The Holidays can generate emotional stress and despair for many of us. Therefore, it is essential to recognize the ways anxiety may be presenting itself.

Anxiety can present itself in numerous ways. Here are ten signs and some tips for reducing holiday anxiety and stress.

1. Constant worries/dread. You feel anxious nearly all the time, although you may not know why.

2. Impaired thinking. You have difficulty forming thoughts, concentrating, remembering, or learning new things.

3. Fatigue. Anxiety increases the production of stress hormones, which can leave you feeling exhausted. Adequate nutrition, hydration, and sleep can boost energy.

4. Irritability/anger. Coping with stress and anxiety can be overwhelming, leading you to overreact to everyday situations.

5. Fear/Terror. You may be plagued with irrational fears—in such a simple everyday activity, for instance, as going to the mailbox. You may experience an impending sense of doom or believe that danger lurks around every...

Believe it or not, stress is not the villain it's made out to be. In small, short-term doses, stress can give an athlete the competitive edge or a public speaker the enthusiasm to project optimally. It can even boost the immune system.

However, chronic stress over time—the kind commonly encountered in daily life, such as work overload, financial difficulties, marital problems—can have significant adverse effects on nearly every system of the body, suppressing the immune system and ultimately manifesting as an illness.

The danger occurs when stress becomes persistent and consistent, a way of life. Chronic stress raises the risk of viral infection and diabetes. It can trigger severe problems for asthmatics, lead to gastrointestinal issues and cause high blood pressure, which brings an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

To get a handle on this silent adversary, you want first to recognize that you are chronically stressed. Here are four kinds of warning signs:

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