[header] How to improve your stress response [title] Recognize when you're stressed. [step] In order to effectively manage stress and improve your stress response, you must first learn how to identify stress. It is possible to spend such a long time in a stressed state that you no longer know how to recognize it. 
[substeps] The fight-or-flight, or stress response, typically involves muscle tension, a rapid heartbeat, and shallow breathing. Other signs that you may be stressed are demonstrated in how you react to certain events.