With the bills coming in, the preparations you are making for a presentation, your daughter home getting home late, you sigh and say to yourself, “I couldn't be more stressed.” Indeed, stress is a part of our day-to-day living, but how is it defined?

The definition of stress varies, and it can be as scientific sounding as the “non-specific response of the body to any demand for change.” But, for many people, it is defined in simple terms as a feeling of emotional, mental, or physical tension. Furthermore, it is usually perceived as something negative, but it can actually be beneficial. It is needed to make you wake up early in the morning for school or work, to study for an upcoming exam and not just watch T.V., and so on. In general, it is needed to make you motivated and productive. As we know, however, it can negatively affect our overall health if we get too much of it.

What is considered a stressful situation can vary from one individual to another. A commonly used examples is a roller coaster ride. While there are people who close their eyes and are anxious when the ride is finally going to end, there are people who have their eyes wide open, totally enjoying it, and anticipating for another round. However, situations like catastrophes (fire, typhoon, earthquake) and death in the family are stressors that appear to be common for everyone. 

As stress is associated with different kinds of illnesses, it is very important that you are able to manage stress well. Here are some of the things that you can do:

• Be positive. In general, people with negative attitude tend to get stressed more than those with positive attitude.
• Find time to relax. It is important that you dedicate some time of the day for relaxation. Take a break, and free your mind from whatever obligations that you have. The healthy ways to relax include going for a walk, listening to music, going for a walk, and taking a long bath.  
• Have a healthy diet. This is one of the primary ways to improve your physical well-being, which can influence your tolerance to stressful situations.

You see, the definition of stress may vary. But, one thing is constant: how you get affected by it greatly depends on your attitude, which, of course, can either be positive or negative.