Part of 66 day challenge

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Picture credit - ​The Stress Relievers
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Day 30 - Coping with stress
9 May 2020
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Prabodh Sirur
sirurp@gmail.com
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My learning for the day
Stress and Anxiety; are they different?
The ‘fight, flight, or freeze’ ​responses​ are the ​same for stress and anxiety​.
Even the physical sensations are similar (​Canadian Mental Health
Association​)
Both can lead to​ sleepless nights, exhaustion, excessive worry, lack of focus,
and irritability etc. (​Katie Hurley​)
But the ​causes are different​ for both. Stress is a response to an ​external
cause​ (e.g. working with a tight deadline) whereas anxiety is a response to an
internal cause​ (e.g. worry or fear) (​Gabrielle Moss​)
Stress is the body’s reaction to a threat/ challenge, whereas anxiety is the
body’s reaction to the stress.
Surprisingly, the remedial steps look to be similar for both e.g.
Asanas​ (posture/ pose, The Yoga as called by the new world)
Dhyana​ (meditation techniques to cultivate new, more positive ways of
being)
Pranayama​ (breath control, breathing exercises).
All these three are part of ​Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra​ compiled sometime during
500-600 BCE
Mobile Apps to cope up with stress
In the first post on this topic, I shared my learning about the ​stress theory​;
the second post was about ​Holmes Rahe Stress scale​ & Symptoms and
causes of stress.
This post covers my learning from some ​mobiles apps​ that help us manage
stress. I am not promoting any of these. Just sharing my wonder as to how
these apps have become an extension of our brain.
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GPS for Soul​ - This app uses biofeedback to help you ​determine your stress
level​, heart rate etc. and then connect you to what you would need to
become balanced. It might be music, or poetry, or breathing exercises, or
photos of a person or place you love…
Stress Doctor​ - This app also uses biofeedback and helps you become
aware of your breathing​ and shows you how to control it in order to calm
yourself down
Pocket Yoga​ - This app is a Yoga guide that tracks your practice progress and
allows you to share it on social networks
Hundreds of ​guided meditation apps​ - such as HeadSpace, Calm,
Buddhify...etc.to name a few that help you in your meditation journey
Hundreds of fitness apps​ - such as Fitbit, My Fitness Pal etc.
Hope you have great ‘mobile’ partners during your combats with stress.
What is stress?
When you perceive a threat or a major challenge, chemicals and hormones surge
throughout your body. ​This is called stress​. It is basically a survival mechanism of
our body.
There is good stress (eustress), bad stress (acute stress) and chronic stress
Eustress is the type of stress when we feel excited e.g. when riding a roller coaster
or when competing for a promotion etc.
Acute stress is a short term stress because of some stressors e.g. stuck in a traffic
jam when we are late for a meeting, an argument with your spouse, an unkind
criticism from your boss etc.
Chronic stress is a long term stress brought on by continual acute stresses when we
repeatedly face stressors. This condition gives a feeling of helplessness and a
feeling of being put in inescapable state. Chronic stress causes many physical and
mental health related issues e.g. heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents,
cirrhosis of the liver and suicide.
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How to improve this skill?
Set a goal to ​become a go-to person​ by mastering the art and science of ​coping
with stress​.
Follow the ​LAST model​ to build your personal brand as a Guru of ​stress
management​.
Learn​ - Invest time in learning different frameworks/ models/ techniques of ​coping
with stress
Apply​ -
Identify a model suitable to you
Create a template to document the flow of the process
Find opportunities to use the selected method/ template
Maintain record/ process flow of every important activities you did to ​cope
with stress
Maintain notes of your thoughts/ insights/ failures/ challenges…. to be used
for sharing/ training others
Share​ - Share the insights captured in step 2 above in a planned manner (social
media posts, blogs, videos, study notes…)
Train​ - Generate opportunities to train your peers and team members so that, over
time, your organization benefits from your efforts
Purpose of this document
I took a 66 day challenge​ to study Life Skills last year (10 April 2019). To my
astonishment, I succeeded in studying for 66 days one skill a day.
My objectives of learning these skills were - To strengthen my mind to face life’s
challenges with ease, To use these skills in my worklife for a better performance, To
use these skills in my personal life for enriching my relationships, To open new
possibilities to surprise myself.
This is my next 66 day challenge​ (from 10 April 2020) - To share my Life Skills
learning with my social media friends.
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I pray that my toil helps you in your success journey.
What are Life Skills?
UNICEF​ defines Life skills as - ​psychosocial abilities​ for adaptive and positive
behaviour that enable individuals ​to deal effectively with the demands and
challenges of everyday life​. They are loosely grouped into three broad categories
of skills
- cognitive skills​ for analyzing and using information,
- personal skills​ for developing personal agency and managing oneself,
- inter-personal skills​ for communicating and interacting effectively with others.
Which LifeSkills are covered?
The ​World Health Organisation​ identified these basic areas of life skills that are
relevant across cultures:
1. Decision-making
2. Problem-solving
3. Creative thinking
4. Critical thinking
5. Communication
6. Interpersonal skills
7. Self-awareness
8. Empathy
9. Coping with emotions
10. Coping with stress.
Some trivia
‘Life skills’ was never part of the school curriculum. WHO/ UNESCO mandated
academia to teach these skills in all schools across the globe in 1993.
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Different countries educate their children in these skills with different objectives
- Zimbabwe and Thailand - prevention of HIV/AIDS
- Mexico - prevention of adolescent pregnancy
- United Kingdom - child abuse prevention
- USA - prevention of substance abuse and violence
- South Africa and Colombia - positive socialization of children.
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