets blocked thereby blocking the flow of this spiritual energy, which leads to disease. These negative thoughts attract toxins, viruses, bacteria, etc. towards cells of the diseased organ. The immune system also gets damaged which leads to disease. Positive thoughts have the reverse effect

A good test of any method is to ask yourself five questions:
1. Does it increase my self awareness?
2. Does it help me understand myself better?
3. Does it empower me to transform my deepest negative habits?
4. Does it help bring a lighter and more positive energy to my relationships?
5. Does it help me 'see' more clearly my values and my purpose in life.

Creating Positive Thought
while interacting with your family members or colleagues, emerge positive energizing thoughts in your mind like
I am a peaceful soul
I am the child of the Supreme Soul, the ocean of peace
I am a soul full of love
I am a blissful soul
I am a powerful soul
These positive thoughts will spread in your home and office in the form of positive vibrations and have a positive influence on your family members and colleagues also. As a result you can maintain your peaceful, positive state even amidst actions and interactions with them. When you are clearly established in this stage of self-respect, they will be more co-operative in your work and will have greater respect for you. Obstacles from your surroundings will not affect you.


Comparison with Others
One of the most important human characteristics is that we are each unique human beings, with unique histories, patterns of thinking and personalities. One of the deepest habits that we learn in our childhood is to compare ourselves with others. We must understand that comparison always ends in failure, especially if we are dependent on being like someone else for how we feel about ourselves. This habit of comparison and imitation is one of the greatest killers of self-esteem. It stops us from growing as well as knowing our true potential. By comparison, we set the target what the other person has achieved. May be we have a potential of even surpassing that person, but we are limiting our self to the target somebody else has achieved. And so the first and most important step in building our self-esteem is to break the habit of comparison, and to stop unconsciously trying to be like someone else.
Instead of comparing yourself with others, just sit and find out what are your own talents and strengths, that make you unique. Focus on those qualities rather than thinking of the qualities you lack. Focus on your positive aspects.

You know, it is not others who make you feel stressed, it is in fact you yourself , who is stressing you the most. You say how do I manage both the office and home. I am managing the family, children, home alone. It is too stressful. In fact , it is your own thought to excel , which is making you stressed. You take up all the responsibility happily because you have decided to take it. No body has forced you to take that.
You like to teach your children that is why you have taken the responsibility, you can even get it done with the help of a tutor also.
You like to cook for your family so you happily take up that job, else it could be done with the help of an external help also.
You feel satisfied when your husband, boss or children are happy with you, so the stress to make them happy is imposed by your own self not by others.
You like to decorate your house and you like inviting people to your house. Then from where comes the pressure of work.
You like when your mom-in–law is satisfied with you, that is why you do all activities even though they do not attract you.
What if , you don’t do all those activities. You will not feel satisfied because you are allowing yourself to feel that way. So, it is not others who create pressure on you, it is you yourself, who is creating stress.


How to change the Think Pattern
In order to bring about a fundamental or transformational change in yourself three elements need to exist simultaneously:
Focus: A clear sense of purpose in life and clear goals to guide your life's activities.
Will: The motivation and enthusiasm to introduce and sustain the actions.
Capabilities: The skills and abilities to fulfill your purpose and goals.

But where do you start? There is definitely a right place to begin and that is with your focus. Why? Because if your focus is powerful and based on a very deep sense of your inner most purpose in life, then that will provide you with the will power you need to keep going. Then if you have a clear driving focus in life and lots of will power to back it up, you will soon develop the skills and capabilities you need to make it happen. You may not have them yourself, but your enthusiasm and passion will certainly inspire others who do have them to join you.
Our thoughts can be classified into four main types - positive, necessary, waste and negative. On an average we create 25-30 thoughts / minute. When we are under any sort of stress or anxiety, this number increases and when our mind is relaxed or when we are asleep, this number reduces. Overall our mind creates around 30,000-40,000 thoughts in a day.
A very large percentage of our thoughts are negative or waste in nature, which is the root cause of all our stresses and strains. The regular practice of meditation helps us reduce this percentage and raise the percentage of positive thoughts, as a result of which we can experience a relaxed state of mind.
To experience peace is to be in one powerful stage. The more the thoughts we have, the lesser the peace that is experienced in the mind. When we are able to maintain a powerful thought throughout the day whatever the situations come our way we can experience constant peace. Right in the morning let us take a thought that is positive and powerful. For example, 'victory is my birthright' or 'I am always fortunate'. Whatever the situations we come across, let us emerge this thought and we will be able to maintain peace.