A STUDY ON STRESS MANAGEMENT AND ITS IMPORTANCE AMONG DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE IN VELLORE DISTRICT C. Gajalakshmi Ph.D. Research Scholar, Voorhees College, Vellore ABSTRACT Stress is a global phenomenon, which arises due to pressure emanating from many experiences or challenging situation. In order to minimize stress, time management is the factor which one should consider, share some work with other people, also we can have a proper balance between work and home in order to avoid stress. If we always react in a negative way, our health and joy may suffer. By accepting ourselves and our reaction to stress-provoking situations, we can learn to handle stress more effectively. Hence, stress management is not about learning how to avoid or escape the pressures of modern living, but it is learning how to develop skills which enhance the body s adjustment. Stress management is thus, studying the mind-body connection and to the degree to which we can control our health in a positive sense. Keywords: Time management, sharing works, pressures INTRODUCTION Stress is an inescapable consequence. Present life is full of hassles, deadlines, frustrations, and demands. If a person wants help, then it means the person feels bodily and sensitively disabled. Most people believe that their capacity and capabilities are so little to meet high level of stress. 15
But, one can handle every situation in our life by setting proper time management plans, in order to overcome stress. Stress isn t always bad. In small doses, It can help you perform under pressure and motivate your mind and body pay the price. Today, managing stress is important in everyone s life. It s necessary for our happy life. Managing stress involves, understanding the psychology behind or that is causing the stress and finding strategies to deal with, reduce, or eliminate the stress. Reducing stress results in managing or viewing situations in a positive way, taking action, organizing, planning and finding solutions. Thus, by doing this you will feel a sense of control over the situation and your life. WHAT IS STRESS Stress is a common bodily reaction to the events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. When you sense jeopardy, whether its real or imagined the body defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the fight-or-flight reaction, or the stress response. HOW DOES STRESS AFFECT US? Physiological, behavioral and psychosomatic effects are caused due to stress. 16
Physiological Behavioral Hormone discharge triggers your fight or flight response. The hormones facilitate you to either fight harder or run faster. They increase heart rate, blood pressure and sweating. Stress has been attached to heart disease. Because of the raise in heart rate and blood pressure, extended stress increases the tension that is put on the arteries. It affects your immune system that is why cold and flu illness usually show up during exams. It may source you to be jumpy, excitable, or even irritable. The effects of stress may cause some people to drink or smoke a lot, neglect exercise or good nutrition, or overuse either the television or the computer. psychosomatic The reaction to stress may decrease your ability to work or interact CAUSES OF STRESS effectively to play a part in anxiety and depression. The stress is a psychological and physiological reaction to actions that upset our personal stability. The latent causes of stress are abundant. It may be connected to the external factors such as the state of the world, environment is which one lives or works or the family. It may come from one s own negligent behavior, negative attitudes or feelings or impracticable expectation. The causes of stress are highly individual. It depends on the individuality, general outlook on life, problem solving abilities, and social support system. several different things causes stress-physical to emotional. To Identify what causes stress is the first step to deal with stress. 17
STRESS DEFINITIONS Aswathappa. K (2007) Defines, Stress is an adaptive response to an external situation that result in physical, psychological and /or behavioural deviations from organization participations Stephen P. Robbins et al (2007) has defined Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, demand, or resource related to what the individual desires and for which the result is apparent to be both uncertain and important. Cropanzano, Howes, Grandey and Toth (1997) states that, Stress is a psychological feeling when job duties are beyond person s capabilities. These psychological feelings create the anxiety and tension which are symptoms of stress OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Lot of research has been conducted in stress over a last hundred years. The major objective of the present research work is as follows To identify what is stress To know the importance of stress management To identify different methods and techniques to reduce stress The present study is based upon the primary as well as secondary data. The population selected for this particular study is individuals of all age groups. It covers male and female both. The sample size is 100. The primary data was collected by direct interview through questionnaires. The secondary data was collected from research publications, books, standard journals and periodicals. The primary and secondary data collected is analyzed with the help of required statistical tools. 18
STRESS LEVEL This paper includes an analysis of data collected by representing it in a tabular form. Table 1 Percentage of Respondents who felt stressed Category % Of Respondents Stressed 92 Not stressed 8 Stressed Not stressed 19
Table 1 indicates that, the majority of the respondents were stressed, whereas only few respondents felt that they were not stressed. Table 2 Stress level in different categories (1) Adult % i. Men Businessman 93% Government employees 91% Private employees 97% Others 94% ii. Women Housewife 92% Working 98% (2)Children Under 10 years 20% Above 10 years 50% % 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 % 20
in their life. From the table 2, it is indicates the percentages of different categories which feels stress STRATEGIES TO MANAGE STRESS Become skilled by saying NO There are certain limits which one can follow. Taking additional work than you can do is not a good choice. Its ok if you do every single activity that your society, organization, or your friends are doing. Thoughts An ordinary human being wants to freak out. Your mind is a great tool; use it in your good turn. Thinking rationally can take you a long way. Express amusement Go with your friends, take a hobby, do something which makes you enjoy. If you keep them to yourself, it will add stress to yourself. Stay away from alcohol and cigerettes If the chemical get into your body, you are back to feeling stressed and you are probably worse off than when you started. Healthy eating Food plays an important role in every human being. Getting proper nutrition will also reduce your stress level. Exercise Exercise burns our fat and also reduces our stress. It also helps to release tension. Exercise for half an hour in a day for at least 3 times per week. Time management One of an important way to reduce stress is by managing your time well, so that, it may lead to peaceful life and make us happy. Delegate responsibilities If we delegate responsibilities to other persons, it not only reduces our stress, but, it helps one to learn the new things. 21
MODEL OF STRESS CONCLUSION Reducing our stress in our day to day life is a challenging task, which needs lot of time management skills, to keep moving. It may lead to maintain our health and can improve our mood, boost immune function, and allows us to be more productive. There are different ways to reduce this stress levels, by following some techniques like, doing meditation, yoga, exercising, reading etc. Thus, stress management leads to happy life, only when it is handled properly. 22
REFERENCES K.Aswathappa, Organisational Behavior Himalaya publishing House, 2007,p.291. Stephen P.Robbins, Timothy A.Judge, and Seema Sanghai, Organizational Behaviour Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007, p.735. Cropanzano, R., Howes, et al, P. (1997). Organizational politics and support to organizational behaviours, attitudes and stress. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 159-180. Stress management tips and techniques from mind tools. Mind Tools-Management Training, Leadership Training and career Training- Right Here, Right Now.2010. Web. 28. Apr.2010.http://www.mindtools.com/smpage.html STRESS MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTRE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA. 11 July 2005. Web.21 Apr.2010. http://www.uhs.ega.edu/stress/ 23