ISLAMABAD: A panel of experts will be discussing how to deal with stress and anxiety at the SOT TALKS at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), Islamabad on the 27th of April 2019. SOT TALKS is part of the highly anticipated SOT Events that are held once a year. The last SOT Event ‘A World of Tomorrow Reimagined’ held in Karachi in November 2018 and was very well received.
We all have faced stress and anxiety at one or another time. Stress is when you react to pressure, it is the demand placed on your mind or physical body. The pressures can come external factors such as the events in your life, from other people or even internally from your own thoughts. The feeling of being stressed can be triggered by these events (also termed as stressors), particularly if one feels multiple demands being pushed on them at the same time. This pressure often invokes a sense of frustration or nervousness. Anxiety is a feeling of fear, worry, or unease. Anxiety can occur as a reaction to stress, as well as when we are unable to exactly locate and identify the exact stressors affecting us.
Stress and anxiety do not always have to have negative connotations. In the short run, these are essential for facing challenges in everyday life. Daily stress can mean feeling nervous before a big test or job interview, embarrassment in some social situations. If there was no stress and anxiety, we would not feel motivated to do anything or achieve to our fullest potential.
It is when there are consistent stress and anxiety, a pervading sense of doom that things start to go wrong. Stress becomes negative when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between stressors. As a result, the person becomes overworked, and stress-related tension builds. Prolonged exposure to stress and anxiety without any respite causes wear and tear on the body – both physical and emotional.
Most people experience stress and anxiety in their day-to-day life. However in a rapidly changing world with increased access to news and information, levels of anxiety and stress are rising exponentially, particularly among young people. While tips and tricks on how to make lifestyle changes abound, it is usually easier said than done. Nor does one size fit all.
Developing a clearer understanding of ways that have helped people is one step towards exploring what may work for us, or for those we know. In doing so, we can learn how to support those who may be struggling, to find better ways to talk about issues, and ultimately to affect positive social change in our communities.
During the SOT TALKS panel discussion, experts will discuss the difference between stress and anxiety, and different approaches to coping, such as therapy, mindfulness and the expressive arts.
SOT TALKS are free and open to the public, the interested participant can register at sotevents.com for their entry or visiting facebook.com/SchoolofTomorrowEvents.
