Coping With Anxiety - Stress Response Coping with anxiety begins with an understanding of the body's stress response.

The body undergoes three stages of stress. These stages are as follows: Fight or Flight: During this stage, the body perceives threatened danger. A surge of energy overtakes the body, enabling a person to fight off the threat or flee from the danger at hand. Resistance: This stage occurs when danger remains beyond the fight or flight period. The body secretes several hormones in order to mobilize the body during long-term stress. Exhaustion: If the body successfully completes the first two stages, it will enter a third stage, exhaustion. This is a time when the fatigued body replenishes itself. Coping With Anxiety - When Does Stress Become a Problem? Coping with anxiety is a necessity in our modern fast-paced world. Busy schedules, intensified by traffic jams, money problems, and relational difficulties keep many people in chronic states of stress. Stress becomes a problem when a person undergoes a sense of prolonged danger. During the fight or flight and resistance stages, the body produces many helpful hormones. However, excessive amounts of these same substances can cause damaging effects to the body. For instance, adrenaline helps with energy production during stressful periods. Prolonged use of adrenaline by the body, however, leads to a weakening of the heart. Cortisol and vasopressin, both released during the resistance stage, raise blood pressure and blood sugar levels and may narrow artery walls by increasing blood platelets. During prolonged stress, the body rarely has time to replenish itself. The body remains in a cycle of fighting, fleeing, and resisting, with little or no time to rest. This affects the body's sleep cycle, only increasing the body's fatigue and decreasing full restoration. Coping With Anxiety - Symptoms Coping with anxiety begins with the understanding of the symptoms of excess stress. These symptoms include: exhaustion, sleep problems, tension headaches, constant worry, dark circles under the eyes, bowel disturbances, lowered immune function, irritability or angry outbursts, lack of concentration, and so on. If you think you are experiencing the symptoms of anxiety, check with your health professional. He or she can diagnose anxiety by evaluating your medical and personal history. Dealing with anxiety is easier when you have help. Coping With Anxiety - Steps to a Worry-free Existence Coping with anxiety entails that a person actively engage in positive changes. There are steps that one can take to encounter safety from a worrisome world. Coping with stress and anxiety includes the following steps: Laugh: Don't take your life so seriously. A sense of humor helps overcome worry by distracting the mind. Laughter may also produce endorphins, which help ease pain and offer a sense of relaxation and joy. Tell a joke, watch a comedy, and laugh when disaster strikes. You'll feel better with a smile on your face.

Make plans: Worrying solves nothing. It cannot change situations or outcomes. The only way change comes about is through action. Instead of worrying, empower yourself by acting toward change. Worried about money? Create and implement a budget or seek professional financial

counsel. Productivity creates an atmosphere of positive change that worry cannot achieve and makes overcoming anxiety possible.

Herbs: There are several herbs one may use to help alleviate feelings of stress. Among them, Kava stands out. Kava enables the body to relax physically and mentally. Those with liver problems or Parkinson's disease should not use Kava. Adaptogenic herbs, such as the ginsengs and milk thistle are good herbs to consider. Adaptogens, or nerve tonics, help strengthen the body's resistance to stress. As always, follow the directions on the bottle and check with your doctor before beginning any herbal routine.

Seek professional help: Having someone with whom you can discuss your worries may help lessen anxiety. A good counselor will listen attentively, enabling you to discover your underlying concerns. Together, you can create productive means of handling stress, so that you may heal emotionally and physically.

