Dealing with Stress

What do you do when you are stressed out of your mind? Sometimes, situations, work, school or even family could add an ounce of stress in our life. How do you deal with it? Some people deal with it by going on a shopping spree and are called compulsive shoppers. They shop to deal with their stressful life. Compulsive Shopping hides a more serious problem and is only a symptom of the serious issues people might be dealing with. Drug addicts or alcoholic just have different symptoms for the same issue. They smoke or drink to escape from their stressfull life. Just like they need a high to get on, the compulsive shopper gets a high from shopping. Shopping is not just a pleasure anymore, its more than that, its not a want anymore, but becomes a need. I know, because I too have been a compulsive shopper at times. I too,used shopping to get by or forget about stressful events. The truth is, after that initial adrenaline rush, after the euphoria of adding a new dress, pair of shoes or whatever it is to your collection, you are not any better. Just like the alcoholic will drink more and more, you will shop more and more without ever curing your stress. Why? Because you are not being honest with yourself, you are not tackling the issues, you are using something to get rid of the symptom, but not the desease.Stress, doctors say, usually comes from fear of the unknown, the future, and death. However, Allah (SWT) has already provided us with prevention against those fears. "And We will most certainly try you with somewhat of fear and hunger and loss of property and lives and fruits; and give good news to the patient" (2:155). The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said, "Your most ardent enemy is your evil self which resides within your body. If this soul is not checked, it will lead to unusual stress" (Bukhari).
From experience, I have come to realize that there is only one way of dealing with stress : It's to identify the cause and then work to reduce or eliminate that cause.
A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water? "

Answers called out ranged from 8oz. to 20oz. The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, 'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.

In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes. He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.Life's problems are something like this. Hold it for a few minutes in your head and they seem okay. Think of them for a long time and they begin to ache. Hold it even longer and they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything'.
So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested.
'It's important to think of the challenges (problems) in your life, but EVEN MORE IMPORTANT is to have trust in Allah (SWT) and to 'put them down' at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh and strong and can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!'

So, as it becomes time for you to leave office today, Remember to 'PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY' and have tranquility by putting trust in Almighty Allah (SWT).
Tell to your mind every day before you go to sleep: ."YAA AYYATUHAN NAFSUL MUTMAINNAH, IRJI'II ILAA RABBIKI RADHIYATAN MARDHIYYAH, FADKHULII FII IBAADII WADKHULII JANNATII". (Al-Fajr 89:27-30)"O soul that is at rest satisfied. Return to your Lord well-pleased (with Him), well-pleasing (Him). So, enter among My servants, and enter into my Paradise"

Even for super-achievers, you get more out of life when you learn to balance it. So as you are gearing up for your achievements for this Winter season, never forget to step back, take a deep breath and relax a bit. Leave the stress behind, and the next day you will move even further ahead because you have conquered stress, rather than letting it conquer you.