In this age of run first, walk later stress has crept into just about every profession. When day to day living is wearing you out, your body, mind and spirit are negatively affected and your performance in the workplace is thwarted.

Do you recognise any of the following symptoms?
Depression
Poor mental concentration
Insomnia
Worsening of skin conditions such as excema
Mood swings
Headaches
A feeling of not being able to cope
Negative self talk and mind set

People suffer many different forms of workplace stress as their personality and reactions to pressure differ. However, in all cases, work stress is triggered by a series of pressures and is very rarely attributed to a single factor.

When you accept the negativity of stress you can feel the tension grow in your body as your heart starts beating more rapidly. You will also find your breathing changes from slow and steady to faster and shorter which will encourage the blood pressure to rise. Waiting just around the corner from you is an illness as your body tries to warn you that you are heading for headaches, depression and possibly even heart disease. Over a quarter of doctor prescriptions are related to drugs for psychotherapy.

Over 10% of occupational illnesses are related to stress and nearly half of all absentees cite stress as their cause of illness. This, in turn puts stress on people in management who suffer the financial impact of jobs falling behind schedule. This can cost them billions of pounds per year. Smaller businesses may not be able to survive such losses.

Let's look at a few individual problems to see if we recognise any of these signs:

Relationship problems: You take work home with you so your work stresses follow you everywhere you go. Loved ones will notice your preoccupation and irritability; they will bear the brunt of your depression and negativity which has already altered your personality.

More physical ailments appearing: You feel constantly tired and irritable, suffer from headaches and digestive problems and find that everything seems to take longer to do.

Paranoia: You find yourself obsessing over little things and making mountains out of molehills.

Your get up and go has got up and gone: You seem to have lost your drive and no matter how hard you try, the zest for your job has gone and finding the energy to get out of bed in the morning is an exhausting feat in itself.

The following are just a tiny fraction of ailments which are brought on by stress.

Comfort eating, tightened muscles, running on a short fuse, crying for no apparent reason, excessive smoking and drinking are all unhealthy ways of coping with stress.

Stress is not something which will go away if you ignore it. Although it is meant to protect you, it is not meant to be a natural reaction which is constantly on alert mode. If we are continually struggling with the fight or flight syndrome, our health will pay the price. Take for example, that last phone call where the client was aggressive and demanding. The hypothalamus at the base of your brain set off alarm bells throughout your body. This stimulated hormonal and nerve endings and prompted your adrenal glands to emit a surge of adrenaline and cortisol.
Cortisol: Known as the stress hormone, it increases sugars into the bloodstream and brain so as you can think on your feet.
Adrenaline: Speeds up the heart beat, makes the blood pressure rise and gives a zap of energy.

Usually, when the call is ended your natural stress-response system will self-regulate itself and your heart beat and so forth will return back to normal. However, if you are constantly on edge, you never ever turn off your fight or flight alarm and it is constantly ringing. It is at this point that the health problems start kicking in.

If your workday runs on 'emergency' level all the time you need to start learning ways to effectively manage your stress level. Make a record of situations which stress you throughout the day and present them to management to see if solution-based feedback can resolve the issues faced.

You could even question your contribution to a stressful situation. For example, if you constantly fret over meeting work deadlines, are you trying to avoid them at all costs by procrastinating? If this is the case, it is your avoidance which is causing the stress.

There are many complimentary therapies available to help you wind down. Relaxation techniques such as yoga help to alleviate muscle pains and keep breathing steady in stressful situations.

Put on a happy face, yes the last thing you may feel like doing is smiling but a smile can actually lift the mood and raise the spirits. Plus it is usually infectious, so turn that frown upside and see if you can spread the joy. Even if you don't feel like smiling, just try it as the physical act of smiling is what reduces stress and makes you feel a whole lot better.

Just breathe! Instead of telling Janet from Personnel exactly what you think of her, try counting to ten. As you do, make it an aim to slow your breathing down with each count.

Think positive. Your life is what your thoughts make it so if we associate stress with work, we will inevitably feel stressed all the time that we are there.

Let the music sooth you. Music is known to alter the mood so why not download some relaxation tracks to play in your ipod or PC.

Seek solace in a close friend. Talking with someone who knows you is often a great way to see things from a new perspective as friends and relatives can see how you react to problems and the best way for you to resolve them.

Hypnosis is a great stress buster as it not only helps you to relax but it actively changes a negative way of thinking by working with the subconscious which in turn, communicates it to the conscious mind. By making positive suggestions, the listener is mentally prepared to deal with stressful situations calmly.

Many people find that a good way to cope with stressful situations is to deal with them as they occur. For example, if someone upsets you verbally, it is far better to communicate your feelings in the moment rather than let the situation fester. Then you need to learn to forgive and let go. Holding on to past grudges keep stagnant negativity lurking in the subconscious.

Cut yourself some slack and turn problems into opportunities. For example, if you are stuck in a traffic jam, listen to that new CD you have never had the chance to hear. View the bigger picture by looking at the worst case scenario. Will this current situation really matter in two weeks or a month's time? If not, there is no need to pile on the pressure.

Don't set yourself up to fall since obsessiveness and perfectionism can make even the simplest task complex and time consuming. Change your expectations and attitude and be reasonable in your expectations

Daily exercise is a great way to burn off those stress hormones and give you an inner sense of well being as it also helps the muscles to relax.

Stress management can also help since once you realise that you have control of your life, you build a foundation to managing all of the stresses which arise from it.