This document discusses stress, its causes and effects on the body and mind. It outlines various symptoms of stress like tension, anxiety and changes in appetite or sleep. Stress is defined as the body's natural response to perceived threats or dangers that causes the release of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. While stress can be helpful in short bursts, prolonged stress without an outlet can negatively impact health. The document provides tips for managing stress, including identifying triggers, maintaining a healthy lifestyle with exercise, food, sleep and social support, relaxation techniques like music, laughter, and asking for help from others.

1. Stress @ Work!
Tathagat Varma
Chinasoft

2. Warm up
Draw something that made you happy

3. Self-check
•Disbelief and shock
•Tension and irritability
•Fear and anxiety about the future
•Difficulty making decisions
•Feeling numb
•Loss of interest in normal activities
•Loss of appetite
•Nightmares and recurring thoughts about the event
•Anger
•Increased use of alcohol and drugs
•Sadness and other symptoms of depression
•Feeling powerless
•Crying
•Sleep problems
•Headaches, back pains, and stomach problems
•Trouble concentrating

5. What is Stress?
• A normal and natural part of human life
• A hardwired, physical response
throughout our body
• Essentially, a short-term survival
mechanism to get us out of trouble!
• The body summons all the resources to
deal with a “danger” situation
• Once the danger is over, the body
relaxes back to original state

6. Why DO we get
stressed out?

7. Yerkes-Dodson
Law

8. Stress Response
Curve

10. Neuroscience of
Stress
• Starts as a feeling or a reaction to a situation. It is the body’s way to make us
more alert
• Adrenalin and cortisol is released as ”stress response”. They travel through
blood to the heart
• Adrenelin or Epinephrine increases heart rate and blood pressure and boosts
energy supply
• Cortisol is the primary stress hormone, triggers liver to increases sugar in blood
• Norepinephrine
• When brain senses stress, it activates autonomic nervous system and
communicates stress to intestinal nervous system
• If all this caused by physical danger, it is beneficial
• But if caused by emotional stress, this physical response goes unutilized…

11. Myths about
Stress
•All stress is good
•All stress is bad
•Only grown-ups (or managers!) have stress
•Same things stresses everyone equally
•Same things would stress me always
•Stress is a sign of weakness
•Stress is a status symbol!

12. Why Stress is (SO)
Bad?
The American Medical
Association credits stress
as being the root of over
75% of all of the human
diseases and illness and
50% deaths under the
age of 65.
Studies have shown that
stress is more likely to
cause heart disease or
cancer than even smoking
cigarettes or eating a diet
high in cholesterol!

13. How to Control
manage stress?
• Identify symptoms
• Understand triggers
• Maintain healthy and active lifestyle - food, exercise, relaxations,
sleep and calming activities such as music, or painting, or walk, etc.
• Build social connections
• Maintain positive outlook
• Establish routines
• Ask for help!

14. Identify Symptoms
Might be different for others!

15. Understand triggers
(or Stressors)

16. Relax
The term, ‘Relaxation Response’ was coined by Dr. Herbert Benson,
professor, author, cardiologist, and founder of Harvard’s Mind/Body
Medical Institute. The response is defined as your personal ability to
encourage your body to release chemicals and brain signals that make
your muscles and organs slow down and increase blood flow to the brain.
His studies in the 1960’s and 1970’s were able to show that meditation
promotes better health, especially in individuals with hypertension. People
who meditate regularly enjoy lower stress levels, increased wellbeing and
even were able to reduce their blood pressure levels and resting heart rate.
The Relaxation Response is essentially the opposite reaction to the “fight
or flight” response. According to Dr. Benson, using the Relaxation
Response is beneficial as it counteracts the physiological effects of stress
and the fight or flight response.

17. Music
•Music can have a profound effect on both the
emotions and the body.
•Faster music can make you feel more alert and
concentrate better.
•Upbeat music can make you feel more optimistic and
positive about life.
•A slower tempo can quiet your mind and relax your
muscles, making you feel soothed while releasing the
stress of the day.
•Music is effective for relaxation and stress
management.

18. Sleep

19. Laugh
Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress,
leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.
Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases
immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals.
Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases
blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.
Laughter burns calories. OK, so it’s no replacement for going to the gym, but one study found
that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes a day can burn about 40 calories—which could be enough to
lose three or four pounds over the course of a year.
Laughter lightens anger’s heavy load. Nothing diffuses anger and conflict faster than a shared
laugh. Looking at the funny side can put problems into perspective and enable you to move on
from confrontations without holding onto bitterness or resentment.
Laughter may even help you to live longer. A study in Norway found that people with a strong
sense of humor outlived those who don't laugh as much. The difference was particularly notable
for those battling cancer.

20. Food

21. Real Social
Networks

22. Positive Outlook

23. Establish Routines

24. Ask for help
• Friends
• Friends at work
• Family
• Spiritual advisors
• Professional therapist or counselor

25. Recap
•Stress is a silent killer that affects physical
and mental health. Any symptoms appear
too late!
•In modern life, stress is inevitable! Key is
how you manage your response to it.
•With careful planning and appropriate
changes to lifestyle, the factors causing
stress could be minimized

26. References
• https://youtu.be/CqgmozFr_GM
• https://youtu.be/xKY6YrKamqM
• https://youtu.be/MPPMgz4zZ0w
• https://youtu.be/v-t1Z5-oPtU
• https://youtu.be/FWoCGcydTzQ
• https://www.stress.org/daily-life/
• https://www.healthline.com/health/whats-your-stress-type
• https://www.cdc.gov/features/copingwithstress/
• https://www.unr.edu/counseling/virtual-relaxation-room/releasing-stress-through-the-power-of-music
• https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm
• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/heart-and-soul-healing/201303/dr-herbert-benson-s-relaxation-
response
•