Stress in Japan - Essay Example

Stress in Japan It is seen that since life has begun , stress has been a frequent companion of human beings. The day a woman gets pregnant she is worried about the new living being that is going to come into existence. She is stressed with the fact that a miscarriage can occur and she can lose her baby. Then after the delivery she gets stressed when the baby is ill or keeps crying or does not take the feed. When her baby grows up she is again worried about his or her education and brought up. When the child is old enough he or she starts taking stress about his or her studies and career. Later on in life various phases and events come where that human being gets stressed easily ,takes tension, is either apprehensive about his or her future , any incomplete task or an unfulfilled dream. All of us must have experienced stress in some way or the other for some reason or the other. Have you ever had a pain in the area between your neck and the shoulder? Have you ever had a bad headache? Have you ever laid awake on bed whole night? Have you suddenly started overeating? Have you ever felt you don’t feel like doing anything? Got irritated? Frustrated? Got exam fever before the exams? If you have experienced any of these then you have gone through stress. Every action has an opposite and equal reaction. So is stress. Stress is basically a response to the happenings going on inside or outside. Every person has some expectations from the people around him , from the activities going on around him. When unexpected things happens then that person gets stressed either out of excitement or due to tension. Stress has always been seen from a negative viewpoint. But actually it can be both negative and positive. If it is negative it can affect our health badly but if it is positive it can encourage us to be more active and alert. Example when exams are near students are concerned about getting good marks, they are worried so they sit in their room and study the whole day. This kind of stress is a positive stress which drives a person to do positive work. Other positive stresses occur at the time of emergencies where a person becomes more alert and does the required to save his or others’ lives. How we take stress is up to us. Too much stress is neither good for our brain nor for our body. Too much stress free is also not good as we start taking matters of concern lightly. Hence, neither extreme case is suitable. First we need to note down the causes of stress whether it’s a positive stress or negative. There are various causes of stress. A person can get stressed if any of his loved ones is in pain or is suffering from any kind of illness. Parents always stay stressed for their children. They are always thinking about them, worried about their health, education, career and future. For students their studies, career can be a stress for them. They need to score good percentage in order to get a position in class and therefore they can be in stress while trying to accomplish their goals. For people who have work in offices , they stay in stress because they have to submit assignments or projects on time. People at work have to face different people and they have to handle different situations which cause them to come under stress. In cases of emergency, people come under stress. If there is a building on fire obviously people will get scared and under stress will either shout for help or will stay calm, boost up their energy and will find out some way to save the lives of the people stuck in the building. If a relationship of a person is not good with his wife or mother or father or any other relative then this can also play a vital part in building up stress. Same goes for a woman, if she is upset with the behavior of her husband of any other family member or if she is married to an incompatible partner then chances of stress increase threefold. Other factors responsible for stress in people and children sexual abuses, mentally weak , feeling of inferiority, low education qualification, immunity diseases, financial difficulties, racial discrimination, divorcees. Sometimes genetic factors cause stress in a person as well So we see that usually stress is caused due to external conditions. In many cases of stress, stress is build up by others. People surrounding us or people with whom we work or people with whom we live either give us a deadline or incite us with excitement or hurry us up which fuels stress in us. Circumstances stimulate our adrenaline rush which results in stress. Internal factors like immunity disorders and other genetic factors also result in stress. How can we comprehend that we are in stress? There are innumerable symptoms which show that a person is in stress. Irritation, frustration, restless, lack of concentration, over eating, under eating, negative thoughts and talks, feeling you can’t cope, feeling upset, getting easily confused, memory complications are some of the emotional symptoms. The physical symptoms are headaches, hair loss , butterflies in stomach, muscle pain, sweaty palms, menstrual disorders, premature ejaculation, sleepless nights, shortness of breath, pounding of heart very fast, dizziness, low back pain, pain in shoulders and neck, indigestion, dry mouth etc. (Symptoms of Stress) In women any kind of stress first affects their reproductive system. It can be very harmful for women’s reproductive system if they take too much stress. Vaginal and menstrual disorders can arise. Due to stress the muscles of a person contract and relax at the same time. Hence there is no movement but muscular tension exists. Our nervous system is also affected by stress that we take. There are two types of nerves in our involuntary nervous system. One is parasympathetic which retains the energy and keeps the body