We all know that stress is not a good thing and can do harm to both our bodies and minds. But what do you do when your life is filled with stressful situations? When the obligations and hassles seem to be coming from every direction? When life throws you lots of curve balls all at once it is very easy to get overwhelmed. The trick is to have a game plan so that that you stay in control. Your stress game plan can be broken down into 3 options. Each option offers you a way to stay in control. You may not be able to use each option each time, but you can rely on at least one of the three for any given situation.

Change the situation. When stress levels rise, take a timeout. Remove yourself from the situation and calm down.
Change your thoughts. Write down the situation and what your thoughts are about the situation. Look at what you wrote- are there other explanations that are less stressful and negative?
Change you body’s response to the stress. Learn relaxation skills like meditation or guided imagery. The simplest thing you can do is take a minute to breathe slowly and deeply. This will prevent the stress response from getting out of control.
When life seems to be out of control you need to take control back by using your stress game plan. You always have up to 3 options.