Don't Stress Out Over Stress, Some of It is Good for You!

Everybody feels stressed at some point in their life, and there are all kinds of stressors facing us every day: deadline pressures at work, financial concerns when a 401 (k) loses value, increased workload after co-workers have been laid off, a sick child, aging parents, and money woes - just to name a few.

It's very easy to get stressed out over stress, but there are two important things to keep in mind. First, some stress is actually good for you and helps motivate you to achieve your goals, as CIGNA wellness coach Megan Thorp explains.

Second, there are resources available to help you manage stress that won't cost you a lot of money. In fact, if your employer has an employee assistance program (EAP), you can usually get several free, confidential counseling sessions over the telephone. Employee assistance programs are vastly underused because many people aren't aware that they have access to one, so check with your human resources department to see if your company offers one. Remember, the services are free and confidential.

In addition to helping you manage stress, an employee assistance program can help you manage what might be causing stress in the first place. For example, help finding child care or elder care for aging parents, financial planning services, legal services, mental health and substance abuse referrals, and much more. Research shows that when people use CIGNA's employee assistance program for help finding services, it saves them more than six hours compared to finding the services on their own - and that's a big stress reliever!

So don't stress out over stress. Use "good" stress to achieve your goals and use the resources that are available to help you manage the bad stress.

Tips to manage stress:
http://newsroom.cigna.com/images/56/Tips%20for%20managing%20stress.doc

The holidays are a big stressor for many people, especially during tough economic times. With the holiday season fast approaching, take a look at these
Tips for Healthy and Happy Holidays in Tough Economic Times:
http://newsroom.cigna.com/images/56/Tips%20to%20Reduce%20Holiday%20Stress.doc

For more about "good" stress:
http://www.itstimetofeelbetter.com/know_stuff/intheknow.html#Stress

Produced for Cigna Corporation