Stress is a part of life. In fact, I would even go so far to say that the complete lack of stress might not be such a good thing. However, too much stress can wear you down and can even negatively effect your health. The way I deal with stress is multifaceted. The first thing I do is to make sure that I am getting enough cardiovascular exercise. My exercise of choice is jogging. When I am jogging regularly my stress level remains at a managable level. As soon as I stop, whether from illness or laziness my stress levels rise. While jogging is my first choice you can do anykind of cardiovascular exercise, you can walk briskly, run, ride a bike or play a game of tennis. Another favorite of mine is dancing, which leads into another way to reduce stress and that is through music. If you can dance to the music all the better.

They say "music calms the savage beast" and sometimes that is a very good description of all of us when under too much stress. Whether you like classical music or hard rock doesn't really matter. What matters is that music has the ability to either calm us down or it can help release stress that is pent up within us. I enjoy all kinds of music and use it to jog with. However, even if you are just playing Pavarotti while taking a soothing bath your stress levels will melt away.

Eating right will also help reduce stress. I don't know about you but I notice within a day or two if I am not eating right. It's like my body is telling me "you are wearing me down..STOP IT". I think it is important to eat well most of the time but when you are under stress not eating right can cause you to become sick as well. So start eating right, put away the fast food and eat something healthy, you will feel better almost immediately.

Finally, if your stress levels remain consistently high you might consider talking to a therapist, minister or a trusted friend. In fact, you just might be doing something that you aren't supposed to be doing. Stress is like pain, it's a signal that something is wrong. A little pain over something identifiable is one thing but chronic pain is something entirely different. If you are experiencing chronic stress and none of these remedies help then you might just want to try and figure out what it is trying to tell you. Maybe you need to make a drastic change in your life or the way you do things and talking to someone else might help you to figure out if that is the case or not. In any case always remember "this too shall pass" and take life's difficulties with a grain of salt, a glass of wine and a little Pavarotti (played loud and clear) now and again.