(Reuters) - Some stress can be good for the body, helping fight off cancer, researchers reported on Thursday.
Experiments with mice showed that animals put into a stressful situation, even fighting with other mice, did a better job of fighting tumors than mice left to chill out. They said their findings, published in the journal Cell, point to a possible neurological treatment for cancer. "The way we live, and how we live, may well have a much bigger impact on the prognosis of cancer than we recognized previously," Dr. Matthew During, a professor of neuroscience who worked on the study, said in a telephone interview. During's team injected mice with melanoma, a type of fast-growing skin cancer, and let the tumors grow. They put some of the mice in a large cage, with lots of toys, space and many more other mice than usual. Other mice stayed in ordinary lab cages. After three weeks, tumors shrank almost in half in the mice in the "stimulating" cage and they shrank 77 percent after six weeks. The tumors completely disappeared in 17 percent of the mice, with no other cancer treatment. Tumors continued to grow in the other mice. During believes that more than simple stimulation is at work in the mice. The mice in the "enriched" cages were a little stressed out. "You find some of them with little bite marks and fight marks," said During. "It's not all friendly." Although common wisdom holds that stress is not healthful, the body's response to stress is complex, and hormones released in response to stress can have positive effects. To show the benefits were not simply due to exercise, the researchers placed running wheels in the smaller cage. The mice ran up to three times as far as the mice in the large cage, but were not more resistant to cancer. BRAIN CHEMICAL Experiments to see what was happening biologically in the mice showed the stressed mice were producing more of a brain chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor. This compound reduces the production of leptin, a hormone linked with appetite and also associated with melanoma, prostate and breast cancer. The more leptin the mice produced, the smaller their tumors were. Leptin acts differently in mice than it does in humans, and cancer grows differently in mice injected with tumors than it does in people. But During believes the findings may nonetheless apply to people. "The key is that we believe that this pathway that we've defined here exists in humans," he said. "This suggests we can also start considering treating cancer by operating on the brain as well and introducing a gene to activate this pathway," he added. Up to now, scientists have only studied mice in situations of severe stress. That mice do better in situations of moderate stress has implications for cancer patients, During said. "We shouldn't be simply avoiding stress and looking for happiness," During said. "We should be getting involved in team sports, getting involved in social groups, where there's sort of an interactive dynamics which are a little bit challenging for us."

Stress

Definition
Stress is defined as an organism's total response to environmental demands or pressures. When stress was first studied in the 1950s, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures. More recently, however, the word stressor has been used for the stimulus that provokes a stress response. One recurrent disagreement among researchers concerns the definition of stress in humans. Is it primarily an external response that can be measured by changes in glandular secretions, skin reactions, and other physical functions, or is it an internal interpretation of, or reaction to, a stressor; or is it both?

Description
Stress in humans results from interactions between persons and their environment that are perceived as straining or exceeding their adaptive capacities and threatening their well-being. The element of perception indicates that human stress responses reflect differences in personality, as well as differences in physical strength or general health. Risk factors for stress-related illnesses are a mix of personal, interpersonal, and social variables. These factors include lack or loss of control over one's physical environment, and lack or loss of social support networks. People who are dependent on others (e.g., children or the elderly) or who are socially disadvantaged (because of race, gender, educational level, or similar factors) are at greater risk of developing stress-related illnesses. Other risk factors include feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, extreme fear or anger, and cynicism or distrust of others.

