Stress comes in as many forms as there are people on the planet. In order to cope with the stress in your life, you need to know what it is that sets you off to high anxiety. When you are having a bad day, whether your troubles stem from financial worries, relationship woes, or just a bad hair day, take a few moments to calm down. Look around and determine what it is that set your mood and take a step back from it. Once you have taken that all important step back from the offending stressor, there are five things you can do to try and cope with the stress in order to calm yourself.

Perspective - You need to change the way you look at things in order to relieve the stress or cope with it. If your plane is delayed or the person sitting next to you is extremely irritating, don't focus on how this is encumbering you. Look at it as a chance to learn something new or be more compassionate to your fellow humans. Turn the way you look at the world negatively into a positive. It will come as a surprise to you how you feel after you turn the negative around.

Hit your Pause Button - We rush from task to task on most days. Take time out to rejuvenate your soul. Even a five minute stretch away from everything can help. Do this twelve times in a day and you've gained an hour of soul cleansing. This one is my favorite in these steps. All too often we just keep on pushing on and on hitting a wall where we slide down into a slump. Hitting the pause button on life and stopping to appreciate the simplistic beauty of nature will revive your soul.

Live in the Moment - How many of us dwell in the past? If only, is just that an if only. You can't go back and have a do over, but you can learn from those mistakes. If only puts undue stress on our minds and bodies. Banish the past and focus new energy on today.

This one can be hard especially when the past can be thrown in your face day after day. In order to cope with this kind of stress, you need to find a way to gracefully extricate yourself from the person who brings this up to you.

A couple of things you can do is walk away. Just excuse yourself from the person until you calm down. You can throw your hand up stopping them when they start and ask them nicely to refrain from bringing up dead issues. Whatever manner you choose, make sure you take the time to smile and remember you have moved on to a new level.

Real Life - If your real life isn't lining up to your expectations, re-evaluate your priorities. Are you saying yes to things that are stretching you thin? Stop! It is perfectly OK to say no. You aren't going to be kicked out of the PTA or whatever because you don't feel you can host the annual bar-b-que.

Alone Time - peace comes from the time we can stop and just be alone with ourselves. It gives you time to reflect on the past days, look forward to the next days, and catch your breath. Go for a solitary walk, take a relaxing bath, or just sit and reflect.This is probably by far the easiest for me. I don't have the demands of a family to deal with. Discuss this with your spouse and children if they are old enough to understand. Explain to them that this will make mommy/daddy or spouse/lover all the more pleasant to be around. Now, take a calming breath, stretch your arms and legs, and smile. Nothing is ever as bad as it seems.

This article copyright to lynnechandler at HubPages 2009 with all rights reserved.