7 relaxation techniques to combat stress

Stress, when it lasts a long time, can affect your body, your mood and your behavior. Some of its common effects are: headache, lack of energy or concentration, stomach upset, muscle tension and sleep problems.

Inactive ways to control it, such as watching TV or surfing the Internet, can increase long-term stress. That is why Recognizing the symptoms is the first step to recover physical, psychological and personal well-being.

Relaxation and stress management techniques will help you improve your sleep quality, your mood and your concentration. They will also give you feelings of well-being and tranquility, reducing physical pain.

You can experience each of these techniques to find which one works best for you:

1. Diaphragmatic breathing

To combat stress with breathing exercises, sit in a comfortable posture, place one hand on your chest and another on your abdomen. Inhale deeply through your nose, feeling your abdomen expand outward and exhale through your mouth. Repeat this technique for 5 minutes.

2. Jacobson's progressive muscle relaxation

If you learn to relax muscle tension, you can reduce stress and anxiety. This technique consists of voluntarily tensing and relaxing all the muscles of the body, for 5 to 10 minutes, to recognize the two states. After reaching a deep physical relaxation, a mental image is evoked to relax the mind.

3. Transcendental Meditation

This technique of mind control consists of repeating a word repeatedly, leaving aside any thoughts or images that appear in the mind and the external stimuli that generate stress.

4. Body scan

To perform this meditation, you must bring your attention to the different areas of your body, recording all your sensations. Scanning from the feet to the head will bring you a feeling of calm.

5. Visualization

This technique consists in creating mental images about situations, sensations or emotions that make you feel at ease, in peace and positive. You must imagine different things in the most realistic way possible, to achieve control of your physical and mental state.

6. Mindfulness

Mindfulness induces to concentrate attention in the present moment, which allows to significantly reduce stress. One of the exercises you can do at any time is to pay full attention to your breathing for a minute. Without modifying it, simply observing the passage of air through your nostrils.

7. Autogenous training

This technique invites you to imagine a quiet place in your mind and then focus on each of the sensations of your body, starting with the feet and moving to the head. For example, you can concentrate on the heat or heaviness of any of your limbs.

TELL US IN THE COMMENTS IF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED SOME OF THESE TECHNIQUES.

Source:

Psychology and Mind