You may feel out of control when you are under a lot of stress, but you can always control how you respond to stress.

Managing stress is all about taking control: of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment, and the way you deal with problems. The key is, learning to change the stressful situation when you can, changing your reaction when you can't, taking care of yourself, and making time for rest and relaxation.

Strong support networks are your greatest protection against stress. Lean on those trusted friends and family when you need to, just as you would want them to lean on you when they need it. If you don't have any close relationships or they are the ones causing the stress, make it a priority to build stronger ones.

Some tips for building stronger relationships:

• help someone else by volunteering

• have lunch or coffee with a co-worker

• call or email an old friend

• go for a walk with a workout buddy

• schedule a weekly dinner date

• take a class or join a club

Learn how to relax and take time for your self. You can't completely eliminate stress in your life but you can control how it affects you. Such things as: exercise, yoga, meditation, using essential oils, deep breathing, Reflexology, Raindrop therapy, hobbies or humour can boost your feelings of joy and serenity. They also increase your ability to stay calm and collected under pressure.

Invest in you emotional health, it is worth it. People don't think emotional health is important until there is a problem. But the fact is, we need to balance our body, mind and soul in order to be totally healthy. People with a good balance have an ability to bounce back from stress and adversity. This ability is called resilience. They remain focused, flexible, and positive in bad times as well as good. There are many steps you can take to build this resilience and your overall health.

We at Life Balance, can offer a wide range of suggestions to help you achieve that balance.