Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, the last of the two alleged Boston Marathon bombers was captured around 9pm last night allowing Boston and indeed the entire United States of America to breathe a collective sigh of relief. People throughout Boston and in particular Watertown gathered in the streets and celebrated with laughter, cheers and dance as the news of the capture spread. Chants of USA, USA, were heard emanating from the mix of neighbors and strangers who were all too happy to finally be able to relax and return to a life of peace and normalcy.

For almost a week, people in Boston and its suburbs were made to endure significantly high levels of stress. Stress, which was primarily induced by paranoia and anxiety which resulted from the senseless bombings that occurred on Patriot’s Day – the day of the Boston Marathon. Now everyone, especially the people who witnessed this atrocious episode first-hand, can begin to heal psychologically and get rid of the mental stress that haunted them for the past five days.

Sustained high stress levels take a devastating toll on the body. High stress levels serve as fuel for many health problems including coronary heart disease, mental disorders and gastrointestinal disorders. Many studies have shown that when stressful conditions persist incidences of these conditions are elevated. Quite naturally then, it would make sense to ensure that our daily life experiences do not engender opportunities for stress. If stress does occur, efforts to eliminate it must be swift and intense. When stress is eliminated the probability of developing stress related diseases is minimized.

The capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has most definitely minimized the stress level the people of Boston have experienced over the past five days. The sight of individuals standing in the streets clapping, laughing, cheering, dancing and expressing other signs of joy were great images to behold. They indicated that people were more relaxed now, and even more importantly they were engaging in behaviors that are known stress busters. Laughing, singings, chanting, etc., are all behaviors that are known to reduce stress; and the more we reduce stress the lesser are our chances of developing crippling diseases like stroke, high blood pressure and gastrointestinal disorders.

Despite the fact that this particular crisis has ended and the overall stress level has dissipated, you should make it mandatory to engage in some stress busting activities every day, particularly if you are continually exposed to stressful situations. Many of these activities require minimal effort on your part but at the end of the day the health benefits are enormous. Hypertension, diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders are all fueled by stress. Protect yourself and by extension the nation by taking the necessary steps to reduce your stress level today.