‘I used to work 14 hours a day, six days a week. Sometimes I ended up working seven days straight and would go for 2-3 days without proper sleep. Then I would get severe headache and turn cranky. My family started bearing the brunt of my work pressure and I was really beginning to lose control of my life, says Abhishek, an automobile engineer, who almost suffered a nervous breakdown due to work-related stress. Timely intervention from a colleague and a drastic restyling in his lifestyle prevented him from complete collapse. But everyone is not as lucky as him.

Stress is not something to be taken lightly. High levels of stress can often lead to extreme and fatal consequences. Stress is commonly defined a s a state of inability to cope with a perceived, real, or imagined threat to one’s mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well being. Moderate amounts of stress is in fact normal and useful to the body and mind. The magnitude of the problem lies in the constant stress, which is often poorly managed due to lack of awareness. The common effects of continued stress are: Headaches / joint pain / body aches; Fatigue; Sleeplessness (Insomnia); Loss of concentration; Depression / Irritability / Anxiety; Digestive disturbances – Heartburn/nausea/constipation/diarrhea/loss of appetite/faulty and excessive eating leading to weight gain; Delayed/irregular periods; Scanty/excessive menstrual bleeding; Infertility; Repeated miscarriages; Early signs of ageing.

Women, especially working women who have to juggle both a career as well as family, are more prone to suffering from stress. The management of stress is both an art and a science.

• Phase out work: Keep small targets and reasonable deadlines to complete tasks.
• Prioritise work: Let go of trivial demands.

As much as the above techniques help combat stress, exercise, relaxing whole body massage and a healthy diet too are very important in stress management. Stress busters in the form of herbal supplements containing anti-stress adaptogenics are now widely available.

Ashvagandha also known as Indian Ginseng, a very popular stress combatant, contains powerful adaptogens which help adapt to stress or developing coping ability. It basically nourishes the nerve system and helps you remain calm in stress conditions. Another herb called Mandukaparni, relieves mental fatigue, and aids the body in defending itself against toxins. This herb too exerts a relaxant effect on the central nervous system.

Some other herbs which help is stress busting include: Brahmi, Jatamansi, Shankapushpi, Vacha.