Stress, anxiety, feelings of being overwhelmed, pressure and nervous tension are not the emotions that conjure happiness or satisfaction. The five letter word, s-t-r-e-s-s may happen to anyone regardless of their age, ethnicity or gender. It’s something everyone experiences at one point in their life. Stress is the result of feeling inundated by issues or circumstances of one’s life. It can be as minute as adolescent pressure to do something ‘cool’ or significant as financial duress.

By and large, stress transpires when life’s demands exceeds an individuals ability to cope with the tasks or challenges at hand. Quite commonly, stress may be managed by changing one’s environment so the demands do seem as unattainable. Alleviating stress begins with learning how to cope and respond to the demands of one’s environment.

Use the following techniques to help quell stress:

Take care of the body. Handling stress necessitates eating a well-balanced diet and getting sufficient sleep. Physical activity distracts from stressful incidence while it allows the body to release the nervous energy. During exercises, the brain releases chemical called endorphins which help in the production of serotonin (happy chemicals).

Relaxation is the bi-polar opposite response to stress. Acclimating the body into a calming effect entails the following techniques:

-To center the body into a relaxed state, breathe through the nostrils
-Then inhale for a count of ten
-With each intake of air, the upper abdomen should rise. (The chest should not elevate from each lungful of air).

For individuals who suffer from chronic stress, a class on meditation or even exercise training programs (such as yoga or tai chi) should prove helpful in learning how to relax.