There is not one certain thing that causes stress in your life. What you view as stressful may be relaxing to another person. Some of the common causes of stress are major life changes, being rushed, doing too many things at one time, your health or a family member's health, changes in your environment, facing and making critical decisions, worries about money and the future, and too many responsibilities.

Stress is a major factor in the onset of illness as well as a major factor in job turnover, job dissatisfaction, decreased productivity, and other workplace ills. To more effectively cope with stress, you first have to make a decision that you want to do something about it. The first step is to make a list of what you perceive as stressful situations in your life. Write them down.

After you have identified the things in your life that are causing you stress, choose one or two of them and begin to develop a plan, a goal to remove or decrease that stress from your life. You can begin by taking charge of the stress-causing situation. Can it be changed? Can it be reduced? Look at it. Talk about it. Try to do it differently. Do not ignore it.

Next, try several other techniques that have been proved to reduce overall stress, such as meditation, relaxation tapes, and relaxing music. Talk to your friends and your support network about the situation and get their take on it. Ask them for their advice.

Here are some other suggestions for ways you can decrease stress: exercise; practice positive thinking and looking toward a healthy ending to situations; set a realistic goal for eliminating the stress-causing “thing” from your life; stay away from alcohol, drugs, caffeine, and other drugs that can make the situation worse; and surround yourself with positive, upbeat people.

Remember that you will never alleviate all stress from your life, and a certain degree of stress is actually good for you, but distress is when you begin to damage your body, your mind, and your soul.