Howtocopewithstress

　　Youfeelanxious,tenseandirritable.Smallproblemsupsetyouandyoufeeloverwhelmedbyallthethingsyouhavetodo.

　　Youcan'tthinkasclearlyasusual.you'reeasilyconfused,forgetfulandaccident-prone.

　　Youfeelgenerallyrundownandtired.Youdon'thaveyourusualenergy.

　　Youneverreallyrelaxbecauseyoukeepthinkingaboutallthethingsyouhavetodo.Sometimesyoudon'tsleepverywell.

　　Youdon'tfindmuchinlifetofeeljoyfulabout.There'snothingtolookforwardto.

　　Thesearesomeofthesignsofacommonproblemcalledstress.Weallsufferfeelingsofstresssometimes-theanxietyandthefeelingthatlifeishardtocopewith.Sometimesthesymptomsofstressareexpressedinaphysicalway-headaches,stomachaches,apoundingheart,achurningfeelinginthestomach.Stresshappensforlotsofreasons.Acrisiscanmakeusfeelstressed,butsocaneverydayproblemslikeworriesaboutworkormoney,oraboutrelationshipsoraboutchildren'sbehaviour.

　　Althoughacertainamountofstressisnormal,toomuchcancontributetohealthproblems,includingheartdisease,sometypesofmentalillnessandabuseofalcoholordrugs.That'swhyeveryoneneedstobeawareofstressandknowhowtofindgoodwaysofcopingwithit.

　　Differentthingsworkfordifferentpeople,butherearesomeideasforfindingwaysthatsuityou:

　　Sometimesstressisn'tcausedsomuchbyaneventbutbyourattitudetowardsit.Peoplewhoseedifficultsituationsaschallengestoovercome,ratherthanproblemsthatgetthemdown,usuallycopebetterwithstress.

　　Don'tmakesmallproblemsseembiggerthantheyare.Whensomethinggoeswrong,askyourself:"Intenyears'time,willthismatter?"

　　Trytoavoidstressfulsituationsbybetterplanning-giveyourselfmoretimetodothingssoyou'renotalwaysrushingaround.Trytoavoidpeopleoractivitiesyoufindannoying.

　　Findtimetorelaxeachday.Ifyouthinkyouhaven'tgottime,rememberthatyouwilldotasksmorequicklyandefficientlyifyoufeelrestedandlessstressed.Waystorelaxinclude:spendingtimealoneinaquietplace,focussingonsomethingpleasant-soothingmusic,abookormagazine,apet-orevenhavingalongbath.Don'tfeelguiltyabouttakingtimeforyourself.

　　Goforregularwalksordosomeotherformofexerciseyouenjoy,suchasTaiChi.Exerciseisagreatstress-reducer.

　　Eathealthyfood.Whenyoufeelstresseditcanbeeasytoskipmealsandfillupwithfattysnackfoods,sweetsandtake-awayfoods.Adietthatincludesplentyofbread,rice,pastaandothergrains,vegetablesandfruitwillhelpyoucopebetter.

　　Don'tdwellonproblemsorfailuresyou'vehadinthepast,orworryaboutbadthingsthatmayhappeninthefuture.Concentrateonlivinginthepresent.

　　Talktosomeone.Talkingaboutproblemscansometimeshelpsolvethem,oratleastmakeyoufeelbetteraboutthem.Sometimesotherpeoplecangiveyounewwaysoflookingatproblemsorofdealingwiththem.

　　Contactyourlocalcommunityhealthcentreandaskiftheyknowofanyrelaxationcoursesorrelaxationtapesavailableinyourlanguage.

　　Getexperthelpifnothingyoudoseemstohelp.Peoplewhocanhelpyouincludebi-lingualcounsellorsorsocialworkersatcommunityhealthcentres.