Manage Stress with Ayurveda

 

Stress is normal physical response to situations that make a person feel threatened or insecure. Stress response is generated when a person senses danger, which could be real or imaginary. It’s a way our body has been attuned naturally to protect itself and be secure from danger. Some stress is needed to keep us motivated and to accomplish our goals. Stress becomes a problem when it starts affecting our physical, emotional and social health in a negative way. We need professional help when stress starts affecting our health, mood, relationships, productivity……. i.e. the overall quality of life. It is not so difficult to manage stress. The secret lies in our own ability to handle the day to day challenges of life in a positive way.

Ayurveda attributes inability to understand our deeper inner self as one of the causes of stress. When an individual is unable to balance the real self (what we are) with the ideal self (what we desire to become) it results in stress. However the main cause of stress is the Imbalance of Doshas – Vata, Pitta and Kapha. When an external stimuli or stressor results in erratic response (Physical or mental) it causes the imbalance of Vata. This leads to disturbance in body metabolism and enzymatic activity resulting in the imbalance of Pitta. This affects the other functions in body resulting in slowdown, heaviness, stagnation, hopelessness etc., meaning the Kapha has been Imbalanced.

Ayurveda, the science of life, mainly focuses on restoring the balance. Treatment is based on body constitution of the individual and the imbalanced doshas. Some ways to manage stress with Ayurveda   are :

Dincharaya or the daily regimen: For a healthy life it’s necessary to have regular sleep wake time. Eating healthy food keeps body healthy and provides strength to manage daily stressors like deadlines, family engagements etc.

Exercise rejuvenates body as well as mind. It strengthens muscles and builds stamina to deal with the stressors. Regular physical activity in any form like, yoga, walk, jogging, cycling etc is therapeutic. Choose age appropriate activity according to your interest. Seek the advice of a medical practitioner if needed. Yoga should be practiced under the guidance of a qualified yoga practitioner to gain maximum benefit.

Meditation has the power to soothe the troubled mind. It enables a person to calm the thought process resulting in better concentration, stress relief, normalized blood pressure and better health. Meditation slows down the breathing rate and helps in relieving stress and anxiety.

Breathing is closely related to our state of mind. When a person is relaxed and happy, breathing is calm and relaxed. When a person is anxious or stressed breathing becomes short , shallow and anxious. Thus it really helps to observe our breath. When stressed, try to slow down the breathing rate. Sit in a relaxed position and take a few long deep breaths. Feel the air coming from deep within you, deep down from your abdomen. Abdominal breathing is a good way to take short breaks to relax during a hectic busy schedule.

 Seeking professional help is always better when one feels that stress is not letting the individual lead a healthy and happy life. Identifying the stressor and eliminating the cause of stress can be achieved by undergoing professional counseling. Rasayana therapy and other ayurvedic medications taken with the advice of a qualified Ayurvedic Practioner have the ability to calm mind and provide relief from physical symptoms associated with stress. Ayurvedic procedures like oil application on body once a week (Abhyanga) , Pouring medicated oil on head ( Shirodhara), Oral adminstration of mixture of herbs in ghee or butter ( sneh panam) are really helpful in relaxing mind and body. This provides relief from stress.

Adopting the above mentioned guidelines ensure a reduction in tension and help in restoring the dosha imbalance leading to a relaxed mind and body. Wishing Good Health to the readers and don’t forget to BE POSITIVE WITH LIFE.

Only one Indian institute in the top 500 world universities

Indian Institute of Science is the only institution that figures somewhere between 300 and 400 in the list

 

India’s higher educational institutions have once again failed to find a respectable place in the world’s top 500 universities.

Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science (IIS) is the only institution that figures somewhere between 300 and 400 as ranked by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) for 2013.

American universities have captured 17 positions of the top 20 slots, with two going to the British universities and one being occupied by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Zurich. Of the 500 universities ranked, American universities captured a total of 182 slots; European universities occupied 200 slots — but only three made the top 20. As many as 17 Chinese universities were included as well.

Harvard University has been described as the world’s best university with a score of 100; followed by Stanford University with a score of 72.6. University of California, Berkeley; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and University of Cambridge have scored around 71 points.

