ave you noticed how stressed out everyone seems to be lately? This is worrisome to me since chronic stress or too much stress can negatively affect all aspects of our health.

Stress is a natural part of life, but everyone perceives, reacts to, and tolerates stress differently. Sitting in traffic is very stressful for some people but only mildly stressful or not stressful at all for others. The key is to know your personal limits and keep stress at tolerable levels. Otherwise it can begin to erode your mental and physical health, your personal and professional relationships, and even your liveliness.

Stress can be both emotional and physical. Emotional stress occurs when you worry about things or when you experience a traumatic event. Physical stress is damage to your body that results from poor nutrition, lack of sleep, or illness. Most of us experience stress everyday without even realizing it. Getting the kids to school on time, paying bills, and meeting deadlines at work are all part of our daily responsibilities that can contribute to a low but consistent level of stress. Some would argue that stress adds excitement to life, but not everyone copes with stress well. Our bodies tend to respond to daily anxiety by increasing our heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormone secretion, slowing digestion, and tensing up muscles. Stress also interrupts sleep, weakens our immune systems, irritates the urinary tract, upsets the digestive system, and promotes asthma and arthritis flare-ups. These are our bodies' natural responses to stress but, over time, these stress reflexes can add up to hypertension, heart disease, and strokes, among other conditions.

Some researchers believe that the behavior that results from being stressed out is more detrimental to our health than the actual stress. Think about how stress affects your lifestyle. Do you eat when you feel frustrated or pressured? Are fruits and veggies your drug of choice or do you go for the potato chips and chocolate cake? Maybe you have an extra drink or two with dinner to help you calm down. What happens to your exercise routine? Do you turn to cigarettes when under pressure? Do you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep?

Let's face it — stress is here to stay. The best we can do is develop healthy ways to cope with it before it ruins our health. The following are suggestions for controlling and reducing stress:

1. Just say NO. Learn to be realistic about what you can and cannot do. Taking on extra tasks only adds to the stress created by our current responsibilities. Try to minimize time spent with people or activities that cause stress, especially if you're already under a lot of strain. Assess what really needs to be done and when you can realistically get it done. Try to postpone, eliminate, or delegate any tasks that are less immediate.

2. Take control. Feeling out of control usually accompanies stress. In chaotic times, the best thing you can do is try to maintain your normal schedule. Sticking with a familiar routine will help you have a greater sense of control over your life.

3. Use relaxation techniques. Breath work, meditation, visualization, and yoga are all excellent ways to be proactive in relieving stress and dealing with it immediately. Taking just one minute to focus on your breathing can slow your heart rate and lower your blood pressure. It also helps to clear your mind so you can think more rationally about your situation.

4. Exercise. Physical activity on a regular basis can help diminish stress. Exercise causes the brain to release endorphins that make you feel good and improve your outlook on yourself and your life. Researchers also believe that since exercise is a form of physical stress, it helps train your body to respond to stress more efficiently.

5. Practice yoga. Yoga is a "moving meditation" that integrates exercise with self-awareness. Yoga practice is an excellent way to re-center yourself and reflect on what's going on inside of you. It can help you change the way you perceive and respond to stress.

6. Curb emotional eating. Under pressure or feeling out of control, we often use food as medicine to help treat our feelings. This strategy never seems to work, yet we continue to experiment with it in stressful situations. Uncontrolled eating only adds to our feeling of being powerless and vulnerable — and it adds feelings of guilt besides. Nip this behavior in the bud by keeping a food journal. Record everything you eat, including how much you ate and why you ate it. Recognize when your emotions drive you to eat and devise a strategy to prevent emotional eating. For instance, instead of going for the ice cream in the freezer, try some deep breathing or a walk around the block. Work on getting in touch with your hunger and satiety so you only eat when you feel hungry.

7. Eat regular meals. This goes back to the importance of having a routine. Regular meals will be especially helpful if you can eat with others whose company you enjoy, making mealtime a pleasant escape from your daily reality. Furthermore, being hungry makes you grouchy and impairs your thought process, possibly leading to more stress and overeating.

8. Talk about it. Talking to friends, family members, or even mental health professionals is an excellent way to share your feelings and build a support group. Having a strong social network in place before stress hits is a great way to buffer yourself against the effects of stress.

9. Get enough sleep. Lack of sleep contributes to anxiety and fatigue. It also alters our moods and energy levels, making us less motivated to care for ourselves properly and deal with stressors. Temporary sleep disturbances, like insomnia and nightmares, are normal in stressful times, but they must be dealt with before they make us sick. Try to sleep for eight hours and go to sleep and wake up at the same time every night. Avoid napping and evening caffeine and alcohol consumption, since they interfere with nighttime sleeping patterns.

Knowing how to recognize signs of stress is just as important as knowing how to deal with it. Our bodies are usually the first to manifest symptoms of stress. Watch for any of the following signs: change in your diet or appetite, altered sleeping patterns, increased anxiety or irritability, increased susceptibility to illness, change in disposition, or failure to put stress into perspective. This is your body's way of asking you for help, so be mindful and take care of yourself in these stressful times.