Today, stress is more prevalent. It is a day-to-day pressure that consumes our work, relationships, sleep, and happiness. On the inside, stress causes muscle tension, exacerbating respiratory problems, increasing our heart rate and blood pressure, and ultimately increasing our risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Our fight or flight response is on overdrive, stress hormones rush around our body, and even our stomach notices the impact of stress.

Even worse, all this is automatic — we have no control over it! Or do we? While we may not be able to control our body’s reaction to stress, we can control how we respond to stress, even reducing the horrendous impact it has. Managing your stress is a skill that will serve you for the rest of your life. While typical stress-relieving techniques may not have served you in the past, it doesn’t mean you can’t succeed now. You are one step away from first understanding what stress is doing to your body and then making simple, small changes to your lifestyle that will develop into healthy habits so that stress doesn’t rule you. Stress isn’t going anywhere, but you can stop it from taking away the best, most enjoyable moments in your life.