Stress
(Sent by Borja Durán, a student from Badajoz, Spain)

Stress is often put down to our modern-day way of life. It has also been said to be the 21st century's plague. No matter whether these statements are true or not, stress might well have become one of the worst and most common health problems people have to deal with nowadays.

There is a variety of factors that can produce stress: exam periods for students, finances and unbearable workloads for grown-ups or even addictions such as smoking. So, it is everyday duties in our rushed society that seem to provoke stress in people, however, there is a particular population segment that is more prone to suffering from it. I'm talking, of course, of those so-called young urban professionals or yuppies. Being up to one's eyebrows in work, assuming new responsibilities or working in a dog-eat-dog environment (all of which yuppies do) are factors that contribute to creating the perfect context for stress to flare up.

On the other hand, we have plenty of means to help us cope with stress, from therapy to massage sessions. But not all of these means require specialist attendance. There are several recommendations we can easily follow in order to de-stress. Admitting being stressed out is the first and most important step. From then on, we can give breathing exercises or gym sessions a try, anything to help us change an overwhelming routine for the better. In the end, it all boils down to putting things into perspective and changing bad habits.