A stressless lifestyle? That's very easy to say. Yet it is so important. Our health should be our # 1 priority. We all know that, and still we keep hearing about yet another work mate who is now on the sick-list for several weeks to come.

The book stores are filled with books on stress management. But, should we manage stress or reduce it? Stress and burnout are two very common signs of a lifestyle that needs to be changed. The changes must take place on three levels:

1. Our society
2. Our place of work
3. Our personal life

The third level, our private life, is the one that we can change most easily. But we must also make efforts to bring about changes on our job/school and keep claiming that society takes its responsibility for our health. Of course, there are no easy solutions.

Back to our question: Should we manage or reduce stress? Personally I do not like the word "manage". It doesn't have a good ring to it. To me, manage sounds like trying to handle a situation by working very hard. I close my eyes and see this tired out woman carrying heavy shopping bags up the stairs. "I'll manage", she says as her heart pounds heavily. I don't want to be that woman. And maybe that is not at all what the stress experts mean when they use the word "manage". But, still, I prefer the word "reduce".

On the personal level we can do a lot to reduce stress. There is also stress that cannot be totally reduced. Then we need to learn how to manage it. But watch out, because your boss might prefer that you manage when you could reduce! It has become a virtue to manage stress in our modern society. Don't try to be the perfect employee, the perfect partner or the perfect parent. When you can reduce, don't manage. Start with reducing the unnecessary stress, then learn to manage the necessary in a way that is good for your general health.

Ingela Berger started her own Internet business Lifestyle Plans in 2003 out of a desire to inspire and encourage others to make reality of their dreams of a personal, healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. Ingela has studied theatre directing, history of art, and leadership psychology. After some years working with art exhibitions and the theatre she is now back at school to become a health and lifestyle consultant.