Excessive stress is responsible for a variety of health disorders. Stress contributes to physical health issues such as heart attacks, strokes and some types of cancer, as well as psychological distress such as excessive anxiety or depression. The following tips will provide some ideas for reducing the amount of stress you must deal with on a daily basis.

Create your own affirmation; this is an upbeat, brief statement that you can use when you are feeling stressed. Saying your affirmation repeatedly can help you let go of the negative, critical voice that lives in all of us and makes stress worse. Inform yourself that you’re capable of dealing with it, that you are calm, or whatever affirmations can help you feel better.

Being active and exercising is usually a great way to relax and beat stress. You may not feel relaxed after every workout, but the ongoing process of getting in shape and moving your body provides something to anticipate and appreciate each day. Exercise not only helps to release stress, it can also make your body healthier and your outlook on life more positive.

A great tip that can help you keep your stress down is to get a professional massage. Tense muscles are a sign of stressed being carried on the body. A skillful massage can work out knots in your muscles, distract yoru mind from stressful thoughts and leave you feeling much more relaxed overall.

Identifying what the source of your stress is, can help you to tackle and fix the problem. If you find that you can remove a stressful thing from your life, try it. By removing those triggers, you can help yourself feel better quickly.

Never use alcohol as the answer to stress. Relying on alcohol to relax isn’t the proper way to handle stress and can create even more problems. Not only will it increase your stress in the long run, but you may end up becoming addicted to alcohol.

Gardening, or digging around in the dirt, is a great physical activity for reducing stress levels. Homeowners can build a big garden, a small one or even have a few of them.

If you are under a lot of stress, and it is affecting your mood, take the time to let those around you know that it isn’t their fault. Often, your family, especially kids, will not understand your stress, and they will feel like it was caused by something they did. Your stress should be your problem, and you should never displace it onto those around you who you love the most.

Handling Stress

Think about what you currently do to manage stress, and determine if there is a better way to go about it. Track how you respond to stressful situations over a few weeks. Examining your report, you can help figure if your responses are healthy in handling stress. If you aren’t handling stress well, you can learn new coping skills that will improve your overall stress level.

One of the best ways to reduce stress is to live a healthy lifestyle. If you improve your diet, get rest, and exercise, you can fight off anxiety and stress. In a broader sense, being healthier will make you feel more positive in general, making you more resistant to the effects of stressful situations.

Stress is unavoidable, and some day-to-day stress is to be expected. It is when the stress becomes excessive that health problems develop. There are some easy things that can be done to take remove some of your stress. Use the tips that you read about to give you a better handle on how to take the stress out of your life.