No matter what our age or occupation, we all have to deal with stressful situations in our lives: loss of a job, birth of a child, midterm exams, wedding planning, and other life events as examples. Stress itself does not cause the headaches and health problems; it is our response to situations that affect us. Some of us can adapt better and deal with higher levels of stress than others, though all of us have our breaking points. To make sure that we never have to reach that point, this article discusses several ways of effectively managing situations and releasing from the effects of stress.

A little stress is normal and can even be beneficial when testing our resolve and creativity in responding to situations. However, as with anything else in life, too much can be bad for us, causing health issues such as tension headaches or worsening pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and asthma. It can also lead to psychological and social issues such as moodiness and depression.

Causes of stress

Before we can reduce the effects, we must understand what causes us to feel stressed out. Perhaps the biggest contributor is control. This can actually be closely related to what Healthwise con­siders the other six major sources of stress. Having or feeling as if you have little control over perfor­mance, workloads, sup­port, environment, etc., can result in a person feeling stressed. Control becomes an issue when you feel so overwhelmed by life situations, work, or school that everything feels unmanageable.

Among other sources of stress are performance issues, communication problems, and lack of support. Performance issues can result from having test anxiety in school, being overly critical of yourself at work, or feeling unable to provide adequately for family. Communications issues could result from a feeling of not being heard or not clearly expressing yourself or your views. The resulting miscommunication can lead to stress, especially when you need to clarify points. Even with good communication skills, if you don't have anyone to talk to or lean on when you need it, you may still feel stressed from not having a (good) support system.

Positively dealing with stress

To combat stress, you need to have outlets to relieve it. Because we all react differently to stress, we also require different methods to relieve it. Note, however, that some stress relief activities can be negative. For example, drinking or smoking can not only be bad for your health, but will create a dependency as you will begin associating those two activities with stress relief, even for minor stress situations. This, com­bined with the stress itself, can lead to more serious health or emotional issues.

Healthy and more posi­tive methods to release stress can actually result in mental and physical improvement. Writing about frustrations might provide a release and solutions and possibly even improve your creativity. Engaging in physical activities releases the tension that results from stress. Some people focus on relaxing the body through tai chi, massage, or aromatherapy, while others focus on relaxing the mind through meditation, music, and humor. The key is to find what works for you.