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[S1067]Stress And Relaxation Techniques

by Sarah Martin, Sar

Relaxing the body is one of the best ways of relieving your mind and body of the stress that is causing you to be worried or feel the discomforts of aches and pains. When you practice stress relaxation techniques (http://www.wilddivine.com/wellnesslibrary/45.html) on a daily basis they can help you feel better about your life and do a lot to help reduce your feelings of being stressed.

When you practice relaxation techniques, you will learn how to replace negative feelings with positive ones so that you feeling happy and peaceful. When you are stressed, your body and mind are in a constant state of tension and adrenaline is constantly preparing your body for a flight or fight response to every situation you encounter.

This state of always being on the alert does wear down your body over time. When you learn to relax, this helps to bring your body back into balance, slows down your heart rate, reduces the amount of stress-related hormones your body is producing and reduces your blood pressure.

There are many stress relaxation techniques (http://www.wilddivine.com/wellnesslibrary/47.html) that you can learn, none of which are difficult or time consuming. Once you try several techniques you will likely find one that you enjoy and will practice this on a daily basis. You do need to set aside ten to twenty minutes a day for this practice.

You can start by setting aside this amount of time every day in which you focus on yourself instead of tasks or other people's needs and demands. You shouldn't practice these techniques when you are tired because they will cause you to fall asleep.

Deep Breathing

One of the stress relaxation techniques you can start with is that of deep breathing exercises (http://www.wilddivine.com). The key to this technique is to learn to breathe from your abdomen so that you get oxygen into the deep recesses of your lungs. Sit comfortably, with one hand placed on your chest and the other on your stomach. Breathe in through your nose.

If you are doing this correctly, the hand on your stomach should rise, but the hand on your chest will not move very much at all. Breathe out through your mouth pushing as much air out of your lungs as possible to rid it of the carbon dioxide that has built up. Again the hand on your stomach is the one that will move the most. Continue to breathe in this manner counting your breaths as you do so.

Muscle Relaxation

A lot of the stress in your body accumulates in your muscles making them feel tense and achy. In this technique you follow a routine in which you tense and relax the different muscle groups in your body. To start make sure you are in a comfortable sitting position and that your clothing is not too tight.

Breathe in slowly and deeply a few times to make sure your body is relaxed. Start with the muscles in one foot. Tense up your foot and focus on the feeling, holding this for the count of ten. Then relax the muscles and again focus on the feeling. Continue this process with the other foot and then all the parts of the body all the way up to your head.

Mindfulness Meditation (http://www.wilddivine.com/wellnesslibrary/62.html)

Mindfulness meditation involves concentrating on the various parts of your body in a fashion very similar to the muscle relaxation technique. You can do this whether you are sitting or standing or even eating. You focus on what your body is doing right now. Some people may remark that you look as if you are zoned out if you practice this technique in public, but this is due to your increased concentration.

If comments are being made about you it is possible that you have elevated stress. But what is stress to one person is responsible behavior to another. People have quite different values about how well organized you should be.

There are many tests that purport to measure personality. The Myer-Briggs, the most commonly used test in industry, has the dimensions sensing, feeling, judging, introversion etc. The most relevant characterization of stress and anxiety came from an American cardiologist, Milton Friedman who determined there were two personality types - Type A (uptight, driven) and Type B (calm, relaxed). The issue for Friedman was whether the Type A person was likely to be one of his prime candidates for cardiac surgery. No one wants to be THAT stressed.

In the stress literature the expression stressor is used constantly. What are stressors? They are a stimulus which is designed to speed up your reaction time. Traditionally, this was seen as a fight or flee syndrome. Our system gets charged up with special chemicals.

What stressors cause you the most problem? A typical list includes complex and high paced lifestyle, boredom, financial difficulties, and relationship problems. Perhaps there are health problems in your family that worry you. Perhasps your relationship is breaking down?

Some people enjoy the positive benefits that stress produces. A small amount of tension for a short period of time can make us more productive and effective. The problem arises when the stress levels are high and they last for a long time. What are stress triggers? The stimulus that sets off your stress.

Have you ever been in a situation where there have been extra demands placed on you to complete tasks perhaps with a short timeline? In these cases, a heightened level of tension can make you much more productive and efficient. So stress CAN have, in some situations, a beneficial effect.

When we have too much negative stress, we can act quite differently. We might become short tempered, angry, irritable and confrontational. Our skin might get blotchy. Our heart rate might go up to very high levels. These are all signs of being burnt out or stressed.

It is essential that we all know how to manage and overcome stress. It is rare that people tell us how to do this so we have to find good information to help us control the stress and tension in our life. We also need to know strategies that have been proven to be effective in stress reduction and stress management.

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Both Sarah Martin & Dr Jeff Bailey are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Sarah Martin has sinced written about articles on various topics from Wine and Spirits, Acne Treatment and Finances. Sarah Martin is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego. She specializes in and other. Sarah Martin's top article generates over 301000 views. to your Favourites.

Dr Jeff Bailey has sinced written about articles on various topics from . Psychologist, Dr Jeff, helps stressed patients. Why put up with stress? Learn stress management skills now. Click here for the free What is Stress by Dr Jeff. Don't let stress ruin your life for another minute. Act now - learn how to relieve stress.. Dr Jeff Bailey's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.