We all get stressed. Some more than others. What do you do when the stress becomes so overbearing that it consumes our thoughts day and night? It’s the first thing on our minds when we wake up, and it’s the last thing that keeps us up at night as we try desperately to get some sleep – just so we can go through it again the very next day.

For the most part, some stress is good. Stress is that little reminder in the back of your mind that tells you to actually care enough to do something about it. That’s why certain things are stressful: taking an exam, asking someone out on a first date, or going for a job interview. Stressful events make you put in effort to make sure things go right. Stress it what pushes you to study a bit harder, to have the courage to talk to your crush, and to do mock questions to better prepare for that interview.

However, it’s when you get overloaded with too much stress that your brain, and body, starts breaking down. And not all stresses are equal. The stress of not being able to afford food to eat far outweighs not being able to pick the right outfit for a night out on the town. Everybody has a different stress threshold – a breaking point if you will; when the stress gets so bad that you can start having panic attacks.

One way to manage stress is to increase that threshold using mindful mediation, good ol’ exercise, or any other form of self-care. If you want to be able to handle stress better, you have to put in the work to build up that mental stamina. Treat mental training as you would physical training. Start slow, take your time, get a feel for it, and most importantly, keep doing it.