Is stress the new epidemic in India? As the latest research reveals how stress affects the body, here’s how to understand, recognize, and fight it. A cover story from India Today magazine
Illustration by Nilanjan Das
KUsam Negi, 41, a marketing executive based in west Delhi, was in an office meeting when she felt a sharp, stabbing pain in the back of her neck and had to be rushed to the emergency room. A neck brace and painkillers brought him immediate relief from the suffering, but doctors could not find anything in his bones or muscles that could explain the trigger. Then Negi mentions the tension and things start to fall into place. Recalling her plight four months ago, Negi says, “An orthopedist told me that stress can cause inflammation, which in turn can lead to muscle spasms.” “I wasn’t really feeling peaceful, but I never thought it could cause muscle spasms.”