Given the lives we lead it’s ­impossible to avoid stress ­altogether, but up to a point stress can improve our ­performance. When stress is ­unremitting, it’s another story.

“On short timescales, the stress response restores the body’s balance. Over longer periods of time, stress leads to imbalance,” says Jeffrey Birk of Columbia University, New York.

Research shows that chronic stress is linked to health issues such as ­digestive problems, headaches, weight gain or loss, trouble sleeping, heart disease, susceptibility to cancer, high blood pressure and stroke.

When stress disrupts the body’s normal balance we feel that change acutely. We “feel” stressed when the demands of a situation seem to be greater than our ability to cope.

The more these demands exceed our coping capacity, the more severe stress becomes.

When stressed, the body releases cortisol and other stress hormones.

Usually cortisol levels fall when stress is over, but chronic stress can keep cortisol levels high, without a break, wearing down the body even to a cellular level. The more we dwell mentally on difficult demands, the more our health is affected; and the more time spent mentally ­reverberating about our problems the higher the blood pressure goes.

Stress can pile up, and the effect on our bodies is cumulative.

Chronic stress happens over a long time frame – days, weeks, months, or years. It’s the result of sustained stress triggers from debt, long-term illness, care-giving, being unhoused, or stress triggers that repeat frequently over time, such as recurring arguments, a difficult commute to work, construction noise and difficult relationships.

We know from decades of research that chronic stress can raise blood pressure, increase heart rate and cause the heart to beat irregularly – all ­harmful to heart health. Stress also increases inflammation in the body and weakens your immune system, making you vulnerable to illnesses.

It’s wise to learn how to manage your stress by identifying its sources in your life and finding ways to cope that work well for you.

Try some of the proven methods to reduce the effects of chronic stress. These include taking physical exercise, mindfulness meditation, spending time with loved ones and slow-paced breathing.

You’ll feel better and your future health will be better.

Paced breathing is a great trick for handling stress in the moment and for reducing long-term stress.

So try spending a few minutes simply breathing in for five seconds and then out for five seconds.

Slow breathing slows your heart rate and triggers your nervous system to calm down.