by Bint-e-Gul
As Pakistanis, we are much more prone to stress, aggressive behavior, anxiety and depression due to the magnitude of the factors like political unrest, monster of load shedding, insufficient salary to pay the continuously increasing bills and expenditures, targeted killings, natural disasters and the 24/7 sensationalized coverage of these incidents by the media.
When we experience internal stress in response to an external event, it apparently seems that this situation will continue forever. Let me tell you that “our thoughts are ours”!!
They pop up in our head right after the unexpected happening and keep on repeating, each time accompanied by an additional thought. Thus, making up a story in a chain of related thoughts, and we usually tend to believe it like a jerk without stopping to question; “Hey, is it really going to happen in reality?”
As a result, these thoughts and emotions get in the way of our effective communication and daily life activities, and we end up making things worse which, in response makes us feel more and more uneasy.
There is absolutely no need for a ‘hard core therapy’ to reduce our daily life tension. All we have to do is, distract ourselves by getting busy in some simple yet extremely effective stress relieving techniques:
- Identifying the stress pattern:
- “What” caused stress. It can be a relationship or financial problems, direct exposure to violence or an incident of robbery etc.
- Then analyze “how” you felt and “what” was your response to an external stressor.
Obviously, bad action has a bad reaction. But resiliency of response in the polarities needs to be neutralized.
- Yes! I am in control of my life!
Switching off from negative thought patterns to more balanced and realistic affirmations that yes,
- I am in control of my choices or,
- I have the potential to deal in this tough situation, is the fundamental step taken towards stress management.
- Oxygenate yourself by deep breathing:
Feel as light and free like a flying bird within a flash of seconds by:
- Taking a deep breath,
- Filling up air in your stomach,
- Holding it for a while and,
- Gradually exhaling the air from your nostrils till your stomach is emptied by air.
Amira Amjad a clinical psychologist says that “Deep breathing increases the circulation of oxygenated blood in your brain, relaxes the brain and body muscles after the whole day work parade and helps to maintain focus of concentration.”
- Channelize your emotions by creative stress relievers:
Unconventional and somewhat “routine activity techniques” to relieve stress can be learned by rarely found professional art therapists in our home land. But, it is not needed in case of minor fatigue or tension.
So, all you have to do is:
Spare an hour or 2 solely for the sake of your own mental and physical health, giving way to your thoughts and emotions to be ventilated through any creative or art related activity:
- Painting the world around you:
Use together, the force of brush and your imagination by art work for stress reduction which may range from:
- Painting the pots
- Sketching a place of peace and serenity sitting deep in your sub conscious,
- Drawing with markers and crayons etc.
- Leaf printing
- Card making and many more.
Believe it or not! Inducing yourself in a ‘creative ride’ ventilates your emotions, taking your mind off from the stress of the workplace or the person you are angry with.
- Digging and then pulling out your stress by ‘Green Green Gardening’
Nature gives a ray of hope to move forward, oxygen to breathe and a life to enjoy the blessings of Allah so why not serve nature in return!!
So, start spraying water on plants, mend your yard and fertilize the grass and plants afterwards.
Believe it or not! The juicy taste of cooked vegetables and the sweet fragrance of flowers grown by your daily care will give you a kind of inner happiness and peace and definitely will divert your mind from all the worries to the point of meditation.
- Hop and skip with kids
“When I am stressed, I roll with my 7 years old boy Usman and 8 years old Marium on the floor, play hide and seek with them and sometimes we all do painting and sculpting with play dough together”; says Uzma Zafar a housewife and a mother of 3 children.
These joyous moments with children provide a complete distraction from troubles within moments, enabling us to tackle the problems with clearer head afterwards.
- Channelization of aggression through healthy sports
“Anger is a natural feeling. However, excess of it is harmful to health. What we do in our therapy is, we deal with our over aggressive clients by asking them to channelize their anger through healthy sports”; says Dr Aftab Asif a consultant psychiatrist.
Playing football or basket ball, table tennis, badminton etc in the newly constructed sport stadiums in Lahore!!
Healthy sports increase blood circulation. They strengthen the brain reflexes by automatically relaxing and tensing the muscles during physical exercise and increase your concentration power.
- Written ventilation
Yes! You may deal with your emotional and psychological problems in a ‘literary’ way by writing down all your feelings on a piece of paper weather in a ‘diary writing style’ or in the form of flowing ‘stanzas’ which is called written ventilation.
- Meditate your soul by music
- Music has therapeutic effects on our mental health. So, set aside the thoughts of your never-ending responsibilities and immerse yourself in the soul provoking ‘sufiana kalam’ while relaxing in a dimly lit cool room. Or,
- Rejuvenate your soul by listening to the ‘new age pop or upbeat music’ for distraction or when depressed. “I listen to Bollywood love songs when I am tensed”; says Ayesha; BS Hons student Of Lahore college for women university.
- Of course! You can relax your tensed muscles by loud vocalization during driving or taking bath.
This was the brief information about home remedies for stress management. However, adopting any of the above stress management techniques solely depends upon your choice.
