Stress less. Live more

Across boardrooms and living rooms, between deadlines and daily rituals, a quiet question lingers. It surfaces in conversations, in passing thoughts, and in rare moments of stillness. How do we hold everything together, and more meaningfully? How do we move through the busyness of life with purpose?

- DR PREETHA REDDY

Stress has quietly become the most common undercurrent of modern life. It is no longer occasional or isolated. Today, it is continuous, and it shows up in our health. In India, more than half of urban adults report experiencing high levels of stress, with over 26 per cent citing work pressure and 17 per cent pointing to financial strain as major contributors. Among young adults, nearly one in two mental health consultations are now related to stress or anxiety. While it may begin as restlessness or fatigue, stress often evolves into something more complex. Behind many noncommunicable diseases—diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disease, there is often an invisible thread of chronic stress. The body keeps the score, even when the mind is preoccupied.