by James Knolan

Many people confuse the difference between stress and anxiety. Stress comes from our interpretation of our environment which we call the pressures of life. Anxiety on the other hand is caused by high levels of uncertainty in life. Anxiety is more feelings of unease and apprehension. Stress tends release adrenaline into our bodies. Both of these situations cause muscles to become stiff and tense. Your body needs to unwind this tension for better balance. Massage chairs are very helpful in reducing symptoms of stress and anxiety.

Stress seems to be building in modern times. Most people are feeling stress from the changes in the economy and pressures from work. The causes of stress are known as a stressor. When you get angry, anxious or nervous this may be due to a stressor. Stress is interesting because interpretation of the environment is the main stressor.

Anxiety is stress that continues after that stressor is gone. Anxiety is a feeling of fear or apprehension. This usually accompanied by feelings of impending doom. The source of this uneasiness is not always known or recognized, since the symptoms may persist long after the source of the stressor is gone. This also adds to the feelings of distress.

Stress is the way our bodies and minds react to something. It is usually associated with something that is impinging on our current balance in life. A typical stress is the fight or flight response. Our adrenal glands release adrenaline which is a hormone that causes our heart rate to increase, our blood pressure to increase and our muscles to tense.

Some of the more common symptoms of stress are constant aches and pains, palpitations, anxiety, and chronic fatigue. The primary response of stress is immediate protection of the body. However, in todays highly changing world, the stress we feel often lingers and with it the common symptoms.

When we face high levels of uncertainty then we generally start to feel anxiety. The feeling of uncertainty and unease become primary. Anxiety causes us to second-guess and in many cases fall into analysis paralysis. You may have felt anxiety when doing things for the first time. Take for instance, your drivers test or your first date. Excitement and uncertainty occur at the same time.

Anxiety is many times a tougher problem to deal with than stress. Stress typically dissipates when the source of the stressor is no longer present. Stress tends to be much more short term than anxiety. Anxiety, on the other hand, may create paralysis. The mind tends to go over and over the same issues without solutions. This causes high levels of uncertainty and hesitation for an individual to act.

The important thing to reduce stress and anxiety is to take your mind off of these thoughts. One great way to do that is with a massage chair. Massage chairs come with MP3 players and headphones. You can put on some relaxing music to relax your mind. As your mind relaxes, the massage chair will massage your full body. Various massage techniques are used to relax the different muscles of the body.

Massage chairs have many of the most effective massage techniques such as Shiatsu, Swedish, deep tissue and more. These techniques help to relieve muscle tension which reduces their associated aches and pains. Stress causes muscles to tighten and massage helps to loosen them up.

Massage chairs come equipped with music players that help you to relax during the massage. It is very therapeutic to take your mind off the ruminations of thoughts about the stressful situation you find yourself involved. Playing soft rhythmical music helps the mind to relax while the muscles are being soothed and relieved. Massage chairs can be an excellent asset to help you relieve your stress and feelings of anxiety.

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