The great evil of the 21st century is stress. According to Gallup’s 2021 Global Emotions Index, we have broken all records: 40% of adults around the world admit to having experienced stress.
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The WHO defines it as a state of worry or mental tension generated by a difficult situation.. Given the magnitude of people affected, the organization has published the guide In times of stress, do what mattersto teach practical skills that allow us to deal with stress.
precisely for this reason, Germán Jurado, accredited instructor of MBSR, Mindfulness for Stress Reduction, by the Esmindfulness InstituteHe has written Live without stress (Vergara, 2023). “It was born from the aspiration that all people can live with less stress and suffering, and with greater happiness”, she points out. “And to put at the service all the valuable tools and resources that I have learned, based on the practice of mindfulness. So that other people, like me, can live more fully ”, she confirms.
Cover of the book ‘Living without stress’.
mindfulness to reduce stress
Zen student since 2014 at the Kwan Um School, founded by the Korean Zen master Seung Sahn, Jurado emphasizes that “once one has completed his journey, his personal work, it is important not to stop there, go one step further, and ask how you can help others”. In addition, he emphasizes that “although it may seem like a technique, and we direct it towards achieving some result, such as reducing stress, it goes much further than that.”
Furthermore, he considers that “meditation is a lifestyle, a way of living. We practice to be more aware, more awake and thus be able to act with greater clarity in life. This harmony that we generate, through our behavior, has a great impact on us and consequently on everything that surrounds us”.
In his personal case, he acknowledges that meditating has helped him live with less stress. “He has improved my health, physical and emotional, my attention, with which I can do my job as a coach better. But without a doubt, the greatest gift has been a profound transformation from the Being. He has allowed me to reconnect with love and compassion, breaking down the fears and resentment that I had in my heart. Thus improving the connection and depth in personal relationships.”
What is stress?
As Jurado explains, “stress is as old as humanity itself and is an excellent adaptation mechanism in the face of dangers when they are real.” The coach points out that “according to Hans Selye, one of the first people to coin this term in the 40s, you have three phases. The first is the alarm reaction to a stimulus. The second phase of resistance, in which we try to regain balance. Lastly, if the emergency situation continues, it produces physical and emotional exhaustion”.
For this reason, he stresses that “this mechanism that has helped us so much to survive as a species today does not work, since the vast majority of our threats are of a psychological or psychosocial nature.” For this reason, he recalls, “we need to learn to manage this stress, understand its origin, and thus find better responses to our day-to-day threats.”
The two faces of stress
Stress has two faces, the one that saves us and the one that condemns us. On the one hand, as the expert explains, “it can help us, keeping us safe when there is a situation of real danger.” But, when it is sustained over time without real threats and continuously, it can harm us.
“It can affect our health and even cause disease. Elevated blood pressure, problems in the digestive system, dysfunctions in the sexual reproductive system, skin problems or infections in the respiratory system, are some of them”, says Jurado.
Thus, he points it out as one of the great diseases of our society. The data supports you. “According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in the year 2030, mental health diseases, anxiety and depression will be the first cause of disability in the world, so we can say that it is,” he points out. , “if we want to live more fully and without stress, we need to understand where it originates. To learn how to reduce it through different resources and tools, such as meditation and mindfulness practices and the MBSR technique.
The MBSR technique
The acronym for the MBSR technique, in Spanish, corresponds to stress reduction based on mindfulness. It was created in 1979 by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts. “He created the MBSR (Mindfulness based stress reduction) program. One of the best-known and most effective workouts, proven by numerous scientific studies”, explains Jurado.
This technique can end stress, or at least reduce it considerably. The coach confirms that “MBSR is an eight-week experiential and interactive training, in which through different practices such as meditation, formal and informal, conscious movements such as yoga and explanations about the processes of the mind and body In relation to health, it is about reducing stress, discomfort and emotional tension”.
How to train the mind against stress
Thanks to this technique, we ourselves can train our minds against stress and anxiety. “Yes, it is possible, but like all change it requires practice. Just as we train the body, we can train the mind, thus generating cognitive and psychological changes that help us improve our physical, emotional and mental health”, explains Jurado.
Another very powerful tool is full attention, or mindfulness. “Studies have shown that its continued practice not only helps us reduce stress and discomfort. It is also capable of generating new neural connections and changes in brain regions associated with memory, learning, empathy and self-awareness”, the expert clarifies. Of course, it is convenient to go to the root of the problem and try to avoid what causes us stress. .
Recommendations to relieve your stress
“My recommendation is that they start meditating and that they change curiosity for expectations,” says Germán Jurado. To achieve this, he suggests “that they do it with a group, a Sangha (community), and with an instructor or a qualified teacher, who embodies the practice and its values in their day to day.”
Thus, the coach assures that “little by little, as they meditate, they will see what changes they need to make in their lives, to live with less stress and with greater well-being and happiness.”
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