As I discussed last week, the physical and mental experience of stress can actually be used to your advantage. Although stress is blamed for a surprising range of personal problems today, it can be used to restructure different aspects of your life to actually prevent stress in the future. You may be thinking, how on earth is that possible?

Like fear and pain, stress is your body or mind's way of telling you that something is wrong. When you're afraid, you usually know what you're afraid of. When you're in pain, you usually know what's hurting you. But when people are stressed out, they usually treat the symptoms (headaches, tight muscles, anxiety), assuming there's nothing they can do about the source of stress.And, of course, the source of some stress can't be mitigated. Instead of treating only the symptoms, try starting at the source. It's easier than you think.

For instance, many people experience significant stress associated with their jobs - be it difficult bosses, snarky co-workers or the potential for job loss. But when you come home after work feeling so wound up that you can't think straight, try writing down exactly what it is at work that stresses you out. You may feel that your boss isn't happy with your job performance. In that situation, what can you control? If you're concerned about your boss, go directly to him or her. Ask if there's any additional work you can take on or anything they see that you can do to improve your job performance. It makes you look responsible and concerned, and it may make your boss reevaluate the way he or she views you as an employee.

Fortunately, we're not helpless victims of our problems. Take control of the issues your body and mind are making you aware of through stress. You'll feel more in control and experience less stress, regardless of the outcome.

It doesn't matter how healthy you try to be, stress can always undo all your hard work. Who hasn't experienced coming home after a long day and skipping dinner because you're too tired and stressed to eat? Or, even worse, a bag of chips and a candy bar are washed down with a large bottle of soda. Stress can ruin a healthy lifestyle. Learning to cope with stress should definitely be a healthy lifestyle change you make in the New Year. In this week's blog, we'll begin to discuss some of the ways you can handle stress so that it doesn't ruin your healthy lifestyle.

Many people find that working out helps relieve stress. This is a wonderful way to reduce stress levels, because exercise is healthy. It isn't for everyone though. Some of us are simply too wiped out by stress to be able to exercise. When I get stressed out, I turn to relaxing activities. First of all, I brew myself a cup of tea. It doesn't matter if it's the middle of summer; a cup of hot tea always relaxes me. Best of all, I add a bit of Splenda to make it seem like a treat. Then, I turn on some music or get out a book to read. In other words, I take a bit of me time. Taking time for yourself allows you to escape, if only for a few moments.

A few other activities that seem to reduce stress levels include cooking, baking, gardening and crafts. The key is to choose something that you love doing but never have time for. Heck, sometimes all it takes is skipping that quick shower and enjoying a long, hot bath.

What are you waiting for? Break out the casserole dish, book, gardening tools or whatever makes you happy and say goodbye to stress. Also, don't forget to keep tuning in for more ways to cope with stress.

It's easy to say that around this time of year you become overburdened with stress in your life. In truth, you deal with stress pretty much all the time, so you need ways to deal with it that can help year round, not just during the holidays. Keeping a steady watch on your stress can help to avoid that all-too-embarrassing explosion later on, and part of that comes from managing everyday wear and tear on your person.

Most people are on their feet during the day. Pretty much every profession out there involves being mobile, and many people never get the chance to sit down. While for most this doesn't seem like a big deal, it can be draining to those who train, teach or present for hours on end. Also, what about people trapped on assembly lines, behind counters or at mall kiosks? The average worker is on their feet constantly, and this can wear them down more than they realize.

One great way to ease this long-term foot torture is to switch out your shoes mid-day. It may sound weird, but you'll be amazed at how refreshed you'll feel just from switching your footwear. Maybe your old shoes were too tight, or maybe one pair makes you stand a certain way while another makes you readjust. For example, just slipping on a pair of Tommy Bahama Marine Blvd. loafers behind the counter at lunch may help to completely reenergize your legs, which should get the rest of you going.

Switching out your shoes can help after work too. During the holiday season, many poor souls go straight from their work to the mall or other shopping nightmare zones and spend additional hours on their feet trying to get through the crowds. This alone is stressful enough, but if you're already mentally exhausted by the end of the day, there's no need to compound that with any leg pain.

Stress is a year-round problem, and most of it is compounded by our day-to-day living. Doing little things here and there can help to avoid stress build up over the long term, and sometimes all you need to get started is a fresh outlook or at least a fresh pair of shoes.

Stress is, well, stressful. The human body has several involuntary reactions to stress, which you may or may not notice when you're experiencing them. Your body releases adrenaline, which increases your heart rate, your muscles tighten, and your breath becomes shallower. If you regain control of your body's reaction to stress, you'll feel better and be better equipped to make good decisions. You can't instantly slow down your heart rate, or instantly relax all of your muscles, so where do you start? Taking control of the simplest aspect - your breathing - can make a big difference and bring the rest of your body's reactions into line.

Right now, practice taking a breath as you normally would. If you're like most people, the breath isn't very deep. Now, practice taking a deep breath. Blow a breath out completely, then breathe in slowly and deeply with the goal of expanding your upper stomach as you breathe. Then blow this breath out completely. This type of breath uses more of your lung capacity; normal, shallower breathing only uses a smaller portion of your lungs. During the rest of the day and beyond, practice being mindful of your breathing. When individuals practice yoga or meditation, "being mindful" means that you pay close attention to your breathing and body, and adjust your breath as needed to make it deeper and more relaxing. A deeper and more controlled breath will help to lower your heart rate and reduce muscle tension.

Watching your breath is the easiest thing you can do to reduce your stress and improve your health. If your breathing is shallow, your body thinks something is wrong, and your breathing can become shallow because you're stressed out. It's a vicious cycle that you can break by being mindful of your breath, and taking deeper, more efficient breaths when you notice your breathing becoming shallow. After a while, you'll breathe better without even trying. And when you're stressed out, a quick reminder to breathe more deeply will suffice. So if you're feeling stressed out, breathe more deeply and reap the benefits.

In today's busy world, we often find ourselves running around like crazy. We are so loaded down with things we have to do, need to do and should do that we're sometimes not sure what to do! And the most frustrating part? Sometimes, at the end of the day, we feel that we've barely accomplished anything or discover the most important task for that day remains undone. And feeling inefficient and out of control will make you even more stressed out.

There's a really easy way to avoid this problem and have more control over your busy life: make a list. At first glance, this may sound like a ridiculous solution for an overbooked schedule, something that might be appropriate for people with too much time on their hands. But, in fact, it's just the opposite. Keeping a list of what you've done and what you need to do is like having a road map of your day. Even if you make stops along the way (like last-minute tasks that pop up), you know where you've been, and you know where you need to go.

I began using lists seriously while working as a paralegal. Often, at the end of the day, I had barely scratched the surface of my to-do list. Frustrated, I started keeping a list not only of what I needed to do, but what I had actually done. It helped to look back at my list and see that my to-do list wasn't finished because I had done twenty other last-minute tasks. Any unfinished tasks were put on the next day's list and underlined if they were really important. While keeping these lists, I would scribble down things I needed at the store as I thought of them. This reduced my number of shopping trips, too.

Whether you keep your list in a notebook tucked in your purse or in a special organizer, having one and keeping it up to date will help you feel more on top of your busy life. Getting things done and feeling more in control will reduce your stress more than the best aromatherapy around.