When was the last time you felt stressed out?  Last week?  Yesterday?  Two hours ago?  According to medical doctors ignoring the problem can be costly.  Unchecked stress levels can lead to serious illness by weakening the immune system and over-taxing the heart.  Sixty to ninety percent of all medical compliant are stress-related.

According to the Director of Health, stress can cause or contributes to everything from colds to everything.  In short, intense constant stress can kill you.  But experts continue to focus on the damaging impact, stress can have on our bodies.  Experts  discovered easy, accessible ways to manage the problem, the key is choosing a strategy that appeals to you and fits your lifestyle.

Life by definition involves uncertainty, some of which you have to learn to live according to the director of the Stress Management & Counseling Center. 

Here are some proven stress-management techniques.  Any of them, practiced regularly will help you gain control over your life and is vital in reducing stress says an expert:

Seek support.  Social support can come from a  variety of sources, a close friend, community group and family are all equally protective as stress reducers says a professor of neuroscience. A recent study tracking relationships among older people showed that for men, simply being around other people is advantageous.  But for women to gain health benefits and the quality of relationships is more important.

Explore the power of meditation.  The idea of meditating seems too mysterious or difficult to master but many physicians consider the centuries-old technique a powerful stress reducer.  And learning how to meditate couldn't be easier.  Throughout the country, meditation and other meditative techniques such as yoga and the tai chi, are routinely used at hospitals to treat a host of common, often stress- related maladies says a researcher.  An associate professor of medicine has documented meditations's ability to improve health by lowering blood pressure as well as heart and breathtaking rates. Here are some of the basic steps he suggests:

• Sit comfortably with your eyes closed and repeat silently a word, or phrase or prayer.
• Continue repeating your focus word or phrase for ten or twenty minutes. Passively disregard everyday thought that drift into your mind by gently  returning to your key phrase each time.

Exercise and walk away stress.  The best workout is one you find enjoyable.  Researchers have long attributed the mind-body link to the release of endorphins.  During exercise we move in a rhythmic fashion that may tap into underlying natural body rhythms, such as breathing and heart rate, which calm the mind and elevate the mood.  

For added stress relief a medical doctor suggests visualizing tranquil images such as mountain stream or glowing sunset.  Close your eyes after walking and ask yourself how you feel with thoughts of peace and serenity.

Re-tune your diet.  Limit your intake of caffeine, alcohol and sugar- try munching on popcorn, celery or an apple says a dietician.

Turn off negative self-talk.  When you catch yourself in negative self-talk immediately replace thoughts with more realistic one.  Avoid pessimistic thinking.

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Resource:  Woman's home journal