A friend recently commented that most people living in cities are between one of three things – between jobs, apartments or relationships. This might not be true for everyone, but my experience is that things seem to be unpredictable and in constant flux for most of us. Everyone seems to be grappling for some sense of security, be it in their careers or relationships.
Like every other IT professional, I have a sedentary stressful life. Stress, anxiety and depression have become commonplace, especially in this industry. So I decided to put my research skills to use and combat stress and anxiety with knowledge. After all, how hard can it be?
I have to say, when I started investigating I became even more anxious! I learnt that stress is the natural mechanism of the body to cope with and fight against danger in our environment.
This is good news, right? The problem is that we experience it every day. When we are under pressure, the growth mechanism stops and our mind and body switch to survival mode,
which would come in handy if we were at war or during a natural calamity, but usually it’s more mundane. We experience the same level of stress even in traffic or during an argument at work or home.
When we undergo this daily, our nervous system, immunity and mental and physical well-being all deteriorate. Over time, our performance diminishes because,
although stress brings out great results in a crisis situation, you cannot sustain it for the long-term. It’s like running a car on full throttle for extended periods – it leads to wear and tear of internal parts. Likewise, our human system shatters from a continuous and extensive onslaught of stress.
