In a seminar organized by Supreme Court Young Lawyers Forum on theme ‘Stress Management for Lawyers’. The Event started with formal welcome address by Vikas Bansal, President-Supreme Court Young Lawyers Forum. The event was graced by Chief Guest Hon’ble CJI Deepak Misra, theme speaker Prof. Vijay Nath Mishra which provided in-depth detailed study of how our brain reacts to stress and how we should tackle the stress. Other speaker included Justice R.K. Agarwal and Tushar Mehta, Add. Solicitor General of India.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra Chief Justice of India talked about Stress Management tips for Lawyers. He talked about various coping mechanism and how they can be used to reduce the stress level as follows:

Stress is an issue facing many individuals in the present lifestyle that we live in. Time and time again, we see people feeling overwhelmed because of the pressures that they face as part of modern life. It often leads to disorders such as depression or anxiety. Although we in India tend to overlook this issue which is affecting majority of the population, but its getting real day by day and to go by the facts, India is home to around 57 million people (nearly 18 per cent of the global estimate) suffering from depression, as per WHO.

The fast pace and complexity of modern life has greatly challenged our ability to live healthily and fully in the present moment. We are always worried about the future and in the process we lose our time. While stress is present in each of our lives to varying degrees, it has reached a point of concern where we need to look into the underlying cause in order to address it.

Till the moment we breath we will be surrounded by problems and that’s just life happening to us ! Stress cannot be avoided but it surely can be minimized by using coping mechanism. In order to live a better and quality life it is necessary to deal with stress in a healthy way.

If you are in the legal profession the stress literally never goes away. Being a lawyer myself I am aware how much stress it brings along. Now when I go back to the day I decided to become a lawyer I recall how stressed I was about getting into law school. Being aware of the competition around, it was a challenge to get into a reputed law college.

To prepare for the entrance exams and manage the stress level can be very demanding especially when you have your goals set. Sadly, no one teaches us to cope with this level of stress until it becomes a medical problem.

And how taxing it is to become a successful lawyer once you get out of law school is another stressful arena. In short, the eternal line of challenges lead to never ending cycle of stress.

In his address, one of the important things Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra emphasized was how wanting to do things quickly and desire for quick results lead to stress. People tend to set a timer on everything they do, especially when it comes to career path. We want to be at a certain position by a certain age no matter how exhausting it is for our mind and body. We often tell ourselves that once we achieve a certain goal, the stress would go away. But it doesn’t end there, because we as human beings are never satisfied and there is always an itch to achieve a little more. We need to stop and think if getting quick results is really an achievement or are we forfeiting much more than we think.

Then he talked about how often when we as lawyers are stressed we look for a coping mechanism even without realizing it. Some people are addicted to tea and some to caffeine. Drinking alcohol or smoking are other ways of handling stress. But these are just temporary solutions to a problem which is not as temporary as it looks. With these habits, we are increasing the probability of being stressed out for life because again, we are getting dependent on external sources instead of working on our internal self which is the primary source from where stress is coming from.

Then he discussed the concept of situational anxiety. It is a common phenomena to experience anxiety when we are in a difficult situation. For example, before the beginning of a court case, more lawyers can be seen smoking a cigarette.

Situational anxiety is caused by new situations or changing events. It can also be caused by various events that make that particular individual uncomfortable. Its occurrence is very common. Often, an individual will experience panic attacks or extreme anxiety in specific situations. The question is, that is there a way to cope with it. Different things work for different people and we as lawyers need to know what works for us. Preparing well for a case in advance and being confident about it might reduce the stress at the last moment.

Another emotion that arises from stress is anger which Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra talked about in his speech. Many people struggle with anger because it’s an emotion “we’re not supposed to feel,” says Stacy Tye-Williams, an assistant professor of communication studies at Iowa State University. “We’re supposed to tamp that down, but then it builds and builds until we blow our top,” she says.

Do a little digging. Are you really angry? Or is the anger a cover for being stressed out with your current situation? Understanding the real emotion will help you determine how you want the situation to change. That’s what Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Mishra referred to when he talked about rationalization of emotions that we need to understand the root of anger and not judge the other person or ourselves based on the actions.

It was wonderful to hear how Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra talked about acidity and anxiety being an inseparable phenomena. The research says that many of the symptoms of anxiety cause further anxiety, this is the case with anxiety and heartburn. Heartburn, also known as acid reflux, can cause numerous symptoms that may lead to significant anxiety, especially if you are prone to health anxiety or panic attacks. It means that taking care of acidity level can actually reduce anxiety.

He went on to talk about very interesting concept of negative psychology which assumes the worst—the worst in methodology, the worst in social impact, the worst in motivation. A person might be basically positive, but have been ransacked. All this to say that the “negative” person may be a suffering person. If their despair shows up in the form of irritability or even hostility, it may be worth trying to perceive the deeper issue. ‘Don’t judge the person, judge the action’, as explained by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Mishra.

The last and certainly not the least important factor which he talked about in reducing stress is the role of music. Listening instrumental classical music while studying or working or before sleeping has a very calming effect. There is music available for different moods e.g. study music, work music, sleep music etc. Incorporating music into daily life can reduce stress at a great level.

A wealth of new studies are touting the benefits of music on mental and physical health. For example, in a meta-analysis of 400 studies, Levitin and his postgraduate research fellow, Mona Lisa Chanda, PhD, found that music improves the body’s immune system function and reduces stress. Listening to music was also found to be more effective than prescription drugs in reducing anxiety before surgery.

Incorporating physical activities in daily life such as walking, running, dancing, zumba, can also help reduce the stress levels.

With our stressful schedules and exhausting lifestyle it is worthwhile to take a note of the following words by Holly Mosier, who is an award winning author, healthy lifestyle expert, lawyer, yoga teacher, wife, mother and a step-mother.

She says, “Our culture encourages us to plan every moment and fill our schedules with one activity and obligation after the next, with no time to just be. But the human body and mind require downtime to rejuvenate. I have found my greatest moments of joy and peace just sitting in silence, and then I take that joy and peace with me out into the world.”

Story Coverage Credit: Pallavi Pratap, AOR at Supreme Court of India.