Causes and symptoms

Causes The causes of stress can include any event or occurrence that a person considers a threat to his or her coping strategies or resources. Researchers generally agree that a certain degree of stress is a normal part of a living organism's response to the inevitable changes in its physical or social environment, and that positive, as well as negative, events can generate stress as well as negative occurrences. Stress-related disease, however, results from excessive and prolonged demands on an organism's coping resources. It is now believed that 80-90% of all disease is stress-related. Recent research indicates that some vulnerability to stress is genetic. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin and King's College London discovered that people who inherited a short, or stress-sensitive, version of the serotonin transporter gene were almost three times as likely to experience depression following a stressful event as people with the long version of the gene. Further research is likely to identify other genes that affect susceptibility to stress. One cause of stress that has affected large sectors of the general population around the world since 2001 is terrorism. The events of September 11, 2001, the sniper shootings in Virginia and Maryland and the Bali nightclub bombing in 2002, thesuicide bombings in the Middle East in 2003, have all been shown to cause short-term symptoms of stress in people who read about them or watch television news reports as well as those who witnessed the actual events. Stress related to terrorist attacks also appears to affect people in countries far from the location of the attack as well as those in the immediate vicinity. It is too soon to tell how stress related to episodes of terrorism will affect human health over long periods of time, but researchers are already beginning to investigate this question. In 2004 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report on the aftereffects of the World Trade Center attacks on rescue and recovery workers and volunteers. The researchers found that over half the 11,700 people who were interviewed met threshold criteria for a mental health evaluation. A longer-term evaluation of these workers is underway. A new condition that has been identified since 9/11 is childhood traumatic grief, or CTG. CTG refers to an intense stress reaction that may develop in children following the loss of a parent, sibling, or other loved one during a traumatic event. As defined by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), "Children with childhood traumatic grief experience the cause of [the loved one's] death as horrifying or terrifying, whether the death was sudden and unexpected (for example, due to homicide, suicide, motor vehicle accident, drug overdose, natural disaster, war, terrorism, and so on) or due to natural causes (cancer, heart attack, and so forth). Even if the manner of death does not appear to others to be sudden, shocking, or frightening, children who perceive the death in this way may develop childhood traumatic grief. In this condition, even happy thoughts and memories of the deceased person remind children of the traumatic way in which the deceased died." More information on the identification and treatment of childhood traumatic grief can be obtained from the NCTSN web site, http://www.nctsnet.org/nccts/nav.do?pid=hom_main. Symptoms The symptoms of stress can be either physical or psychological. Stress-related physical illnesses, such as irritable bowel syndrome, heart attacks, arthritis, and chronic headaches, result from long-term overstimulation of a part of the nervous system that regulates the heart rate, blood pressure, and digestive system. Stress-related emotional illness results from inadequate or inappropriate responses to major changes in one's life situation, such as marriage, completing one's education, becoming a parent, losing a job, or retirement. Psychiatrists sometimes use the term adjustment disorder to describe this type of illness. In the workplace, stress-related illness often takes the form of burnouta loss of interest in or

ability to perform one's job due to long-term high stress levels. For example, palliative care nurses are at high risk of burnout due to their inability to prevent their patients from dying or even to relieve their physical suffering in some circumstances.

Diagnosis
When the doctor suspects that a patient's illness is connected to stress, he or she will take a careful history that includes stressors in the patient's life (family or employment problems, other illnesses, etc.). Many physicians will evaluate the patient's personality as well, in order to assess his or her coping resources and emotional response patterns. There are a number of personality inventories and psychological tests that doctors can use to help diagnose the amount of stress that the patient experiences and the coping strategies that he or she uses to deal with them. A variation on this theme is to identify what the patient perceives as threatening as well as stressful. Stress-related illness can be diagnosed by primary care doctors, as well as by those who specialize in psychiatry. The doctor will need to distinguish between adjustment disordersand anxiety or mood disorders, and between psychiatric disorders and physical illnesses (e.g., thyroid activity) that have psychological side effects.

Treatment
Recent advances in the understanding of the many complex connections between the human mind and body have produced a variety of mainstream approaches to stress-related illness. Present treatment regimens may include one or more of the following:

Medications. These may include drugs to control blood pressure or other physical symptoms of stress, as well as drugs that affect the patient's mood (tranquilizers or antidepressants). Stress management programs. These may be either individual or group treatments, and usually involve analysis of the stressors in the patient's life. They often focus on job or workplace-related stress. Behavioral approaches. These strategies include relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, and physical exerciseprograms including walking. Massage. Therapeutic massage relieves stress by relaxing the large groups of muscles in the back, neck, arms, and legs. Cognitive therapy. These approaches teach patients to reframe or mentally reinterpret the stressors in their lives in order to modify the body's physical reactions. Meditation and associated spiritual or religious practices. Recent studies have found positive correlations between these practices and stress hardiness.

Alternative treatment
Treatment of stress is one area in which the boundaries between traditional and alternative therapies have changed in recent years, in part because some forms of physical exercise (yoga, tai chi, aikido) that were once associated with the counterculture have become widely accepted as useful parts of mainstream stress reduction programs. Other alternative therapies for stress that are occasionally recommended by mainstream medicine include aromatherapy, dance therapy,biofeedback, nutrition-based treatments (including dietary guidelines and nutritional supplements), acupuncture, homeopathy, and herbal medicine.

