Stress is a normal part of life, but at times it can become unmanageable. If stress is severe and prolonged - perhaps due to a difficult situation at work, problems in a relationship or through money worries - it can lead to a number of other issues. Low self-esteem tends to go hand-in-hand with ongoing stress, because stress alters the way you think. Recognising this can be the first step towards recovering your self-esteem and addressing the original situation.

Stress is a simple, biological response to a threat: it prepares your body for immediate physical action. This is why stress tends to manifest itself in the way it does: raised heart rate, sweating, faster breathing and other ways of shifting oxygen and energy to your muscles - typically to do one of two things, fight or flight. Whilst this makes sense in evolutionary terms, most of the stresses we experience today don't take the form of a physical threat like escaping from predators or fighting rivals. They tend to be more social or relational. Stress is a kind of one-size-fits-all response, and is applied anyway.

This has all kinds of consequences. Not least is that most situations we find stressful can't be fixed by simple, decisive action - problems with colleagues, partners and money are generally more complex and nuanced than that. This means that the stress response isn't resolved - your body is primed to act, but nothing happens (one reason that exercise is a great stress-buster: it gives the hormones and physical processes an outlet)

However, stress also changes the way you think. It pushes your mind into "all or nothing" mode, in order to prepare you mentally for decisive action. This means that situations tend to be judged on simpler terms: life and death, right and wrong, pass and fail. Except, of course, that modern life is rarely like that. Presented with a stressful situation, your body and mind prepare you to resolve it as quickly as possible. If you don't, that mode of thought continues. Ongoing, unresolved stress is like repeated "fail" message.

Put another way, ongoing stress highlights your inability to take control of your circumstances, constantly reminding you of your shortcomings. No wonder that stress can erode your self-esteem, leaving you tired, anxious and lacking in confidence.

Sometimes, simply having this insight into how badly a stressful situation is affecting you is enough to help you feel differently - and remind you that it's serious enough that something needs to change. Other times, it may be that you're unaware of why you feel so low; if that's the case, then identifying and addressing sources of stress is a good first step, since these will inevitably impact your self-esteem.

Guy Brandon is a counsellor, author and the founder of www.StressingOut.org, a site dedicated to resources for stress, depression, anxiety, self-esteem and other related issues.

See http://www.stressingout.org/what-is-stress for more information.