How to Manage Stress?

Got stress?  Of course you do!

The bottom line is that living in the twenty-first century brings with it a certain amount of unavoidable stress - and with that stress comes elevated cortisol level.

It is how we deal with that stress and what we do to control those cortisol levels that makes a difference when it comes to our long-term health.

So what is stress?

     Stress is what you feel when life's demands

      exceed your ability to meet those demands.

   It's important to acknowledge that everybody has a

   different capacity to effectively cope with stress and even

   those rare individuals who have a high tolerance for

   accommodating stressful situations ultimately have a

   breaking point...add enough stress to anybody and

                            performance suffers.

Controlling the stress response

There are almost as many different ways to deal with stress as there are things that cause stress.

If it's possible to avoid stressful situations, then that's the obvious first course of action.

1. Avoid stress
2. Change your response to stress
3. Prepare yourself for stress

Unfortunately, avoiding stress is not always possible or realistic for most people. Therefore, either you need to learn how to deal with stress as effectively as possible (stress management), or you need to find a way to reduce the effects of stress on your body.

At least three factors can make a huge difference in how the body responds to a given stressor: