Most of us know we are stressed and maybe you do a pretty good job of keeping it under control most of the time. No matter how calm you may appear, simply hiding your stress is not really helping you.

A study published in 2007 by the Semel Institute for Neuroscience, University of California about the relation between psychological stress and immune-related diseases found that elevated stress levels will make you very sick and could eventually kill you.

There are two types of stress that affect your life. Long-term stress is the type of stress that you endure on a daily basis. All of the things that come up in life contribute to your long-term stress. Acute stress is caused by more specific events. Marital strife, public speaking, and accidents all cause acute stress. It has been believed for decades that acute stress didn't really affect us as much as long-term stress. However, in the 2007 study it was discovered that both long-term and acute stress have profound and lasting effects on your immune system and disease.

Chronic stress has been found to cause systemic coronary inflammation. People who have low levels of stress and depression also have a low risk of major cardiac events. Those who have higher stress and depression have significantly higher risk of a major cardiac event. Taking care of the cardiovascular system should be priority #1 for each and every person but sadly it is not. You are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than any other cause.

Stress can be a significant cause in many types of illness. People who are chronically stressed are much more likely to have heart attacks and strokes. Stressed people have more cancer and other conditions like high blood pressure and severe arthritis.

Stress is one of the main ways to make sure you don't live as long as you should. Controlling the stress in your life should be a high priority if you are on a quest to live a long and healthy life.

So, what are some ways to control the stress? Here are a few tips that help me and I'm sure they can help you.

Tips to beat stress:

1.Slow Down: This is quite possibly my favorite. People who know me know that I am a rather slow person. I am also a very low stress person. It wasn't always this way. I learned long ago that I am in complete control of my life and the pace at which I live it. Ask anyone, I eat slow. I drive slow. I talk slow. I make decisions slow. What's the rush anyway? Why stuff your face so quickly? Why drive so fast and get angry and waste gas? Is it really worth saving two minutes? Don't jump from of thing to another at lightning speed. Very few choices must be made right now. Take your time. Live a little. Don't be so uptight all the time. This one tip will amaze you if you can teach yourself the habit of slowing down.

2.Evaluate and Prioritize: Take time now and then to evaluate what is causing you the most stress. What are the top three reasons you are stressed? Eliminate them. Period. It's not worth wasting your life full of stress and unhappiness. Do you hate your job? Think about the things in your job causing the most stress then start looking for one that doesn't include those negative points. Are you in the career you have always really wanted? Why not? Change it! I know that sounds scary but sometimes you just have to get some courage and go for it. Start going to school and prepare yourself for your real career and start living your real life. Never let any career, relationships or debts hold you down. Simplify. Start selling all your stuff. Get rid of the debt. Learn a new trade. Free up your life!

3.Take time to relax: Everyday just take some time for yourself. Forget the house. Forget the bills and the kids. Forget the boss. How is your life going? Are you getting where you want to be? What are some things you want to do this week? This month? This year? Before you die? Life is not about running the rat race. Life is about living and experiencing. Life is about envisioning what you want and then taking it. Sometimes it seems easier to ignore all these issues. But you can't ignore them. They sit in the back of your mind. Eating away at you like a cancer.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain