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Stress... We all have it. We all live with it. Some of us manage it better than others. It is not that we are better people, but that we have discovered better tools to help us understand stress and keep it under control.

What is stress?

Stress is simply a fact of life—forces from the outside world affect us. We respond to stress in ways that affect us and our environment. All living beings are in a constant interchange with their surroundings (the ecosystem), both physically and behaviorally. There are critical differences in how creatures relate to their environment. These differences have far-reaching consequences for survival. Because of the overabundance of stress in our modern lives, we usually think of stress as a negative experience, but from a biological point of view, stress can be a neutral, negative, or positive experience.

In general, stress is related to both external and internal factors. External factors include the physical environment, including your job, your relationships with others, your home, and all the situations, challenges, difficulties, and expectations you're confronted with on a daily basis. Internal factors determine your body's ability to respond to, and deal with, the external stress-inducing factors. Internal factors which influence your ability to handle stress include your nutritional status, overall health and fitness levels, emotional well-being, and the amount of sleep you get each night.

How can we manage stress?

If we think about the causes of stress, the nature of the stress response, and the negative effects of some types of stress (prolonged, unexpected, or unmanageable stress), several healthy management strategies become clear. A first step in stress management is exercise. You see, since the stress response prepares us to fight or flee, our bodies are primed for action.

Unfortunately, however, we usually handle our stresses while sitting at our desk, standing at the water-cooler, or behind the wheel stuck in traffic. Exercise on a regular basis helps to turn down the production of stress hormones and neuro-chemicals. Thus, exercise can help avoid the damage to our health that prolonged stress can cause. In fact, studies have found that exercise is a potent antidepressant, anti-anxiety, and sleeping aid for many people.

We know that chronic or uninterrupted stress is very harmful. It is important, therefore, to take breaks and decompress. Take a lunch break and don't talk about work. Take a walk instead of a coffee break. Use weekends to relax, and don't schedule so many events that Monday morning will seem like a relief. Learn your stress signals. Take regular vacations or even long weekends or mental-health days at intervals that you have learned are right for you.

Create predictability in your work and home life as much as possible. Structure, organization and routine in your life can't prevent the unexpected from happening. However, they can provide a comfortable framework from which to respond to the unexpected. Think ahead and try to anticipate the varieties of possibilities, good and bad, that may become realities at work or home. Generate scenarios and response plans. You may find that the "unexpected" really doesn't always come out of the blue. With this kind of preparation, you can turn stress into a positive force to work for your growth and change.

For those who may need help dealing with stress, stress-management counseling in the form of individual or group therapy is offered by various mental-health-care providers. Stress counseling and group discussion therapy have proven to reduce stress symptoms and improve overall health and attitude.

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However you choose to deal with stress… be proactive