You'll learn how to make certain changes in lifestyle and routine that will ease the task of coping with stress. And you'll find helpful advice on dealing with specific kinds of stress. This page provides content to help you evaluate this important health care resource. An excerpt from pages 8 to 11 of the booklet. A sample of some of the sources used in creating this resource.
Stress is elusive.
Compared to some disease-promoting factors such as smoking, high cholesterol and elevated blood pressure, stress is hard to quantify. It is obviously not limited to a single cause, and it affects everyone differently, depending on the interactions of factors both internal and external to one another. Despite this complexity, researchers have discovered a link between stress and certain illnesses. Moreover, they have found that stress can indirectly cause disease by leading to such risky behaviors as smoking and overeating. Insufficient social support is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and a less favorable prognosis in people who already have heart disease.