The IIS has just about held on to its last year’s slot but improved its performance in the Departments of Chemistry and Computer Science. In the former, the Institute has jumped two ranks from 45 in 2012 to 43 this year and in the latter from a range of 101-150 in the past to 51-75 in 2013.

In Natural Science and Mathematics, and Engineering Technology and Computer Science, the score remains stagnant, ranging between 151-200 and 76-100 respectively.

ARWU, also known as Shanghai Rankings, considers every university that has any Nobel Laureates, field medallists, highly cited researchers, or papers published in Nature or Science. In addition, universities with significant amount of papers indexed by the Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCIE) and the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) are also included. In total, more than 1000 universities are actually ranked, and the best 500 are published on the web.

Universities are also ranked by several indicators of academic or research performance, and the per capita academic performance of an institution. For each indicator, the highest scoring institution is assigned a score of 100, and other institutions are calculated as a percentage of the top score.

Easy DOes it

The board exams are just a few weeks away. Stay away from the Internet, take time for systematic revision, pay attention to your health, and set realistic goals.

• I get headaches every day.
• I can’t eat. I feel like puking when I look at food.
• I haven’t slept well in months.
• I feel my friends are always ahead of me and they have covered more syllabus than me. And that puts me into a panic.
• I am blank. I don’t remember a thing of what I’ve studied.

Welcome to the Overboard Over Boards Club! All of these are signs of stress and distress. And if you manifest even one of them, it is time to buck up and counsel yourself a bit.

De-stress

Most of you are stressed at this period of your life and doctors and counsellors have a field day. But they needn’t. You can beat the stress all by yourself.

Firstly, stop thinking you are stressed. And stop chanting the stress mantra every day. By constantly thinking and talking about it, you are only reinforcing your stress. Remember repetition and auto suggestion are very powerful mind tools. If you don’t have anything positive to say to yourself, at least refrain from negative chanting.

Then, put away the mobile and your other gadgets. Deactivate Facebook, Orkut, Whatsapp, Twitter, Viber, and the rest. Relaxation and distraction are two different things. Gadgets and technology are addictive. Once you are glued to them, you just can’t get away. And when you notice the time you’ve spent on them, you will panic and add to your stress.

Next, don’t worry about what your friends are doing. Constant updates and feverish comparisons can drive you crazy. Your friends may sound like they’re super cool cats. They might solve in a jiffy that nightmare of a sum that had you gnawing away at your pencil for the last two hours. That’s ok. The less you follow their status updates of exam preparedness, the more relaxed you will be. You only need to keep account of your own progress. Talk to friends only when you need help.

Don’t whine about the amount of stuff you have to cram. Full 900 pages of chemistry and 1,200 of Biology and all that. Millions of your peers are doing the same. Millions have done it year after year. It is obviously doable. If you relax, you will do it with ease.

Don’t imagine that this year of all years will be the worst ever examination. That nobody could have had it any worse. Every crop of Board examinees has felt this way. By imagining yourself to be some sort of a special victim, you are only stressing yourself.

And do you feel blank at times? As if you can’t remember anything that you’ve studied? Even that’s fine. That’s just you panicking. Your brain’s information retrieval system doesn’t crash like your computer. You will get the answers back when you need them.

Health focus

Headaches, fever, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, irritability, gloom and depression, rage, nightmares — all are manifestations of your stress. Stress is all about how you deal with an unusual situation. If you don’t see the unusual situation as the world’s biggest disaster since the tsunami, you will feel more competent about handling it.

Planning and organising your work, tracking time and your progress, and being realistic can make your exams less tedious than it is now.

Mind game

• Remember always that an exam or any other kind of challenge in life is mostly a mind game.
• If you can prepare yourself mentally for it, you’ve won half the battle.
• And that leaves only the other half to tackle. Looks easy now, doesn’t it?

Remember always that an exam or any other kind of challenge in life is mostly a mind game.

Pressure Affects Morale of +2 Students

Don’t put children under mental stress, as anxiety spoils performance in exams, psychiatrists warn parents

Come March 1, thousands of Plus Two State Board students will begin their march towards the next stage in life.

