Stress is a phenomenon you can’t avoid in life but it shouldn’t be left untreated. Many people think that stress is something not serious enough to be given much thought but unfortunately not many know that it is a killer in the real sense. Stress in Malaysia has become more serious since the onset of the novel coronavirus. Many people have lost their lives due to stress. Committing suicide has been the last resort among those suffering from stress. Since they cannot withstand the ordeal of going through stress they end their lives. Even educated professionals have committed suicide. Some have simply jumped off tall buildings, some by drinking poison and there were also cases of hanging themselves in public places. Covid 19, has put a lot of people under undue stress. Many Malaysians lost their jobs due to the total closure of businesses during the height of the pandemic. Many had to take a big pay cut to continue working. Many companies sustained by enforcing such a strategy. These figures ran into hundreds of thousands and was a serious problem for the government to handle. As a result, many were unable to put food on the tables to feed their families and this caused a lot of stress.
Stress kills silently. Many people going through serious stress also end up with depression or other mental illnesses. For Malaysians, economic problems due to the covid 19 pandemic have generated a lot of chronic stress. And this chronic stress can cause damage physically as well as mentally to the well being of a person. Physically, it can cause among others, body aches and fatigue. Body ache and fatigue are usually caused by hard physical work. But, many victims may not be involved in heavy physical work but suffer from all kinds of pain and tiredness the next day. They may be just lying down and sitting idly. This comes as a shock to many and cannot understand the reason. They are also more prone to infections, go through digestion problems and insomnia to name a few. Serious stress is also emotionally taxing. As a result of this, they can be very anxious, depressive as well as easily angered. Many also suffer from the decreased cognitive ability as stress changes the function and setup of the brain. They have problems studying as well as remembering. These functions take a dip. Victims without much education may not be able to understand this phenomenon and thus don’t go for treatment or counselling.
We are programmed that high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes Mellitus as well excessive weight problems increase cardiac risks or cause a stroke. Many go on managing such problems and maybe in excellent shape. What they don’t understand is, chronic stress also increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke. That’s the reason why sometimes a person without the risk factors suffers from a heart attack or has a stroke. Many don’t understand the havoc that can be created by chronic stress. Though many heart attacks are due to coronary arteries being blocked, over the past years physicians have come to identify a new cardiac problem called stress cardiomyopathy. Doctors say this kind of cardio problem is caused by excessive stress. Doctors too believe that an increased level of emotional stress also develops cardiovascular diseases.
So how do we turn this problem around? The government must adopt constructive measures to reduce stress. They must start programmes in health centres and hospitals to look into this matter. This is one area the health authorities must take proactive measures to further improve. In towns, it’s quite easy to get counselling or medical treatment for stress and related disorders but in the rural areas where most of the victims are uneducated, the health authorities should go down to help them. Health centres can have paramedics visiting the rural population to look for troubled people. They can trace people who have lost jobs and also those who are too poor to feed the family. These people will surely need some sort of counselling. At the same time, people must also learn of ways to help themselves to keep away stress. Regular exercise will help to keep stress at bay. Regular exercise is one way to reduce stress. When one exercises the body secretes the hormone endorphins. These hormones called “happiness hormones” can balance your mind and keep you thinking positive. Problems like mild depression, anxiety and anger that goes hand in hand with stress can be reduced drastically. The rule of thumb is one must exercise at least for forty-five minutes three times a week.
One can also practise techniques on their own to calm down the body. Among them are yoga, meditation,tai chi and slow breathing methods. Doctors are also of the opinion that such methods can help to destress a troubled person. All these techniques promote relaxation which the body needs. Almost anyone can do it. Many schools are teaching these techniques to relax. Some may charge a fee but there are also many schools by non-governmental organisations that do not impose a fee. At the same time, any interested person with a smartphone and internet service can learn from the many websites on the worldwide net that teach meditation, yoga and breathing techniques. Almost all of these are free of charge. They just have to go in and type the service they want. A feature that is necessary here is discipline and interest. If a person is not interested then he can’t be helped.
Sleep is another factor that can help reduce stress. Additionally, your sleep time must be regular. Enough sleep also helps one to keep away from cardiovascular problems. To ensure that you get enough sleep make sure your bedroom is at a comfortable temperature, quiet and with the right amount of light which you are comfortable. Keep away from electronic devices that emit blue light, such as television, mobile phones or computers before you sleep. The last resort to fighting chronic stress is to see a health practitioner. The doctor may prescribe drugs if necessary to calm you down. They too offer therapy to help you build up your stress management skills.
The Global Organisation for Stress reports that about 75% of people suffer from stress globally. Unfortunately, many of them don’t attempt to help themselves by doing positive things to reduce stress or get help from others including available medical help. Remember stress can be fatal if left uncontrolled so don’t be one of those who don’t seek help. If you think you are stressed get help or self-help.
Palaniappan Karuppan is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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