Stress Management- The Need to change our Life Style

Breathe In...Breathe out...Breathe In....Breathe Out.....They say higher the position an individual holds at her/his workplace higher is the stress and whoever has said that is absolutely correct. I am Kavi, working in a pharmaceutical company for the past 15 years and currently heading the Marketing Department. From working on improving sales every month to supervising my subordinates, it’s a very STRESSFUL LIFE actually.

What is Stress and Stress Management???

Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. Stress is often described as a feeling of being overloaded, tied up, tense or worried. When you sense danger whether it’s real or imagined the body's defenses move into high speed rapidly, automatic process known as the “fight-or-freeze” reaction, or the stress response. There can be many different stressful situations or demands in an individual's life, however, the individual's experience of being 'stressed' is related to their perception of having the ability to cope with the stressful event.

Psychologists categorize stress into three different types: acute stress, episodic stress, and chronic stress. 

Acute Stress

Any new learning activity causes acute stress. Learning swimming for instance, is a situation that brings about acute stress, yet brings excitement. Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one. However, if we experience near drowning situation during the learning process, it can bring so much stress that you wish it would end sooner, or that you should have not gone for it in the first place.

At the end you might feel the effects of too much acute stress, such as dizziness, leg cramps, vomiting, tension headaches, and other psychological and/or physiological symptoms.Because acute stress occurs only at a very short period of time, these symptoms might only come out when the stress has already accumulated:

• Emotional distress, such as anger, anxiety, irritability and acute periods of depression

• Physical problems, such as headache, pain, stomach upset, dizziness, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, hypertension and bowel disorders.

Episodic Stress

Acute stress that is suffered too frequently is called episodic stress. This type of stress is usually seen in people who make self-inflicted, unrealistic or unreasonable demands which get all clamoured up and bring too much stress in their attempt to accomplish these goals. Common example is working with unpleasant working atmosphere in an office, or study/ exam stress during crucial junctures of educational life. 

Chronic Stress

Chronic stress is the total opposite of acute stress; it’s not exciting and thrilling, but dangerous and unhealthy. Chronic stress tears the life of a person apart his mind, body or spirit.This type of stress is brought about by long-term exposure to stressors, such as unhappy marriage, traumatic experiences, unwanted career or job, stress of poverty, chronic illnesses, relationship conflicts, political problems, and dysfunctional families. These stressful situations seem to be unending, and the accumulated stress that results from exposure to them can be life-threatening, and can even lead a person to resort to violence, suicide and self-harm. Serious illnesses like stroke, heart attack, cancer, and psychological problems such as clinical depression and post-traumatic disorder can originate from chronic stress.

Common physical signs and symptoms of chronic stress are:

• dry mouth

• difficulty in breathing

• pounding heart

• stomach ache

• headache

• diaphoresis

• frequent urination

• tightening of muscles

Mental signs and symptoms include:

• sudden irritability

• tension

• problems with concentration

• difficulty in sleeping

• narrowed perception

• frequent feelings of fatigue.

Ayurvedic Herbs for Diabetes - A Purely Natural Way to Control Sugar Levels

Globally, as of 2010, an estimated 285 million people had diabetes, with type 2 making up about 90% of the cases. In 2013, according to International Diabetes Federation; an estimated  381 million people had diabetes. Diabetes is a disease in which the body is unable to properly use and store glucose. Glucose backs up in the bloodstream causing one’s blood glucose (sometimes  referred to as blood sugar) to rise too high. Insulin won’t be produced in persons with no beta cells or in whom if they are destroyed due to immunological problems. This will result into reduce uptake of blood sugar by cells causing high blood sugar. This is known as Type I diabetes (formerly called juvenile-onset or insulin-dependent). People with type 1 diabetes must take daily insulin injections to survive. This form of diabetes usually develops in children or young adults, but can occur at any age. 

Diabetes can occur in anyone irrespective to race, religion, sex, economic or financial condition. However, people who have close relatives with the disease are somewhat more likely to develop it. Other risk factors include obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and physical inactivity. The risk of developing diabetes also increases as people grow older. People who are over 40 and overweight are more likely to develop diabetes, although the incidence of type 2 diabetes in adolescents is growing. Diabetes is more common among Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders. Also, people who develop diabetes while pregnant (a condition called gestational diabetes) are more likely to develop full-blown diabetes later in life.

People with diabetes frequently experience certain symptoms. These include:

frequent urination

weight loss

being very thirsty

increased hunger

blurry vision

irritability

tingling or numbness in the hands or feet

frequent skin, bladder or gum infections

wounds that don't heal

extreme unexplained fatigue

In ayurveda, the diease is included in Ashtau mahagada i.e. eight disease which can kill ordisable the person.

In ayurveda, It is known as Prameha. The prameha in Sanskrit means frequent and large quantity of micturition. Pra means excess of urine in both frequency and volume. Prameha, thus, becomes self-explanatory and holds the twin meanings of "Prabhutha-mutratha" or excessive urination and "Avil-mutratha" or turbid urine. As per ayurveda it is related with faulty lipid metabolism.

Arthritis - Herbs and Ayurvedic Remedies

Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -it is, inflammation; plural: arthritides) is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints. There are more than 100 different forms of arthritis. The most common form, osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease), is a result of trauma to the joint, infection of the joint, or  age. Other arthritis forms are rheumatoid arthritis, gout, psoriatic arthritis, and related autoimmune diseases. Regardless of the type of arthritis, the common symptoms for all arthritis include varied levels of pain, swelling, tenderness, stiffness of and around joint and a constant ache around the joint(s). In case of Osteoarthritis (OA) the material that cushions the joints, called cartilage, breaks down. This causes the bones to rub against each other, causing stiffness, pain and loss of joint movement. It is the most common form of arthritis. Unlike osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), a systemic disease characterized by the inflammation of the synovial membranes lining the joint, which causes pain, stiffness, warmth, swelling and sometimes severe joint damage.

As per ayurvedic  perspective bones are made up two mahabhutas air and earth. Air resembles mobility and earth represents the solid nature of the bone. Therefore diet rich in these two mahabhutas help in nourishment of bones. Tikta rasa i.e. bitter taste is also made of these two mahabhutas. Therefore all food items which are bitter are mostly useful in treating or managing bone disorders. In case of joint there are several other parts such as muscle, ligaments, nerves and blood vessels are involved. For healthy joint movement, good cartilage and synovial fluid is required.

Therefore any good bone and joint supplement should

• Strengthen the bone mass

• Reduce the inflammation

• Repair and restore cartilage damage

• Nourish the synovial fluid.

Further subjects:

1. Prevention of arthritis:-food

2. Prevention of arthritis: - yoga and exercise

3. Herbs used in arthritis

4. Management of pain in arthritis