Stress: Too common for comfort

WE all live in difficult times, as readers of this newspaper know well.
Worries about the state of our safety, our finances, health and many others can take a physical and emotional toll.
And we do not realise that the pressure we all face in our everyday life is stress.
We are not medical experts but from reading, we know that stress could affect the function of the whole body.
Medical specialist have raised concerns that stress is becoming a common mental health problem.
Many people are really not sick but stressed out because of their individual problems.
The scary bit is that these people don’t realise that they are stressed.
The best way to deal with depression (stress, anxiety) while at the same time handling challenges that life throws at us is probably by paying closer attention to what is happening inside our body.
There are three sources of stress, called stressors.
They are physical – illness, medications, pollution, environment; social – loss of a loved one, marital strife, financial problem, etc; and psychological – anxiety, inferiority complex, depression, etc.
No one is exempt from stress.
The only major difference is how one person deals with stress compared to another.
Some people are motivated by stress and perform their best under pressure. Others buckle and become useless when confronted with stress. Stress is a normal component of life and all of us should know how to deal with it and manage it properly for a happier and healthier lifestyle.
If positively handled, stress could even make us stronger, more efficient and more effective.
This newspaper’s regular columnist, Health Watch writer Dr Uma Ambi, has always stressed the importance of allowing our mind to be free and not to get caught up in a situation that bears little importance to our life; keep life simple and do enjoy the simple things of life.
Health is an important requisite for all of us.
If we do not know how to handle stress that confronts us every day, then we will be out of control, and stress will overtake and conquer us and our being.
If we allow stress to dominate our life, and not fight it and deal with it properly, we will live a very unhappy and unhealthy life.
We come from a community that cares.
Our society is built on a structure that encourages one another, when one member goes through a rough patch. Believe in your strength. Your caring approach towards one another is nothing short of God’s gift.
The health department also has a mental health services section.
This section now needs funding and a bit more drum-rolling so everyone knows about it and what its purpose is for.
Physical and mental disorders go hand in hand.
People need to know to handle stress individually otherwise it will become a chronic issue for a society and the country.
Help must be made readily available, otherwise these problems will remain undetected or untreated.