So, you're stressed out. You woke up to a blaring alarm clock, got up and went to the kitchen only to realize you forgot to get the coffee pot ready to go the night before. In my case, since I don’t drink coffee, I am sometimes apt to forget to put a few bottles of Diet Pepsi into the refrigerator.

You trudge half awake to the shower and now you a bit more awake. You start your commute to work only to hit a traffic jam caused by an early morning accident during rush hour traffic. Finally, when you arrive at your job the boss tells you of some new development that has to be done yesterday. You spend most of the day working on this project to get it done and in the can, only to find out that after you’re almost done with a majority of the work that some new modifications have to be done.

Backtracking makes you end up being at work two hours longer than you wanted to be. By then your stomach is growling and as you wrap up the project for the day you realize you skipped lunch. So you do what most American’s do these days and hit a fast food joint on the way home, thinking the high calories and fat will give you an energy boost. Upon arriving at home you check your mail, only to find out that your mortgage or rent is going up and there is a new tax being added to your electric bill. You cope with the day by hitting a bottle of booze and drink until you are relaxed enough to go on with the rest of your evening.

This has become an almost painfully common place scenario in America these days. The synopsis in the previous paragraphs is a day in the life of one anonymous American. All over America we are going through our own daily patterns of stress; what it does to our bodies is not a pretty sight. How we choose to cope with stress and allevieate the symptoms associated with it is another matter all together.

Stress is defined as a response of the mind and body to adapt to any demand for change. Such a response can be acute, cumulative or chronic. Stress can affect us emotionally in the form of depression and behaviorally in the increased use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Sexual problems, overeating and under eating may also be indicators. A few of the many physical symptoms associated with stress are pounding heart, grinding teeth, gastrointestinal problems, stiff neck or aching lower back, and frequent colds or low grade infections.

A checklist you can employ when trying to handle stress is as follows:

1. Identify the stressor; what is distressing me?
2. What am I willing to do about it?
3. How am I handling it?
4. What am I going to do about it?
5. How have I put my plan into action?
6. Finally doing something about it.

Some things you can do to keep stress at bay include meditation, getting enough sleep or finding a creative outlet such as writing or art. I personally have employed writing and meditation as two must-haves in my stress management techniques. I also enjoy designing with Corel’s Paint Shop Pro 9.

Next week I will talk more about meditation and how it can help with stress management. I will also discuss some other things such as aromatherapy and the use of candle energy.