The first thing we try to teach people is to recognize the symptoms of stress early on. For example, many people end up with headaches as a result of stress. When they really get to know their body, they realize the headache comes from a long period of tension in their shoulders and necks. The tension in the shoulder and neck is from over-gripping the mouse or telephone when they are feeling pressure. When we realize how it starts, we can begin fighting that stress reaction when it occurs.
Physical manifestations are our best warning signs.
We need to learn our bodies so that we can realize, quickly, when we begin to react to stress negatively. The most valuable exercise we can do during the day to fight stress is to breathe. We often take breathing for granted because it's something we automatically do. But when we are feeling stress or even when we aren't, when we learn to breathe deeply, it will help us to reduce the hormones that are in our system as a result of stress. Learning how to breathe deeply for relaxation can be done by anyone.