Stress and pain often go hand-in-hand. Pain causes you stress, and stress increases pain by tightening muscles, increasing the frequency of headaches, and adversely affecting your body's immune system. A weakened immune system in turn increases fatigue, and reduces your resistance to illness.

There are things you can do, however, things you can choose, to help your body manage stress.

• Identify and be aware of what triggers your stress.
• Change the things that you can to reduce or eliminate these triggers.
• Learn to accept the things you can not change or eliminate.
• Adopt a more healthy lifestyle to build up resistance to stress.
• Establish healthy coping routines you can use whenever you can't avoid stress.
• Deliberately find ways to add humor and enjoyment to life to counteract the effects of stress.
• Exercise to reduce tension and stress.
• Re-acquaint yourself with activities that you find enjoyable. Hobbies, puzzles, games, even pets - help you focus on positive things and distract you from stress and pain.
• Learn and practice relaxation techniques.

One single strategy may not work effectively for everyone. Try a few different approaches until you find the one that works best for you. Some are offered on our Products Page . Others are available at your local bookstore or library.

You may not be able to eliminate all the sources of stress in your life, but you can choose how to react and feel. You can take control of your reactions by trying and then practicing stress reduction techniques that work for you.

May God bless you on your journey to reduce pain and enjoy the life He gave you.

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