The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Check stress before it affects you!

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 17, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Check stress before it affects you!

Manisha Garg

Many people suffering from stress

Prolonged exposure to it can become serious illness
Many affected people want to take less stressful jobs

VISAKAHAPATNAM: When P. Hari was made team manager in his company, a BPO, he was more than happy. But very soon he started feeling that he was not cut out for the role and the responsibilities that went along with it. He developed frequent headaches and was irritated most of the time.

The medical examination showed that Hari was clinically fit. However, it was found he was under stress.

Mansi Gupta, a class six student could not cope with the fact that her classmates did not pay much attention to her.

At home, her mother pampered her a lot.

The difference between the two environments hit Mansi Gupta very badly. She stopped sharing her school events at home, developed jealousy towards her classmates, became very short tempered and her grades fell very sharply.

Not isolated

These are not isolated cases. . Certain occupations that involve meeting targets in strict deadlines, sitting in front of the computer terminals for long hours, changing work timings or night shifts or a lot of travelling are also other major causes of stress.

Due to the unusually high stress levels in BPOs, Insurance sector and FMCGs, the attrition rates have also been going up.

Many people are falling victims to irritability, confusion, inability to take decisions, feeling burdened, inability to relax and many others.

The worrying trend is that children are also becoming the victims of stress-related problems due to pressure in school or as their parents in high pressure jobs are spilling over the stress to them. Unhealthy and irregular food habits, sedentary life style further aggravate the situation.

Repercussions

Professor of Psychology in Andhra University and Director of The Institute of Yoga and Consciousness K. Madhu says, “Stress affects every part of the body and can lead to premature greying of hair, skin problems, hair fall, diabetes and acidity among other things.”

Sometimes prolonged exposure to stress can take the form of serious illness also. Today around ten per cent of the country’s population is suffering from mental disorders like depression, high stress, anxiety and about two per cent of them have problems requiring admission and intensive treatment, says Superintendent of Government Hospital for Mental Care, G. Bhagya Rao.

Counsellors say that many people visiting them want to shift to less stressful jobs. Individuals should realise that psychologists can help them in realising their potential and they should not hesitate in seeing them.

Sometimes, a timely help, change in one’s job or change in lifestyle is all that is required to save oneself from a serious trouble later.

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