Eman Sakina

“I can’t cope anymore!” “This is too much – I’ve had it!”

Is this what you are feeling right now?

Comments such as these are common everyday occurrences in our busy lives – and we call it stress. Although never quite adequately defined, vague generalizations such as “Stress and tension are normal reactions to events that threaten us” are used to describe it. Such threats can come from accidents, financial troubles, and problems on the job or with family, and through our emotional and physical reactions to the given situations, we become what is termed ‘stressed’. Not that long ago, the terms of worry, anxiety, fear, impatience, and anger gave way to what has been formally termed ‘stress’ and its offshoots, stressful, stress-related, and stressed-out. Further complicating matters is the fact that different people react to the same “stress” in unpredictable ways.

Stress is not a diagnosis but a process happening over time. The level and extent of stress a person may feel depends a great deal on their attitude to a particular situation and the way they handle it. An event that may be extremely stressful for one person can be a minor event in another person's life as the perspective of living a life is different for every person.Regardless of who you are or what you do, chances are you spend a lot of time entrenched in the busyness of life, worrying about getting everything done, and feeling out of control. We feel obligations and pressures which are both physical and mental and the attached stress, which can be quite debilitating, is not always obvious to us.

Most people don't handle their stress well. They focus on the unpleasant and unexpected things that happen daily. This should just be called ‘life’; however, we need to learn to handle the stressors that life sends our way.

We cannot help but allow our daily routines to take over our lives. Working, studying, running errands, groceries, kids, deadlines, projects, budgeting - the list can go on and on. And the things that are supposed to make our lives essentially easier are the same things that often cause us the most stress. For example, think about your computer, your car, and all the gadgets in your household that just happen to break down right when they are most needed.Despite the fact that technology has grown to make our lives easier and less stressful, and it is continually developing in leaps and bounds, we all nevertheless experience deep stress on a regular basis. Backaches, headaches, strokes, migraines, insomnia, other sleep disorders, anger, antagonism, and other manifestations of stress indicate that we are more stressed than ever before.Even our hobbies and interests are stressful and demanding activities.

Stress is a problem when a person feels he/she cannot cope. As a condition treated clinically, stress occurs when the demands of life that persons’ experiences exceed (or they feel they exceed) their ability to cope. A variety of factors can contribute to the feeling of being 'stressed'. This may include Environment (work, home, school, etc); Lifestyle, or Emotional issues.

An individual person's attitude, personality, and approach to life will influence how he/she respond to stress. The following factors all play a part:

 • How a person thinks about a problem

•The different ways a person copes with difficult situations

• Life experiences and life history

• A person's self-esteem

• Whether they have people around who can provide support.

How do we cope with stress?

There are literally thousands of books, articles, and websites that cover stress and stress management. However, the ancient and natural ways are probably still the best ways towards peace and serenity.Here are some tips on how to end your daily battle with stress:

• Have a healthy lifestyle - health is wealth. It cannot be stated emphatically enough. The only happiness that we can ever enjoy in this world is life, and having a great life starts with being healthy.

• Exercise regularly - Regular exercise is a great way to manage stress.

• Avoid conflict - avoid situations that make you feel stressed as much as you can. Avoid unnecessary arguments and conflicts if you find them stressful.

• Relax - make sure you give yourself some time to relax each day and try to spend time with people who make you feel good about yourself.

• Sleep - a good sleep routine is essential. Do something calm and relaxing before you go to bed, like listening to music, reading, or taking a warm bath if you have difficulty falling asleep,

• Enjoy your life –  It's important to make time to have some fun. We get easily entangled with daily concerns. Our society seems to be heading towards self-destruction. We work all day; we even work many additional hours at our job just to get rich quickly or to help make ends meet and a lot of people forget to enjoy life in the constant surge of their busyness. Always remember that happy thoughts, and moments, make us joyful. It is good if you will learn to reward yourself from time to time.

At last, we should always say this to ourselves, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”