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Stress in one's life is a given. You have it and you live with it whether you accept it or not. Stress is an environmental toxin just like smog or acid rain. As humans living on this planet, in any culture that demands a certain level of responsibility from us, we are going to experience stress. In our roles as mothers, fathers, and children we typically have enough demands placed on us to generate a physically harmful level of stress and anxiety.

Just as we try to safeguard our bodies from environmental toxins, by using water purifiers, or buying only organically grown fruits and vegetables it's just as important to safeguard our bodies from the emotional stresses that life throws at us every day. There are several ways to do this, but it's important to understand what stress is and then you can adjust your life to reduce or completely eliminate harmful stress, and turn it into "good" stress.

* What is Stress? *

Stress is strain on two major parts of what make you human your emotions and your body. When there are too many demands pulling you in too many directions, the turmoil will cause emotional tension, irritability, and an inability to concentrate.

Left unchecked and unmanaged, stress will quickly lead you to feel excessively tired all day, and ironically you will also experience trouble sleeping at night. In time, this can also lead to burnout, depression, and a variety of physical illnesses. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, two-thirds of office visits to family doctors are for stress-related symptoms.

* How do I recognize when I'm Stressed? *

It's actually not easy to know when you are experiencing harmful stress. Some kinds of stress over the short term are good. It can drive you to multi-task and achieve your goals. However, when these demands are constant and never-ending, it can become detrimental.

Aside from the emotional effects of feeling tense and irritable, several physical symptoms should provide you with clues that you are suffering from harmful stress:

* Dry mouth
* Difficulty breathing
* Upset stomach or heartburn
* Sweating palms
* Tight muscles constant muscle spasms or clenching your jaw at night

Because of the many harmful effects of stress - your body and mind both need time to recover from the high demands that are placed on them.

This is the same concept of exercising with weights at the gym. It is beneficial to your body to strain your muscles nearly to the breaking point. But it is just as critical to allow a period

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