Prognosis
The prognosis for recovery from a stress-related illness is related to a wide variety of factors in a person's life, many of which are genetically determined (race, sex, illnesses that run in families) or beyond the individual's control (economic trends, cultural stereotypes and prejudices). It is possible, however, for humans to learn new responses to stress and, thus, change their experiences of it. A person's ability to remain healthy in stressful situations is sometimes referred to as stress hardiness. Stress-hardy people have a cluster of personality traits that strengthen their ability to cope. These traits include believing in the importance of what they are doing; believing that they have some power to influence their situation; and viewing life's changes as positive opportunities rather than as threats.

Prevention
Complete prevention of stress is neither possible nor desirable, because stress is an important stimulus of human growth and creativity, as well as an inevitable part of life. In addition, specific strategies for stress prevention vary widely from person to person, depending on the nature and number of the stressors in an individual's life, and the amount of control he or she has over these factors. In general, however, a combination of attitudinal and behavioral changes works well for most patients. The best form of prevention appears to be parental modeling of healthy attitudes and behaviors within the family.

Resources
Books Beers, Mark H., MD, and Robert Berkow, MD., editors. "Psychiatry in Medicine." In The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck Research Laboratories, 2004. Pelletier, Kenneth R., MD. The Best Alternative Medicine, Part I, "Spirituality and Healing." New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002. Periodicals Blumenthal, J. A., M. Babyak, J. Wei, et al. "Usefulness of Psychosocial Treatment of Mental Stress-Induced Myocardial Ischemia in Men." American Journal of Cardiology 89 (January 15, 2002): 164-168. Cardenas, J., K. Williams, J. P. Wilson, et al. "PSTD, Major Depressive Sym

Feeling like there are too many pressures and demands on you? Losing sleep worrying about tests and schoolwork? Eating on the run because your schedule is just too busy? You're not alone. Everyone experiences stress at times adults, teens, and even kids. But there are ways to minimize stress and manage the stress that's unavoidable.

What Is Stress?
Stress is a feeling that's created when we react to particular events. It's the body's way of rising to a challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with focus, strength, stamina, and heightened alertness.

The events that provoke stress are called stressors, and they cover a whole range of situations everything from outright physical danger to making a class presentation or taking a semester's worth of your toughest subject. The human body responds to stressors by activating the nervous system and specific hormones. The hypothalamus signals theadrenal glands to produce more of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol and release them into the bloodstream. These hormones speed up heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and metabolism. Blood vessels open wider to let more blood flow to large muscle groups, putting our muscles on alert. Pupils dilate to improve vision. The liver releases some of its stored glucose to increase the body's energy. And sweat is produced to cool the body. All of these physical changes prepare a person to react quickly and effectively to handle the pressure of the moment. This natural reaction is known as the stress response. Working properly, the body's stress response enhances a person's ability to perform well under pressure. But the stress response can also cause problems when it overreacts or fails to turn off and reset itself properly.

Good Stress and Bad Stress

The stress response (also called the fight or flight response) is critical during emergency situations, such as when a driver has to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident. It can also be activated in a milder form at a time when the pressure's on but there's no actual danger like stepping up to take the foul shot that could win the game, getting ready to go to a big dance, or sitting down for a final exam. A little of this stress can help keep you on your toes,

ready to rise to a challenge. And the nervous system quickly returns to its normal state, standing by to respond again when needed. But stress doesn't always happen in response to things that are immediate or that are over quickly. Ongoing or longterm events, like coping with a divorce or moving to a new neighborhood or school, can cause stress, too.

Long-term stressful situations can produce a lasting, low-level stress that's hard on people. The nervous system senses continued pressure and may remain slightly activated and continue to pump out extra stress hormones over an extended period. This can wear out the body's reserves, leave a person feeling depleted or overwhelmed, weaken the body's immune system, and cause other problems.

What Causes Stress Overload?

