Stress, a mental malaise, is a reflection of a negative mind-state experienced by a person coming under physical, mental or emotional pressure in a given situation, real or assumed.

Stress usually overwhelms a person who is not able to come to terms with the trials and tribulations of life. It may also grip one who fails to adapt to the expectations of the varying dynamics of incessant motion of time, and if that person feels that he / she has been left behind in the wheels of time. The failure and frustration that follows usually makes one feel mentally exhausted and physically incapacitated.

Of late, Stress seems to have acquired eclectic proportions, not sparing even children.  Once caught up in its bind, for a while, one looses a considerable sum of energy and mind-space, brooding and contemplating mostly inconsequential thoughts. Thus one gets short on energy which is needed to meet the expectations of the tasks ahead, and the mind-space necessary to process one’s thoughts objectively.

The truth of life is that we all begin with high hopes and aspirations. We nurse our dreams. And, we wish to live them. But such wishful thinking often blinds our minds and we tend to forget that the world does not move to our asking, as no motion can be put to effect without inviting resistance. We also fail to take cognizance of the fact that we shall have to deal with conflicting interests generated by an infinite variety of disparate people, obviously all reflecting varying mind-trends. For those who ignore the above truths, it will be difficult to deal with the oddities and hazards confronting them and digest the failures and frustrations to follow. Such people come under stress.

Once stress engulfs somebody, the balance of hormonal secretions from various glands in the body, make a departure from their normal level. That impairs our physiological status, which in turn adversely affects the thought process. The person gets trapped in a circuitous web, demanding medical attention.

However, some among us are able to maintain their composure and remain focused on their task despite odds. The weaklings – mental and physical – are obviously vulnerable to wilt under pressure. The question that obviously arises is, how does the response pattern of different people vary when confronted with similar situations?

A look into the construct of our minds and the flow diagram of mind-functions provide the answer. In this scheme of things, the exercise begins with impressions in our minds which hold the key to all our strengths and weaknesses. The way, they are formed decide how well or badly one responds to a given situation.

It is pertinent to note here that the impressions of the mind relate to known facts of life and that will cover a limited expanse. But, time keeps marching forward unabated wherein the dynamics of every emerging moment is different. Obviously, therefore, the issues and situations emerging shall always have newer dimensions, with no parallel in the past. We have to deal with those issues.

The normal human tendency is to bank upon what is within our grasp, tempting us to live in our past. As a consequence, we usually measure things within the frame of limited vision offered by our past. What further complicates our thought process is that the human mind is guided by relative perception. It remains vulnerable to form even diametrically opposite views of the same thing. So, we fail to comprehend the issues in a correct perspective and that basically remains at the root of all our stress related problems.

Now the question arises, why stress in the first instance? And, if it any way grips a person, then how to deal with it? 

To solve this riddle, we shall have to strike at the root of our functional-self, the mind.  And, when it comes to mind, the exercise begins with the impressions in mind, which we shall have to work upon well in time.  For, the source and cause of all our strengths and weaknesses lie in positives or imperfections imprinted in our mind.  The imperfections inherent in our impressions, do not allow us to envision the issues we are often confronted with in right perspective.  And, then we do not know how to deal with them correctly.  

How do we attend to the imperfections in our minds?  Mere intellectual understanding does not solve the problem.  We shall have to subject ourselves to a process, which will vary from person to person, depending upon individual's basic fabric of making.

But, once we are able to do it, the best in a person emerges.