by Dr. S.S. Dhillon

Created on: May 15, 2008   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

Why Stress Management is a Necessity and what to do!

"Diet and exercise alone are like a two-legged stool," says Dr. Redford Williams, director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Duke University. "It's more stable with the third leg, stress management."

Dr. Ted*, a surgeon five feet nine, weighs 150 pounds, plays tennis, a slim healthy doctor who maintained his cholesterol, had by pass surgery in 1998 at the age of 57. Dr. Bal*, a scientist, who had less than 200 cholesterol level had by pass surgery in 2002 at the age of 69. While Dr. Amar*, a sociology professor five feet seven, weighs 200 pounds, and Jit* an anthropologist five feet nine, weighs 220 pounds, both in their sixties had no heart problem so far. What is common between Drs. Ted and Bal: the stress of job, no social security pension (because Bal moved to USA very late and had not contributed), family dealings, divorce in a family, all had stressed both of them. Ted retired early at age 60. (*Real names withheld to protect privacy.)

Dr. Amar and Jit had regular university jobs, had happy go lucky attitude and show no signs of stress. Dr. Amar retired as department head with good retirement benefits. Jit continues to work.

The above examples are not to suggest that we should be over-weight and not bother about cholesterol and other common sense health approaches such as good nutrition and exercise, but suggest stress and life attitude cannot be ignored.

Frustration at the work place, niggling issues at home and strained inter-personal relationships have become common in today's lifestyle of most people. A steadily rising workload and an intense competitive ambience have left people with very little time to nurture and cultivate their relationships and for regular introspection. In such a stressful milieu, stress-management techniques from the East and West have gained gradual importance and some of them are proving to be quite effective.

Stress management, which is the foundation of the stress business, is a wide open field. The term encompasses a wide variety of lectures, seminars and other programs offered in physicians' offices, corporate headquarters, spas, schools and centers for elderly people and on cruise ships. Programs typically incorporate biofeedback training, relaxation therapy, mental imagery, behavior modification and exercise, either alone or in combination. Also on the market are books, videotapes, computer programs, vitamins and cosmetics that promise relief from stress.

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