Stress can take a serious toll on someone’s physical and emotional health. Even more so, chronic stress can lead to more serious and potentially life-threatening health conditions. The good news is there are ways to prevent and manage stress. This involves avoiding the triggers that cause you stress. 

Stress can have a number of physical and emotional effects on your body. Stress can cause high blood pressure, headache, chest pain, skin problems such as hives, a rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, muscle aches, such as back and neck pain, grinding teeth, dry throat, insomnia, indigestion, impaired sexual function, constipation or diarrhea, stomach cramping or bloating, increased perspiration, often causing cold, sweaty hands, fatigue, and weight gain or loss. 

There are a number of ways you can reduce your stress so that it does not eventually affect your health.

·         Be optimistic and stay positive. Research shows that being optimistic allows you to better deal with stressful situations. This in turn will reduce the effects of stress on the body.

·         Change how you emotionally respond to stress. Being able to manage stress does not mean you have to figure out how to get rid of stress completely. External factors can make this very difficult to do. But you can develop positive strategies to deal with stress to avoid negative outcomes. Make sure to think about stress as your reaction to an event, rather than the event itself. This makes it easier to identify healthy ways to manage stress. Even though you can’t control some of the stressors in your life, you can control your response to them.

·         Get good at time management. It is important to have good time management skills to best deal with stress. Make sure you have your schedule planned out so you are not rushing or forgetting important things. Also, make sure to balance your work life with your personal life. Make time for leisurely activities and for family and friends.

·         Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. Eating a poor diet that lacks in nutrition can cause you to feel more stressed out because it limits you from getting the proper energy you need to feel good throughout the day as well as get a good night’s sleep. Make sure to eat at least three meals a deal, or six small meals a day. Limit the amount of fat, sugar and salt you take in, and try to eat more unprocessed foods and more fruits and vegetables. This can help balance your energy throughout the day and battle whatever external stress factors come your way.