How to Deal with Stress to Enhance Productivity

 In the era of a COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions, economic lockdowns and mandatory quarantine, people everywhere including young people of all ages seem to be under an immense amount of stress. Stress could be due to working from home, taking online classes, having to deal with overdue payments, being in-between jobs, long distance relationships or the mundane routines of everyday life. Scientists argue that stress is not always harmful, as it can promote individual growth, self-improvement and prevent individuals from being less affected by future stress; yet, if we allow stress to build up, it can be toxic to our body, spirit and soul.

If we attempt to address stress in the wrong way, it becomes, not just complicated but serious. Examples of bad ways include smoking, drinking, less exercise, un-prescribed medication and irregular sleep. I therefore think stress is an important social issue that deserves global attention. Psychologists believe it is impossible to get rid of stress completely, but we can control it to some degree. Controlling stress is not as difficult as you might think.

I studied psychology for two years and learned that stress is the physical, psychological burden, or tension that arises from physical, emotional, or social experiences that are difficult to deal with or even unendurable. To relieve stress, we have to relax or give self-instruction, but today we will find out how to solve stress through relaxation.

 

There are many different ways to relieve stress. These methods are a lot more straight forward than we might think. I have seen many individuals relieve stress in ways that are counterproductive. My hope is that people will overcome stress by applying the solutions that are described below.(Photo. Google)

Firstly, it is essential that we exercise on a regular basis. You've probably heard that exercise is the best way to relieve stress. The reason is that stress relieves tense muscles and exercises that require the use of large muscles reduces frustration, anger, and depression. Exercise also has the effect of inducing deep sleep by making you feel tired enough to be called a natural tranquilizer. Moderate and regular exercise helps relieve stress regardless of its type. Various studies have reported that exercise helps to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression. Studies show that exercise improves the functioning of certain proteins in the human brain. Also, during regular exercise, the synthesis of 'serotonin' becomes active in the brain and the secretion of 'beta endorphins' increases. Serotonin and beta-endorphins are renowned for being hormones that promote happiness. After exercising, people feel alleviated from their negative thoughts and emotions. This is thanks to serotonin and beta-endorphins, which increase through exercise. The exercise should feel intense enough to feel your heart beating while you are out of breath and sweating. It is not good, however, to feel dizzy or vomit because the level of exercise is too hard. When it is hard to find time to exercise, running lightly or walking fast around the park is also a good way to relieve stress. We must note, however, that exercising excessively in an obsessive manner can be counterproductive, as it may create additional stress. Also, severe exercise before going to bed can cause the body's awakening effect and cause insomnia. If possible, an adequate amount of exercise to feel light fatigue before dinner or 2-3 hours before bedtime is sufficient.  This may seem obvious, but finding a form of exercise that you enjoy and something that is endurable for your body is best recommended. Taekwondo is a good exercise recommendation for relieving stress. Taekwondo is one of the Korean 'Hit martial arts'. It is an effective exercise for us to positively release potential aggression and reduce stress or anger. This is because we use our hands and feet to kick and train. Also, Taekwondo is an exercise that people do together, so we can encourage one another while sweating and having a good time. Many people state that they feel relieved and good after practicing Taekwondo. Taekwondo is an effective form of exercise that can activate body muscles that we did not mobilize enough during the pandemic. Yoga and stretching are the same. If we are worried about the COVID-19 pandemic, we can learn and follow by watching Youtube videos at home.

Secondly, listening to music is a common outlet to release stress. Listening to calm songs as if meditating brings comfort to the body. This is because the tension in your body is able to relax. For example, you can listen to classical music. Classical music has an excellent effect on relieving tension. Unlike popular songs and pop songs, listening to calm classical music, which stimulates brain waves less, slows your pulse and promotes relaxation within the mind. Classical music is closer to us than we think. We can listen to classical music in elevators, subway stations, and even rest areas. Classical music is often played at restaurants, which creates a good atmosphere. On the contrary, fast food restaurants play songs or pop songs because they try to speed up the table circulation by speeding up the meal. Of course pop songs are more exciting and you may feel stress being relieved,  but sometimes you need to relax your body and mind, while releasing the tension in your body by listening to calm songs. This is because it also helps you to think more about yourself not just hand over the moment. When you feel stressed, try listening to classical music minutes before going to bed. Music is also recommended because it is a safe way to relieve stress at home, unlike many other methods that are limited by the virus.

Finally, having a conversation with a close person to relieve stress is another method that I highly recommend. According to a famous quote about stress, "Having a deep, heart-to-heart conversation with a close person is such a stress reliever. The type of conversations I like the most." Conversations can do wonders to our overall mental health. It is different from person to person, but if you like talking to people, it will definitely help reduce stress levels. We can't talk freely due to the coronavirus and this could be an additional stress factor. Therefore, we can experience relieving stress by simply talking with others. There are a lot of ways to have a conversation. For example, you can have a phone call, zoom, and meet at a friend’s home or a local café, etc.

Not all of these ideas are completely safe from the coronavirus, but I don’t think it would be an issue if we adhere to social distancing. I think we can prevent it beyond relieving stress. If we solve stress in the best way, depending on the level of stress and the situation, I believe we can overcome this collective issue wisely enough and use this to propel productivity.