As the marks scored in crucial public examinations decide the next course and career, it is natural that several families will be gripped with fear and anxiety during this crucial period.

Students and parents are under pressure — for different reasons — even though leading psychiatrists in Madurai say that it is unwarranted.

Totally, 34,506 students are appearing for Class XII Board examinations, to be held from March 1 to March 27, in Madurai district this year.

Since public examinations for CBSE and ICSE streams too are set to commence, health experts have come with suggestions for anxious parents so that the encouragement/emotional support at home will boost students’ performance in examination hall.

“Parental pressure and relatives’ sarcastic remarks will damage the morale of students. Don’t put your children under mental stress. Maximal anxiety spoils performance in examinations,” I. Selvamani Thinakaran, senior consultant psychiatrist, here tells parents.

Psychological crisis

Her advice assumes significance as many families plunge into psychological crisis ahead of Plus Two examinations for various reasons. Determination and self-confidence would be the deciding factors in these testing times.

S. Pechiammal, a Plus Two student of Nirmala Girls Higher Secondary School, is an example. She lost her father just a few days ago and missed classes.

After suffering the initial trauma, the family had no other go but to make her focus on exams.

“My father was an auto driver and he died of tuberculosis. My mother is a domestic help. I want to do well in exams and become a software engineer as per my father’s wish,” the girl who scored 985 marks in half-yearly examinations, says with confidence despite grief.

Whether it is for a weak or bright student, it is the parents’ motivational words that make the difference. “Don’t have unrealistic expectations. Parents must understand the capability of the child and avoid critical comments,” says V. Ramanujam, professor of psychiatry, Government Rajaji Hospital.

Positive words

There are parents who sacrifice lot of things for one year to see that their child feels comfortable at home. R. Seenichamy, a businessman in Tallakulam, utters positive words to keep his son focused.

“He is a grown up boy and there is no need to scold him. Parents will undergo pressure because they have to arrange for money to get engineering seat in a good college and other expenses too will increase the family budget. I told my son not to worry and we are here to support him,” he says.

Dr.Selvamani Thinakaran cautions parents to avoid making comparisons and never discourage children because mental pressure may lead to physical illness during exams.

She cites the example of a Plus Two student from Namakkal who lost focus after he got fever two months back and had to undergo psychotherapy.

“He scored 480 marks in Tenth standard. This brilliant boy got depressed and was referred to me. After counselling, he became normal and he will be writing Plus Two exams this year,” she says.

If city students are under pressure to score high marks, the situation is different in the Government Higher Secondary School at Chathirapatti near Oomachikulam. Here, at least 35 out of a total 247 Plus Two students do not turn up for classes and teachers find it tough to handle them.

“Some students are going as daily wage workers and examinations are secondary for them. Parents are also not cooperating,” laments M. Mariappan, Headmaster.

For those parents who are worried whether their child will pass the public exams, there are another large group of parents particularly in educated families where they expect their son or daughter to become topper and score State ranks.

For them, S. Premalatha, senior Principal, Mahatma Group of Schools, has an advice.

“It is too late to set a goal now, give your child lot of moral support and take care of their health,” she says. Students on their part must practice old question papers and be thorough with important chapters rather than getting worried about the entire portion in each subject.

Dr.Ramanujam says that Plus Two students face pressure from parents, teachers, relatives and friends. “Schools want toppers and ranks since they think from commercial angle. A student can perform only to the extent of his capacity,” he explains.

Just Relax Before Board Exams

With the Board exams just a month away, psychologists give tips on how to overcome stress.

“We have prepared adequately well and are confident to take the Board examination. Encouragement and counselling from teachers and revision test has helped us a lot,” says Jayashree and Swarna, Plus Two students of a private school in Chennai. “My anxiety is growing. What if the paper is too tough or tricky this year and what if I do not get admission in a good college?” asks Sai Prabha, a Plus Two student from a city school. “I have done well in the half-yearly examination and we have two more revisions to take. I am confident of scoring well. But not sure if I will get admission in an engineering college,” says Kumaran of a government-aided school.

