A Workshop Report on Stress management

Term Paper Report

Submitted to:

Institute of Crisis Management Studies (ICMS)

Samarpan Academy

Affiliated to Tribhuwan University

In Partial Fulfillment of the Academic Requirement for

M.A in Crisis Management

Ojaswi Poudyal

November 13th, 2022 ICMS, 8 Batch, 1st year

th
Table of Contents
A Workshop Report on Stress management...........................................................................................1

Acknowledgment.......................................................................................................................................3

Abstract......................................................................................................................................................4

Introduction...............................................................................................................................................5

Objectives of report...................................................................................................................................7

Methodology..............................................................................................................................................8

Discussion...................................................................................................................................................9

Conclusion................................................................................................................................................12
 Acknowledgment

Apart from my efforts, the success of any project depends largely on the encouragement
and guidelines of many others. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the people who
have been instrumental in the successful completion of this project. The supervision and
support received from the entire team of the institution and my colleague who contributed and
helped me build this project was vital for the success of the project. I am grateful for their
constant support and help.
I offer my sincere appreciation to the entire ICMS team for providing the learning opportunity to
comprehend on very sensitive topic like mental health and stress management held from 15th July
to 16th July 2022. I would also like to thank all the respective guest lecturers and facilitators for
their knowledge, supervision, and guidance on the subject matter.

Further on, I want to thank all my classmates and seniors who made this demanding time joyful
but always efficient.
 Abstract

This report provides an overview of the two-day seminar on stress management. This seminar
gives an idea on stress, its consequences, and its relation with the crisis managers at the time of
crisis situation. A different perspective on managing stress in a time of crisis is the main theme
of the seminar.

Stress is the subjective feeling of being under too much mental and emotional pressure. Different
signs of stress are problems in the sleeping pattern, eating habits, behavioral problems like an
increase or decrease in activity level, substance use or abuse, etc. Physical problems like
gastrointestinal problems, headaches, body pains, sweating, weight loss or gain, headaches, etc.
Psychological and emotional like feeling euphoric, denial, anxiety or fear, depression, grief,
apathy, etc. Social problems like blaming, isolation, etc.

It is critical for our mental health to make time to seek out and connect with others. Socializing
reduces stress and anxiety while promoting emotions of serenity and happiness. Talking with
someone allows us to share our emotions and experiences, as well as offer or receive support,
making us feel more connected. Cortisol levels are reduced when we mingle and are physically
close to people. Sharing our worries with a loved one might make us feel better. Stress may also
be handled by studying other religious ideologies, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. During
times of crisis, brief solution-focused therapy is quite beneficial.

Crisis refers to "an upset in the steady state." It often has five components: a hazardous or
traumatic event, a vulnerable or unbalanced state, a precipitating factor, an active crisis state
based on the person's perception, and the resolution of the crisis. A crisis is any transient
situation that requires the reorganization of one’s psychological structure and behavior, it causes
a sudden alteration in the person’s expectation of self, and that is unable to handle with the usual
coping mechanism. During a crisis, normal ways of dealing with the world are suddenly
interrupted. Reactions and responses to crises are time-limited, but they may persist as symptoms
of post-traumatic stress. Crises are universal and can affect people from all cultures.
 Introduction

