According to a WHO study, STRESS is the epidemic of the new age. Mainly caused by, and feeding on, life-style and attitudinal disorders, it has outdone old ravages like TB, Malaria etc. A latest study in US ranks stress at par with smoking as a killer. Stress & stress-induced psycho-somatic ailments cost billions of dollars annually, on a global scale. Stress affects all ages, including children, and the worst part of it is that it remains silent and hidden until it has translated into a manifest ailment.

What makes younger generation particularly susceptible to stress, when they seemingly earn much better, have access to better medicines, behave smarter and are much better informed than their previous generations ? The factors are a confused value system, hostile and aggressive nature due to severe competition in the environment, a faulty life-style (specially food habits), excessive ambition, pollution, too rapid changes to adapt to, etc.

But what exactly is Stress ? Stress is a condition of increased mental and physical preparedness to face a demanding or threatening situation. In simpler language, it is the effect of a perception that is unpleasant and makes one feel uneasy. Stress of whatever kind puts additional demands on our body-mind system to maintain a healthy equilibrium.

Is Stress a new phenomenon ? No, stress has been there as long as homosapiens have been there.

What happens when we are (negatively & relentlessly ) stressed ? We have seen that stress makes unusually high demands on our soma-psyche system and disturbs its equilibrium.

To meet these demands, several neural, chemical and hormonal changes are triggered which can together cause many behavioral changes, often unpredictable, and various damages like a rise in blood pressure and consequently likely damages to the arteries and so higher cardiac risks.

As a stress response, excess fat and glucose are released into blood to meet extra energy demands, but these are not immediately metabolized and so they remain in the bloodstream. Excess fat clogs the arteries, precursing heart ailments while extra glucose leads to diabetic conditions in many persons. Also, to meet these excess fat / sugar demands, we get a false appetite, leading to obesity which further aggravates and compounds the problem.

The extra neuro-harmones released during stress conditions, weaken immunity and potentially damage the cognitive ability of the brain, increase fatigue, depression, anger and irritation and biological ageing. Related medical findings on natural antidotes against adrenaline.

When we are stressed, the hormones that monitor digestion are thrown out of gear and acidity & gastric problems incl. ulcers result. Skin problems, infections and immune disorders, cancer-propagation etc also have an increasingly realized bearing on stress-related causes.

In acute stress, panic disorder may result causing abdominal gripping, frequent nausea and diarrhoea, tremors, wet hands / limbs due to profuse sweating, shouting with difficulty in breathing, faltering speech,.body-heating / sudden chill, a tingling numbness in limbs, palpitation, etc.

STRESS REACTION BEHAVIOUR : The take-off level which is also called the threshold level of Stress differs widely from person to person and it usually decides how stressed we are finally capable of becoming. If one is in a vexed state of mind ( unfortunately some people often are in that kind of a mental frame), it is easy to become further vexed or irritated ; a kettle that has simmering water in it would not need too much extra heat to boil up. Some people whether male or female, get into a rage, a fitful anger, at slightest provocation.

But then different people react to the same stressful situation differently, wherein lies the key to our problem and the justification for this discussion. There are men and women around us who keep their cool remarkably well and although they know how and when to assert something that they honestly believe in, they would seldom lose their temper. Our genetic make-up, family background, personality traits and idiosyncrasies, environmental effects and most importantly cultivated habits (which are changeable) decide the stress reaction.

The workshop will help you learn a healthy life-style including simple physical exercises, a positive attitude, a sound value system and how to get along with yourself and others. Overall, it leads to restoring a body-mind-soul harmony, to a scientifically explained spiritual re-orientation without bias towards any single religion.

Details of some common Physical, Mental and Emotional Stressors plus Extraneous Stress Factors.

How to prevent / handle Stress

The program gives twenty tips for Stress Control incl. right attitudes, with many examples and some stories, life-style reordering and spiritual re-integration, etc.

Some latest medical findings on beneficial effect of meditation on heart, work effciency, memory, relationships, immunity level, sense of well-being, resistance to pollution, longevity etc.

Also, theory and demonstration of stress-bursting exercises, Yogasanas, relaxation and meditation techniques.

Program Duration: 1 day to 3 days, preferably 2-3 days for good learning.