Stress is a part of our everyday lives and in small amounts can even be good for us.
It challenges us to meet and exceed current limits so that we become stronger, faster, better.
However, there are people for whom stress is an everyday, ongoing problem that impacts their lives and even their health negatively.
In very severe cases, stress can become so overwhelming that it literally makes them shut down.
For these people, stress management is imperative if they're going to live healthy and fulfilling lives.
What are stress symptoms? Stress symptoms can occur in both the physical body and psychologically.
Physical stress symptoms include overwhelming fatigue, muscle tension, headaches, gastrointestinal distress like stomach aches, constipation or diarrhea and excessive weight loss or weight gain.
Psychological stress symptoms can occur, too, and they can actually exacerbate physical stress symptoms.
Nervousness, anxiety, under- or overeating, difficulty sleeping (or sleeping too much), no longer enjoying activities once enjoyed, negative mood changes, and being short tempered are all psychological stress symptoms.
How stress management is best addressed? If you are among those who have significant stress symptoms (psychological, emotional or both) such that they negatively impact your life and ability to enjoy it, there are things you can do to ease it.
First of all, figure out what is giving you stress.
There's a good chance you can change external circumstances so that your stress levels automatically go down without any other type of intervention.
The fact is, all of us need balance and time for winding down.
In today's 24-hour a day, seven-days-a-week world, multitasking is considered admirable, and being "on the go" all the time is something one is expected to be proud of.
Yet, that's not how we're built, and we need time to relax, recreate, sleep, and simply "be" as much as we need to be busy, to be productive, and to work.
Identifying your stress: Is it permanent, or temporary? It can be difficult with this "go, go, go" mentality to even identify when exactly you are experiencing stress.
We're so "on" all the time that we can't even slow down long enough to figure this out.
So keep a journal for a few days and just write down moments you identify as feeling particularly stressful.
After a few days, take a look back at what you've written and figure out what's making you feel particularly stressful.
Are you in college, for example, with exams coming up? That's "normal" stress.
In general, this is temporary stress that's going to go away as soon as the exams are over.
But if you have some pretty permanent ongoing stress (such as that you're going to school full-time AND working a full-time and part-time job besides), it's no wonder that you're feeling continually stressed.
Your body isn't meant to function in an "on" position all the time.
In that case, it's time to make some changes.
You simply have to make some time in your schedule to have "down" time and of course, enough time to sleep and eat properly.
Most people need between seven and eight hours of sleep a night.
In addition, it's healthy (not lazy) to give yourself at least an hour to do anything you want to, at least a couple of times a week, if not every day -- even if that just means sitting down and reading a book you've wanted to for a long time.
People who are balanced and not stressed out make time for leisure, relaxation and sleep just as they do for jobs, family, and responsibilities.
Diet matters, too If your diet contains a lot of caffeine or sugar, or unhealthy foods, your anxiety levels and stress levels can be higher just as a matter of course.
The fact is, your body needs good nutritious food to run properly.
Minerals like calcium and magnesium and vitamins like the B vitamins are natural emotional regulators.
In other words, they're not just good for your body, but they're good for your mind, too.
If you don't get enough of these in your diet, you could be experiencing anxiety or stress just from this lack.
Try getting a good balanced diet and taking a good multivitamin and mineral supplement in addition to the other lifestyle changes talked about previously.
If external changes aren't enough If your stress is longer-lasting or does not drop to normal levels with schedule changes so that you have time to relax and distress, sleep enough and eat properly, it can be helpful to talk to a counsellor or psychiatrist.
In some cases, medications may help when nothing else has worked.
The bottom line Stress management is something everyone has to do.
Whether you can manage your stress simply by incorporating lifestyle and dietary changes, or whether you need more help in the form of counselling, health care intervention, or an anxiety management manual, you can manage your stress so that your life becomes healthy, balanced and enjoyable once again.