NAMA, NAMASMARAN AND TOTAL STRESS MANAGEMENT (PART 14) DR SHRINIWAS J. KASHALIKAR
Student: What about the society?

Teacher: The source of emotional stress can be society also! Due to social discrimination, oppression, lack of justice, inequality and caste discrimination we get emotional stress! Lack of severe reduction in social cohesiveness, increasing social evils such as cheating, adulteration, excessive pace of life and also produce and/or aggravate emotional stress. Emotional stress could be due to coercive cultural rules, regulations, customs, traditions and conventions, alienation of the culture, social norms, conventions etc. It can be due to harassment by the employer ( landlord ), odd/protracted hours of work, lack of job satisfaction, inappropriate and over demanding deadlines, lack of accountability, prevalence of discrimination, nepotism, harassment by the superiors, lack of appreciation, lack of recognition, bad working environment such as lack of light, lack of fresh air, lack of promotions, excessive responsibilities without commensurate powers, corruption, lack of pay revision commensurate with the inflation, price rise etc. It can also be because of Persecution, forceful conversion, discord amongst different religious communities, or conflicting sects within the same religion, religious discrimination, religious fanaticism, politicization of religion, criminalization of religion etc. cause extreme stress in the forms of religious tension and riots. The stress may originate from marriage; due to harassment by spouse, dowry problems, problems of working wives and working mothers, (such as those working in the farms, forests, plantations such as tea, coffee plantations etc.), problems related to lack of issue etc. All the problems of marriage are multiplied due to lack of support systems, nuclear family, increased wants due to creation of artificial needs and demands, individualistic thinking, careerism and so on. Marital problems multiply due to suspicion by jealous husbands, lack of protection to women & girls when working hours are odd, gender discrimination at working place, etc. The root of stress may be in money; due to increasing prices, lack of housing, inadequate water supply, inadequate electricity, increasing discrepancy between needs, wants and artificially created demands and the availability. Emotional stress may be due to exploitation, cheating, taxation, robbery, business failures etc. The stress may result from environment; due to changing ecosystems, decreasing greenery, expanding asphalt, basalt, cement, granite and concrete jungles.

Student: What about the information explosion? I am sure; it also produces stress!

Teacher: It does! When the ill effects of stress result primarily from our thought process; then we call them intellectual stressors. However; our thought process is adversely influenced by physical, chemical, biological, instinctual and emotional stress and vice versa!
Thus when information explosion, leading to confusion, indecisiveness and value crisis is responsible for stress; then we call it intellectual stressor. In addition; failures, inability to pursue a particular career etc. become worse due to peer pressure. In fact there is a kind of neurotic obsession about academic success. This drains the academically “not so good “children of their confidence and makes them feel lowly. Even if one or more of these factors are not actually present there can be fear, created by media & advertising of these and it can be far more stressful in urban competitive environment! High tech life styles, “one up man ship”, act as stressors. Knowledge of diseases increases the fear and apprehension about the diseases, such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), cancer, diabetes.

Student: What about the stress of freedom fighters?

Teacher: In addition to all the variety of stressors, socially concerned sensitive individuals have to face extraordinary circumstances, which act as additional stressors; such as; jail, underground stay, defamation, political harassment. An individual, who dedicates his/her life for a social cause, such as national freedom, education of women, annihilation of exploitation in various forms, in short problems of millions; is additionally stressed; along with his/her family! It is essential for us to appreciate this nature of stress and overcome our hysterical and petulant; carping, nagging and grumbling nature; and enable us to help these individuals in helping themselves and the society.

Student: So many stressors!

Teacher: That is why we need holistic solutions to manage the stress arising from unending stressors!

NAMA, NAMASMARAN AND TOTAL STRESS MANAGEMENT (PART 12) DR SHRINIWAS J. KASHALIKAR

Student: I understood these mechanisms to some extent, not completely. But from what I gathered; these mechanisms are wide ranging. For triggering such wide ranging mechanisms to come in operation; the causes or the dimensions of stress must also be wide ranging; are they?

Teacher: Yes! They are! Let us consider these stressors starting from non living beings to human beings!

Student: Why do we consider the nonliving?

