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There are many ways to deal with stress. However, the key is to be able to customize it to what works for you. When I lost my mother, I turned to my friends and family for support. While they were a great comfort, I still did not feel well. I continued to manifest the classic symptoms of psychosomatic illnesses, headches, irritability and most importantly, depression. I found myself withdrawing from society and instead of going through that dark tunnel to deal with the issue of stress and depression, I was desperately trying to skirt around it. Frankly, I got tired of being stressed and knew that I had to 'snap out of it' as I had heard from everyone ad nauseum. I am a happy person by nature and I wanted to go back into my spirit. After almost a year after her passing, I created my own program of battling stress based on what I knew worked for me and also through extensive research on stress and depression. What I read frightened me out of my skin.

I come from a culture where visiting a psychiatrist is a taboo. I knew that I was suffering from stress and depression and started doing yoga, specifically pranayama. Pranayama taught me to breathe right. By breathing right, I was fixing the problems from witihin. There is a particular exercise called "anulom vilom" that enhances your moods and helps you deal with stress. By practicing it for a few months, I realized that m headaches had dissapeared, my colds and coughs had miraculously vanished. I began to feel brighter and hopeful each morning. I did these exercises (seven in all) twice everyday. Once in the morning and in the evening. You have to do these on an empty stomach and that meant for four hours after I had eaten a meal, I would do pranayama. This helped me to not eat too much in between and also be particular about what I put in my mouth. I started to crave vegetarian food and gave up things like alcohol and meat. I would eat and continue to eat an occasional dish of fish. I lost a lot of weight which made me feel and look better.

Along with pranayama, I also started to practice meditation. I began to focus on my breathing by chanting the word "Om". Initially, I performed this for 10 minutes and now I am able to do it with complete concentration for nearly 20 minutes. Meditation is a great way to combat stress and there are many ways of meditating and do whatever works for you. Even spending five minutes of quiet time goes a long way to deal with stress.

Social contacts are another very important factor. However, the type of friends that you have is equally important. If you surround yourslef with people who are kind, generous and loving, that helps activate similar thoughts within you helping you feel energized, stimulated and happy. Friends who are positive and optimistic infuse you with an energy and dynamism that helps you pass it on and feel purposeful. One of the ways to really handle stress and beat it is to feel a sense of purpose. Being around friends who promote these attributes within you is a definite de-stressor.

Finding balance within helps you enjoy life with yourself and also when you are around people. Balance, I believe is the key besides a sense of purpose and optimism that help you deal with stress. Exercise in a way that your body, mind and spirit are aligned. Pay close attention to what you eat ad more importantly, choose your thoughts that activate a positive and optimistic outlook on life. Stress is useless and time consuming. Time, as well all know, is the most important resource of all.

Learn more about this author, Aparna Mukhedkar.
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