In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Before you can begin to relax and minimize the stress in your life, it's time to sit down and put pen to paper to write down your feelings. If you're really stressed, it's likely that you haven't had much time to just sit down and be alone with your thoughts, so just by writing what you're feeling, you're already beginning the process. Here's what you can write: What are you feeling? What goes through your mind and body on a daily basis, and how much stress are you feeling? Would you say you have always been stressed, or that you're in a particularly stressful period of your life? Consider the sources of your stress. Are you stressed because of work, your relationship, a situation with your family, or a combination of many factors? What can you do to address these situations to minimize your stress? If it's helpful, write down your thoughts nearly every day. Being aware of how you're feeling and what your stress triggers are can go a long way in helping you address your stress. Once you've written down your general feelings and feel more comfortable expressing how stressed out you really are, you should take the time to make a game plan that will help you start addressing the stress in your life. Though many aspects of life are inherently stressful, there are many things you can do to make it easier for yourself to relax. Your game plan should have three main parts: Short-term solutions. Make a list of short-term actions that can minimize your stress. For example, if your hellish commute to work is a major source of your stress, try leaving for work twenty minutes early to beat the traffic. Long-term solutions. Make a plan to be a more relaxed person overall. This will include how you view your work, your relationships, and your responsibilities. For example, if one of your major sources of stress is that you're overcommitted at work, make a game-plan to lower your work responsibilities over a long period of time. Making time for relaxation. Take a look at your schedule and block out time each day for relaxation. Even if part of the reasons that you're so stressed is that you have no free time, you should squeeze in time wherever you can, whether it's in the morning or right before bed. Though you can't turn your life upside down to eliminate stress, you can certainly find a way to eliminate any sources of constant stress in your life. This will make a marked difference on your every day life. Here are some examples of stressful situations you can eliminate: Get rid of the toxic friend. If you have a "friend" who does nothing but cause you grief, make you feel bad, and generally stress you out, it may be time to do some friend "spring cleaning." Do some real spring cleaning. If your desk, briefcase, and home are so filled with clutter and loose papers that you can never find anything, clean up to make your life easier. Try to avoid stressful situations. If you always feel stressed out at concerts but your boyfriend really loves them, listen to music at home instead. If cooking for guests really stresses you out, order in the next time you planned on cooking a meal. Plan ahead. If you're stressed out because you haven't worked out the details of a trip that's months away, start booking your flight and hotel so you can stop worrying about it already. You don't have to feel alone in your plan to minimize the stress in your life. You'll feel better about your feelings and less isolated if you're able to openly and candidly speak about your stress to a friend or family member. Just having someone who will listen to your problems will help you minimize your level of stress. Talk to a close friend about how stressed you're feeling. It's likely that your friend is also dealing with stress or has dealt with serious stress at some point, so be open to suggestions and advice. Open up to a family member about your stress. A family member can help give you the affection and support you need to overcome your stress. If you feel absolutely debilitated by stress and can barely sleep, eat, or see straight because you're so worried about all of your responsibilities and feel completely incapable of dealing with them, then you may not be able to deal with the problem alone. See a health professional to debrief and to find some constructive ways to deal with your problems. A professional can help even if your feelings are situational. If you're stressed out because you're planning a wedding and have started a new taxing job, a professional can teach you stress-management techniques that you can use for the rest of your life.
Summary: Write down your thoughts. Make a game plan. Vow to eliminate as many sources of stress as you can. Share your feelings. Know when to get help.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Avoid taking sides in any confrontations between your parents and your fiance. This not only will make one side feel betrayed, but may make the situation even worse. The best thing you can do to diffuse the situation is to remain neutral and let both sides know that you care about them and respect their feelings. You might say something like, "I know that there are difficult feelings on both sides. Let's just all calm down and take a step back." Don't let yourself get dragged into an "It's them or me" ultimatum; keep saying "I love each of you deeply and I know we can work this out, or at least learn to tolerate one another." You may be tempted to give your fiance the impression that your parents really like them. You might not want to let your parents even know that you're engaged. The best thing to do when your parents dislike your fiance is to be honest with everyone about what's going on. For example, you might have to tell your fiance, "I know you really like my parents, but they don't care for you very much. I hope that will change some as they get to know you." Or, you might need to tell your parents, "I know you don't like my fiance, but we are in love and are planning to get married. I don't want this to come between us." The truth will come out eventually, so it's best to stay ahead of things and address problems before they fester. Your parents and your fiance may never see completely eye-to-eye. However, they can reach a compromise that all of you can cope with. Sit down with your parents and your fiance and try to work out a plan for how you all can interact and be a family together without any negativity. For example, you might tell your parents, "I know you may never fully embrace Jamie. But we're going to all be a family soon no matter what, so we need to sit down and work out a way to manage our problems together." In some cases, letting your parents get to know your fiance better might help; in others, it may be best to limit contact to necessary, defined situations.
Summary:
Remain neutral. Be honest with everyone. Try to compromise.