Living With Stress

Stress is a part of everyone's life. However, too much stress can affect your overall health. Learning how to recognize stress and how to deal with it can make an important difference in your life.

Stress is unique to each individual. What might be stressful to one person might actually be relaxing to another. You need to learn what types of things cause you stress, and how your body responds to that stress. Some of the symptoms associated with stress include flushing of the face, perspiring, a sinking feeling in your stomach or tightness in your arms and legs.

When stress becomes prolonged or particularly frustrating, it can cause distress.

Here are some suggestions that can help you handle stress. As you begin to understand more about how stress affects you personally, you may come up with additional techniques that work for you.

Find relaxing activities that give you pleasure and are good for you too.
Physical activity can relieve tension and take your mind off of your problems. Remember, if you decide to begin a program of physical activity, you should consult your doctor first.
Talking with someone about your concerns can help put your problems in a different perspective. If you feel you need additional help, seek professional advice from a psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker or mental health counselor.
Know and understand the problems you have control over, and learn to accept you can't control all of your problems at one time.
Make sure you get enough rest and eat properly so you are physically better prepared to handle stress. If stress repeatedly keeps you from sleeping, you may want to ask your doctor for help.
Take part in activities - get involved.
Make a list of the tasks you want to accomplish, prioritize them, and as you complete them, check them off your list.
Accept that you are not going to be right all of the time, and don't get upset with yourself or other people when things don't go the way you think they should.
Release your tension with a good cry. Taking deep breaths also releases tension.
Use your imagination to create a place in your mind where turmoil and stress cannot reach - read a good book to change the scene, or play music to create a sense of peace and tranquility.
Avoid taking over-the-counter medications that may relieve stress temporarily, but don't address the conditions that caused the stress.

If the stress in your life seems insurmountable, talk with your doctor about your feelings. Your doctor can recommend the appropriate treatment or refer you to a mental health professional for care.