Anxiety, restlessness and immense pressure seems to build up the stress levels of these Plus Two students. They seem to be immensely worried about the future beyond the exam, about getting admission to a course they would like to pursue. Motivation is what the students require at this crucial juncture of their lives.

 

Systemic planning

“Our school adopts a systematic revision exam pattern and, that, to some extent, makes the students build their confidence levels,” says Padmini Sriraman, principal of The Hindu Senior Secondary School, Indira Nagar. Taking revision tests helps students develop the skill of time management. “When it comes to revision, students must follow an orderly fashion. Instead of skipping subjects, they must learn to complete one subject, take a short break and go ahead with the next subject,” says Dr. Kannan Gireesh, a city-based psychiatrist. “Small breaks will help refresh the fatigued mind. Marathon study is no good as it will only reduce your grasping capacity,” says Dr. Gireesh.

The overall stress levels of Plus Two students, who are all set to take the Board exams during March first week, is not so perceptible at this point, but closer to the exam date they usually experience nervousness, says S. Bhavanishankar, principal of Omega International School.

“Our child was extremely stressed out as she was attending school and also taking additional coaching at a private centre. We stopped that a few months ago and she is now concentrating only on the prescribed syllabus. She has a well-chalked out study plan and she adheres to it and is confident,” says Mrs. Aruna Balaji. “There is no change in her routine and she is relaxed in general,” she says.

“As I did not get to write the Class 10 Board exam in the CBSE due to CCE implementation, I am finding it a bit tough to handle the Plus Two exam,” says Kurubaran Udhayshanker, a Plus Two student of Sivaswami Kalalaya Higher Secondary School, Mylapore. What he finds difficult to handle is the high expectation of parents and peer pressure.

“Since November, I have been writing revision tests and that has given me an idea of tackling the examination. Yet it is but natural that closer to the date, I will surely be stressed out,” says Kurubaran.

“I am highly anxious about my Plus Two scores,” says Shruthi Esther of Velammal Matriculation School. “I have developed a perspective that taking exams and model exams have proved to be helpful.” Shruthi says that her aim is to take up Biology for her further course of study. “I want to do Biology and want to stick to this aim and am open to take up a course I get in this subject. I am not worried about the future at the moment. Therefore, I am not stressed out,” she says.

“It is the high performers who undergo a lot of stress and anxiety before the Board exams. Most others seem cool and composed and take exams with ease,” observes Padmini Sriraman. Priyadarshini, a student of government-aided school says, that she has benefited immensely from the special coaching classes provided by her school. “We get doubts clarified, have access to question bank, mark and read important questions and learn to write answers according to the requirement of various sections of the question paper,” she says.

 

Role of teachers

“Teachers are highly dedicated and conduct special classes from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. before the regular school begins,’ says principal of a government-aided school. “Apart from giving counselling to students, we talk to the parents of these students who are from economically weaker sections, to reduce TV viewing and to provide nutritious meals to their children,” says the principal. What these students lack is guidance and encouragement from their parents. Therefore, we support and motivate them. We also make these students eat at the noon meals scheme centre during examination, he says. The school conducts rigorous coaching for Plus Two students closer to the exam date.

 From this year, the CBSE, in order to strengthen its education system in the area of value education, will allocate three to five marks for Value-Based Questions, in all the core subjects. This will enable the students to score a few marks more, says a Mathematics teacher of a CBSE school in Chennai.

 

Path to your goal

Coimbatore-based psychiatrist Dr. Sitara Vikram says that avoiding last minute cramming and adapting a systematic study plan, career guidance from Class Nine onwards and regular counselling, are vital to ensuring that students develop a healthy attitude to examination. “Plus Two exam score is the not the be all and end all of one’s life. There is much more beyond that. Students must develop a clear aim as to what they want to become and how to achieve that aim,” she says. According to her, students must be taught to handle disappointment and made to understand that achievement of the goal is important and for that marks in Plus Two is not the only method. There are many paths to attain one’s goal.

“I also believe that spiritual tools such as yoga or chanting or meditation also go a long way in helping students overcome exam-related stress,” says Dr.Sitara. “Adequate sleep, healthy food and moderate physical activity also helps students overcome any discomfort they may experience during this period,” says Mrs. Padmini.

