Overcoming stress and getting control of your life can be a tough and complicated proposition. Not only are there different types of stress, each with its own patterns of causation, duration, symptoms, and treatment, but in many instances they have to be dealt with all at once. Chronic stress, for instance, can be aggravated by acute and episodic acute stress. You may have to struggle with all three simultaneously. If that's the case, start with the easiest to control, acute stress.

Why? First of all, acute stress is something you can do something about; it's going on at the moment; and it's the easiest kind of stress to handle. Secondly, you reduce your total burden of stress every time you eliminate something, giving you more time to heal or take care of other stress issues. Most importantly, you learn how to handle stress by starting with the easiest problems. This makes you feel you are not helpless against a mysterious and omnipotent enemy.

Now that you have the basic idea about what stress is, what it isn't, and the different kinds of stress, it's time to start tailoring your own stress control program. Start by identifying what your problems are. Follow this link to take the Personal Stress Navigator. This is your awareness step.