Forget sex or family or friends. The best way to combat stress is to do strenuous exercise. Running or Aerobic exercise is the best. I practice Tae-Kwon-Do purely for fun listening to Vivek Oberoi's "Jaan mein Dum" song. If I stop in the middle I say to myself - "ruke ho kyon?" I am a male and to all my fellow males who are under stress, I have to say - bring out the aggression in you when you do your exercise. I am not asking you to hit someone. I am just asking you to exercise aggressively. Aggression is the characteristic of a male. Don't let your aggressive impulses die because of stress. Good luck fellows!