When you're trying to lead a normal life and yet depression invades your every waking moment, the struggle of trying to pull off that charade can be more difficult than one could ever imagine.

Depression and the signs of suicide are unfortunately all too often items that go hand-in-hand.

Stress is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing environment; it has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative feelings. As a positive influence, stress can help compel us to action; it can result in a new awareness and an exciting new perspective. As a negative influence, it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression, which in turn can lead to health problems such as headache...

This article should be helpful to all managers and professionals, but is aimed particularly at those whose work-life balance has been changed by the additional workload, and potential stress, of studying management development courses or professional qualifications, by distance learning or in the classroom, in order to develop their careers.

​Exercise may not be the most exciting word in your vocabulary, but it sure has a lot of benefits. Participating in daily exercise not only makes us healthier in general, it can diminish the effects of stress on our bodies as well. ​How many times have you heard someone proclaim, "The doctor says it's stress"? We occasionally laugh it off, concluding that's just what doctors say when they don't know the real answer or diagnosis. But the truth of the matter is that too much stress plays a role in many diseases. ​