Managing Stress is essential. Stress is a major risk factor for depression and several other ailments. Depressed people are much more likely to have elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol than people who are not depressed.

Managing Stress

The fight or flight response - or stress response - is the body's innate reaction to a perceived threat. Stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline are released, muscles tense, mental alertness increases, pupils dilate, blood pressure rises and blood is diverted to the muscles - giving one the extra strength and energy needed to fight or escape or cope with the situation at hand.

Normally, when the threat has past, the body's functions return to a normal state. However, ongoing chronic stress may cause one to repeatedly or constantly be on 'high alert' and lead to burnout.

Stress Management is an ongoing process. Since all stress triggers cannot be avoided, one must find ways to relieve stress.

There are many ways to reduce stress. Find an enjoyable hobby and/or learn relieve stress through yoga or meditation. Exercise. Get a massage. Make time for yourself, making stress relief a priority in your life.

Relaxation Techniques:

The relaxation response is just the opposite of the stress response. Muscles relax, blood pressure gets lower and the heartbeat slows down. Techniques to invoke the relaxation response can be learned. Though the concepts of most relaxation techniques are simple, actually learning a technique so that it becomes second nature takes time and practice.

Relaxation Techniques include deep breathing exercises, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and biofeedback.

A qualified professional can help one initially learn one of these relaxation techniques which once mastered become easy to do. Some techniques are easier to master than others and some techniques, such as deep breathing, can be self-taught. Self-hypnosis generally must be taught be a professional therapist or physician who is trained and experienced in performing hypnotherapy.

Deep Breathing Exercises: To do deep breathing exercises: exhale completely through your mouth. Place your hands on your stomach, just above your waist. Breathe in slowly through your nose, pushing your hands out with your stomach. This ensures that you are breathing deeply. Imagine that you are filling your body with air from the bottom up.

Hold your breath to a count of two to five, or whatever is comfortable. Slowly and steadily breathe out through your mouth, feeling your hands move back in as you slowly contract your stomach, until most of the air is out. Exhalation is a little longer than inhalation.

Meditation: Meditation is one way of relieving stress. There are many forms of meditation. One method is to sit quietly and focus on something such as your breathing. Start by taking a few deep, slow breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Then, just be aware of your breathing without trying to control it. Breath through your nose.

Don’t concern yourself with any thoughts that may wander into your mind - just keep focusing on your breathing. It is helpful to focus on the word in when you inhale and the word out when you exhale (or any word or phrase you want to pick).

Imagining being surrounded by mountains, trees, or watching the waves roll in at the beach can help you meditate. You either close your eyes or leave them open and focus on an object.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation: This is done by tensing and then relaxing each muscle group of the body, one group at a time. Some people prefer to listen to an audiotape that guides one through progressive muscle relaxation. The scripts are usually about 20 minutes long. Click here for sample of progressive muscle relaxation exercise.

Guided imagery: Mentally picturing being somewhere pleasant – at a warm beach with a soft breeze.

Hypnotherapy: A technique done by a qualified professional (physician, therapist). A deep state of relaxation is invoked through repetition of words or phrases. A patient who is hypnotized is fully aware of what is going on but is in a deep state of relaxation and open to suggestion. A person can learn self-hypnosis from a professional.

Biofeedback:

Biofeedback is basically the use of monitoring devices to give a person feedback about his or her body's autonomic (involuntarily) functions. Heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, muscle tension, sweat gland activity, and even brain wave activity may be monitored through electrodes that are placed on the skin. There are many different types of biofeedback equipment.

Biofeedback is often used in combination with relaxation techniques. A person can learn to identify what technique produces a desired response through the readings on the machine and eventually learn to achieve the same response without the machine. For example, stress causes muscle tension. Using a machine that measures muscle tension can be used to measure even subtle changes in stress levels. Measuring changes in skin temperature can also be useful. Skin temperature drops when one is under stress as the blood is redirected to muscles and internal organs

Learning to control one's own bodily responses through biofeedback may take several weeks of regular sessions with a biofeedback therapist. To find a BCIA biofeedback practitioner click here.

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Exercise

All forms of physical exercise relieve stress, but aerobics are particularly effective. Aerobic exercise burns off the stress hormones produced in the ‘fight or flight’ response. Aerobic exercise also stimulates the body to produce endorphins (naturally occurring chemicals that block pain and boost mood).

Yoga is a popular way of reducing stress. Most people prefer to take a class and let a qualified instructor guide them. Stretching exercises also help loosen up tight muscles.

See Effects of Exercise on Depression for more information.

Hydrotherapy for Relaxation

Warm water improves circulation, relaxes the muscles, and induces mental relaxation. Soaking in regular bathtub will do.

While heated water is very therapeutic by itself for relieving muscle tension, creating a soothing atmosphere can enhance relaxation. Bathing by candlelight is especially relaxing, especially if aromatherapy candles are used. Lavender, chamomile, or another essential oil added to the water makes the bath even more relaxing. Enhance the experience by listening to some soothing music or recorded sounds of nature – e.g. sounds of the ocean, rain falling, or waterfalls.

Massage Therapy

Massage it a great way to relieve stress. While getting the knots out of muscles and improving circulation, massage also relieves stress and improves mood. Massage therapy provides touch to the skin, which is an inherent human need and is very therapeutic.

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