You may be thinking that the title of this article is too dramatic... But in actual fact it's extremely accurate!

Any Doctor will tell you that chronic stress conditions lead to thousands of serious illnesses and deaths every single year. A situation that appears to worsen as the pressures of modern life increase on a daily basis. Not only do you run the risk of mental disorders, but there are heart attacks, strokes, tobacco and alcohol addiction amongst many others that are more often than not attributed to being stress- related.

As you know, many people have Therapists to ease their worries and help them overcome stress... Which is fine and dandy... If you can afford it! However, for the rest of us mere mortals, if we had the money for Therapists, we may not be quite as stressed as we now! Obviously, lack of money is not the only cause of extreme stress, but it is one heck of a "biggie" these days (thank you Mr Banker!).

So, what do the "rest of us" do?

Don't worry, you can learn to overcome stress yourself, if your willing to put in the time and effort, and it's actually easier than you may think, once you know how...

There are various methods, and obviously I can't cover all of them here (you would need several books!) and some will suit one person better than others, nonetheless here are a few tips to get you started...

First of all, you need to understand the root cause of your stress, or at least the most important one. So spend a little time analyzing your feelings and identify your main problem.

If possible, talk to someone close to you about it... sharing the problem will relieve some if the stress you are feeling, and in some cases, they may be able to help you with it. You may find that just "getting it off your chest" will make you feel a whole lot better, and two heads can often be better than one.

Go for a brisk walk... The exercise itself will stimulate you and help you think more clearly. It will also lift your spirits as the adrenalin starts to pump through your body, and you may come up with ideas that hadn't previously occurred to you.

Try to view your situation with "your glass half-full"... That is, be aware that you can actually subconsciously talk yourself into stress or depression by thinking the worst of any situation. So, look for the positives, and try to build on them.

Don't be afraid of helping others... Quite often assisting others in times of stress can improve your personal outlook on life, even if it's only because somebody else might be worse off than you. Aside fom that, by helping others your are less likely to be solely focused on your own problems.

Do something different... If time and means permit, go and do something that you normally wouldn't... Even if it's just a day out somewhere, a game of golf perhaps, or anything that you fancy doing, but never seem to get around to, take some time to enjoy yourself.

Ok, these tips on their own won't magically eliminate your stress completely and solve all your problems... But they will put you on the road to dealing with stress more effectively and reduce the risk of serious illness.Don't ignore stress and find out the hard way!

Learn more about how you can overcome stress .