Stress – Deal with it.
From the dawn of civilization, we have had a fair amount of evolution to date to elaborate an extraordinary life system on this beautiful earth.
There are instances of extreme reasons for celebration on earth, and there are some reasons for troublesome moments as well.
One of the most vital things in our lives is our health.
Health is being mentally, physically, and socially fit and healthy. The slightest deviation from this definition causes stress in our lives.
Stress
Starting from the back, here is a list of some reasons behind our sleepless nights.
- Super senior citizens feel stress because of their mental, emotional, physical, and financial fragility.
- Senior citizens who have just retired also have the same problem.
- Loneliness, socially inactive life due to age-related issues, dependence on younger family members for their basic needs, and a lost sense of purpose due to their inhibitions and insecurities, and when the young generation starts vying for their hard-earn money instead of taking care of them, there develops the stress and anxiety along with anger and ignorance among the family members.
- Middle-aged people experience stress because of planning the future for themselves as well as for their aging parents and for their children who are no longer children.
- Physical well-being is another concern for people above the age of 50.
- Too many social responsibilities in the age group above 50 are demanding enough to cause stress.
- The desire to compete with the younger generation by ignoring the decline in physical stamina due to aging harms the mental health of middle-aged people.
- Some ladies get stressed when people seemingly a few years younger call them ‘aunty.’
- Moving over the decline in reproductive capabilities and libido, middle-aged adults feel the stress-bite for their children’s careers and lives.
- The stress between so many liabilities causes a real problem.
- A study in the United Kingdom suggests that 41% of 25-34-year-olds have stress-related issues, while for the younger group of 18-24 year group, the data is about 60%.
- Youth in the age group of 25-34 years feel stress due to many reasons ranging from their education to their career, their sexually and physically active body, their family pressure, jobs, financial plans, and social responsibilities among their dreams and desires.
- Young adults also get pangs of stress in many ways, ranging from their urge to fulfill their dreams to parental pressures, upcoming social and family life, their career, competition, their love life, the hormonal influx, relationship issues, work-play-study imbalance, fear of failure, dysfunctional family issues in a wish to have their niche in the world.
- There are almost similar issues in teens and adolescents, like young adults. In addition, teens are more stressed nowadays because of increasing competition and decreasing chances to excel in their dream world.
- It is also a terrible truth that even today’s children are facing stress-related problems. Several hobby classes, tuition classes, usual school classes, homework, health and adolescence concerns, bullying, ragging, loss of loved ones, inter-family relations, surrounding atmosphere, and academic pressure – teens do have their stint with stressful events in their lives.
- Stress-related issues are also bothersome for the ladies, irrespective of their age group. Periods, hygiene, malnutrition, mistreatment, naming, and shaming because of the mentality of thinking of them being weaker, fear of crimes against them, domestic violence, their insecurities and vulnerabilities, unrealistic expectations from every sector of their lives – women are the worst victims of mental health as they usually prefer silence over coming out with their problems.
- The only people spared from stress-related problems are young children still learning to walk and talk.
- Illness, bad financial conditions, bad life choices, wrongful influences, failure despite hardships – there are many reasons behind a stressful life, and no one can deny it.
Unprecedented stressful situations are causing mental health issues, and it is sad to say that many of us still do not consider mental health as serious as physical health.
You may feel caught between two contradictory options, both going against you, yet you are thinking about them instead of opting out.
Our past experiences, discriminatory stressful moments, and internal expectations are adversely affecting our mental and physical health.
Long-term exposure to stress may lead to severe mental fragility, and we enter into a grey world of darkness unwillingly and unknowingly.
Any obstacle troubles us unconsciously, be it financial issues, work-related issues, family problems, personal health problems, or anything that happens against our plans.
A study shows that about 79% of adults in the UK and about 72% of adults in the USA are getting stress bouts in their daily lives, and many of them feel it constantly.
It is not surprising that almost half of the population in India suffers from either moderate or severe mental health issues, as India has recorded the highest number of suicides in the world, with worrying figures of 2.6 lakh suicide cases in the year 2022-23.
Tackling the stress-
Life is a journey, not a competition. When you are unsatisfied with what you have, you may find yourself in a tug-of-war situation, with both ends getting you nowhere.
Tending the tender leaves of life is vital for our survival in the world. One should never shy away from being adversely affected by circumstances. They are always there whether we decide to fight or not to fight.
There are so many routes on the way of our expected life, and we don’t know which turn we will get setbacks and upon which turn we will get surprising elements.
In short, there is no such thing as a fixed path to lead our life. Health issues are not to be avoided. They are here to remind us in subtle ways and make us self-conscious.
Like physical health, we must consult experts for our mental health as they are more detrimental to our body than physical ailments.
Seeking help with mental illness is the bravest step anyone can take.
Instead of suffering silently, search for the root cause and don’t hesitate to come forward with your problems.
Prevention is always better than cure, but the cure is also better than hiding the disease, mental or physical.
Stress is to make you comfortable in your life battles. It should not be a hindrance in your prospective path.
Stress can be a powerful tool to drive positive growth in your life. While eliminating stress may not be possible, you can harness its energy to make meaningful improvements in your life.
Don’t let stress hold you back – Use it as a motivational fuel for progress.