Ever feel that your stress is making you sick, and you have little control over that sad fact?

Plenty of research has shown a link between psychological stress and subsequent illness--we experience greater stress when facing illness, to be sure, but there's also a direct link between experiencing stress and experiencing compromised health. However, we also know that not everyone experiences stress the same, and the same level of stress can impact people differently (based on their personality, the way they view and respond to their stressors, and other factors).

Now recent research shows that the level of control we feel (our locus of control), and how capable we feel ourselves to be (our level of self-efficacy) can alter the degree to which stress impacts our health.

This is very good news!

That means that not only do certain actions we take have an impact on our overall level of stress and wellness, but our belief in our ability to take those actions and create those changes can also have an effect. As if we needed more reasons for maintaining a positive outlook on life or a 'can-do attitude', here we have them!

So if you're feeling less in-control-of-your-life than you'd like to be, or if you're feeling at the mercy of the stressors in your life, let this inspire you to make small changes in your actions and your outlook. Today is the day! The following resources can help:

• Do You Feel In Control Of Your Life? Test Your Locus Of Control

• How To Create an Internal Locus of Control

• Positive Affirmations for Self-Efficacy

• Stress and Positive Thinking

• How Stress Affects Your Health

• How To Become Emotionally Resilient

_{Source:
Roddenberry A, Renk K. Locus of Control and Self-Efficacy: Potential Mediators of Stress, Illness, and Utilization of Health Services in College Students. Child Psychiatry Human Development, March 5, 2010.}

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With the school year coming to a close and finals approaching, students can feel more stress than any other time of year! It can be challenging to know how to strike the right balance between doing things that relieve stress and putting your all into studying and working hard to earn the most important grades of the year. The following resources can help you to know what to focus on, what to avoid, and how to keep your head cool through the process of finals. Stress not, students! Help is here:

• Study Tips for Midterms and Finals
• Studying and Test-Taking Traps to Avoid
• Success Tips for Studying and Test-Taking
• How To Manage Test Anxiety and Do Better On Exams
• Stress Relievers for Students

What are your best stress relief, studying and test-taking tips for students? What worked (or works) best for you? Share your wisdom in the comments section.

I frequently get questions from readers, and sometimes I add them to the FAQs section. Here's the latest:

"Sometimes when I have conflicts with people in my life, I find myself replaying conversations in my mind, thinking about what was said and what I'd like to say, imagining hypothetical situations in my head, talking to friends about it over and over and generally making myself miserable. Is this ultimately helpful, and if not, how can I stop?"

This is a common question because many, many people experience rumination, and it is generally stressful. We may start by trying to solve a problem, and end up focusing so much on the problem that we miss finding solutions, and we cause additional stress by stewing in anger. It can be a slippery slope. Here is what you can do to feel better, without getting trapped in our stressful thoughts:
Read About How To Clear Your Mind

Read More Frequently Asked Questions About Stress

Have you ever found yourself stewing in anger about something that happened in the past, and letting it ruin your present? This is called rumination (read about rumination here). Rumination is something that's common and stressful. Sometimes it's not even obvious to us that we are trapped in our own thoughts--and that these thoughts are making us more stressed than we need to be--until we'be been gripped by rumination for a while, and we're feeling agitated. One of the best ways to deal with it is to become aware of whether or not you are prone to rumination, and to become more aware of when you are engaging in it. The following resources can help you to deal with rumination and to manage the stress that it brings.

Quiz: Do You Ruminate Too Much?
Do you work to solve your problems, or are you just dwelling on them? Or are you one of the lucky few who finds it easy to just let it all go? Take the Rumination Quiz and find resources for positive change!

FAQ: "How Should I Deal With Negative Emotions?"
Don't know what to do with feelings of frustration, stress and anger that creep in and occupy your thoughts? Here's some help for this common predicament.

How Rumination Affects Your Life
When your mind just won't let go of a stressful situation, it prolongs your experience of stress and robs you of pleasure in the present moment. And that's not all! Learn about the various ways rumination affects you physically and emotionally.

What Are You Stewing About?
Are you preoccupied with the stresses of your life? Discuss it in the comments!