Possibly the most misunderstood part of stress management is your role in it.

Those who respond to life with negativity or anxiety as most likely to deal with the physical affects of anger, guilt, nervousness, frustration and fear.

These emotions can cause hypertension and high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attack or stroke. Other complications include ulcers, arthritis, asthma, high cholesterol and kidney disease.

People who tend to focus on themselves as the controller of their fate - in fact 'self-motivated' - are more likely to feel a sense of control when stressors affect them. Instead of blaming something or someone else they have the motivation to deal with a problem and look for a reasonable solution.

This may have to do with how you organize the images in your brain. Basically your brain records all your senses all the time. Since your vision is important imagery is a very important part of how your brain thinks.

So the brain thinks in images. Our memories are collections of images. The interesting thing is, we actually have the power to control or change those images. By changing our images we can change/control our states.

Think of a time when you felt some stress. Make this memory as vivid as you can. If you can imagine a time when you were stressed and feel those feelings now. You are