Recognizing and Managing Stress

Stress is a normal psychological and physical reaction to the demands of life. There are positive and negative kinds of stress that can both help and hurt our mind and body. Stress is also categorized by how long it lasts by being either acute or chronic.

Stress can affect your mental and physical health causing symptoms such as headaches, tension and trouble sleeping. Chronic, ongoing stress can lead to more serious health concerns including heart disease and hypertension if it's not treated.

It's normal to feel stress from time to time. But if the stress lasts a long time and doesn't go away, you may need to take take steps to manage it in order to stay healthy. Coping with stress starts with identifying what triggers your stress and then figuring out a positive outlet for those stressful feelings.

Stress can have long-lasting effects on your life and health, but you can use healthy lifestyle changes and relaxation tools to help you cope with stressors. Things like exercise, a healthy diet, mediation and positive self-talk can all help relieve the mental and physical symptoms of stress.

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