There is a direct correlation between staying healthy and stress reduction. Stress has a tendency to build up and if we don't do anything to lower our stress levels, we may find that our bodies and minds have a "melt down" of sorts. Stress reduction is essential for both our long-term physical and emotional health. It can be very hard to deal with everyday events if you are stressed out and eventually you will crack if you don't deal with the pent up anger, stress and aggression you are holding in.

The emotional side of stress can take its toll on a person. The same goes for the physical. Stress reduction is necessary if you have unexplained shoulder or back pain, migraine or tension headaches, constant "butterflies" in your stomach, hair loss, sleep problems, lack of concentration, nervousness, chest pains and fatigue. These are all symptoms that you are suffering from stress. Stress reduction can teach you how to recognize these symptoms and prevent them from getting any worse than they already are.

If you know how to properly deal with stress, you will be able to calm yourself down when you start to feel yourself getting upset. Stress reduction methods are perfect for use in situations like this. If you are at work and your boss just yelled at your for something that would normally get you very stressed out, a stress reduction method to use is deep breathing. It's an exercise that you can do behind closed doors or even open ones if you have no choice. No one has to know you're doing it and it will help you to calm down almost instantly. You take one deep breath in and hold it for four to five seconds. Then, let your breath out and hold it for another four or five seconds. Repeat this stress reduction exercise until you begin to feel your body returning to normal. With every breath you exhale, you should feel the tension draining from your shoulders, neck and face.

If you let yourself get overstressed, the symptoms described above will be extreme. You might have constant headaches, an ever-present feeling of nervousness or just a general tensed up feeling throughout your entire body. These physical and emotional symptoms can start to affect your daily performance. You might be short with those you love, get annoyed easily, feel depressed, overwhelmed or unorganized. At this point, you will need to practice stress reduction methods every day until you begin to feel like yourself again.

A stress reduction method that will definitely help to let some of the tension from your body go is a deep tissue massage. It will feel amazing, give you some much needed relaxation and help you to calm your muscles. You will want to couple that with breathing exercise when you feel anxious or stressed and you may want to take up yoga as another stress reduction method you can practice on a weekly basis. These stress reduction exercises will not only allow you to deal with the built-up stress that has already taken up residence in your mind and body, but they can also help prevent it from happening again!