Scaling the Summit

Cracking the highly competitive civil services exam is a daunting task. A structured and focussed approach will help you attain your goal.

The Civil Services Examination is conducted by Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) for recruitment to various Civil Services, including Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Foreign Services (IFS), Indian Police Services (IPS), among others. The Indian Civil Servants serve as the backbone of the administration that runs the country. India is a country with the most diverse culture in the world, and the UPSC demands officers who understand this diversity and are sensitive to the various social needs.

It is a position that awards power and commands respect, but with it comes great responsibility. The examination process is structured in such a way that it handpicks those candidates who can apply their knowledge and understanding in carrying out these responsibilities in the most effective way.

Employing what is regarded as one of the toughest screening processes in the world, the UPSC selects the Civil Servants through a three stage process — the Preliminary examination, consisting of two objective-type papers (General Studies and Aptitude Test), and the Mains examination, consisting of nine papers of conventional (essay) type followed by the Personality Test (Interview).

The new pattern for Prelims was introduced in 2011 — a twin paper objective answer test on aptitude and awareness, which revolves around a vast array of topics. The new pattern is designed to understand a person’s analytical and reasoning skills rather than just testing his/her ability to memorise and replicate.

 

Prelims Paper-I

Prelims Paper I tests your General Awareness and how connected you are with the latest happenings around the world. Questions are usually related to:

History of India and Indian National Movement; Current events of National and international importance; Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World; Economic and Social Development — Sustainable development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives; General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change; Indian Polity and Governance — Constitution, Political system, Panchayati raj, Public policy, Rights issues and General Science.

It is natural for a student to be overwhelmed by the syllabus of General Studies paper-I. But, it has to be noted that the UPSC is moving away from checking the rote capability of the students and instead has started checking the analytical skills of the student. For example: 2011 saw a wave of protests with many following Gandhian ideologies of Satyagraha. The 2012 Civil Services paper tried to test the candidates’ understanding of this issue and their opinion on the same by posing the quesiton: “How are Gandhian Ideals like Satyagraha, Swadhinata and Swaraj relevant to contemporary Indian Democracy?”

 

Prelims Paper-II

Prelims Paper II designed to test your skills in comprehension, interpersonal skills, communication, logical reasoning, analytical ability, decision making, problem solving, basic numeracy & data interpretation. Broadly, around half the questions in the last two years, were from Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability. A good percentage of the remaining questions test Logical Reasoning, Basic Calculation, Quantitative Aptitude and Decision Making. Remember that an aptitude paper always tests your inherent common sense. Thus, performing well in this section is not contingent on the number of arcane formulae a student memorises, but on the application of the logic underlying each concept.

 

The Mains

Once you have cleared the Prelims, you become eligible for the ‘Mains’, which is a true test of your in-depth knowledge and writing skills. It consists of nine papers, two qualifying and seven ranking in nature. Out of the seven ranking papers, four papers are from two optional subjects that have to be selected from a pack of 26 subjects. There are proposals to do away with these two optional subjects but it has not been confirmed yet.

Candidates who pass the qualifying papers are screened according to marks and selected candidates are called for an interview. The Interview for the Civil Services is aimed at assessing whether a candidate is suitable to be a competent administrator or not. It is not an assessment of the specialised or general knowledge that has already been tested in the Prelims and Mains, but the mental ability of the candidate which is judged by the clarity of expression, appreciation of different points of view, balance of judgment and leadership qualities.

The general tip passed on through civil service success stories revolves around in-depth knowledge. Though there has been some paradigm shift in terms of scoring in Prelims, thanks to the aptitude section, the trend still continues with a traditional preparation for the general studies in Prelims done hand in hand with the Mains along with its optional. It therefore becomes easier to focus on the wide array of topics ranging from History to Geography to Economic and Social Development, Polity and Governance with current events and general science. This wide array clubbed with the comprehension, reasoning, mental ability for numeracy and the English language makes for a daunting task.

The exam has never been about remembering all topics but understanding concepts, and this has to be done smartly and swiftly.