Last updated on October 9th, 2020 at 11:42 am
Author: Srividya Nagaraju
Srividya Nagaraju is a TEDx speaker and an internationally acclaimed facilitator, pioneering effective learning using different techniques for skill and behavior improvement. She brings over 24 years of rich experience in the corporate and social sector to invigorate and humanize her sessions. She has an executive MBA from IIM Bangalore, Masters in Commerce and Masters in Counseling & Psychotherapy. Srividya’s passion to work with people and invest in our society has led her to dedicate herself to various activities in the field of public education and mental health.
Guest Post
I came across a great gesture from the people-centric MNC which focused on the employee’s wellbeing. They invited me to conduct an online workshop on stress management.
What revealed from the workshop was quite surprising. For the greater good, I would like to share my experience. The following are the results of a survey rolled out at the beginning of the workshop.
The graph shows that 60% are stressed, 26% are neutral and only 14% are comfortable. Can companies address this issue? If yes, how? Are employees taking care of themselves? Organizations can support them through multiple ways including conducting sessions on stress management. Ultimately, every individual needs to take care of themselves and their families.
First and foremost, do we recognize that we are stressed? Second, are we addressing our stress? And if yes, identifying the intensity is important.
Stress we experience at different levels.
When we hear the news about Corona, it’s impact and deaths, it leads to the thought of what if we too get infected which in turn leads to fear/anxiety. The fear may lead us to look for more news and we actually start experiencing the fear – sweat, palpitation, breathlessness, anger, frustration, etc. We may also freeze, fight, or flight which are normal responses. However, there is a 4th response named, ‘Face’ which we do not use much. This is the most apt way to work through any VUCA situation.
’Preventive’ and curative’ are the two aspects of stress management. ‘Curative’ is to relax (stress buster) and ‘preventive’ is to prevent being stressed (staying calm)
We need to identify what relaxes us and use them as curative measures– deep breathing, listening to music, slowly sipping water, sharing with a friend, meeting a counselor if required etc.
To prevent, we need take care at all different levels – Panchakoshas.
We need activities in our routine to nurture all the five levels – Food, Exercise, Breathing, Emotional Intelligence, Mindfulness Meditation, Gratitude, etc.
At the workshop, we brainstormed various ways to implement the preventive and curative measures in our life. There were lots of interesting insights from the participants and I shared some simple yet effective tools and techniques that could be a value addition to their daily routine.
Testimonials from the participants
“ Your session has given a better clarity that it’s not our stress that disturbs us but it’s our reaction to it. Also, the greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”
“A very informative and worthful session with the ability to create the environment, a stress-free. I liked the fact that it was very practical and examples I could relate to were used. It included meditation, exercises and the entire session was very easy going and relevant to catch. Your candid
and professional approach made the training very interesting and fun”. I strongly recommend a trainer/motivator with a positive attitude and a wonderful teaching style.”
Disclaimer: This is a Guest Blog. Any views or opinions represented in the blog are personal & belong solely to the blog owner & do not represent those of people, institutions, or organizations that the owner may or may not be associated with in professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated. Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual