Fitness with Felix: Recognizing and Handling Stress

By Felix Corona Jr.

Americans are living in a more stressful period than in quite some time.  Stress, to most of us, is a word we use quite often, but how much stress could we take and what can we do to manage it? 

Stress is perception. What one individual finds stressful another may not.  Stress can be caused by many things: misplacing your keys, being stuck in traffic, being late for work or school, losing your job, losing a loved one, or just having errands to run. 

How does one know they are under stress?  Here are some signs:

• Anger
• Depression
• Insomnia
• Mood swings
• Poor memory
• Chest pains
• Stomach aches
• Always tired
• Snapping at others
• Excessive smoking
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Crying easily
• Loss of sense of humor

Here are some helpful tips on relieving stress:

• Exercise-my favorite
• Get enough sleep
• Eat well
• Get a massage
• Spend time with friends & family
• Take up a hobby
• Humor
• Go to a movie
• Take a short trip or book a vacation
• Reduce caffeine
• Reduce alcohol
• Reduce nicotine

Use these tips an a regular basis and you’ll find stress a lot easier to manage.