Stress related disorders both physical and mental have never been more common, and it's all too easy to find yourself reaching for the pills and looking for quick fixes, while your motivation disappears, your performance diminishes, your relationships become strained, your ability to cope vanishes, and your health suffers.

Whilst most people manage to keep themselves in check and just get on with things, a large and rising number find themselves out on their own - unable to deal with the pressures of everyday life.

Knowing you're on a downwards spiral doesn't seem to help. Fatigue, inability to focus, agitation, lack of appetite, the need to overeat, anxiety, high blood pressure - these are the obvious signs. But the ability to think clearly is one of the first things to go, followed closely by the motivation to do anything about it.

Our mental hospitals are overflowing with people who have somehow gone over the brink or opted out, and our general hospitals are full to the brim with people suffering from illnesses and disorders that instead of being shrugged off or dealt with by light medication, have taken hold due to their weakened mental state and depleted immune system.

Whilst doctors and health professionals recognise Stress as one of the most substantial threats to mental, emotional, and physical health, the traditional way of dealing with it is to send patients home with a bag full of pills.

From the pharmaceutical industry's perspective this is exactly how it should be - unlimited and growing demand! But with this type of thinking the patient is out on a limb, with nobody to help them address the problem or understand what's happening, and just the hope that the tablets will put everything back in order.

Scientists have long acknowledged Meditation as the ideal way of dealing with disorders brought on by fatigue and stress, and for many years have been recommending it as the preferred therapy, but however enlightened our doctors may be, few have the time to actually listen to their patients or engage them in a more holistic approach.

But it's not just the medical profession who are at fault. In today's fast paced world, everyone is looking for instant results, and people are quite happy to place responsibility for their health and wellbeing in the hands of prescription writers.

The medical profession established long ago, that the quality of one's thoughts and feelings are directly related to how the body functions, and for those who fall sick, the speed of their recovery or whether they recover at all, can be as much to do with their mental state as the care they're given.

Meditation is recognised as a simple and effective way to use the power of the mind to rid itself of negative influences, transform your life, and heal and rejuvenate your body. There's nothing complicated about learning and practicing the techniques, and a guided course is by far the best way to get started.