Sunday is Mother's Day, one of the most important days on our calendars. It's a day we shower mom with flowers, cards and candy, and maybe take her out to her favorite restaurant for a special treat.

Mothers are the world's best jugglers: family, work, money. They seem to do it all. However, all that responsibility can often leave moms feeling overstretched and stressed out.According to a 2009 survey by the American Psychological Association (APA), women are more affected by stress than men and report engaging in unhealthy behaviors such as comfort eating, poor diet choices, smoking, and inactivity to help deal with stress. The same survey showed women report feeling the effects of stress on their physical health more than men.With Mother's Day fast approaching, it's a good time for moms and their families to recognize the importance of addressing stress and managing it in healthy ways."How a mother manages stress is often a model for the rest of the family," says psychologist Dr. Steven Cohen, President of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association. "Other family members will imitate her unhealthy behavior."APA's 2009 survey results indicate that women continue to bear the brunt of stress, particularly in relation to financial concerns and worries over their family's health and family responsibilities.The Pennsylvania Psychological Association offers these strategies to help mothers manage stress:Understand how you experience stress. Everyone experiences stress differently.How do you know when you are stressed? How are your thoughts or behaviors different from times when you do not feel stressed?Identify stressors. What events or situations trigger stressful feelings? Are they related to your chldren, family health, financial decisions, work, rerlationships or something else?Recognize how you deal with stress. Determine if you are using unhealthy behaviors to cope with the stress of motherhood. Is this a routine behavior, or is it specific to certain events or situations?Do you make unhealthy choices as a result of feeling rushed and overwhelmed, such as stopping for fast food while running errands or picking up your kids? Put things in perspective. Make time for what's really important.Find healthy ways to manage stress. Consider healthy, stress-reducing activities taking a short walk, exercising, or talking things out with friends or family. Keep in mind that unhealthy behaviors develop over time and can be difficult to change. Don't take on too much at once. Focus on changing only one behavior at a time.Ask for professional support. Accepting help from supportive friends and family can improve your ability to persevere during stressful times.If you continue to feel overwhelmed by stress, you may want to talk with a psychologist who can help you manage stress and change unhealthy behaviors."Mothers often put their family needs first and neglect their own," says Dr. Cohen. "It's okay to relax your standards don't put a lot of pressure on yourself to have the 'perfect' house or be the 'perfect' mother. No one expects you to be Superwoman."To learn more about stress and mind/body health, visit the Pennsylvania Psychological Association's Web site,

www.papsy.org, or the American Psychological Association's Consumer Help Center at

www.APAhelpcenter.org.Pennsylvania Psychological Association