It’s important to learn how to recognize how stress affects you, learn how to deal with it, and develop healthy habits to ease your stress. What is stressful to one person may not be to another. Stress can come from happy events (a new marriage, job promotion, new home) as well as unhappy events (illness, overwork, family problems).

What is stress?

Stress is your body’s response to change. The body reacts to it by releasing adrenaline (a hormone) that causes your breathing and heart rate to speed up, and your blood pressure to rise. These reactions help you deal with the situation. The problems come when stress is constant (chronic) and your body remains in high gear, off and on, for days or weeks at a time. Chronic stress may cause an increase in heart rate and blood pressure.

Not all stress is bad. Speaking to a group or watching a close football game can be stressful, but they can be fun, too. The key is to manage stress properly. Unhealthy responses to stress may lead to health problems in some people.

Tips to manage stress

Stress affects each of us in different ways. You may have physical signs, emotional signs or both.

Taking steps to manage stress will help you feel more in control of your life. Read this article to learn more about stress and heart disease and ways to cope.