Stress is physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension. Tension is mental or emotional strain, suspense, anxiety, or excitement. Anxiety is a reaction to a real or imagined threat, a general feeling of uneasiness or dread.

"STRESS" is a word you hear all the time. Everyone knows about it, but it means something different to each of us. When you say "I'm stressed" you might mean any one of these:
tension, conflict, pressure, exhaustion, strain, upset, nervousness, unhappiness, or powerlessness.

Most people use it to mean either:

• Situations they are facing: "I'm under a lot of stress at work"
• Their response and feelings about situations: "I'm stressed-out!"

Generally, stress is when the total of life's challenges, big ones and little hassles together, seem bigger and stronger than you are for more than a short time. This is what creates the anxiety symptoms we call stress.

• Remember, things only seem "stressful" if they appear more powerful than you are.
• Learn to assess external problems, your attitudes, and weaknesses more accurately. Decide what is the major cause of the imbalance?
• You can develop a practical plan to regain balance. Avoid or reduce the external problem? Strengthen yourself to cope with it? Change you attitude? Get help? A combination of all?

Stress isn't always a bad thing, because everyone needs a certain amount of challenge to make life interesting and enjoyable.

• If you have nothing to do, after a while you get bored, then frustrated - you become stressed from what you might call I.
• Increase the pressure and most people perform better. But everyone has a point where they're giving their best performance - this is the peak of the stress curve.
• If more and more pressure is applied, you get pushed past your peak, and you may begin to suffer the negative, destructive effects of pressure which can lead to burnout.

When there is too much demand on you, 'good' stress turns to 'dis'tress. Like the strings of a guitar, if you are loose and there is little pressure, there is no music. A few turns, the strings tighten, and it's concert quality sound. But turn the strings too tights and ... SNAP!.

If you want to come out a victor in the stress game, you need to start by taking responsibility and not blaming anyone or anything for how you feel. We can help.