Does stress affect your health? If yes, to what magnitude?

Yes, stress can effect every system in the body so it can cause or exacerbate things like high blood pressure, fatigue, muscle pain, anxiousness, changes in appetite/food intake, headaches, sleep disruption, digestive problem, irritability, etc.

Do a majority of people take their stress out on others?

Unfortunately many people are not very skilled at responding to their stress in healthy ways and do sometimes take it out on others. It is possible to learn not to do this.

Is there a correlation between stress and depression?

There can be many causes of depression. Stress affects our moods so it can certainly be a factor.

What are the different methods for coping/managing stress?

There are healthy and unhealthy ways to cope with/manage stress. Some of the healthy ways are to first of all be aware that one is stressed and what the stressors in one's life are. From that awareness can then come some skillful choices about how to care for oneself in the face of the stress.

Sometimes accepting the fact that the nature of life is that we will experience stress and that's not always because we're doing something wrong is helpful. Many things are not within our power to control. But, we can control how we respond to the stress when it arises and make wise choices so that we don't contribute unnecessarily to creating stress for ourselves and/or others. Some ways to respond might be to take a breath and gently acknowledge to ourselves how we are feeling and what we are thinking without judging those thoughts or feelings as good or bad--they are just thoughts and feelings. Recognizing that every human being has feelings of sadness, anger, confusion, fear, anxiousness, etc., and that these are not "bad" and we don't have to push them away. They are normal and our challenge is to respond to them in ways that don't create more suffering for ourselves or others. Sometimes just staying with this is enough. If we decide that it might be helpful to "do" something, we might talk to a friend or family member, go for a walk or do some other kind of exercise, listen to music that helps us to get centered, meditate, do yoga, pet the cat or dog, or do something that usually helps us to be able to quiet ourselves and get clear on what is the best way to proceed.

What is the most popular method for managing stress?

Unfortunately there are popular ways that aren't very healthy like drinking, drugs, over-eating, over-working, over-exercising, excessive shopping, etc. that are very popular but damaging. There are a variety of healthy options, and different people are drawn to different things. For some, a form of exercise in moderation is helpful, for others, something quiet and calming is most helpful. Talking to someone we trust and respect is also a popular and healthy way to manage stress. Looking at how we spend our time, who we spend it with, how we live our lives and making sure we feel we are making wise choices in all of these can also be useful in managing and preventing some of the stress.

Is it possible to be stressed out and not be completely aware of it?

Yes, and many people are because they are chronically stressed so they think how they feel is normal. It's important to know what your own signs of stress are. That is usually easiest by paying attention to the body--it is a great barometer for what is going on with you. For example, is your jaw clenched, stomach knotted, breath held, shoulders tight? These are often signs of stress. Behaviors like eating when we aren't hungry, not sleeping well, being unusually irritable with people or overly critical of ourselves also can be signs of stress.

Do all ages of people experience stress?

Yes

Is there a specific age group that gets more stressed then others?

I think every age group has it's own set of stresses.

What are the top three things that cause stress for people?

I think it's different for different people depending on their circumstances but often the general categories would be relationships (communication, judgments/fearing judgments, conflicts); performance (work/school); material things (money, housing, food, stuff).