De-Stress Your Life STRESS BUSTERS by Mark Houston, M.D. with Barry Fox, Ph.D. and Nadine Taylor, M.S., R.D. De-Stress Your Life Stress does more than ruin your mood. Mental stress makes your nervous system leap into action, with potentially harmful results. You�ve experienced this many times: Just think of how your body would react if you were suddenly asked to stand up and deliver an impromptu speech to a large group. There�s a good chance your heart would start to pound and you�d begin to perspire. Perhaps your breathing would become shallow and rapid, and your face might get hot while your hands grow icy. If someone were to take your blood pressure right then and there, it would undoubtedly be higher than it normally is. That�s because the sympathetic nervous system�s normal response t