Though people tend to have different life circumstances, everyone at some point or other experiences stress. The stress reaction is often considered an entirely psychological response, but the reality is that stress causes physical responses in addition to emotional ones. Some of the physical responses of stress can be headache, backache, and even responses that often go unseen such as heart changes. So while stress is a typical part of living, it can also be detrimental. No surprise then that most people try to keep the stress in their lives to a minimum.

While stress can result in physical outcomes, the notion of a stressor is a mental response. That is to say, what a person does or does not consider a stressor results from individual perception. What one person considers stressful, another person may not. A standard method for the treatment of stress then is typically altering one's perception of what stress indeed is, and then altering the stress response. Other treatments also endorse the mind rather than matter outlook, and some people swear by taking this approach.

There are increasingly alternative approaches to treating stress and other forms of emotional distress. Practicing ho'oponopono is one method that some advocate. Ho'oponopono is an ancient technique that originated in Hawaii and was used as a conflict solving measure. It's worth noting that ho'oponopono is still used in Hawaii today as a means of solving conflict. Another form of ho'oponopono emerged however as an individual approach to problem solving. A woman named Morrnah Simeona, a revered figure in Hawaii, is given credit for the development of Self Identity Through Ho'oponopono. This particular method of ho'oponopono, updated for the individual, allows one person alone to make outlook better.

Though ho'oponopono is not universally accepted as some form of healing method, it has a growing number of practitioners who swear by its results. According to some, ho'oponopono provides stress relief and a sense of overall peace. The ultimate goal of ho'oponopono in many ways is to surrender and be guided by a positive force. This obviously marks a different treatment approach than is typical, and as a result is seen by some with a skeptical eye. There are those who have even equated ho'oponopono to a form of fantastical magic. This is refuted however by regular practitioners of ho'oponopono who say the ho'oponopono method is not magical but spiritual, and has been documented to work besides. Agree or disagree about whether ho'oponopono works, there's no denying a growing interest in the method.