When you hear the word stress or see it written before you, you know what it is, right? However, if you were to define it you would probably find that your response differs from thousands of others.

The official definition of stress, as per the National Institutes of Health is “how the brain and body respond to any demands.” The response is your body’s defense.

Perhaps one of the most complicated results of stress is learning how to manage it and cope with it in healthy ways.

Turning to drugs and alcohol will only provide temporary relief and fuel other health issues, so it’s important that you know how to cope appropriately when experiencing chronic stress. Continue reading →

The muscle relaxation technique for stress doesn’t require much exertion for it to be effective, that’s probably why it has become so popular. One of the common methods is progressive muscle relaxation, which uses subtle movements to relieve tension and achieve relaxation.

The method is based on the idea that it’s easier to relax muscles by making smaller movements to relieve tension. It’s the type of tension in the muscles that causes body aches and headaches that you have probably had for days or at least so long you haven’t even realized they were there.

By tightening each muscle group and then releasing, you start to feel more relaxed and less stressed. It’s all about exaggerating each conscious movement and release – this makes you more aware of your muscles and to when you’re holding tension. This allows you the opportunity to complete the muscle relaxation technique in a bid to reduce your stress levels before it has a chance to get out of control. Continue reading →