Stressed about stress?

Nine out of 10 Indians suffer from stress, reveals a 2018 study conducted by Cigna TTK Health Insurance. While the study points to workplace and financial pressures as being the key reasons, Dr Rangan Chatterjee, author of the recently-released book The Stress Solution (PenguinRandomHouse UK), believes that the causes (and solutions) for stress are rooted in our bodies, brains and environment. In the book, he describes "stress ecosystems" that we inhabit.

The stress ecosystem
"Human beings today are bombarded with information from multiple sources. Your brain is constantly monitoring something, from your breath to your hormone levels. Your gut is taking information from the food you eat to determine whether you are in a state of feast or famine. Your immune system is drawing cues from your physical and emotional wellbeing. All these sources of information are talking to each other to ultimately answer one simple question: am I safe or am I under threat?" he explains.
Most people have unwittingly built their own stress ecosystems. As a result, one of the biggest reasons why conventional stress management therapies fall short is because they attempt to tackle stress from a single direction. "Attacking psychological stress from overwork by practising meditation or by booking a spa day, for example, might have a limited effect if the lifestyle choices you are making in restaurants and bars are generating constant stress signals in your body, through your gut," he points out. This makes it especially vital to address psychological, emotional, dietary, physical, technological stress and life stress concurrently, so that the information relayed to our brains convinces it that we are safe, and not under threat. Here are a few strategies to help you get started.

Time it right
If you're tired of complaining about not having enough time to do everything you want to, the problem may lie with the way you're managing the time you already have. Dr Chatterjee believes that simply taking a good, hard look at how you spend your day could throw up some interesting numbers about how much time you idle away on social media or mindless prevaricating. A simple way to get more done is, he says, to schedule your day. In addition to leaving you more in control of exactly how you spend your day, scheduling can also be quite fulfilling. A good way to get started, Dr Chatterjee adds, is to plan the next few days down to the minute. "You will be pleasantly surprised at what difference it makes and once you've seen the benefits, you can relax the rules. You can perhaps graduate to only scheduling by the hour or on busy weekdays. Schedules are very effective for children, too, who often have hidden anxiety in situations where they don't know what's expected of them. A simple morning schedule pinned to the fridge [with pictures for younger kids], letting them know what they need to do and when, can make life less stressful for them.

Choose the positive
An affirmation is a short, powerful and positive statement of intent that you repeat regularly. These, says Dr Chatterjee, have the power to actually change your thoughts by giving your brain a new blueprint to function on. "Using affirmations enables you to talk to your subconscious mind about what you want from life. Your affirmation can be as broad as, 'I am happy, calm and stress-free,' or it can be more specific: 'I help my patients live happier, healthier lives.' These affirmations feed positive information to your brain and programme it for success. Affirmations have even been shown to improve problem-solving performance by undergraduate students and make US army soldiers less likely to suffer from PTSD and depression," he explains. When framing your affirmations, he also suggests turning negatives into positives. For instance, instead of telling yourself that 'I am highly strung', your affirmation could be, 'I choose to be calm and happy.' Repeat these affirmations for a minute or two every morning, even when you don't feel like it, and several times through the day until it becomes a habit.

Rangan Chatterjee

Reframe the negative
Another useful strategy, says Dr Chatterjee, is to change the way you view your daily stresses. "When you reframe a stressful experience, your body can derive powerful physiological changes. And the best way to reframe your stressors is to turn your focus away from your own self to the wider world. Look at the bigger picture. A good way to do this is to write down the experience, focus on the cause and replay it as though you were an observer. This will keep you from catastrophising the stressor," he says.

Eat happy
Your gut is home to trillions of microbes that interact with the body, the food you eat and each other. They communicate with your brain via various pathways, including the vagus nerve (the longest nerve in your body) to create what scientists call the gut-brain axis. When your gut is unhealthy, these microbes can send stress signals to your brain, leading to stress, anxiety and even depression. The right combination of gut microbes educates your immune system and reduces inflammation, which has been linked to serious complaints such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, obesity and mental health issues. Eating happy, therefore, involves focusing on a diet that allows these microbes to flourish. In a nutshell, cutting down on highly processed foods, sugar, artificial sweeteners and unnecessary additives, and increasing your intake of plant fibres can nourish your gut. "Aim for a diverse, colourful range of vegetables, fruit, pulses, nuts and seeds. Include fermented foods and drinks on a regular basis - natural yoghurt, kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, pickled vegetables, miso and sourdough bread, for example, contain living bacteria that can help to repopulate the gut," he says. He also advises time-restricted eating to give your gut a break from food. "By simply eating all your day's food within a 12-hour window and increasing the time you fast overnight can make you more psychologically resilient by allowing a new set of microbes to form and clean up your gut."

Reduce your tech time
. No screens at the dinner table - especially when you are dining out. Phones stay hidden.
. Turn off automatic syncing and notifications in apps - stop the relentless pinging that has you reaching for your phone.
. No screens for two hours before bed - especially for children. The blue light emitted by our devices is known to inhibit the production of melatonin, the hormone that helps us sleep. Even if you manage a night of sleep, its quality won't be as good.
. Have a no-tech lunch hour - don't move from your work computer straight onto your phone. Take a walk, or read a book.
. Have a digital detox hour once a day, or a whole day once a week - no screens, no devices.

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