Dr Asibi O. Abudu, a former Chief Economist of the Bank of Ghana, on Friday, encouraged Ghanaians ensure cleanliness, discard nasty thoughts and confront each day with a new
approach to relieve stress.
Dr Abudu gave the advice at a Public Health seminar under the theme: "How to Live without Stress."
It was organised by the management of Donewell Life Insurance Company Limited (DLICL) for the staff of University of Education Winneba (UEW).
He defined stress as the emotional and physical strain caused by the individual's response to pressure from the outside world.
Common stress reactions include tension, irritability, inability to concentrate, and a variety of physical symptoms that include headache and a fast heartbeat.
"Many different things can cause stress from the physical such as fear of something dangerous as well as emotional, he said.
"Identifying what may be causing you the stress is often the first step in learning how to better deal with your stress. I would therefore, urge all and sundry to choose a healthy lifestyle since it is the best."
On different causes of stress, Dr Abudu explained that internal stress often occurred when people became worried about issues they could not control, adding, "some people become addicted to the kind of hurried, tensed, lifestyle that results from being under stress."
He noted that environmental stress was caused by response to issues around including noise, overcrowding and pressure from work or family.
Mr Samuel Oduro, Managing Director of DLICL, said the seminar was part of the management's corporate social responsibility towards complementing the government efforts to ensure a healthy nation.
"In pursuit of our beliefs that the wealth of every nation resides in the quality of its human capital, management has taken the initiative to support the crusade of creating the necessary public health awareness in the country," he said.
On the theme for the seminar, Mr Oduro said although people considered stress as a negative phenomenon, it had some positive benefits because it often gears people up to perform feats they would otherwise consider beyond their capabilities.
"When you have an important assignment, stress may generate a surge of adrenaline that would enable you to carry out the task on time," he said.
Mr Edmund Addo, Operations Manager of the company, recommended that the surest way of overcoming economic stress was to join the Donewell Life Company to benefit from its numerous products.
He said it had different products for customers, which include an Executive Pension Plan, a Personal Pension Plan, Group Term Policy, Donewell Future Scholarship and Edwadifuo Ahobanbo Plan.