Teacher: The holistic perspective comprehends living (CHARA) and non living (ACHARA) to be in continuity! From a very basic understanding point of view we can say that the stressors and stress; are present in nonliving things! Thus stress of mechanical nature (not biological) is present in nonliving things! When force is applied to an object, there is definite internal change and displacement in the object. This force is akin to stressor in the case of living beings, the internal change is akin to homeostatic change; i.e. change in the internal environment in case of the living beings and the displacement of an object is akin to stress response in case of living beings.
It is obvious that if an object is subjected to a force, which it cannot sustain, then it may be damaged. This damage is akin to an abnormal change in the internal environment. The excessive displacement is analogous to disease in a living being.
Next to the nonliving things we can see stressors and stress; in unicellular animals! The stressors here are in the form of exaggerated physical, chemical and biological changes in the environment inside and outside. These are relatively, more complex as compared to those in nonliving things; and are less stereotypical, though still, fairly predictable.
Followed by unicellular; we come to multicellular (many cells coming together to form an organism or an animal!) animals, which are higher in evolutionary scale. In these animals there is development of central nervous system, autonomic nervous system and endocrine system. This leads to a perceptible increase in the level of consciousness. Thus they become conscious of the sensations (Visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, pain, temperature, itching, gravity, acceleration etc.). Moreover they possess instincts. Hence these animals suffer, if deprived of their instincts! I call such deprivation an instinctual stressor.

Student: Can you explain this?

Teacher: The foremost instinct is that of survival! Fear of predator produces stress and is evident when a cat faces a dog! The next is locomotion. If an animal is confined to a cage preventing the locomotion altogether; or is exposed to abnormally rapid movement, then stress is produced which damages the body systems. Next is a particular environment to which it is accustomed. It is called habitat. Changing this environment causes stress. Hunger and thirst are also instincts. If an animal is deprived of food; or there is change in the type or timing of food; cause stress. If there is change in the source and timing of water (as in case of animals in zoo) or altogether unavailability of water; it produces stress. Reproduction, parental care, herd formation; are also instincts. Abstinence from sex, herd and separation from the newborn offspring; also cause stress.

NAMA, NAMASMARAN AND TOTAL STRESS MANAGEMENT (PART 10) DR SHRINIWAS J. KASHALIKAR

Student: I never imagined earlier; that stress could be so
vast! No wonder, I am getting drowned in this ocean of
stress! Can you briefly explain stress as well as Total Stress
Management; in nutshell; if that may help me; with some
analogies; to make it simpler?

Teacher: Yes! That will surely help you to conquer your
stress!
Stress is like a horse! But it would never leave us at any
cost! So there is no lasting escape from it. There are only few
options.
A) Getting dragged after it,
B) Getting bitten or beaten by it,
C) Carrying it on our head,
D) Beating or killing the horse,
E) Learning to “ride” the horse with delight
The last option is the same as Total Stress Management
(TSM).

Student: Can we give the analogy of river? Because MAYA
is compared to river!

Teacher: Yes! MAYA is called BHAVANADI a river! Stress
also is like a river, in which we are born! There are only two
options; either to get drowned, or to learn to swim to the bank.
Learning to swim to the bank is Total Stress Management.
Analogy of traffic jam also helps! It is not an exact analogy but
helps in understanding stress and Total Stress Management
and even this understanding also is useful in reducing stress!
1. The Causes of stress; called stressors are like excess
number of vehicles coming from all directions.
2. The individual under stress is like a square where the
signals or the traffic police are not working.
3. The signs and symptoms of stress are like the excess
crowding, anxiety due to inability to reach destinations,
quarrels amongst the drivers, excessive blowing of horns,
chemical pollution etc.
4. The pathology is inability of the vehicles to move and
reach their destinations.
5. The Relaxation Techniques prevalent today; are like
arbitrary and isolated efforts to calm down the drivers and
prohibit the blowing of horns.
6. The relaxation techniques therefore can bring about
temporary peace (temporary symptomatic relief) but cannot
help the vehicles to reach their destinations (cannot effectively
remove the pathological changes and handle the stressors
effectively).
7. Total Stress Management is re-establishing the functioningof the signals and re-instituting the traffic police (perception)
so that the crowding, jam (homeostatic disturbances or
affect), blowing of horns, quarrels (symptoms and signs) and
the reaching of the destinations (handling the stressors and
rectification of the pathological changes), are made possible.

Student: Now I seem to have got some idea about stress
and Total Stress Management.
How would you define stress physiologically?

Teacher: Stress is an interaction between “self” and the
environment inside and outside body! The effects of stress;
means variable acute or chronic changes; in the internal (also
external) environment of the body. The normal stress such
as moderate exercise is useful. But when we talk of “stress”
we actually mean harmful stress or distress, which causes
adverse effects on almost every cell of the body; making life
miserable in several ways.

Student: What is this internal environment of the body?

Teacher: The body cells contain fluid within them and they
themselves are present in a fluid medium. Generally the fluid,
by which they are surrounded, is called internal environment.
But recently some authorities consider the fluid which they
contain; also forms the internal environment