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HANDLING STRESS WITH RESILIENCE

Stress is unavoidable in our lives. We face some amount of stress daily—if we get late due to traffic,

if the Internet connection stops working, if we have a fight with a friend, and much more. However,
stress means different things to different people, in the following ways:

1. Each one has a different capability of handling stress: Some people stay calm even when the
situation is stressful. They have strict control over how much they react and how much they let
the situation affect them. However, some people panic quickly and need help from someone to
handle the situation.

2. We all cope with stress in different ways: Here also, some people just endure the stress patiently,
wait for it to pass, and resume normal tasks whereas some people take a longer time to recover.
They may need to distract themselves or need emotional support to get back to normal.

Our bodies are capable of handling small doses of stress at a time. But, if the stressful situation
continues indefinitely, there may be consequences in the form of poor health, weakened immunity,
and mental health concerns. In fact, prolonged stress can affect all aspects of our life, including our
emotions, behaviours, thinking ability, along with our physical health.

As mentioned before, there is no way to avoid stress completely in our lives. However, what we can
do is learn how to handle stress and recover from stressful events or situations. The ability to bounce

back from setbacks in life and their impact is known as ‘resilience’.

Given here is a grid of symptoms that are caused by chronic stress.

EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS

• Becoming easily agitated, frustrated, and • Low energy
moody • Headaches

• Feeling overwhelmed, like you are losing • Upset stomach, including diarrhoea
control or need to take control and nausea

• Having difficulty relaxing and quieting • Aches, pains, and tense muscles
your mind • Chest pain and rapid heartbeat

• Feeling bad about yourself (low self- • Insomnia
esteem), lonely, worthless, and depressed • Frequent colds and infections

• Avoiding others • Nervousness and shaking, ringing in the
ear, cold or sweaty hands and feet

BEHAVIOURAL SYMPTOMS COGNITIVE/THOUGHTS

• Changes in appetite—either not eating at • Constant worrying
all or eating too much
• Racing thoughts

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