Stress is the nastiest 4 letter word you ever met. Don't stress, I know it is six letters but it packs the wallop of the meanest 4 letter word you ever heard.
Stress can affect your health and keep you from being all you can be to borrow a phrase recently made popular by the U.S. Army.

Most of us lead busy lives, trying to successfully juggle the responsibilities of home and work and personal interests into one cohesive happy life. There is nothing that could better start your busy day than having a smooth stress-free morning. You know the ones where no one raises their voice; no one has to search the bottom of a laundry basket for a matching sock; no one is in a frenzy to get out the door on time.

Did you know that taking a short trip, such as over President's Day weekend, or anytime, can have the same stress-reducing effects as a longer one? According to a Stanford University psychiatrist, David Spiegel, our minds shift into a more relaxed state during the first few days of a trip. When we have been away from home for long trips we tend to slightly increase our stress, or dread, coming back to home or work.
To get the most out of your quick getaway, here are a few planning tips:

Have you ever listened to someone, perhaps even to your self, talk about being worried? You'll hear things like, "I'm so worried", "I'm worried sick", or as my mom used to tell me, "You worry me to death!"
Certainly makes worry sound like a very powerful force, doesn't it? And as a matter of fact, it is. Worry can make us sick, and in it's most extreme form, it can kill us.

Stress, America's #1 health problem, is a leading cause of major illness. In fact, heart disease, high blood pressure, and depression are just some of the harmful effects of stress. Research has shown that releasing stress and learning how to relax promotes a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling life.
Here are 3 easy ways to reduce your stress fast.
1. Breathe Deeply

Everyone knows that stress isn't good - that it can get ontop of us and effect our wellbeing. What most people don'trealise is that stress can effect much more than just ourmood or mental state. Stress has been shown to have adetrimental effect on many parts of our body and indeedpeoples health in general.

When something happens in our lives, we automatically assess the situation mentally and try to determine if it is threatening to us. If we feel that we don't have the skills or resources necessary to deal with the situation then we feel stress. We don't feel stress when we think that we have more than enough resources to cope. Not everyone sees a situation in the same way; therefore, no two people react to stress in the same way. I have identified 5 steps for managing stress.

Have you recently moved or started a new job? Do you feel you have too much to do and not enough time to do them? Do you worry about your financial situation? Do you worry about your future? Do you feel your efforts at work or at home go unappreciated?
If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, you are experiencing stress but you're not alone.

It is no secret that stress and related disordersare the most frequent cause of employee disability(National Institute for Occupational Safety andHealth). As far back as 1992, a United Nationsreport called job stress a "world wide epidemic.
Control of workplace stress is a leadershipresponsibility. Good leaders who recognize thesymptoms of stress can control situations tocreate more desirable workplaces and to improveboth productivity and the bottom line.

It was a self-exploration that made me understand myself. It was like discovering the one last elusive word in a jigsaw puzzle that completes other words.
I had to interview Father Francis Chittilappilly, Executive Director of BOSCO - an organization in Gandhi Nagar in Bangalore that provides succor to street children. I thought I would get it over with in an hour and then attend to the endless list of to-do that I keep in my handbag.