Stress is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing environment; it has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative feelings.

As a positive influence, stress can help compel us to action; it can result in a new awareness and an exciting new perspective. As a negative influence, it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression, which in turn can lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.

With the death of a loved one, the birth of a child, a job promotion, or a new relationship, we experience stress as we re-adjust our lives. In so adjusting to different circumstances, stress will help or hinder us depending on how we react to it.

Exercise

As a way of draining off stress energy, nothing beats aerobic exercise. To understand why, we need to review what stress is. People often think of stress as pressure at work, a demanding boss, a sick child or rush-hour traffic. All these may be triggers but stress is actually the body's reaction to factors such as these. Stress is the fight-or-flight response in the body, mediated by adrenaline and other stress hormones, and comprised of such physiologic changes as increased heart rate and blood pressure, faster breathing, muscle tension, dilated pupils, dry mouth and increased blood sugar. In other words, stress is the state of increased arousal necessary for an organism to defend itself at a time of danger.

Meditation

Another way to reduce stress in the body is through certain disciplines which fall under the heading of relaxation techniques, reiki healing and other forms of healing are great to reduce stress. Just as we are all capable of mounting and sustaining a stress reaction, we have also inherited the ability to put our bodies into a state of deep relaxation which Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard University has named "the relaxation response." In this state, all the physiologic events in the stress reaction are reversed: pulse slows, blood pressure falls, breathing slows and muscles relax.

Sleeping

As mundane as it sounds, sleep is an important way of reducing stress. Chronically stressed people almost all suffer from fatigue (in some cases resulting from stress-induced insomnia), and people who are tired do not cope well with stressful situations. These dynamics can create a vicious cycle. When a distressed individual gets more sleep, they feel better and are more resilient and adaptable in dealing with day-to-day events.

Leisure

Pacing has two components: monitoring your stress and energy level, and then pacing yourself accordingly. It is about awareness and vigilance; knowing when to extend yourself and when to ease up. It is also about acting on the information your body gives you.

Expectations

A common source of stress is unrealistic expectations. People often become upset about something, not because it is innately stressful, but because it does not concur with what they expected. Take, for example, the experience of driving in slow-moving traffic. If it happens at rush hour, you may not like it but it will not surprise or upset you. However, if it occurs on a Sunday afternoon, especially if it makes you late for something, you are more likely to be stressed by it.

Reframing

This is one of the most powerful and creative stress reducers of which I know. Reframing is a technique used to change the way you look at things in order to feel better about them. We all do this inadvertently at times. For example, many people view a split from a partner as huge disaster where as others may realize that they may have needed this time to assess personal priorities and what they really want from a soul mate.

Belief Systems

A lot of stress results from our beliefs. We have literally thousands of premises and assumptions about all kinds of things that we hold to be the truth - everything from, "You can't fight Government" and "The customer is always right," to "Men shouldn't show their emotions" and "Children should make their beds."

Support

We have all had friends who come to us upset, talking incessantly about a problem, and feeling better when they are finished. They have told their story, cried or made some admission, and the act of doing so in the presence of a trusted and empathic listener has been therapeutic.

Humour

Humour is a wonderful stress reducer, an antidote to upsets. Laughter relieves tension. In fact, we often laugh hardest when we have been feeling most tense.

Idols

We all inadvertently have idols that we worship. These idols can consist of objects of desire such as a particular type of car, a big house, a handsome or beautiful partner and maybe even celebrity pop star. The old saying that the grass always seems greener on the other side has an familiar ring to it. Humans can become slaves to there desires and obsessions, even people that appear outwardly content have deep seated desires that become there goal in life.

Massage

One of the best ways of discharging stress and staying happy and healthy is by having massage. What is massage? Massage is rubbing, kneading, tapping or otherwise manipulating the soft body tissue with the hands or with some instrument designed for this purpose. Massage relaxes tense muscles, eases stress, relieves pain and can help you get to sleep.

Smoking

Smokers often report that cigarettes help relieve feelings of stress. However, the stress levels of adult smokers are slightly higher than those of non-smokers, adolescent smokers report increasing levels of stress as they develop regular patterns of smoking, and smoking cessation leads to reduced stress. Far from acting as an aid for mood control, nicotine dependency seems to exacerbate stress.