Although just enough stress can be a good thing, stress overload is a different story too much stress isn't good for anyone. For example, feeling a little stress about a test that's coming up can motivate you to study hard. But stressing out too much over the test can make it hard to concentrate on the material you need to learn.

Pressures that are too intense or last too long, or troubles that are shouldered alone, can cause people to feel stress overload. Here are some of the things that can overwhelm the body's ability to cope if they continue for a long time:

being bullied or exposed to violence or injury relationship stress, family conflicts, or the heavy emotions that can accompany a broken heart or the death

of a loved one ongoing problems with schoolwork related to a learning disability or other problems, such as ADHD (usually

once the problem is recognized and the person is given the right learning support the stress disappears) crammed schedules, not having enough time to rest and relax, and always being on the go

Some stressful situations can be extreme and may require special attention and care. Posttraumatic stress disorder is a very strong stress reaction that can develop in people who have lived through an extremely traumatic event, such as a serious car accident, a natural disaster like an earthquake, or an assault like rape. Some people have anxiety problems that can cause them to overreact to stress, making even small difficulties seem like crises. If a person frequently feels tense, upset, worried, or stressed, it may be a sign of anxiety. Anxiety problems usually need attention, and many people turn to professional counselors for help in overcoming them.

Signs of Stress Overload

People who are experiencing stress overload may notice some of the following signs:

anxiety or panic attacks

a feeling of being constantly pressured, hassled, and hurried irritability and moodiness physical symptoms, such as stomach problems, headaches, or even chest pain allergic reactions, such as eczema or asthma problems sleeping drinking too much, smoking, overeating, or doing drugs sadness or depression

Everyone experiences stress a little differently. Some people become angry and act out their stress or take it out on others. Some people internalize it and develop eating disorders or substance abuse problems. And some people who have a chronic illness may find that the symptoms of their illness flare up under an overload of stress.

Keep Stress Under Control

What can you do to deal with stress overload or, better yet, to avoid it in the first place? The most helpful method of dealing with stress is learning how to manage the stress that comes along with any new challenge, good or bad. Stress-management skills work best when they're used regularly, not just when the pressure's on. Knowing how to "de-stress" and doing it when things are relatively calm can help you get through challenging circumstances that may arise.

Here are some things that can help keep stress under control:

it.

Take a stand against overscheduling. If you're feeling stretched, consider cutting out an activity or two,

opting for just the ones that are most important to you. Be realistic. Don't try to be perfect no one is. And expecting others to be perfect can add to your stress

level, too (not to mention put a lot of pressure on them!). If you need help on something, like schoolwork, ask for

Get a good night's sleep. Getting enough sleep helps keep your body and mind in top shape, making you

better equipped to deal with any negative stressors. Because the biological "sleep clock" shifts during adolescence, many teens prefer staying up a little later at night and sleeping a little later in the morning. But if you stay up late and still need to get up early for school, you may not get all the hours of sleep you need.

Learn to relax. The body's natural antidote to stress is called therelaxation response. It's your body's

opposite of stress, and it creates a sense of well-being and calm. The chemical benefits of the relaxation response can be activated simply by relaxing. You can help trigger the relaxation response by learning simple breathing exercises and then using them when you're caught up in stressful situations. (Click on the button to try one.) And ensure you stay relaxed by building time into your schedule for activities that are calming and pleasurable: reading a good book or making time for a hobby, spending time with your pet, or just taking a relaxing bath.

Treat your body well. Experts agree that getting regular exercise helps people manage stress. (Excessive

orcompulsive exercise can contribute to stress, though, so as in all things, use moderation.) And eat well to help

your body get the right fuel to function at its best. It's easy when you're stressed out to eat on the run or eat junk food or fast food. But under stressful conditions, the body needs its vitamins and minerals more than ever. Some people may turn to substance abuse as a way to ease tension. Although alcohol or drugs may seem to lift the stress temporarily, relying on them to cope with stress actually promotes more stress because it wears down the body's ability to bounce back.

