Stress is taking its toll on a lot of people. In the newest “Stress in America” survey by the American Psychological Association (APA), almost half of Americans say they are increasingly stressed about their ability to provide for their family’s basic needs. Eighty percent say that the economy is a significant cause of stress.

Stress is the body’s response to the demands of the world. There are two basic kinds of stress, acute and chronic. According to the Mayo Clinic, acute stress is your body’s immediate reaction to a significant threat, challenge or scare. It’s the classic fight-or-flight reaction. Job interviews and fender-benders are examples of stressors that can cause acute stress.

Chronic stress results from long-term exposure to acute stress. Stressors that can lead to chronic stress are often the day-to-day pressures that don’t seem to let up — work problems, relationship issues and financial troubles.

Chronic stress can lead to physical problems such as headaches, fatigue, back pain, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, sleep problems, stomach upset and decreased immunity.

It can also affect your behavior, resulting in angry outbursts, over- or under eating, difficulty concentrating, social withdrawal, relational conflicts and drug or alcohol abuse.

According to the APA, the health consequences of extreme stress are most severe when people ignore symptoms and fail to manage their stress well.

Here are some ways that you can manage your stress:

Identify how you experience stress. Everyone experiences stress differently. You might get irritable, or have a hard time concentrating. Perhaps you get headaches or muscle tension. Keep track of your stress symptoms for several days to give you a better idea of how you respond.

Know your stress triggers. It’s important to know where your stress comes from. If you know, you can take steps to deal with the cause and not just the symptoms.

Find healthy ways to manage stress. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends putting together a stress management plan that includes:

• Physical activity: Exercise releases endorphins, which promote good moods and positive thinking. It also increases blood flow to the brain and body, helping you feel better and think more clearly.

• Relaxation: Music, meditation, yoga and relaxation techniques help calm the body and the mind.

• Reaching out: Interacting with others lets you get your mind off your troubles and lift your spirits. It also keeps you from feeling alone. Talking with friends or professional counselors can be a good emotional outlet and a healthy way to work out problems.

• Taking care of yourself: Good nutrition and adequate rest go a long way toward giving your body what it needs to deal with stress. Junk food may feel good for a few minutes, but healthy food will help you feel good for a lot longer.

Stress is normal and something everyone experiences. But if you’re undergoing chronic stress, you can take steps to deal with it in healthy, positive ways.

Courtesy of Family Features

Stress At A Glance

• Stress is a normal part of life that can either help us learn and grow or can cause us significant problems.

• Stress releases powerful neurochemicals and hormones that prepare us for action (to fight or flee).

• If we don't take action, the stress response can create or worsen health problems.

• Prolonged, uninterrupted, unexpected, and unmanageable stresses are the most damaging types of stress.

• Stress can be managed by regular exercise, meditation or other relaxation techniques, structured time-outs, and learning new coping strategies to create predictability in our lives.

• Many behaviors that increase in times of stress and maladaptive ways of coping with stress—drugs, pain medicines, alcohol, smoking, and eating—actually worsen the stress and can make us more reactive (sensitive) to further stress.

While there are promising treatments for stress, the management of stress is mostly dependent on the willingness of a person to make the changes necessary for a healthy lifestyle.

What are the signs and symptoms of poorly managed stress?

Excess stress can manifest itself in a variety of emotional, behavioral, and even physical symptoms, and the symptoms of stress vary enormously among different individuals. Common somatic (physical) symptoms often reported by those experiencing excess stress include sleep disturbances, muscle tension, headache, gastrointestinal disturbances, and fatigue. Emotional and behavioral symptoms that can accompany excess stress include nervousness, anxiety, changes in eating habits including overeating, loss of enthusiasm or energy, and mood changes. Of course, none of these signs or symptoms means for certain that there is an elevated stress level since all of these symptoms can be caused by other medical and/or psychological conditions.

It is also known that people under stress have a greater tendency to engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as excessive use or abuse of alcohol and drugs, cigarette smoking, and making poor nutritional choices, than their less-stressed counterparts. These unhealthy behaviors can further increase the severity of symptoms related to stress, often leading to a "vicious cycle" of symptoms and unhealthy behaviors.

The experience of stress is highly individualized. What constitutes overwhelming stress for one person may not be perceived as stress by another. Likewise, the symptoms and signs of poorly managed stress will be different for each person.