Stress always goes hand in hand with health. Depending to the stress level of a person, the impact of stress in the body can range from minor sweaty palms right through to being fatal and causing death. In order to manage stress and health better, you must first be familiar with the severe effects of stress in the body. *Physical & Behavioral Signs Of Stress* Stressors can be either external or internal. External stressors involve situations in the workplace, death or illness in the family, or by simply becoming angry. On the other hand, most of the stress that people experience is self-generated or internal. A person usually creates his or her own stress but this indicates that the person has the choice or doing nothing or something about it. Your major body systems are all affected by stress. When a person feels stressed, there will be an increase in heart rate, and an elevation in the blood pressure levels. The continuous pressure in the heart can also make a person vulnerable to cardiac arrest and other cardiac-related problems. The digestive system is also affected when you are stressed. Some people can experience diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, dryness of the mouth and the throat. Stress may also cause sleeping disorders, nausea and in some cases even a tightness of the chest, neck, jaw and the back muscles. You may also experience tooth grinding. Often there are also changes in behavioral patterns noticeable in a person experiencing chronic levels of stress. Smokers normally experience an increase in smoking patterns. Aggressive behaviors and hostility towards others and even inanimate objects are sometimes linked to a person being easily startled. A person?s diet can also be affected by the irregular eating habits caused by stress. Some people who cannot handle stress unfortunately resort to increased levels of alcohol and drug use. Additionally, unhealthy compulsive behavior, impatience and carelessness are also the behavioral effects of stress. * Long Term Implications of poor stress management * Long term stress in your life will badly affect your health and wellbeing overall. During stress the body produces hormones that enable the body to cope with the current situation. Short term effects of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and corticosteroids include tense muscles, queasiness and an in increase in breathing and heart rates. The long term implications of these hormones include allergic reactions, digestive disorder, heart disease, fatigue headaches and migraine. Even some cases of impotence and premature ejaculation can occur in men or erratic menstrual cycles for some women. When the body continuously releases these hormones your sleeping patterns can also be affected and can sometimes lead to chronic insomnia. With severe cases of stress, it can cause eczema, ulcerative colitis, mouth and peptic ulcers and recurring muscular aches and pains. * Healthy Lifestyle to reduce stress levels in your life * How a person identifies stress is important to their overall health. When the stress becomes too much to handle, the damage to their physical and mental well-being can be irreversible. Living a healthy life can help a person cope with stress easily. * Tips for Better Managing Your Stress * Although a build up of stress can result in major risks, it can also be a positive catalyst for change in your life. Do not let stress accumulate without making the necessary lifestyle changes, otherwise the result can be fatal. By recognizing the stressors, you can put each of them in place and deal with them one by one. Remember that stress can be a healthy signal that you need to make some positive changes in your life, and that now is the best time to make decisions. * Breathing And Relaxing to Control Stress * Oxygen is obviously very important to the body. Taking a deep breath adds oxygen to the system, which can help you relax. Take a short walk in some fresh air, go get a glass a glass of filtered water and do something that can change your focus onto something positive. Try smiling and take a short moment focusing on something else other than your problem. Watch some funny videos before you start your day or listen to comedy audio tapes when you drive in traffic. By the time you get back to your problem, it would not seem nearly as undefeatable. * Enjoy The Good Things Of Life And Be Positive * When you let stressful events build up, you can forget to enjoy the good things of life. Remember that life offers many more important things other than work. Reserve some time to actually recognize the good things in your life. Practice being grateful for what you have in your life. * Know Yourself and Work on Your Limitations * By recognizing your limitations, you can evade situations that can usually lead to the piling up of work. And you do not need to take responsibility for the work that some one else has left undone. Do not burden yourself with the problems of other people. If you continuously beat yourself up with needless guilt, not only will you be unable to manage your stress but you will instead worsen the situation. There are other several ways to help you manage your stress. If you are into self help books, sometimes taking time reading your favorite book can help you in putting the problem out of your mind, or help you to come up with creative solutions. Taking a warm bath and watching your favorite show on TV can also help you. Always remember that the keyword in better stress management is Relaxation. * Strategies to Use for Avoiding Stress Build Up* Stress build up can pose major health risks to you in the long term if you do not start to deal with it now. Often times, people who do not know how to handle stress find themselves in rehabilitation facilities that offer twelve-step programs that could help them recover. So have a policy that stress avoidance is always better than cure. Learn to avoid stress build up through simple strategies that you could practice in your free time. * Learn To Have Fun * Look into yourself and find something that you are into. There are bound to be some games or fun activities that you can enjoy by yourself or with friends and family. Find the things that you enjoy the most. Hobbies are helpful activities to enhance the overall relaxation process. Drawing and gardening are great stress relievers but you are not limited to these two. You can practically put your hands on anything that you enjoy doing. Maybe start collecting something of interest as a hobby. Take some craft classes, or learn to dance. If there was a sport you enjoyed in school, you might be able to start getting back into shape with that interest again. Learn that it is fine to have a little fun after hard days of work. * Taking Better Care Of Your Health * If you have a predetermined health condition, stress can greatly aggravate that condition. Maintaining a healthy diet and physical activity levels can help you in avoiding the health risks from stress. Healthy eating at home can help you lose some spare pounds around the stomach, since most people who are stressed-out tend to gain more weight than others. Planning ahead is an important step in eating healthy. Do your shopping for weekly groceries, and plan your home meals every week. Keep your cooking simple and fast to reduce your daily stress. Eating healthy does not mean that you need to prepare a four-course meal. A simple balanced meal with the combination of protein, fresh fruits, green vegetables, wholegrain bread and not too much fat is enough to get you going. You can even find healthy recipes online. Eating organic produce also helps to eliminate many of the toxins that can stress your body. Drink plenty of filtered water and reduce your caffeine and soda drinks. Exercising can help you cope with stress easily. You can also enroll yourself in weekly gym classes or dance classes depending on how much free time you have. Through gentle and consistent exercise your body releases more of the endorphins that increase your feelings of wellbeing. It does not have to be overly strenuous, just enough to get a slight sweat and glow to your skin. * Ask For Support When you Need it. * Never blame yourself for the cause of stress as this will only worsen the stress that you are already feeling. Do not build a wall around you whenever you are feeling stressed and never let yourself feel helpless. Ask family or friends to assist you to cope. Stress is an enemy that you can triumph upon with the help of loved ones. * You can use Spiritual Practices For Avoiding Stress * Practicing meditation can help you clear you mind in stressful situations. Seniors use prayers as stress reliever. Prayers can also maintain emotional stability. Learn what you need to maintain your Mind, Body, Spirit Balance for your overall wellbeing.