Stress comes to everyone, and today more people experience stress in their everyday lives than ever before. A certain amount of stress can be beneficial to making us more productive on our jobs but too much stress will produce negative results. Stress can spur you on to solve difficult problems, challenge you to go the extra mile, achieve goals. However, too much stress can leave you tired, angry, frustrated and depressed.

The degree of how much you are affected by stress is somewhat dependent on your personality and how you handle problems, the work you do, changes in your life and many other factors. Some of those variables include age, health, financial situation and satisfaction with your life in general.

Stress in the workplace can be caused by work environment, job demands, your expectations or the expectations of your boss, relationships with other people around you. Job stress will spill over into your personal life just as stress at home will be evident in your work. It is hard to separate the two. When you take responsibility for improving your physical and emotional well-being and practice avoiding pitfalls and negative attitudes it will make a positive impact on managing your stress.

Listed below are some of the things you can do to cope with and better manage stress.

1. Recognize warning signs of excessive stress — Don’t ignore early warning signs. Some of the symptoms include feeling anxious, irritable or depressed. Fatigue and trouble concentrating will interfere with your ability to perform your job and are signs of stress. More accidents occur on the job when employees are stressed out.

2. Take better care of yourself — Chronic health issues can contribute to increased blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. Managing your personal life and taking care of your needs will make you more resilient to the effects of stress. The better you feel, the better equipped you will be to manage stress and not be overwhelmed. Exercise regularly, eat right, get enough sleep and don’t abuse alcohol or drugs. Learn to relax. If you are an owner or manager introduce a wellness program for all employees. It is not an expense but rather a savings in time off, sick time, injuries on the job, better moral, etc.

3. Prioritize and organize — Good time management is important. Don’t overcommit. Create a more balanced schedule. Get up earlier in the morning, so you don’t start your day behind and being late. Delegate when you can.

4. Practice emotional intelligence — This is the ability to manage and control your emotions, so that you can find satisfaction and success at work. It is as important as intellectual ability. Find ways to compromise, communicate better with others, overcome differences and defuse tensions.

5. Break bad habits — Negative thoughts and behaviors make job stress worse. These habits are self-defeating. Resist perfectionism. Work on controlling yourself as you cannot control others. Many things in your workplace are uncontrollable. Accept them and focus on your reaction to others and issues beyond your control. Look for humor in situations.

6. Make new habits — Connect with others at work. Be a positive thinker. Be optimistic and enthusiastic. Be on time to work and to meetings. Be realistic. Work on managing your relationship with your boss and co-workers. Adjust to your work environment. Discuss issues with your manager rather than complaining and getting worked up over things that when discussed openly can often be solved.

7. Improve communication — Make your communication friendly and efficient, not mean-spirited or petty. Good open communication can motivate employees and create an atmosphere for better teamwork. Nothing is worse than being kept in the dark. Open communication is a two-way street, and you cannot over communicate with employees. Making stronger working relationships and a healthier culture will pay off.

While it is impossible to completely eradicate stress it is possible for you to control your responses and reactions thereby reducing your stress. You can be the captain of your fate or become the captive of others’ expectations and demands on your time and energy. A stress free life is not possible, but a healthy work life and personal life is in your hands based on the way you cope and manage stressful situations. Your life can depend on it.

Becky Vaughn-Furlow retired from Trustmark Bank as executive vice president and human resources director. She can be contacted by emailing bvaughnfurlow@gmail.com.