Indian view on stress

Let us begin by defining the stress, its symptoms, causes and diagnosis. Stress is
nothing but the bodily response of an organism to stressor (any sort of
environmental condition or stimulus). Stress is defined in better words as the
way by which body responds to certain external stimulus stressful conditions. it
can be a minor tension because of exams or major financial worry in case of
being fired from job.

Definition :Stress is defined as a state of psychological and physiological imbalance

resulting from the disparity between situational demand and the individual's
ability and motivation to meet those needs.

Dr. Hans Selye, one of the leading authorities on the concept of stress,
described stress as the rate of all wear and tear caused by life.
Stress can be positive or negative:
1. Stress is good when the situation offers an opportunity to a person to gain
something. It acts as a motivator for peak performance.
2. Stress is negative when a person faces social, physical, organizational and
emotional problems.

Psychology as an academic discipline made a new beginning in India in the first

decade of this century. Review of research shows that Western theories and
concepts still constitute the core of research and teaching programmes in most
of the Indian universities.

A concept which exists since a century now has spread to a large section of the
society. With its prevalence so common, almost everyone we know or familiar
to is a victim of stress. In India, the source of stress is widespread and the stress
is not just limited to adults. Be it the education system of the country which is to
be blamed for the persistent cause of stress in adolescents or the ancient existing
culture of the society.
However, India has never viewed stress as any cause of harm until late nineties
when lots of research works came up and
it was shown that stress has started to affect the country and its people at a large
scale. Depression, which was only found in adults was diagnosed in a large
population of age 18-25 and it hampered the normal growth and mind
development of the human being suffering from it. Also, the work-environment

at the offices and disturbed work-life balance in case of adults have shown to
decrease the output and therefore efficiency in a normal human being.
Although Indian culture stipulates that the family should take care of older
people, it is widely recognized that socio-demographic changes have eroded the
traditional support system of older adults, making them susceptible to
psychological distress.

Now coming to the topic, Stress in India is viewed quite close to depression.
Since, the realm of our discussion is restricted to the Indian view, let us find out
what are the stress sources in Indian people, how are they tackled and what are
their effects and influences in normal day-to-day life. The diagnosis methods, its
impacts to the society and how stress chain is formed in an ordinary Indian
family will be discussed in the coming up topics.

CAUSE & NUANCE :Stress is a prevalent cause of tension and other mental disorders in almost every
section of the society. Be it the youth or the adult, men or the women, everyone
suffers from anxiety or depression caused by stress. Financial insecurity and the
adamant demands from family is the major concern which our current youth is
addressing. The role and responsibility as a housewife in an Indian family, the
daily melancholic household chores and meeting the expectations of elders in
family is the rampant cause of tension in Indian women.

 Career Concern:
If an employee feels that he is very much behind in the corporate ladder, then he
may experience stress. If he seems that there are no opportunities for selfgrowth, he may experience stress. Hence, unfulfilled career expectations are the
significant source of stress.
Role Ambiguity:
It occurs when the person doesn't know what he is supposed to do, on the job.
His tasks and responsibilities are not clear. The employee is not sure what he is

expected to do. It creates confusion in the minds of the worker and results in
stress.
Rotating Work Shifts
: Stress may occur in those individuals who work on different work shifts.
Employees may be expected to work on day shift for some days and then on the
night shift. That may create problems in adjusting to the shift timings, and it can
affect not only personal life but also family life of the employee.

Role Conflict:
It takes place when people have different expectations from the person
performing a particular role. It can also occur if the job is not as per expectation,
or when a job demands a certain type of behavior that is against the person's
moral values.
Occupational Demands:
Some jobs are more demanding than others. Jobs that involve risk, and danger
are more stressful. Research findings indicate, job that cause stress needs
constant monitoring of equipments and devices, unpleasant physical conditions,
making decisions, etc.
Lack of Participation in Decision-making:
Many experienced employees feel that management should consult them on
matters affecting their jobs. In reality, the superiors hardly ask the concerned
employees before taking a decision. That develops a feeling of being neglected,
which may lead to stress.

 Work Overload:
Excessive workload leads to stress as it puts a person under tremendous
pressure. Work overload may take two different forms:
a. Qualitative work overload implies performing a job that is complicated or
beyond the employee's capacity.
b. Quantitative work overload is a result of many activities performed in a
prescribed time.
Work Underload:
In this, case, too little work or very easy work is expected on the part of the
employee. Doing less work or jobs of routine and simple nature would lead to
monotony and boredom, which can lead to stress.
Poor Working Conditions:
Employees may be subject to poor working conditions. It would include bad
lighting and ventilation, unhygienic sanitation facilities, excessive noise, and
dust, presence of toxic gasses and fumes, inadequate safety measures, etc. All
these unpleasant conditions create physiological and psychological imbalance in
humans thereby causing stress.
Lack of Group Cohesiveness:
Every group is characterized by its cohesiveness, although they differ widely in
its degree. Individuals experience stress when there is no unity among work
group members. There are mistrust, jealousy, frequent quarrels, etc., in groups
and this lead to stress to employees.

 Interpersonal and Intergroup Conflict:

These conflicts take place due to differences in perceptions, attitudes, values
and beliefs between two or more individuals and groups. Such conflicts can be a
source of stress for group members.
Organizational Changes:
When changes occur, people have to adapt to those changes, and this may cause
stress. Stress is higher when changes are significant or unusual like transfer or
adoption of new technology.
Lack of Social Support:
When individuals believe that they have the friendship and support of others at
work, their ability to cope with the effects of stress increases. If this kind of
social support is not available, then an employee experiences more stress

Building up further, the major category of stress victim falls under Indian men.
From daily financial sources to corruption, the power in wrong hands and
inability to get the work done on time has been increasingly causing the mental
anxiety in adults. Growing number of criminal cases has inadvertently affected
the right swing of the notion. Keeping the family safety and their livelihood in
mind, an ordinary Indian men sets out from home every morning in the
complicated work environment where he has to compete under intense politics,
show up to the expectations of the seniors and handle the environmental
adversities alongside. All this gets accumulated and failing to find the right vent
off of the problem leads to the build up of stress and ultimately cause depression
and mental anxiety and inability to relax. All this not only effects just him but
also triggers the stress chain in the family. The change in behaviour and

physical symptoms like loss of appetite, disturbed sleep cycle, etc. is the cause
of worry for the people around him.

Symptoms of stress are both physical and mental. Cognitive ones include
inability to concentrate for longer durations, inability to remember stuff &
related memory problems, disturbed judgement and pessimistic thoughts &
constant worry. Emotionally, the person becomes moody. He becomes short
tempered and gets irritated very frequently. There is a sudden sense of
loneliness and people with stress generally run into depression. The person
begin eating more and generally isolates him/herself from everyone else.
Procrastinating work becomes habitual.
Physically, the person with stress generally complaints about sudden and
unexplainable body aches and pains. Stress generally affects our digestive
system causing bad body health and irregular motions because of diarrhoea and
constipation. Such persons generally form drug and other bad habits.