The 2008 Stress in America survey by the American Psychological Society concludes that stress levels among Americans are way up.  Not surprisingly, a big cause of our increased stress is money worries – 81% of adults indicated that finances were a major source of stress.  Add to this the “normal” increase in stress many people experience during the holiday season, and spiking stress levels can lead to physical and mental meltdowns.

Stress is not just an unpleasant emotional experience, it causes significant health problems. Increases in blood sugar and blood pressure, weakened immune systems, poor digestion, and increased appetite and weight gain have all been associated with chronic stress.

Research shows a clear relationship between our stress level and our likelihood of being overweight.  This is because stress hormones like cortisol, which remain high under chronic stress, trigger our appetite, particularly for sweet or fatty foods.  One recent study showed that experiencing a stressful situation makes it more likely that we’ll eat sweets when we are not actually hungry.* Sounds like a set-up for holiday party diet disasters!

Fortunately, there are things we can do to offset the harmful effects of stress.  During the busy holiday season, it’s especially important to keep up our regular practices for stress-busting – things like daily exercise or meditation.  It’s also worth learning a couple stress-reducing techniques you can call upon throughout the day whenever you need them.  Taking some deep breaths, briefly massaging your neck and shoulders, or repeating some positive and relaxing statements can all be helpful “in the moment.”  Given the attention on Americans’ stress these days, it’s easy to find things to try.

Sometimes, though, the level of stress exceeds the reach of these basic techniques.  This holiday season my stress level has been kicked up a few notches by having to deal with a couple early-December medical crises, including my mother breaking her hip and a long-time friend needing emergency surgery to remove a tumor from her colon.  Although I’ve made sure to keep up my normal stress management practices, I’ve had to dig a bit deeper to find ways of staying calm and resilient in the face of these unexpected and challenging events.

For me, one key to dealing with major stress is surrender.  Whether you choose to surrender to a higher power or simply accept that there are things in life that are out of our control, surrender takes some of the edge off.  Another strategy for the extreme stressors is to stay optimistic.  I consciously strive to remember that life has a way of working itself out to the good, especially if good is what I’m looking for (counting blessings really does work!).

Finally, I find it helpful to focus on “being” rather than “doing.”  When we are facing things that are truly out of our control, such as the illness of a loved one or an unexpected job layoff, sometimes the greatest peace comes from living in the moment and simply trying to be present, instead of focusing on what we think we “should” be doing.

So whatever stresses you may be facing, remember that the definition of “stress” is our inner response to what is happening outside us – a response that is, ultimately, one we can choose.

*F Rutters et al. Acute stress-related changes in eating in the absence of hunger. Obesity, December 2008 [Epub ahead of print]