I've recently come across a "what causes stress?" survey. It had the traditional A through D list with D being "All of the above." Without any question in my mind, I said to myself "It's D." Anyone who says otherwise, more power to you because it means that you've managed to come to a point in your life where there are things that just don't stress you anymore. My opinion, like others have mentioned before me in countless blogs and forum topics, the only way to deal with stress is to attempt to reduce it. Once example, in my own experience, is that I am fully aware that I'm a typical New Jersey driver. Get me behind traffic and I fume and rant to myself and anyone in my car at the time. My response was, and is, as follows:

1) Realize I'm freaking out for no reason: there's no need to yell, it only makes me look like I'm crazy to people watching my mouth move and seeing no one in my car or makes my passangers seriously consider mass transit next time they need a ride to their job or friend's house.

2) Realize I live in a densely populated area, and even if this weren't the case, everyone gets out of work the same time, and everyone wants to get home just the same as I do. It's not like this will change by me talking to my windsheild about the evils of "tourists and people who don't know how to drive."

3) Realize there's more than one way to get somewhere: there's at least 10 ways to get anywhere from anywhere in the Garden State. I now take the backroads if I have to drive at all.

4) Realze that there IS such a thing as walking: I tend to wander to wherever I'm going on foot now, since I live 10 minutes from anywhere I could want to go.

And that's just a very very specific problem/solution scenario. There's endless stress-causing factors that have very simple solutions if you simply realize you're stressing and think for a few seconds about how to get around it. 

Having said that, I am not saying at all that there are no stress causes that have no clear solution. For the issues you can't control there's only so much one can do. You can't exactly say "my job stresses me too much, and any other job I'll probably find something wrong with too so I'm just gonna be unemployed." Money's kinda important for things like... I don't know... Food, shelter, clothing... that sorta thing. And for those of you in a relationship, despite all of your wishful thinking, your Significant Other will not magically become a mind reader, change into [your choice of female/male actor here], or suddenly cease to exist for various reasons. My advice here is to first try and go to the source of the issue. Talk to Jim-Bob, your co-worker who won't stop incesantly tapping his pen on his desk. Ask Tammy, your boss, if there are any assignments available besides grabbing the morning paper for her and doing the work she'd rather not since she's busy calling her buddy in Accounting. Tell your girlfriend Claire/boyfriend Jimmy that you don't quite appreciate when she or he looks at your sister/brother that way. (Please note these are all meant to be rediculously fictitious examples) If you don't try, it won't get better. If all else fails, you can't just go [your choice of violent/juvenile/unecessary/illegal activity here] to solve your problems. My way of dealing with stress that I cannot change is going through my day like normal. When I get home, I talk to my family/friends about it. You'd be surprised at how good you'll feel after your friend Zach agrees, "That makes no sense, dude. Don't worry about it, so-and-so is just dumb for doing that" or when you parent goes "I'm sorry you had a rough day, want me to make [comfort food of choice here]?" If you're not the verbose person I am (on occassion) or are worried about "stressing your friends with your stress," find other outlets. My other way of dealing with things is picking up a good book, watching a funny movie, or even something as simple as popping a CD of my band of choice into the car's player on the way home (to return to an issue previously mentioned, this helps with my extreme dislike of traffic as well). There are a myriad of varying and creative ways that you can dispel stress, and often they involve having a good time while doing so!

For those of you who found this helpful at all in their day to day battle with stress, feel free to let me know! It makes me feel good to know I helped others feel good. If anyone has any comments or wish to share their own unique stress solutions, that's fine too. One can never have too many ways to get away from the things that bug them. You can even share a stressful experience and I, along those reading this, will be good listeners and offer our own advice/consolation. And with that, I daresay that I will end this rant before I get more carried away than I already have.