Dealing with stress one breath at a time | Aneek Mandal from XIMB

Stress, as we all relate to as something that should be inordinately avoided is not always bad. Rather a certain amount of stress actually helps one to get out of bed and keep moving, which is referred to as good stress or Eustress. But in Mandarin, there’s a saying 'Wu ji bi fan', which means too much of a good thing is a bad thing. So here some ways of dealing with stress in different situations and an account of my personal experience which gave me an important life lesson.

Some solutions that I garnered through my life experiences to deal with this hellhound are:

• If you are feeling exhausted due to office work and still a lot of work remains undone which needs to be addressed before the end of the day, it’s quite impractical to boost your energy by hitting the gym when your battery level is touching zero. What to do? Well, a warm bath and some soothing music do the trick. The battery gets charged up like anything.
• If you are unsure about something like where to invest, the thought of which, invariably starts playing with your mind day in and out, what do you do then? Well, it’s time that you talk to family, friends, colleagues. It's not necessary that the person has to provide the best possible solution, but often it happens that you end up coming with a solution by discussing it freely.
• It’s a rainy day and you had big dinner plans and maybe you have even pre-booked a place for the occasion by paying some token of money. But the weather has plans to keep you indoors. You feel distressed because of two things: A plan not working out and also money going down the drain as it is non-refundable. What can be done? A cup of hot coffee and a good book to read can take your mind elsewhere. It doesn’t solve the source of the problem but it pretty much takes your mind off the main topic and keeps you distracted and ultimately helps in dealing with stress.

A powerful learning 

Let me share a small incident of my life that I pray none of you ever have to go through.

I was working post my graduation and was about to switch my career path by coming back to academics. Everything was going as per plan until I encountered a fatal accident that caused concussions and landed me in bed for quite a number of days. I could see the grim on my parent’s faces as they were skeptical about me going back to my normal life. The stress level was highly infinite. I prayed for death with open arms every day.

But then something miraculous happened. While I was laying on my bed and watching videos, I came across a motivational video of Nicholas James Vujicic, a man without arms and legs but with the heart of a lion. It changed my mindset completely.

After that, I started to watch more motivational Ted talks, and read books on the struggles of many well-known personalities, and slowly I could find a sense of confidence. I didn’t wish for the suffering to end anymore, rather I was motivated enough to stand on my feet and get going. The doses of medicine reduced and I could feel my health improving. Two months from that day, I went back to my work, started doing light exercises, and later that year I cracked a reputed entrance exam to get into a college to carry on with my future endeavors.

In short what just happened? Was it magic or just an exceptional event? Initially, my body wanted to get up, but my mind was pulling me down. But when it saw a shift in the state of mind, miracles started to happen.

The Upshot

People should stay motivated, and pen down their grievances and their goals in personal diaries so their minds are not clouded by any negative thoughts. Meditate and indulge in activities that you like. But first, identify the cause of your stress. Stay away from things that pull you down. Above all, there is universal advice that comes handy in dealing with stress - JUST BREATHE!