On the 15th and 16th of July, 2022, a stress management workshop was conducted at the
Samarpan Academy, Institute of Crisis Management Studies. It was beneficial for us to gain a
better understanding of stress, its causes, and how to handle it. There were few lectures and
classes held where the participants were the students of the Institute of Crisis Management
Studies and the presenters were Dr.Prabhakar Pokherel, Dr.Chintamani Gautam, Yogi
Chintamani, Ms. Rupa Pradhan Chettri, Mausam Shakhya, and Ganesh Amgain who shared their
inclusive knowledge with their professional knowledge and the practical experience. The
seminar was very interactive and knowledgeable about how we can handle stress in future crisis
situations. Dr. Chintamani Gautam and Yogi Chintamani focused more on the Hindu religion
theory and shared their knowledge based on the holy book 'Bhagwat Geeta' and how it has
delivered ways to develop certain ideas and strategies to help people cope with stress. They
believed that the Hindu faith has a wealth of wisdom and practice dating back to ancient times
and that by applying scientific methods to those methods, we can establish knowledge that is
stress-free. They concentrated on smiling and laughing, which have been shown to alleviate
tension in the human body; they concentrated on being cheerful, smiling, and keeping a positive
outlook as much as possible to help reduce stress. There must be an art to living; we concentrated
on people learning how to live, which would alleviate stress automatically. They concentrated on
the causes of stress, such as too much work, a poor diet, insufficient sleep, an unbalanced family,
a disorganized lifestyle, an unhealthy atmosphere, excessive motivation, attachment, vanity, an
unfortunate accident, sickness, and so on. And they shared their insights on how breathing
therapy, water drinking habits, prayer, meditation, unconditional love, as well as a healthy diet,
everyday success and activities, actions, and positive thinking are all the remedies to relieve
stress. They also concentrated on things such as singing, praying, harmony, spiritual debate,
commitment, and living together, all of which might help provide stress relief. Similarly, the
exclusive class by Dr. Chnatamani Gautam taught and helped us on understanding the basics of
yoga which we did practically. The classes were really very interactive and fruitful. Dr.
Prabhakar Pokherel also shared his understanding of scientific approaches to stress management;
he also discussed the causes of stress and how to handle it. He was interested in medical science
and the human body's internal structure, specifically how stress is generated in the body. And
concentrated on the brain's function in dealing with feelings and emotions.

The hypothalamus in the human brain serves as the body's chief command center. The autonomic
nervous system governs involuntary physiological activities such as breathing, blood pressure,
heartbeat, and the dilatation or constriction of primary blood arteries and tiny airways in the
lungs known as bronchioles. In life-threatening circumstances, the brain helps individuals react
quickly, so they fight or flee, which means they run away from terror or interact with it,
depending on the scenario. Aside from fight or flight, there is also a state known as freeze, which
wastes a lot of energy and increases the risk of burnout, weariness, loss of interest and pleasure,
poor attention and focus, and chronic stress. Mr. Mausam Shakya discussed Buddhism as a
religion as well as a philosophy. He concentrated on Buddhism and the link between crisis and
stress. He revealed the four great truths of life. The subjects discussed include suffering, the
causes of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering.
He discussed his previous actions and experiences, as well as how he modified his habits using
the information he learned from Buddhism.

Ms. Rupa Pradhan Chhetri, on the other hand, offered her perspective of the relationship between
crisis circumstances and stress. She discussed crisis management methods as well as the
procedures done to de-escalate and handle the situation. She also discussed crisis professionals'
psychological well-being, emphasizing the importance of understanding stress management in
times of crisis for crisis managers, as the system becomes stressed and decision-making becomes
extremely difficult in an emergency situation, tension is generated in these situations, and they
must be handled well so that both the response and the crisis team have clear control of the
situation. Helping others is vital, but the most important thing right now is to support yourself.

Likewise, Mr. Ganesh Amgain who is a professional dance therapist shared his insights on how
stress can be relieved through a form of dance. One needs to achieve a relaxed state of mind to
relieve or cope with stress in any situation. Expressing oneself non-verbally, while moving to the
sound of music has always been a popular form of human relaxation. Dance movement therapy
is one such Stress Reducing Activity that takes a leap in this direction to make peace a reality.
He engaged us practically in a dance movement therapy session in which he focused on one
becoming more comfortable with their bodies by being carefree and, childlike and establishing a
connection with it by creating awareness of all kinds of sensations. He made us realize an
individual’s spontaneous and authentic movement is further taken into consideration
for expressing and channelizing stored emotions.
 Objectives of report

The general objective of the stress management workshop is to describe stress and explain its
consequences in relation to crisis management. Some of the objectives are as follows: -

1. To describe the stress phenomenon and find out the symptoms of stress
2. To know t the stress management in terms of Buddhism and Hinduism
3. To explain the knowledge about the reason for stress, its solving and management
process
4. Ty about the effect of stress in our daily life and working environment.
5. To study practical ways to reduce stress.

