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How Meditating Helps in Dealing with Stress

We can decrease Stress by decreasing the burden or by improving the capacity to cope with Stress. Decreasing the stressors is a difficult task since these are usually hard to control. We could wish whatever we want but we do not have decisive influence on external factors such as pressure of work, colleagues, and relations. The only thing you can be sure of is yourself! If we want to become more immune to Stress, we will have to make sure of the following points:

A. General health is improved.
B. We realize that Prevention is better than cure.
C. We learn how to neutralize Stress reactions independently.
D. We learn how to tackle Stress instead of reacting to it.

A. Improving General Health

A lot of scientific research has shown that Meditation can support our health extremely well and effectively. More energy, increased alertness, a stronger immune system, lower blood pressure, cholesterol, muscle tones, and pulse are only a few of the advantages described in literature. In paragraph 2, there is a list of the most important Benefits of Meditation for our health. Because of these advantages and the fact that Meditation has no side effects, it is obvious that Meditation is of great value for our physical well-being for everyone, with or without physical complaints.

B. Prevention is better than cure.

First of all, it is important to organize our lives in such a way that we can deal with Stress more easily. Good food, regular physical exercise, time for rest and relaxation, social activity, and not making your life too complicated are of course rather obvious. Apart from that, we recommend to pay more attention to our parasymphatic nervous system. This system is responsible for building up Stress reserves, maintenance of our body, and takes care of an easier recovery from Stress reactions. We can stimulate the parasymphatic nervous system by relaxation, living NOW, and Meditation.

Scientific research has shown that people who meditate recover significantly quicker from a Stress reaction. The newest brain scan technologies have shown that Meditation not only can train our mind but also structurally changes the working of it. People who meditate regularly experience a 'fight-or-flight' reaction less often. In other words, people who meditate get less often irritated than people who do not. Scans show that areas in our brains that are synonymous with depression and negative attitude get less and less active after a while and areas that correspond with enthusiasm, passion, positive attitude, and happiness in life get more active.

To summarize: if we meditate more often, we will see that less and less Stressors will be harmful to us and thus we actively practice Stress prevention.

"For 30 years, Meditation research has told us that it works beautifully as an antidote to Stress," says Daniel Goleman, author of Destructive Emotions, a conversation among the Dalai Lama and a group of neuroscientists. "But what's exciting about the new research is how Meditation can train the mind and reshape the brain." Tests using the most sophisticated imaging techniques suggest that it can actually reset the brain, changing the point at which a traffic jam, for instance, sets the blood boiling. Plus, compared with surgery, sitting on a cushion is really cheap. (Time)

C. Learning how to neutralize Stress reactions independently

Not only should we be well - armed against Stress, we should also learn to deal with it better. Scientifically speaking, there is agreement all around that relaxation methods can break through the 'fight or flight' reaction. The best known of these methods are: autogenic training, progressive relaxation, breathing techniques, hypnosis and auto-suggestion, visualisation, Yoga, Meditation, etc. As early as the seventies, it was known, after pioneering research of Dr. Benson at Harvard, that Meditation primes a reverse reaction of the 'fight-or-flight' reaction. When we meditate, breathing calms down, muscle tension, metabolism, and blood pressure decrease, we observe an increase of blood supply to the skin (pricklings) and the digestive organs. Furthermore, the production of Stress hormones, such as adrenaline, decreases.

Therefore, we can use Meditation, or similar relaxation techniques, to neutralize Stress reactions. But Meditation goes further than the techniques mentioned above. First of all, through Meditation, we will learn to listen to ourselves better. We can observe our mind and body so that we will recognize the 'fight-or-flight' reaction much quicker. Take, for instance, our breathing - a top indicator of the present state of body and mind. If we are more able to recognize Stress, we can do something about it more easily.

'The university of Wisconsin discovered that employees who meditated reported a higher frustration tolerance, a better work climate, happier and more optimistic moods, and a higher energy level. Also, conflict situations and snake pit situations at work decreased when employees started to meditate.' (AD Magazine 31/1/04)

D. Learning how to tackle Stress instead of reacting to it

When we are able to improve the perception of Stressors, the Stress process and the results of our reaction to Stress, we can change our experience of the Stress situation. When we change the experience, we can also change the effects of Stress on ourselves. In Meditation, we train attention and concentration and to develop these skills, we use focus and concentration techniques. We learn to be and stay attentive and conscious in all possible circumstances and in doing so, we train exactly the skills that we need to tackle Stress instead of becoming the victim of it.

During Meditation, we learn to handle noise, little aches, discomfort, and all possible thoughts and feelings. In fact, all thoughts that 'disturb' our Meditation for countless times are little Stressors. We observe them and try to let them be for what they are without reacting to them.

Keywords are acceptance, attention, non-judgment, letting go, Now, presence etc. When we notice that we are in a state of excitement, we can break through our Stress reaction, not only by busily doing our relaxation exercises, but also by quite simply becoming conscious of the moment. Meditation trains us in this skill. Being present means that we will see the situation more clearly, sometimes discover that our agitation might be misplaced, that we will not let our reactions be led by our emotions, put things into perspective more easily, and that we can react to the situation in a better, more creative, and fitting way.

We will see both the stimulus as the response and will be more able to use the space in between. We will realize how we react to Stress, how we let things get out of hand, perhaps sometimes tend to exaggerate things without blaming ourselves for it. Eventually, we will see Stress not as a problem but more as a friend that gives us feedback. By carefully listening to this feedback, we can gain a better view of every situation. This gives confidence and strength! An extra advantage of this way of looking at things is that there are no complications or that new Stress will arise. Of course, this does not mean that you will never again feel angry, anxious, or threatened, but you will be able to deal with it much better and gradually you will become a well-balanced person.

Time magazine ( 8/4/2003) puts it this way: 'For upwardly mobile professionals convinced that their lives are more Stressful than those of the cow-milking, soapmaking, butter-churning generations that preceded them, Meditation is the smart person's bubble bath'.

A more BEING-oriented lifestyle in which elements as attention and attentiveness, go with the flow, living by feel, acceptation, giving meaning, emotional intelligence, relaxation, pro-activity, spirituality and inner peace are central, makes any person stronger and more stable.

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Sunday 27th February 2011 at 8:45:21 AM


vir
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