I am experiencing financial ruin, business failure and likely home foreclosure; it comes with a lot of stress. Here's what I tell myself everyday:

Take a moment to identify, and fully own and acknowledge, your stress. Indulge your irrational fantasy about the horrible possibilities. Rub it all over yourself; roll around in it. Experience it fully. Tell yourself the truth about it; tell a trusted friend if you can.

Then tell stress to go to the back of the bus, to the far end of the board table of your advisors, that you'll get back to it later - or maybe you'll just permanently fire it. Or whatever way works to remind you that stress is a reaction you are choosing and you can make a different choice right now,.

Meditate, get in touch with spirit, or pray or whichever of those are working at the moment. Open your self up to help and your own strength to let your stress go for now, give it like a true gift to the universe or deity to mind for you for a while - maybe forever.

Then, humbly, but playfully, with minimum ego return to the path of your life. Give the gift of yourself where that works. Invest in your close relationships; go out of your way to share a laugh - especially at your stressed self. Post on a couple websites. Think about what a great story this character building experience will make later.

Be sure to include movement, physical and otherwise, in today's routine. Walk, run, fish, take a drive, ride your bike, play golf, go bowling, go visit a friend or the mall.

Remind your self that you are a member of the dominant species on the planet, that you have incredible power over your environment, and that chances are you live better - whatever your circumstances - than 99% of everyone who lived on the planet before you.

Don't worry, you can create plenty of stress later if you want - and there are plenty of others who will seek to visit stress upon you. It is not yet an endangered species in your life, but maybe it should be!

It didn't work? Stress still there? Forgive yourself for being human and, when you are ready, work at it again. It's a survival skill; it's no surprise you're going to have to practice, is it?