It’s the fourth and final week of Stress Awareness Month. So far, we’ve talked about stress symptoms (Week 1), identifying stressors (Week 2), and reducing stress (Week 3). This week’s focus is probably my most favorite stress topic: Prevention and Avoidance.No, not all stress can be prevented — and we wouldn’t necessarily want that to happen. But, we all certainly have stressors that we could avoid altogether.
Thank you
We’ve received several great ideas for reducing stress, relaxing and unwinding. And, we received an equal number of preventative suggestions. Thank you to everyone who participated this month.
Having learned to recognize our stress responses in Week 1, and having identified what our stressors are in Week 2, we can start to try to reduce some of those stressors.
Set Practical Goals
Stress is a normal physical response to circumstances that make you feel threatened or that upset your balance in some way. When you perceive a threat, your nervous system releases stress hormones (including adrenaline and cortisol) which prepare the body for emergencies: your heart pumps faster, blood pressure rises, muscles tighten and senses become more acute, focused and alert. These changes prepare you for the “fight or flight” that we often hear about.
We’d like everyone who’s never stressed out, to jump up and shout out, “
. 
