Prevention can allow us to build up little moments of calm throughout our day that we can draw from when we feel ourselves tensing up or revving up. Try taking revitalizing little breaks to increase that pool of calm inside of you and remind you that life is not a race.

Merry Christmas, HuffPosters! As is our tradition, we have stuffed our Featured Blog Post stocking with a line-up of holiday inspired offerings. I am spending Christmas in Hawaii with my daughters, my sister, and my ex-husband -- reflecting on the year gone by and following my own advice on reducing holiday stress (if you missed it, you can read the post here). And I am continuing another personal tradition: spending more time today on HuffPost's Impact and Good News sections, celebrating those committed to making things better, than on our Politics section, fuming over those who are making things worse. I'm also filled with gratitude and counting my blessings, which, along with my family, include our incredible HuffPost community -- our HuffPost team, our bloggers, our commenters, and all of our readers. You have been the greatest gift of all.

Sipping hot cocoa can be good for you.

You can't avoid the 171 varieties of cheese at the grocery store, complex work situations, or the challenges of raising a family. What you can choose to do each day is only put yourself in situations where the stress is worth it.

It's helpful to have a few stress-busting techniques to reach for when stress starts to creep up on you and take you hostage. Here are a few of my favorite busters. Try them yourself and see if you find them as helpful for relieving stress as I do.