Stress takes a physical toll on your body causing physiological symptoms of illness.

We live in a society where there are multiple demands on us almost all the time. We need to put greater emphasis on protective factors like sitting down with the family or exercising or putting away all the electronic devices.

I am also a big believer in mindfulness. I think we need to be able to turn things down and off, and build in protections so that we don’t get overwhelmed – even something as simple as a hobby.

Panic attacks may be symptoms of an anxiety disorder and they are a serious health problem.

A study shows that an extra dose of the stress hormone cortisol may help reduce stress

Our brain triggers the release of cortisol when we are under stress.

This hormone is believed to play a role in memory and learning.

Taking a dose of cortisol has been seen to calm fears and anxiety.

“Considering the importance of extinction learning for exposure therapy, pharmacological interventions aimed at enhancing extinction processes are promising approaches to enhance exposure therapy,” write researcher Dominique J.-F. de Quervain of the University of Basel, Switzerland, and colleagues in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.