in a calm state. Second one is sympathetic which makes the body ready for action through fight or fight reaction. Thus the sympathetic system of nerves is affected by stress. Children are most affected by stress as they are unable to express their feelings precisely. If mothers are stressful then their children automatically get affected. Even they come under stress. Parental pressure is also one of the reasons why children come under stress. Due to stress children often become moody and aggressive. It is wise for parents to stay calm and control their stress if they want their children to be stress free and happy. These days hurried lifestyles have also become a major cause of stimulating stress in children. Several studies have shown that stress is equally hazardous to health as smoking or not exercising. Concentration is weakened , sleepless nights due to stress rises the menace of disease , accidents, loss of time, headaches back aches. Spouses who take care of incapacitated partners are more prone to stress related diseases like depression, heart disease, influenza and they have even poorer survival rates. Even caring for a loved one having minor defects can cause stress. People who are less emotionally stable or are highly anxious go through more stress at certain times than others. Doctors call this catastrophizing. Lack of family friends and social participation also leads to stress. It is seen people with a loving family and supportive friends stay more happy and contented and can easily overcome or handle any stressful situation. People who have pets like dogs are also seen that they can easily release their day’s exhaustion and tend to forget their stress. The most effective and practical solution to get rid of stress is to talk to someone. By talking to someone and sharing what he or she is feeling at that time helps to release most of the stress and that someone can aid you to think better and in a positive way which will definitely make you feel more peaceful and happy. There is no other better option than speaking your mind and heart out to someone. One can even do counseling to feel better. The counselor can give advices and can show you the positive perception of the thing which is disturbing or upsetting you. There are certain cases in which there is no existing problem as such but it is just the thought which sometimes disturbs a person and creates stress. The counselor can assist you to come out of the negative thinking and can make you feel much relieved. Some medical measures are also there which can help you to get rid of stress but that is only temporary. Long term relief can only be achieved by making sure that you always think positive and take all incidents positively no matter what. Anger control techniques also benefit in releasing stress. Some people hesitate to share their feelings with others so they make use of self-help techniques like yoga or exercise or taking a long walk, listening to music or going on a cruise for a break. Best way to prevent getting stressed is first of all to keep your thinking positive, to take small refreshment breaks in between your work whether it is studies or job. Exercising and doing yoga daily also helps you to stay at peace. At work place employers should ensure that their employees and staff members are working under convenient, stress free and comfortable conditions. If they see to it that their employees are happy then it will be beneficial for them as stressed workers reduces the maximum productivity of effort, increases the level of pressures from the side of management and makes the employees unfit in many ways to do their jobs efficiently and on time. If any workplace is giving too much stress to their employees then that work place must be put on trial because not only the employees lose the power of concentration but they are also challenged mentally and physically. Stress and stress relief measures is the responsibility or personal being and of the work place association. (Stress Management, 2006) These days life has become so fast and stressful, there is so much competition in the market that no one in Japan is willing to take even a holiday for rest. They only prefer to take National Holidays when all the co-workers also take rest. Due to this increasing tremendous work pressure every day 90 people commit suicide which means that every 16 minutes a person takes his life. All this show that nowadays it has become so difficult for people to cope up with emotional, family, financial, work place, school pressures that people are preferring to die rather than facing them. Schools in Japan have recently started giving every alternate Saturday off to school children. They are yet aiming to start giving off on every Saturdays. This is the state of pressure in Japan. Therefore, we see that a country well to do economy does not seem to keep its residents happy. This is very sad that people are killing themselves out of stress. Immediate measures must be taken against stress in Japan because not only people are losing their lives but the people who are struggling to face these pressures and stress are going through tremendous torture. Mentally and physically they are going through a tough time. Law must be enforced on the companies which are imposing too much pressure on their employees and strict action must be taken against them. (Associated Press, 2001) Works Cited Changing Minds. (n.d). Symptoms of Stress. ChangingMinds.org. Retrieved from http://changingminds.org/explanations/stress/stress_symptoms.htm Business Balls. (2006). Stress Management. businessballs.org. Retrieved from http://www.businessballs.com/stressmanagement.htm Associated Press. (2001). Japanese workers skip time off. Anxiety and Stress. Retrieved from http://www.countdown.org/end/distress_99.htm Read More