Stress and your mental health
Some people consider stress to be a “normal” part of life. Since stress is so common, it might very well be the norm; but excessive stress is certainly not natural. And you can see evidence of its damaging effects all around you - from road rage to violence in homes and schools.
Your emotions have a direct impact on your physical and mental condition. Harboring angry or sad feelings, for example, can have a negative effect on your body. Stress can increase blood pressure, heart rate, and gastric acid, as well as causing headaches and other aches and pains. In fact, daily stress can reduce your life expectancy.
Fortunately, you have many resources available to help you return to a healthy mind, spirit, and body. And there’s more good news. The old stereotypes have changed. It is now considered a sign of strength to get help with your emotional problems before they cause devastating effects on your health.
A supportive network of family and friends can be most valuable in helping you avoid isolation and depression. And there are things you can do for yourself. A good way to start is to reduce stress with the following process, called
S.M.A.R.T (Stress Management and Relaxation Training)
You can lower the harmful effects of stress on your body by altering the way you react to stressful situations. Begin with staying healthy by getting proper sleep, nutrition, and exercise. And take a good look at your family tree. If there’s a history of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, ulcers, or high blood pressure, talk to your physician about changing your life style in order to combat the risk of these stress-related illnesses.
One of the best ways to reduce stress is to learn to relax. Relaxing the body helps relax the emotions, which, in turn, helps relieve mental stress. Practice the following process, and your health will improve as relaxation becomes easier in times of stress.
Go to a quiet, comfortable spot. Choose a place where you can minimize distractions as much as possible. Close your door, dim the lights, and unplug the telephone. Put your feet up and head back this will automatically cause your heart to slow down a bit.
Breath slowly. Close your eyes and take a few slow breaths. As your breath slows, your thoughts should gradually start to slow down, too.
Relax your muscles. Begin with your toes. Say to yourself, “Toes relax, toes continue to relax, until I feel normally relaxed.” The change might be subtle, since relaxation is your body’s normal state and consequently is not particularly noticeable. But once the muscles begin to relax, they will continue to do so. Once your toes feel relaxed, move on to your feet, ankles, calves, knees, thighs, and hips.
You don’t have to spend a lot of time on each muscle group as you gradually continue to relax your body. After only a few sessions of practice, these muscles should start to respond automatically to your suggestion. It might help you to choose a relaxing word to associate with the feeling, such as “light,” “heavy,” “warm,” “cool,” or “tingly” whatever works for you. As your mind and body learn to work together, you will eventually be able to relax automatically simply by your own mental suggestions.
Add a soothing feeling. Continue by relaxing the abdominal area, just around or below the stomach. This is where many people find their center of gravity.
Select an emotion that carries meaning for you and associate it with the feeling of relaxation in your lower torso. Perhaps the feeling of peace, contentment, joy, serenity, or love gives you a pleasant response. Imagine that one, special feeling spreading throughout your torso, including your lungs and heart. You could say to yourself, for instance, “I am feeling full of peace, and my heart is peaceful.”
Let that feeling penetrate your trunk, back, and shoulders, spreading down your arms to your hands and fingertips. Remember, you only need to concentrate on each area of your body until you feel a noticeable amount of relaxation; then move on to the next area. If you go too slowly, you risk mental distractions that can get in the way of the relaxation process.
Relax your mind with a calming scene. Now you can move on to the last area your neck, face, and head. Begin by relaxing the muscles of your neck and jaw, making sure your teeth aren’t clenched. Relaxing your jaw will automatically relax your temples, eyes, and eyelids. Relax your cheeks and facial muscles, then your forehead and, finally, your scalp.
Imagine a pleasant, familiar place a beach, a mountaintop, your backyard, or a favorite room. Use all your senses. See, feel, hear, smell, and taste the place. Imagine yourself doing something, like taking a walk or watching the waves (if the place becomes boring, you risk your mind wandering again). Think of this as the special place you mentally go to when you want to relax. Don’t try to get too creative; just allow your mind to focus on things that will naturally relax you.
Practice this technique every day at the same time and place, if possible. When your mind becomes distracted, just stay relaxed. Don’t let negativity and frustration interrupt your relaxation, and don’t try to start over. Just pick up where you left off before your mind wandered and continue.
In addition to these techniques, you can see our North Pines Center counselors for further assistance in stress reduction. To schedule an appointment call 770-448-1111.