Stress management is the process of reducing or fully eliminating stress by various methods such
as counseling meditation, and improving one's lifestyle. Stress hormones rise as a result of
various behaviors we engage in and circumstances we encounter in our everyday lives, such as
depression, anxiety, fear, and unhappiness. These actions elicit feelings, which in turn cause
tension in our everyday lives. Burnout, exhaustion, lack of interest and enjoyment, insufficient
concentration, and other emotions are examples of negative emotions. There are various reasons
for stress like excessive work, unhealthy diet, lack of sleep, imbalance in family, disorganized
lifestyle, unhealthy environment, over-ambition, attachment, ego, unexpected accident, illness,
and many more other things. People sometimes create stress themselves sometime it is created
due to the situation and, circumstances.
The study of stress management is very important for the individual in daily life to manage stress
and live life better. As in the crisis management study, stress management plays a vital role to
function better for the crisis responders in case of emergencies. The crisis and the disaster cannot
be predicted, but the hazard can be recognized so in the time of the crisis the time is short and the
decision is required urgently so there is pressure building over time, for any crisis first 24 hours
are hard to analyze and make a decision so the stress is created, if the responders and the crisis
manager is aware of the situation, they can tackle the stress and continue the work instead of
getting panic So leaving the job. The stress management knowledge could help the individual to
perform the job well in the situation of pressure too.
 Methodology

This report is based on the two days’ seminar of “Stress Management”, held in Samarpan
Academy, Institute of Crisis management studies. The report is prepared based on the data that
are collected from slides presented in seminar, articles, journal. This report is also the outcome of
the lecture discussion and interaction of the seminar.

1. Practical study

The report is based on the two-day seminar conducted at the Institute of Crisis Management
studies. The report is built on descriptive patterns in which current information is studied further
to broaden knowledge and contribute research to the subject. Stress management can be done in
a practical way; we can practice the practical knowledge of stress management. The more we
practice, we get more professional knowledge of stress management in times of crisis.

2. Theoretical study

The stress management classes were conducted and studied from a theoretical perspective also
where the different theories were discussed. The different presenters showed the different ways
and models based on stress management. The religious and philosophical perspectives were also
discussed to manage stress from the indigenous knowledge that we have in terms of our religious
practice.
 Discussion

The one-day seminar hosted by Yogi Chintamani, Rupa Pradhan Chhetri, Mausam Shakya,
Dr.Chinta Mani Gautam, Dr. Pravakar Pokhrel, Ganesh Amgain presented the relevant topics
related to stress and its management process during a crisis situation.

Dr. Prabhat Pokhrel holds an MBBS and an MD from PGIMER Chandigarh. He is Psychiatry
Lecturer at KISTMCTH, Gwarko, Lalitpur, and also a Consultant Psychiatrist at Rhythm
Neuropsychiatry Hospital, Ekantakuna. His presentation focused on various aspects of stress,
Short and acute stress are having advantages on the other hand chronic stress brings chaos in the
life of any person. According to him, stress evolved from the period of human evolution, the
human being had gone through many phases of development. Dr. also mentioned about the fight
or flight mode in a stressful situation in the human being helped the survival of human
civilization. The response of the human being in a stressful situation like a hyper-alert state and
the reaction of the body like fast respiration, and raise of heartbeat is the preparedness of the
human mind and body muscles ready to act in danger and it is also the coping mechanism of the
human body.

Dr. Pokhrel also explained the coping skills need during a stressful situation. Coping strategies
are the behaviors, thoughts, and emotions that are used to adjust to the changes that occur in our
life. He further highlighted the newer definition of the mental/ defense mechanism. Defense
mechanisms are cognitive processes that function to protect the individual from excessive
anxiety or other negative emotions. They also protect the person from loss of self-esteem and, in
the extreme, the loss of self-integration. Different methods of defense mechanism are denial
Projection and he further elaborated the Post Traumatic Disorder Syndrome (PTDS) and it’s
about the stress full situation that occurred in the victims of, rape, torture, hallucinations,
disasters, etc.

