Imagine working an eight-hour shift. Your shift is understaffed and the workday is hectic. You have to go straight home after work to pick up your daughter from daycare and put her to bed. When your child is in bed, you start doing homework that you have to turn in the next morning. You also need to practice the speech you will have to give in the communication course. It's now 11pm and you're exhausted. You need to take a shower and prepare your clothes for the morning. You have to set your alarm for 6:30 in the morning to get to class on time. You only have a few hours of sleep and the next day will be the same as yesterday. The only thing you really think about is the speech you have to give for your communications class. This speech is work for 50% of your grade. Just thinking about the day causes your heart rate to increase, your muscles to tense up, and you to start sweating. What do you think is causing these physiological responses? Stress is defined as a “pattern of hormonal and physiological responses that accompany threatening events” (Ettinger, 2014, pp. 361). The Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (2011) defines stress as an individualized and personal response to situations and circumstances that create pressure. No matter how anyone defines it, stress is a response to a situation and stress is a part of life. Each person has their own way of responding to stress. It depends on the person and also on their daily activities. When we have the sensation of a stressful event, we first experience an alarm reaction in which our body encounters the threat (Ettinger, RH, 2014, pp.361). Our body then stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and releases stress hormones which include adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH...... middle of paper ...... to help someone reduce stress and cope with it. There it's little things that help in this way like putting your feet up while reading a book or watching TV Sometimes this helps and sometimes it doesn't Relaxation techniques can help reduce the discomfort and duration of stress symptoms such as headaches, anxiety , high blood pressure, difficulty falling asleep, teeth grinding, to name a few. Larson, DE (Ed.) provides some relaxation methods that include: removing yourself from a stressful situation, blocking out the world and focusing on your body, sit and lie down. comfortable position, slow breathing, exercise, imagine being in a favorite place or place, etc. or massages, organization and planning, as well as other things.