Handling Stress

Stress affects the mind, body, and behavior in many ways, stress grinds away at your mental health, causing emotional damage in addition to physical ailments. Long-term stress can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to everyday pressures and less able to cope. Over time, stress can lead to mental health problems. How to you know when you are reaching the point of being completely over stressed? Below I have included some of the signs and behaviors issue that you may begin to experience.
· Memory problems, Poor judgment, Moodiness, Short temper
· Depression or general unhappiness, Headaches or backaches, Chest pain, rapid heartbeat.
· Sleeping too much or too little, Over reacting to unexpected problems.
These are just a small amount of symptoms that are associated with stress. Taking charge of stress.
· Learn how to say "no" – Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, refuse to accept added responsibilities when you’re close to reaching them. Taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress.
· Avoid people who stress you out – If someone consistently causes stress in your life and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person or end the relationship entirely.
· Take control of your environment – If the evening news makes you anxious, turn the TV off. If traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online.
· Avoid hot-button topics – If you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop bringing it up or excuse yourself when it’s the topic of discussion.
· Pare down your to-do list – Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the "should" and the "must." Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.