In the last about 50 years or more, it has been increasingly realised by medical professionals that many ailments are caused by stress or trauma resulting in more and more deaths. Isn’t it surprising that something like stress, about which we were not so serious a few years back, has today become a part of our everyday life? Today, there is a flood of literature available on stress-related diseases and their treatment, and it has become almost a fashion nowadays to talk or write on the effects of stress on modern men and women.
Although we all talk about stress, it often isn’t clear what stress is really about. Some people say that stress is a feeling experienced by our mind and body in response to an event like a terror attack, rail accident or plane crash. However, experts believe that, while stress does involve events and our response to them, these are not the most important factors causing it. Our thoughts about the situations in which we find ourselves are more critical compared to other reasons mentioned above.
According to psychologists, stress in small quantities is good and at times necessary, because it motivates a person and helps him/her to become more productive. However, an excess of it, or a strong response to it can be fatal. Hence, the way in which we deal with a stress-provoking event would determine its impact on our health.
The Gita states that man can be his own best friend or his own worst enemy. But in order to be my best friend, I have to spend time with myself. I have to learn to love and respect myself so that I can love others and respect them as well. By getting to know me and watching what is going on in my mind, I need to gently push the mind back on the right track. If during the day, I allow my mind to be negative, it would be a difficult task and I would struggle to do meditation. Yet, if during the day, I threw the waste stuff out of my mind, and just made sure my thoughts are good and positive, it'll be easier to have that elevated experience. Alas, it is not sufficient to just read about it. Just get up and start meditating!