There are four stages of stress reduction. This is not just for a specific technique. It is rather universal. If you have not gone through all the four stages, especially if you have not reached the third stage, the healing you are getting is temporary. Very likely, you will get back to be stressed, very soon.

Stage 1

This stage is called "reduction". The key point of this stage is to reduce the effect of the outer circle on your inner circle. Gradually, the wiggles on your inner circle disappear and the shape is restored. Meditation works very well, but you don’t have to meditate. Talking to a friend, doing some physical exercise, listening to music, walking outside, or just sitting there doing nothing, all can make you feel better. Time will solve all the problems. I believe most people have gone through this stage in their lives.

But we all know that, when something happens again, the good feeling will be gone and we will be trapped in stress again.

Stage 2

So, the second stage is very necessary. This stage is called "growth", your personal growth. In this stage, your inner circle becomes stronger and stronger, so that next time when something happens, it does not pull on you as much as before. Undesired things still happen. That is part of life. But they have less and less effects on your inner circle. Unlike the first stage in which you don't necessarily do anything hard, in this stage, you do need to learn. You need to pay effort in order to growth. This can be a very slow and difficult process.

Stage 3

This stage is called "change". In this stage, you are strong and powerful enough. You are well equipped. You are able to jump into the issues that have been causing all the stress for you, and fix them. The outside world is chagned because of you. It is not until then that a cycle of healing is accomplished. And you know that you will no longer be stressful for those things because the issues have been solved.

Stage 4

You can make one step further and get in the fourth stage, "creation". In this stage, not only you can change what happens in the outside world, but also can you create things as you would like to see.

The essence of stress reduction is not reduction, but growth, personal growth.