Stress Management

The major problem facing today’s society throughout the world is stress. There are many people who complain about stress, than those who are suffering from depression. Dealing with stress, particularly when we have multiple stressors in our life is not easy but we can manage stress effectively if we can identify the stressors and the effects of stress on the body. From Scientific evidence, the emotions and thoughts affect the conduction of electrochemical impulses through the nervous system, affecting the messages that travel from the brain to various parts of the body. These mental and emotional states can affect immune function, digestion, blood flow to organs, and many other important biological processes. A recent research indicates that between 80-90% of all diseases and illness that affect human beings are related to stress. When external pressures put demands on our physical system, our adrenal glands respond by secreting cortisone-like hormones into our physical bodies and then our bodies respond to external pressures automatically. This adrenaline rush is the natural “fight” or “flight” response to the pressures of life and if these pressures persist for a long time, our adrenal glands cannot cope up, and stress becomes distress.

The Physiological changes are part of the “fight or flight” response, which prepares and energizes a person to confront or flee from danger. If you are in a real physical danger, it is appropriate to feel afraid and getting your body charged up with adrenaline may help to keep you alive. But in most cases, when we feel stressed, there is no immediate cause of danger, which means, it is a false fear. When Stress persist it become so undesirable and sufficient to warrant the person to do whatever is necessary to free from this pestilence. If you can recognize the symptoms of stress early enough, you’ll be able to address the source of it before the physical or emotional consequences become overwhelming.

Stress is defined as a feeling of emotional or physical tension caused by our response to pressures from the outside world. Under normal pressures stressors lead to automatic increase in performance and therefore it is perfectly normal to face the pressures of deadlines, schedules, trauma, temptations and so on, but the major difference is how every person interpret mentally the external world and how he process those data he/she received in his/her brain. Normal doesn’t necessarily mean healthy, neither is it inevitable, but every person can learn how to eliminate stress. I don’t mean eliminating the pressures in your life since those will probably persist, but I believe the pressure is what is happening to you and the way you interpret the data that your brain receives and what you have decided to believe. That is not the external factors, which determine the degree of stress, but stress is how you react to those pressures. Common stress reactions include tension, irritability, inability to concentrate, and a variety of physical symptoms which include headache and fast heartbeat. It is almost impossible to live without some of these stresses and infact most of us wouldn’t either want to live without it because it gives life some spices and excitement. But if stress gets out of control, it may harm your health, your relationships, and your enjoyment of life; therefore you can keep the pressure and get rid of the stress.

The disadvantage of stress is that, while the stressors remain present, the body will maintains a constant state of readiness and as a result, blood pressure and heart rate are increased. The blood flows preferentially to large muscles, leaving the digestive and other organs with inadequate oxygen and nutrients. Constant stress eventually suppresses the immune system and reduces the body’s ability to fight off the disease. The impact of stress on the body is largely determined, not by the presence of the stressors, but by the perception of stress. It is not necessary to exonerate our lives of every stress-producing situation, because  the stress is an everyday occurrence, but we must discover successful ways to lessen the stress and manage it more effectively.

Managing Stress from a Biblical Perspective:

When we converse about “Stress Management”, we are referring to coping with stress, recovering and the interpretation of stressors. Stress management can be an ability to experience stress without the accompanying mental or physical stress response. Unlike most people who use different addictions that are linked to the stressful lifestyle, such as overeating, smoking, drinking, and drug abuse hoping to escape from the stress, there is nothing more effective than dealing with stress from a biblical perspective. The use of these substances as a way of switching the stress off is unfortunate because they cannot address the underlying problem. Thousands of different sets of techniques used in the stress management in order to feel better emotionally are only temporally. Only the Word of God can help us to keep the pressure that is vital with our day-to-day life, and gets rid of the stress.

The bible has real answer of all humanity stress management. As a matter of fact, through studying the Scriptures, we will be able to keep stressful existence while possessing the ability to manage it. Stress is a byproduct of our modern fast-paced lifestyle and most of us are caught up in relentless pursuit of materialistic pleasures that lead to stress and ill health. We run from one activity to the other, seeking to fill our lives with purpose, peace, and happiness, but if we are going to free ourselves from stress and worries, we must invite Jesus Christ into our lives. Without Jesus we will be always defenseless to stress. Isaiah said, “His name will be called “Wonderful, Counselor,” Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 According to the prophet one of His royal names was “Wonderful Counselor,” and He is able to counsel us and take care of all our infirmities.

When a stressful situation arises in our life, we must immediately give it over to “Wonderful Counselor,” through prayer and supplications and He will guard our minds from strange scenarios, which we tend to turn into believable facts without evidence. Many of the things that stress people are assumptions and in most cases there is no evidence that they are true. Only God can give us the perception we need to identify the source of our thought and determine if they are true or not. Jesus with full understanding of our vulnerability of stress said: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus knows our every weakness and He knows our very need in peaceful times as well as stressful times and if our mind is focused on Him, He will keep us in perfect peace. If we love God’s Word and are yoked to Christ through salvation, our souls will experience peace that does pass all understanding of men that flows like a river. This is how God expects us to handle stress since He is totally involved in every part of our life. I can attest to the benefits of regular meditation from personal experience and also how the regular meditation can help you feel less reactive to future stress. Whenever you are thinking or saying a negative comment, remember that God is in control and stop the negative thoughts by replacing them with a more positive or optimistic statement.

The best way to counterbalance stress is to start praising God and thank Him for His countless blessings in our lives. There is an old adage “Count Your Blessings and you’ll observe what God has done for you” which really true. The Psalmist with this understanding said, “Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's”. Psalms 103:1-5 In spite of everything, there are so many blessings woven throughout our lives that many of us do not even have the eyes to see them. Even if your situation seems hopeless and worthless, remember all good things God has done for you during your life and praise Him. God is worthy of all your praises; He delights in a heart that praises Him no matter what the Doctors say about your health, your family, and even the public opinion. No matter how your bankbook read, the bills are not being met and may be your tight schedules, or any other circumstance that would try to exalt itself against the knowledge of God, but remember, God is always in control. When we praise and bless the name of the Most High God, everything else in this world begins to pale and fade away against the sheer loveliness of who He is. End.