Everyone can experience anxiety and stress sometime in their life. Especially now with a pandemic on the world’s doorstep, tensions are brewing, horns are honking more, and general irritability is falling out from what used to be a calm existence.

But there is a difference between stress and anxiety, Stress is a response to some type of perceived threat and anxiety is the reaction to that stress.

Stress can be positive or negative. There are ways to reduce stress by recognizing when anxiety is happening and engage in an activity that will clear your mind.

Exercise, meditation, mindfulness exercises, yoga, bicycle riding or just walking the dog can help you build your resilience and release endorphins into your body that will make you feel better.

Another method that you can do to relieve anxiety is to practice progressive muscle relaxation. Progressive muscle relaxation is a method of deep muscle relaxation, based on the assumption that muscle tension is the body's physiological response to anxiety-provoking thoughts. The premise is that muscle relaxation blocks anxiety.

The following is an example of a progressive muscle relaxation exercise.

Sit upright in a chair with your arms hanging by your sides and your feet on the ground.
Close your eyes and squint them for 10 seconds while breathing in slowly. As you relax your eyes exhale slowly.
Keep your eyes closed. Say to yourself I am calm.
Now roll your head in a circular direction and then roll your head in the opposite direction. Remember to breath…don’t hold your breath.
Keep your eyes closed. Say to yourself I am calm.
Now, leaving your arms hanging on your sides raise your shoulders up as far as you can. Hold them up for 10 seconds and then release. Repeat two more times
Now with your arms hanging by your sides, clench both hands to make fists. Count to 10 then relax your hands. Repeat one more time.
Keep your eyes closed. Say to yourself I am calm. Remember to breath.
Now push your feet into the ground. Hold for 5 seconds and repeat one more time.
Keep your eyes closed. Say to yourself I am calm.
Now feel how your body is more relaxed. Take some slow breaths and when you are ready to open your eyes then do so.

The National Center for Performance Health is a unique organization designed with one goal in mind – to help you become your best you. We use advanced medical research and technology to achieve proven results. If
you’ve ever thought about taking your game to the next level - we can help. Contact us at info@nationalcph.com or (866)684-2007 to learn more.