Watch what you're thinking. Your outlook, attitude, and thoughts influence the way you see things. Is

your cup half full or half empty? A healthy dose of optimism can help you make the best of stressful circumstances. Even if you're out of practice, or tend to be a bit of a pessimist, everyone can learn to think more optimistically and reap the benefits.

Solve the little problems. Learning to solve everyday problems can give you a sense of control. But

avoiding them can leave you feeling like you have little control and that just adds to stress. Develop skills to calmly look at a problem, figure out options, and take some action toward a solution. Feeling capable of solving little problems builds the inner confidence to move on to life's bigger ones and it and can serve you well in times of stress.

Build Your Resilience

Ever notice that certain people seem to adapt quickly to stressful circumstances and take things in stride? They're cool under pressure and able to handle problems as they come up. Researchers have identified the qualities that make some people seem naturally resilient even when faced with high levels of stress.

If you want to build your resilience, work on developing these attitudes and behaviors:

Think of change as a challenging and normal part of life.

See setbacks and problems as temporary and solvable.

Believe that you will succeed if you keep working toward your goals.

Take action to solve problems that crop up.

Build strong relationships and keep commitments to family and friends.

Have a support system and ask for help.

Participate regularly in activities for relaxation and fun.

Learn to think of challenges as opportunities and stressors as temporary problems, not disasters. Practice solving problems and asking others for help and guidance rather than complaining and letting stress build. Make goals and keep track of your progress. Make time for relaxation. Be optimistic. Believe in yourself. Be sure to breathe. And let a little stress motivate you into positive action to reach your goals.

Is your stress turning into distress? Do you wonder how you can continue to cope with the pressures of daily life and the frantic pace of the world around you? You may want to consider seven powerful biblical strategies for overcoming stress. In this age of wars, dangers, crises and disasters, can we as individuals find peace? How are you and your family coping with the pressures, challenges and stresses of daily life? According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 28.8 percent of adult Americans will have some form of anxiety disorder in their lifetime. There are a wide variety of anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and specific phobias, to name a few. "Anxiety disorders affect about 40 million American adults age 18 years and older (about 18 percent) in a given year, causing them to be filled with fearfulness and uncertainty. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event (such as speaking in public or a first date), anxiety disorders last at least 6 months and can get worse if they are not treated. Anxiety disorders commonly occur along with other mental or physical illnesses, including alcohol or substance abuse, which may mask anxiety symptoms or make them worse" (Anxiety Disorders, NIH Publication No. 09 3879, p. 1). In our technological 21st century, it seems that the pace of life and intensity of activities has accelerated. It is no wonder that many experience extreme apprehension and anxieties. Just the stress of everyday life can kill us. We commute in congested traffic, we interact with angry, argumentative people; we face financial, social, personal and job-related problems. And then, add to those stresses the frightening terrors threatening our cities and nations! Millionseven billionsof people around the world suffer from negative stress, anxiety disorders and psychological pressures of all sorts. Are you frustrated, nervous and anxious? Do you worry about your future? Thankfully, Jesus Christ proclaimed the good news of the soon-coming Kingdom of God. He will establish His Kingdom and save planet Earth from total destruction (Matthew 24:22)! He assures us: "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). That good news is encouraging, and it gives us hope! Christ also warns us of dangerous events to come. The world right now lies in wickedness (1 John 5:19, KJV). God will judge the nations. But you can have peace even in these difficult times. In this article, we will consider seven strategies to overcome stress.

1. FACE THE FUTURE WITH FAITH

Christ warned us of great cataclysmic events at the end of this age. Many will die from fear and stress. Notice: "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Luke 21:2526). Will you let fear overwhelm you? We must face the future with faith!Christ Himself gives us this encouragement: "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near" (Luke 21:2728). When end-time prophecies come to pass, should we let stress, anxiety and phobias cripple us or even kill us? No! Christ instructs us to "look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." Yes, the time of His second coming draws near! We can face the future with faith!

Christ exhorts us, "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36). Facing the reality of our times will motivate us to pray for and prepare forJesus Christ's coming Kingdom that will bring world peace! Are you alert to prophetic trends? Now is the time to draw close to God, and He will give you the gift of faith to endure the end-times with confidence, not fear!

