Celebrate life

Are we in the mood to talk about stress? With festivity in the air, we are all comfortably settled into a happy frame of mind. Yet, we need to understand that even celebrations can cause a certain amount of stress.

 We all love the excitement of festivals and celebrations but we need to know that even fun things can cause us stress. We cannot name it as "bad" stress. It can be only "good" stress. It appeases that sense of adventure within us, and yet somewhere within us even this good stress can be a challenge to manage.

How much is too much?

We need to figure for ourselves how much stress we can handle. Stress of any kind can become overwhelming and it can become difficult to decipher whether we are stressing somewhere inside or just plain excited with our lives. Most of us have individual symptoms or perceptions of stress. These symptoms of stress are different in everyone, but of course some common signs are distinctly noticeable and we can take care of these at our own level and pace. 

Signs of stress

• Lack of joy
• Impatience 
• Edginess
• Sleep issues
• Tiredness

We need to handle all these basic issues at our own level. If ignored these symptoms can blow themselves into humongous ones and become the silent cause of so many diseases.

Tricky problems

In case of celebration stress we do not notice the stress as we are too busy having fun. Stress issues become noticeable only when they overwhelm us. These are mainly experienced by adrenaline junkies, not everyone goes through them, but some people enjoy a continuous aura of drama. Needlessly creating unwanted stressful situation's can take a toll on you. You need to use some relaxation techniques to reverse the body’s stress response. Stop doing things that stress you.  Prioritise your life and schedule events accordingly. Indulge in some activity you enjoy, maybe a music lesson

Lighten your load

If you are the adventurer try to lighten your system by taking time to relax and reflect. Once your reflection had given you an insight into yourself stop leaning on self created props. We start banking on certain relationships just because they give us momentary relief. Relationships are a great support system. They are a buffer against the challenges we face. But the stress of a conflicting relationship can take a toll on your health.

Cognitive distortions

Thinking patterns are habitual. You are lucky if your thinking patterns are positive, but it can be very damaging if they are negative. We go into positive or negative spins according to our habitual thoughts. These are triggered when we are under stress.

Live in the moment  

An attitude that maximizes the negative can lead us to feeling threatened and stressed.  Create a world of positivity and live in it. Feel the joy in your own environment.  Whenever a negative thought strikes nip it in the bud. Create a positive vibe. 

Feel in control

This is your own perception and your own effort. Don't allow situations to overpower you. We often feel tired and defeated and miss opportunities to take charge. We neglect ourselves, ignore \/our inner voice and meet personal disappointments by ignoring them. Don't allow this to happen. Be proactive. We mustn't be reacting to situations or people.  Create your own plan. You need to cut stressors and build your own stress relieving system. 

Celebrations are a way of keeping our minds occupied in a positive manner. Use celebration to an advantage to feel good about life. Find the true joy from within.

(Singh is a Chandigarh-based psychotherapist)