Rupa Pradhan is a TF-CBT therapist, ICDP trainer, Family Therapist, and Social activist, EMDR
presented the intervention of stress, approaches, and recovery methods in a stressful situation.
She shared that stress can be identified through four different signs, physical signs, emotional
signs, behavioral signs, and psychological signs. She believed that self-care is a priority and
necessity and not a luxury in the work that we do and directed more toward a self-care
mechanism. She highlighted the importance of self-care and its long-term benefits in handling
any kind of stressful situation in life as:

Self-care helps to increase productivity We will have more to give to others

Helps to prevent compassion fatigue Improves self-esteem

We get to know ourselves better Healthy management of emotions

Stress Management, Psychology and Buddhism session was taken by Mausam shakya. He
explained about the Buddhism and its importance in stress management during normal as well as
in crisis situation. According to the lecture and discussion in the seminar following knowledge
was learned.

Seven Universal Mental factors are:

• Contact
• Feeling
• Perception
• Conditionings
• Intention
• One-pointedness
• Life faculty
• Attention

And the four noble truth of life are:

• Suffering
• Cause of Suffering
• Nirvana
• Eightfold Path

Dr. Chintamani Yogi is a Founder principal – of Hindu Vidyapeeth-Nepal and founder

Chairperson – of the Peace Service Centre. In this session, Dr. explained the reason for stress, the
method for solving stress, and the facts in terms of Hindu philosophy.

Ati parishram, Anidra, Apathya Bhojan, Amarjodi Pariwar, Avyavasthith Jeevan saili, Aswastha
Vatavaran, Ati Aakanchhaya, Aasakti, Ahamkar, Akalpaniya Ghatna, Aswastha Awastha are the
reason behind the stress. To resolve these reasons for stress, Dr shared his insights on how a
human has to follow the following so that stress can be managed and a good quality of life can
be gained through

• Pani
• Pranayam
• parishram
• Prem
• Parathana
• Aahar
• Vihar
• Vyavahar
• Vichar
• Satsang
• Sankapla
 • Saha Jeevan

As a result of the two-days stress management workshop, the students of ICMS got a piece of in-
depth knowledge on what actually are the symptoms of stress, how it affects your mind and
body, our role on how to cope with such stressful situations in everyday life and on crisis
situation and the solving process of stressful situations. After the workshop, we were also able to
state that not all stress is negative, yet it might be good or bad. In these situations, when people
are faced with new employment prospects or new work and work environments, people are
agitated due to new things; however, some stress is beneficial. Stress is caused when people lose
control over their emotions and sentiments. People may experience negative stress if it is brought
on by failure, trauma, or any other internal or external circumstance that makes life miserable.
By altering one's lifestyle and changing one's behavior, one can relieve stress. Therapy and
meditation can both help people feel less stressed and resume their daily lives. Therefore,
knowledge and meditation help people to recover from stress, where the living style is improved
and the feelings and emotions are taken care of. When stressors are created, they affect human
health because they can create high blood pressure, people may feel like they have nowhere to
turn, and unhappy conditions.
 Conclusion

During the emergency phase, stress management is a crucial and important issue. Making a
strategy for the avoidance and mitigation of such crises is preferable. To effectively manage
stress during a crisis, it's crucial to have a clear knowledge of duties and responsibilities, to
support coworkers, to practice excellent self-care, and to ask for assistance when necessary.
When managing a crisis, crisis managers are always physically and emotionally exhausted, and
occasionally they are not even aware of the degree of stress they are experiencing. It's crucial to
be aware of certain fundamental approaches when working with people who are experiencing
these episodes as crisis interveners in a variety of stressful situations. Knowing how to handle
this tension makes it simpler to deal with the problem.