Stress is a mental, emotional, and physical response resulting form an event or some real or imagined factor in your life.

Stress is a normal part of every day and some types of stress are good to have around. Sometimes categorized as eustress, good stress can enhance performance and healthy living. Deadlines, family commitments, and physical needs can create stress that prompts us into positive action.

Distress, on the other hand, can be harmful and unpleasant. Too much total stress becomes distress. The stress resulting from events such as failure, overburdening at work or home, and personal tragedies can be difficult to manage and would certainly be considered distress.

Since the quality of life is diminished with increased distress and out of control distress can have serious health problems such as heart disease, depression, and headaches, finding effective ways to manage distress is a good idea.

The Role of Exercise
Regular exercise is one of the best ways to cope with the tensions and frustrations of daily living. Exercise reduces stress by decreasing muscular tension and serving as a diversion from the day's events. Most health, fitness, and medical professionals agree that exercise is an excellent way to reduce feelings of anger, frustration, and aggression.

Many people feel that being outdoors walking, hiking, running, playing basketball, etc. is the best place to exercise away stress. Fresh air and daylight can have great therapeutic effects. The point, though, is to get the body moving, the heart pumping more, and the lungs breathing deeply, so do what works best for you.

A Mind Note
You can train your body with good results and you can train your mind with good results as well. Negative patterns of thinking can produce stress. You can train your mind to work in a positive way for you. A mind that selects the positive will bring you wellness in life.