Usually, strong emotions come and go, and normal physiological equilibrium is restored. But when emotional stressors endure for long periods of time, they can tip the balance of chemicals in brain and body and affect your health, often for the worse.

Learning to recognize the physiological consequences of your emotions, and finding ways to establish emotional balance in your life, can help you avoid many health problems that may result from the way you react to the world around you.

Consider susceptibility to the common cold, for example:

A study published in the November/December 2006 issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine suggests emotional factors can affect resistance to cold and flu symptoms.

Researchers interviewed 193 healthy volunteers daily for two weeks about the positive and negative emotions they had experienced each day, recording the results. They then exposed subjects to a cold or flu virus. Fewer positive-thinkers became infected, and positive thinkers who did become infected had less pronounced symptoms than subjects with more negative emotions.

Only 28 percent of infected individuals who often reported positive emotions developed symptoms such as cough or congestion, compared to 41 percent of those who rarely reported positive emotions.

Research has shown that when emotional stressors such as anger or loneliness affect the body repeatedly, or over a long period of time, they can compromise the health of vulnerable individuals.

Research has also shown that we can minimize health problems by seeking out circumstances that make us feel positive, avoiding as much as possible situations that cause us distress, and by using stress reduction techniques to address the stresses that we can't control.

What you can do when emotions seem overwhelming, try these techniques for rapidly establishing more emotional balance:

• Learn relaxation techniques. Yoga, deep-breathing exercises, meditation and visualization can help you reduce emotional stress.
  
  
• Do things that relax your senses. Play soothing music, go somewhere where you can see or walk in peaceful natural Surroundings; get a massage.
  
  
• Release energy. Take out your anxiety or anger through vigorous physical activity such as raking leaves, doing housework or going for a brisk walk.
  
  
• Talk about it. Make a date with a loved one or trusted friend and vent your feelings. Talking about what bothers you can be a good way to diffuse pent up emotions.

Many factors can impact your emotions and your body. If you find you can't manage your emotions on your own, it's important to get help. There are effective therapies available that can help you reduce unhealthy stress and restore a sense of calm and control to your life.