2. EXERCISE REGULARLY
If you have read any books or articles on health principles, you know that regular physical exercise can relieve one of stress. I personally learned that lesson years ago. I even wrote in my personal journal, "When depressed, go out and jog." I found that through exercise, I could experience genuine relief from tensions and stress! The Apostle Paul compared physical exercise with spiritual life. "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come" (1 Timothy 4:8). Paul meant that godliness and its fruits will last beyond our physical lives. But physical or bodily exercise does profit us! The NIV states it this way, "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things." God also tells us to glorify Him in our body and in our spirit (1 Corinthians 6:20). Are you glorifying God in your body and in your spirit? Writer Elizabeth Scott, at About.com, sums up some benefits of physical exertion: "Exercise can decrease 'stress hormones' like cortisol, and increase endorphins, your body's 'feel-good' chemicals, giving your mood a natural boost." ("Exercise and Stress Relief: Using Exercise as a Stress Management Tool, Stress and Exercise: Look Better, Feel Better"). Yes, research has demonstrated the benefits of regular physical exercise. But in our technological age, some become addicted to their technology. Those who work at a desk, a personal computer, or in a sedentary job, need to get up and walk away from their technology; some recommend doing so for ten minutes out of every hour. We know that technology can be beneficial, but can you have too much of a good thing? Can excess make you unhappy? Notice this report: "Spending hours on the Internet may trigger depression, say researchers from Australia and China... researchers measured symptoms of anxiety and depression in all the participants and found that those who reported having been more addicted to the Internet to start were 2.5 times more likely to be depressed than those who did not feel so tied to their computers. This was true even of students who did not show signs of depression at the beginning of the study" ("Obsessive Internet Use Linked with Depression in Teens,"TIME, August 2, 2010). We need godly balance in our lives that will benefit others, as well as our own health and well-being. Many health agencies recommend walking as an excellent form of exercise, particularly for senior citizens. The Bible commonly uses walking as a metaphor for spiritual living. Notice that the Apostle John writes, "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked" (1 John 2:6). Yes, we need to follow the life and example of Jesus Christ, and to walk and live as He walked and lived! We are physical human beings, and we need to glorify God in our bodies by applying the physical laws of radiant health. Then we can experience more peace of mind and body.

3. CLAIM GOD'S PROMISES

When you face anxieties, remember that your Bible is a treasure house of God's sure and wonderful promises. You need to apply biblical strategies for overcoming anxiety and stress. The Apostle Peter gives us strong encouragement: "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that

through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:24). In the Bible, God has given us exceedingly great and precious promises! He has promised to answer our prayers (Matthew 7:78); He has promised to fulfill all our needs (Philippians 4:19); He has promised to guide our lives (Proverbs 3:56); He has promised us long life if we honor our father and mother (Ephesians 6:23); He has promised to give us the desires of our heart if we delight in Him (Psalm 37:45); He has promised us peace of mind (Philippians 4:67); He has promised us the ability to endure trials (1 Corinthians 10:13); He has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; Luke 11:13); He has promised us the gift of His love (Romans 5:5); and He has promised us eternal life (1 John 2:25). Study these promises in your Bible. With faith, ask God to fulfill these promises in your life, and you will begin to have greater peace of mind! There are many, many more promises in the Bible for you and your familyand for all human beings. As you claim these promises in prayer, you can overcome stress and anxiety.

4. FORGIVE ONE ANOTHER

One major cause of stress often involves our relationships with others. Some people grow up in dysfunctional homes. They may have burdens of guilt, or may hold long-term resentment toward others, even a husband or wife. If this describes you, have you considered "letting go" and letting God take care of the situation? Remember, "Do not say, 'I will recompense evil'; wait for the LORD, and He will save you" (Proverbs 20:22). Have you considered forgiving those who have oppressed you? Christ taught us to forgive others. Remember the model prayer He taught us, which includes: "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). Have you forgiven anyone recently? Forgiveness can even help us to overcome depression, as Paul Meier, M.D. wrote in his book, Don't Let Jerks Get the Best of You: "A patient can be depressed for many years, then forgive the one who caused his repressed anger and totally recover from the depression, because his serotonin has been restored naturally and the brain is able to work correctly" (p. 170). Forgiving others can produce peace of mind. You can turn your anxious life around, and can begin to experience joy and happiness.

