Everyone is familiar with stress. We experience it in various forms and degrees every day. In small doses, stress can actually be beneficial to us. It is only when the stress becomes too great, affecting our physical or mental functioning, than it becomes a problem.

Good stress. In small doses stressors can help give us increased energy, even can help us focus on the problem at hand, for example, examination session. However, too much stress is not good for anyone. Feeling a little stress about a test that is coming up, can motivate you to study hard. But stressing out too much over the test can make it hard to concentrate on the material you need to learn.

Bad stress. When we talk about bad stress (Distress) we are talking about something that is directly causing the brain and body to shrink in its working capacity resulting in low - performance level. It is caused than person is feeling anxious, threatened.

There are numerous categories from stressors, among them are:
· Frustrations
· Conflicts
· Pressures

Frustration can be:
a) Environmental For ex, prejudice (racism and sexism)
b) Internal Real personal limitation. For ex, lack of value.

Conflicting situations: Conflicts, fights with peers, families (external). Conflicting situation may occur than one has to make a choice between two or more options (internal)

Pressure: External – studying medicine because parents want it, internal – pushes himself to do well to the exam.

How to manage stress?

1. Feel in control
2. Adopt the right attitude
3. Find something that will unclog your system of unprocessed emotions. For ex, laughter.

The best way to manage stress is to learn deal with your emotions. Sometimes we try to ignore emotions we do not like. For ex, love your friend boyfriend. If you ignore them they will go away. It is not right thinking. You will just after some time feel terrible about yourself.
You have to react and respond your emotions.

Getting in touch with your feelings will help you control your behavioral reactions to your emotions, so that your emotions do not end up controlling you.

References:

http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/emotions/stress.html

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/stress/article_em.htm