Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way.
When we are faced with such situations our nervous system responds with a release of a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol which rouse the body for emergency action.
Your heart pounds faster, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, muscles become tight and your senses sharpen.
These reactions are useful in certain situations like going for an interview, making a speech, going for your drivers license or competing in a sports event because it assists you to rise to challenges.
Unfortunately your body doesn't differentiate between physical and psychological threats.
It doesn't recognise that when you are involved in an argument with your partner, coping with the illness of a loved one who is in hospital, facing too many deadlines at work, dealing with bills when there is just not enough money to pay them and the myriad of other difficulties you experience in our daily life, that these are not life or death experiences and it switches on the button where we react as if they are.
When this happens too frequently we are said to be stressed.
Our bodies can usually cope with short term psychological stress, such as one off events (moving house, planning an important family function or attending a job interview).
But when your body is constantly assailed by situations which cause you to react in this way, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to your quality of life.
It can negatively affect your health, your moods and emotions, how well you do your work, and it usually has a detrimental effect on your relationships.
Long term exposure to stress can seriously damage your health.
Some consequences can be sleep problems, difficulties with digestion, obesity or skin conditions.
It can suppress the immune system, it can raise blood pressure, it can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, contribute to infertility, and speed up the aging process.
Long-term stress can lead to anxiety and depression.
Stress impacts on the way you experience life.
When your health is affected you are less able to enjoy day to day experiences.
It can cause you to interact negatively with those around you and so your relationships suffer.
It may mean that you perform your work less satisfactorily.
And unfortunately these consequences may exacerbate your already stressed situation by causing even more stress; your family may negatively react to your moods causing even more disharmony or your boss may threaten you with a pay cut or even dismissal.
It all becomes a negative cycle.
Today regrettably stress is a huge problem for too many of us.