5. PRAY ABOUT PROBLEMS

Are you what some call a "worry-wart"? Do you let your fears and worries produce emotional and physical stress in your life? The patriarch Job said, "For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me" (Job 3:25). Job expected his fears to materialize. He was practicing what some would call a "self-fulfilling prophecy." He did not pray about his fears. You need to acknowledge your fears and worries and ask God for His help! Consider this simple yet profound biblical strategy: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6). In other words, share your worries, your fears and your concerns with God in prayer! Do you confront your worries, concerns and fears? Pray about everything that worries you. Share your intimate thoughts with God. He knows them anyway! Notice Paul's command that you should pray "with thanksgiving" (v. 6). Thank God for all your blessings. Thank God for the very privilege of asking for His intervention, and for victory over your anxieties. When you and I follow these instructions, what is the result? "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (v. 7). We express our faith in God's willingness to help us, by thanking Him, as we share our worries with Him. So, pray about your problems. And pray with an attitude of thanksgiving. Thank God that He is willing to help you overcome your anxieties and fears, and that He is willing to give you peace of mind.

6. STAY POSITIVE

How many times have I told myself in times of stress: "Maintain a positive and tranquil mind"? The Apostle Paul experienced severe difficulties and great stress. He wrote: "From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep" (2 Corinthians 11:2425). How did Paul cope with those stresses? He focused on maintaining a positive attitude! Even while he was in prison, he wrote encouragement to others. Paul exhorts us to think on these subjects: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthymeditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:89). Think about those things that are true! What is truth? Christ prayed to the Father: "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17). The Bible, God's word, is truth. Think about those scriptures that are important to you. Read your Bible. Mark, highlight or underline those verses that mean something special or significant to you! We must read the Bible. I encourage you to read your Bible every day! God's word will inspire you. It will help clean up your thoughts and mind. As Jesus said in John 15:3, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you" (John 15:3, KJV). On what else should you meditate? Consider "whatever things are lovely" (Philippians 4:8). Some-times, when I wa-nt to counteract stress, I focus on lovely, picturesque scenes that I have seen in my travels. I think of the sunsets that I have seen, or of lakes and mountains and beautiful rainbows. Meditate on the positive and you willreduce stress!

7. SET THE RIGHT GOALS

We have considered six ways to reduce stress. But is all stress bad? Not necessarily. Endocrinologist Hans Selye defines stress as: "the nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it" (Stress Without Distress, p. 14). This definition accounts for "good" types of stressfor example, a promotion at workas well as "bad" stress such as finding that you have bounced a check. Physiologically, both "good" and "bad" stress are the samethey result in increased blood pressure, increased respiratory rates, increased digestive activity, increased sugar and fatty acids in the circulatory system, increased metabolism, increased sodium retention and decreased immune function. We need motivation to be successful in life. We need healthy, positive stressors in our life to make it enjoyable and interesting. Certain stressors also help us to be more productive. Deadlines, and rewards for completing tasks, can motivate us. Physician Jerrold Greenburg explains, "The goal of stress management is not to eliminate all stress. Our goal should be to limit the harmful effects of stress while maintaining life's quality and vitality" (Comprehensive Stress Management, p. 12). Can we achieve that goal? As we have seen, the Bible reveals the way to peace of mind and success. We must choose the greatest goal and priority in life. Christ said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). You can have the power of Jesus Christ to achieve your goals! Remember: "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). Remember the Apostle Peter's admonition on the Day of Pentecost: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Millions around the world are afflicted with severe stress and anxiety disorders. But you can overcome stress. Thank God for His exceedingly great and precious promisesand apply these strategies for overcoming stress!