Notice that the changes that occur with emotional stress are essentially the same ones that occur during exercise. One BIG exception is blood pressure. When a person is stressed, diastolic pressure may increase above that which is considered normal. Another difference is exercise last only a matter of minutes or maybe hours. Stress, on the other hand, can go on for days, months, or even years.
Exercise helps by forcing the body to relax.
However, the benefits usually only last for up to two hours. Consequently, if the stressor is not dealt with, blood pressure will eventually return to the pre-exercise, hypertensive level. One other benefit of exercise is the production of a group of hormones called endorphins. Feelings of euphoria are associated with endorphin release.