“Stress” is one of the most commonly used and often misused term as a lot of issues in our day to day living are generally attributed under the larger ambit of stress. While some amount of stress – called as eustress is needed by all of us to gather some kind of motivation to start with our days, go to work and get going with our lives despite the odd circumstances, one wonders when exactly stress becomes an issue. The stress response in the body is followed by a relaxing response in the body and the absence of this response starts making stress a pressing issue. The physiological response in the body at the time of stress, is that of hyper activity of all body systems and thus in the case of chronic stress situations such as post trauma, relationship or financial crisis etc, the body systems are fatigued and physiological issues like insomnia, psychosomatic issues – anxiety, depression etc, lifestyle disorders – hypertension, cardio-vascular issues, irritable bowel syndrome etc, and hormonal changes or even musculoskeletal pain manifestations, can be traced back to stress being the cause.
Ayurveda, through the Tridosha analysis, paves way for one to understand their body types and the usual stress responses and stressors in their lives. It is important to point, however, that practically nobody would fall into a single classified body type and thus the doshas exist in combination and the issues presented are also of mixed kind.
While one may have a stress response of anxiety, restlessness, irritability, another person, under the same circumstances, would perhaps be more agitated, quarrelling, dominating wheras some others could exhibit physical lethargy, lack of motivation, low energy and emotional tension owing to stress. Similarly, the stressors are also varied.
Treatment:
Since, a host of issues are connected with the basic problem of stress, based on the presentation of the symptoms, stress management is systematically dealt with step by step.
Deepa pachana – improving the digestive fire is practiced alongside snehana and swedana – to soothe the nerves and stimulate the secretion of endorphins in the body. Shirodhara is one of the most beneficial practices for soothing the nerves and is especially used for the management of insomnia. If there is a physiological manifestation of a lifestyle disorder – such as high blood pressure, acidity, indigestion, irritable bowel, cardio – vascular issue etc, then it is dealt with separately with a combination of internal medications and relevant external treatments.
Yoga therapy plays an important part in dealing with stress related issues – a regular practice of pranayama – Bhramari and Chandra bhedi help in stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, thereby, relaxing the mind and body. Meditation practices help a great deal in managing issues like insomnia, anxiety, depression etc.