Hey Claire , you've been really quiet these last few days . Is something wrong ?   I've been really stressed . It's the end of the year and I've got so much stuff to do ! I feel like I'm drowning in work .   Well , stress is a real thing . It's not an imaginary condition .   It's seriously affecting my life ! I can't sleep , I don't have much of an appetite and my husband says I've been kind of short tempered . Other people seem to handle stress okay ... why am I so weak ?   You're not weak ... you're stressed out ! Stress has been a part of the human condition for millions of years . Back when we still lived in the trees we had to watch out for predators ... and as you might imagine , that was pretty stressful .   Yeah , but I don't see any tigers or leopards roaming around our office . My stress is just about silly paperwork !   But you're actually having the same reaction as our tree-dwelling ancestors ! It's called the flight or fight response . Each time you feel like something's threatening you , your body decides whether to run away or fight ... it causes all sorts of chemical reactions in the body . 