Although stress levels vary across society, the fact remains that stress can be detrimental to one's health. In order to combat this stress, there have been a variety of methods developed that have been proven to reduce stress and its consequences in everyday life. The majority of techniques can be classified in to either Physical, Mental or Therapeutic techniques.
Physical relaxation technique[edit]
Breathing techniques is one of the easiest ways to reduce stress. It requires little effort and can be done anywhere at any time. Proper breathing techniques that incorporate deep abdominal breathing have been shown to reduce the physical symptoms of depression, anxiety and hypertension as well as everyday emotional symptoms of anger and nervousness.[5]
Progressive muscle relaxation is a relaxation technique that requires an individual to focus on flexing and holding a certain set of muscles and then slowly relaxing those same muscles. As the individual flexes and releases those muscles from top to bottom they will feel a deep sense of relaxation. Progressive muscle relaxation is a somewhat adapted version of the Jacobsonian Relaxation Technique developed in the 1920s.[6] Progressive muscle relaxation is currently used in clinical and non-clinical settings to reduce the effects of anxiety and sleeplessness brought upon by stress.[6] The long-term goal of this relaxation technique is to be able to identify when your body's muscles are suffering the effects of stress and to be able to relax the individual and the individuals muscles when directed.