Stress Less

Stress in small doses can help you develop coping skills for life challenges. Too much stress can make the heart work harder, raise blood cholesterol, trigger headaches, and increase the risk of depression, heart disease and other serious health problems. To help manage stress, follow the tips below.

Action Steps:Loosen tense muscles with simple stretches several times a day. Reach for the sky, bend and touch your toes, lean from side to side. Repeat.

Do:

*  Rank order tasks

*  Plan ahead for stressful situations

*  Avoid situations that cause you stress

*  Learn to say “no”

*  Think positive

*  Take time to play

*  Share your feelings

*  Chisel the chip off your shoulder

*  Accept the things you cannot change

*  Get regular exercise and movement

Don’t:

*  Try to juggle more than you can handle

*  Drown your sorrows in alcohol

*  Go outside for a smoke

*  Try to prove that you are superhuman

*  Lash out at everybody who crosses your path

*  Bring work home everyday

*  Keep emotions bottled up until you explode

*  Bury your face in a bag of chips

*  Be so hard on yourself

*  Be a couch potato