Beat stress, switch off your cellphone

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Technology helps us stay connected. But it’s also bringing with it, a slew of new health problems. After suffering from insomnia for a few months, when HR professional Riya Sharma consulted her doctor, he said she was suffering from “cellphone stress”. Of what was just called a cellphone addiction, is now adding not just to health problems but is affecting our psyche at large. And how. Experts tell us sleeplessness, fatigue and irritability are new symptoms of what they call “cellphone stress”. May be it’s time to ignore that constantly ringing device for the better. Experts stress the need for the “switch off” mode.
Dr Rajat Mitra, clinical psychologist, says, “Many friends in my profession don’t use a cellphone. Cellphones can have devastating affect on your over all personality. For people who already have a distractibility symptom, cellphone adds to the stress. Not many know that switching off your cellphone gives you autonomy. You learn to say no to many things and situations. It causes not just occupational fatigue but also compassion fatigue. You want to be available to everyone at all times.”
Another common symptom, which has come to light, recently is chronic headache. So it’s not just pollution or long hours at work that spin your head at the end of the day. Gurgaon-based psychiatrist Dr Vinita Malhotra Jha tells us, “I often come across patients complaining of frequent headaches and when we trace their history, it all comes down to cellphone addiction. It’s time we take it seriously as long hours on the phone is making users obsessed with their phones. In fact many people I know have a habit of looking at their cellphones every few minutes even if it’s not ringing. This is likely to lead to serious problems like irritability.”
And then there are those who have to struggle hard to keep their cellphones away. Lohit Kumar, who works with Adecco says, “I am always connected with my friends through texts. It does lead to loss of sleep at times as I have a habit of checking my phone even if I wake up in the middle of the night. I know it sounds crazy, and I do feel frustrated in the morning. But from the last few days I’ve been trying to keep a distance with my phone and switch it off for few hours,” he says.
For the ones who have tried the trick tell us how putting an end to those forever beeping BlackBerrys has helped. Prajak Mehta tells us, “I decided to switch off my phone on my off days and all the important calls came on the landline, I felt so much more relaxed. There was a time when I couldn’t do without my cellphone even for an hour, but now I decide which calls I want to attend and not pay heed to unnecessary messages.”
Dr Asha Arora, a gynaecology shares a tip, “If you are always hooked to your phone, may be you can just try and switch it off for an hour. Many people switch on their cellphones even at night, which causes loss of sleep, resulting in irritability and that becomes you basic nature after a while.”