Stress Awareness Month

April is Stress Awareness month with Stress Awareness Day falling on April 16th. Stress Awareness month and day give us the chance to assess the stress that we have in our life and encourages us to come up with positive ways to cope with stress.

Stress isn't just something that affects our mental well-being, it has a profound effect on our physical well-being also. Stress can lead to increased blood pressure, tight muscles and headaches. Studies have shown that extreme stress is connected with heart disease, depression and a general lowering of the body's immune system.

Since stress is unavoidable, finding positive ways to cope with it are key to your overall well-being. Some positive coping mechanisms include exercise, meditations, adequate rest and even just petting your dog can reduce stress.

Participate in the month or day (or both!) by sharing your stressors and how you cope with them. You can use and follow the hashtag #StressAwarenessMonth to share your thoughts and ideas to see what everyone else is sharing and talking about.

My favorite way to deal with stress is breath work. I love a good meditation session and it really works at soothing our stress. If I don't have time for a full meditation session, I just close my eyes and take three deep, full breaths. In through my nose and out through my mouth. Usually works like a charm.

How do you relieve your stress?