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To help reduce stress, try to adopt several of the suggestions below and make them part of your everyday life.

Identify all the sources of stress in your life and plan how you might lessen or eliminate them. If you need help - either from a partner, friend or professional - ask for it. We all need help at time.

Avoid processed foods and all foods that create stress on the system, such as carbonated drinks, artificial sweeteners, sugary/fatty foods, foods with "empty" calories (highly processed "foods").

Limit your intake of caffeine. Caffeine contributes to nervousness and can disrupt sleep patterns. Strong tea contains as much caffeine as weaker coffee - and don't forget the content in chocolate!

Avoid (or severely limit) alcohol, tobacco and mood-altering drugs. While these substances may offer temporary relief from stress, they eventually compound the problem and are harmful to your health. The stress will still be there the next day (with the addition of a hangover perhaps).

The individual vitamins which comprise the B Complex group of vitamins become quite depleted while under prolonged stress. They are also destroyed by alcohol and caffeine intake, so a good quality, Vitamin B Complex supplement containing 100mg of the major B vitamins, is essential.

Get regular exercise. Physical activity can clear your mind and keep stress under control. You may have a preference for walking on the beach, in the bush, or any other peaceful location, or you may like something more active and challenging. It may only be a case of leaving the car a little way from where you want to be and walking the rest; using the stairs instead of the lift; or putting your all into the housework and gardening - possibly to music. Whatever it is, try to make it as enjoyable as possible, and make sure that it is regular.

Learn to relax. Relaxation is often difficult for people suffering from the effects of stress, but it is necessary. A technique called progressive relaxation can be helpful. This involves tightening and relaxing the major muscles of the body one at a time. Start at your feet and work up to your head. Tense the muscles for a count of ten, concentrating on the tension, then let the muscles consciously relax and breath deeply, enjoying the sensation of release.

Another, similar, exercise can be used when you see a difficult situation arising. Instead of waiting for the tension to overtake you, deliberately tense every muscle you possibly can and then let it all go. You may need to do this 2-3 times, but by the time the difficulty is upon you, the tension will have deliberately been diffused.

Investigate aromatherapy. This is the art of using highly concentrated, distilled plant essences - called essential oils - for healing purposes. Essential oils affect both the mind and the body by means of olfactory stimulation of the brain. The no. 1 anti-stress oil is lavender. It can either be used alone, or combined with other stress relieving oils such as chamomile, bergamot, sandalwood and sweet marjoram. Up to 20 drops in a warm bath may safely be used, although the bergamot should be omitted if you have a citrus allergy. Alternatively, simply dab a couple of drops of oil on a tissue and inhale the aroma periodically during the night. Aromatherapy candles while in the bath are relaxing too, as are a few drops placed on a burner.

Get sufficient sleep each night. You may find this difficult as stress can keep you awake at night, in which case consider taking a herbal sleep-promoting product. If this does not work for you, ask your doctor for a pill to use until a particular stressful event is past, or until you have broken the habit of not sleeping. The less sleep you get, the more the stress will affect you, the more your immune system will weaken, and the greater your chance of becoming ill will be.

Try meditation. Many people find that regular meditation helps them to relax and handle stress. Meditation does not have to have spiritual or religious connotations. You can simply concentrate on becoming calmer while emptying your mind of all its whirling thoughts; really listen to some relaxing music or focus on time or place that brought you joy and peace. Try and do this for just 20 minutes each day in order for it to be most effective - you may well find that you simply fall asleep.

Practice deep breathing, or simply hold your breath for a few seconds before exhaling as slowly as possible through the mouth. Do this 4-5 times or until the stressful situation or tension passes - you can do it anywhere and at any time.

Monitor your internal conversations. It is not helpful to tell yourself that you should have done something better/differently or that you "ought" to be able to handle things better. Try to get rid of all those negative thoughts and concentrate only on the positive. Even on the darkest days, there must be something good to allow into your mind.

Take a day off and do something that you find enjoyable and relaxing. Try to keep your thought in the present during this time so that you don't think about your current stresses and strains. And above all, don't feel guilty about having time out!

Pursue a hobby. Make time to do what you enjoy doing, and again, don't feel guilty about it.

Avoid hassles. Hopefully you will have identified what is stressing you, and done everything possible to avoid them.

Do not repress or deny your emotions - even if you're a man! Admit your feelings and accept them. Keeping strong feelings bottled up only causes them to resurface later a illness. Don't be afraid to cry - crying can relieve anxiety and let loose bottled-up emotions.

Work on creating a stress-free home environment. Keep the noise level down as noise contributes to stress. Turn down the radio, stereo and television. Colour is another important element of your environment to consider. Certain colours are much more calming and soothing than others. Also, use as much natural lighting in your home and office as possible. Unnatural fluorescent lighting can be especially aggravating.

Do not under-estimate the effects of stress. Take action NOW!