Stresss - we all have it, there’s no way to escape it. But through experience, I have come up with a list of “treatments” for the stress “disease”. They may or maybe not be temporary, but try and see if they work on you.

Go shopping. You don’t have to buy anything, but looking at clothes and shoes or cute guys or girls at the mall will take your mind off stress. This works especially for me. Think about it this way. Walking around is already somewhat considered “working out.” You’re exercising your legs, your cardio, and your brain (just thinking whether you should buy that cute summery taupe top). Beats moping around your house.

Sleep. Sure, this might be just a temporary solution because you’ll still have to deal with the issues the next day when you wake up. But wait, sleep will relax your muscles and your mind and you will have a better, clearer mind to make a good judgment on whatever decision you need to make.

Avoid drugs. Stress gives me headaches and I would take a headache pill just for it to go away. This is not good at all. You don’t want your body to become immuned to medications. I’m not a doctor and I’m not going to give medical advice. But if you notice, the American people are always turning into meds first, treating depression, mental illnesses, etc. That is why pharmaceutical companies are among the fastest growing industries in the market today. Do not contribute to that!

Listen to soothing music. Especially the soothing, relaxation kind. I’m a nature-oriented person. Try to pick up CDs that play music with nature sounds in the background. Piano, guitar, Celtic harp, hymns, etc. Some sample are here. It really puts your mind at ease. You’ll feel like you’re flowing in the sea, or relaxing by a stream in the forest, or just flying over the mountains. It’s a great feeling. Worth a try, right?

Everything will be alright. This might sound cheesy, but through experience, I always tell myself everything always has its own way of working itself out. And it does!

Laugh a lot. Besides burning calories, you’ll be surprised how relaxing your mind can get every time you laugh. You free your spirit with laughter. Play with your boyfriend or girlfriend - especially if they tickle you to death. For me, I would watch The Simpsons and laugh my butt off. Soon enough I’d forget about why I was stressed out in the first place.

Take a deep breath. Slow yourself down. Step outside and breathe in fresh air (but stay away from the trash cans.) Let it settle in your system before you get back to business.

Stay active. The more you keep yourself busy, the less you feel the stress. Hang out with your friends. Go to a bar but don’t get drunk. Go play sports. Or even just watch TV - something funny so you can laugh.

Say ‘NO’ more often. Don’t take on more than you can handle. Sure you are nice and you want to help everybody. But there’s only so much you can do and you have enough stress on your own already. Spend time on yourself and take care of your own personal issues first before lend a hand (if you still got any) to others.

Take a break. 15 or 20 minutes out of the day to just relax and do nothing. If you’re at work, just walk outside for a 15-min break (required by law, anyway.) Blank your mind. You want to take advantage of your day and give yourself as much time as you can. That way, mentally, you will feel that you’re doing something for your own self.

Blog! It’s really great to take some time for yourself and reminisce on the things you’ve done during the day and write about them, and share them with your loved ones. You will feel much better once you’ve taken that extra time-out moment to yourself, let ago of your stress (or anger) about something, and give yourself inner peace, and attack that stress with creativity. It helps me release all the inner emotions that I sometimes feel and don’t know what to do about them. Instead of letting them go to waste, I’d put them into entries, and sometimes poems, too!