The Price Of Pressure

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But that's not true for everyone, and researchers would love to identify the psychological quirks that protect some people and sabotage others. Small studies suggest that the immune systems of optimistic law students are more robust than those of pessimists and that worrywarts suffer deeper hits to their immune system after a traumatic event than do nonworriers.

We're not all born with sunny dispositions, but experts have identified stress-management strategies that anyone can adopt. Avoid situations that you know cause stress, for example. Discuss problems with friends, family or a mental-health professional before they take on a life of their own. Face stress head-on and don't resort to coping mechanisms — smoking, eating more and exercising less — that only add to the strain. You can't avoid stress altogether, but you can learn to keep it at bay.