For WellnessWise, I'm Dr. David DeRose. I'm Dr. David DeRose. In a few moments we'll look at stress and relaxation on WellnessWise. We seem to live in an ever-more stressful society. At the same time, medical research is demonstrating that stress can increase our problems with a number of diseases.
Relaxation therapy is one treatment for stress-related problems.
Such therapy generally involves training a patient to systematically relax his or her muscles. It also often emphasizes breathing techniques. In certain cultural groups, prayer and meditation are associated with such relaxation. In other research, women who practiced relaxation daily had a decrease in the physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. There are other ways to relieve stress besides relaxation.