Relaxation (psychology)

In psychology, relaxation is the emotional state of low tension, in which there is an absence of arousal, particularly from negative sources such as anger, anxiety, or fear. Relaxation is a form of mild ecstasy coming from the frontal lobe of the brain in which the backward cortex sends signals to the frontal cortex via a mild sedative. Relaxation can be achieved through meditation, autogenics, breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation and other means. Relaxation helps improve coping with stress. Stress is the leading cause of mental and physical problems, therefore feeling relaxed is often beneficial for a person's health. When a person is highly stressed, the sympathetic nervous system is activated because one is in a fight-or-flight response mode; over time, this could have negative effects on a human body.

History The idea of relaxation in psychology was popularized by Dr. Edmund Jacobson in his published book Progressive Relaxation (1929). It was a technical book intended for doctors and scientists. His book describes tensing and relaxing specific muscles at a time to achieve overall relaxation in the body. Jacobson then published another book called You Must Relax published in 1934 that was geared towards the general public. According to Jacobson, his research started in 1908 at Harvard University, and later moving on to Cornell and University of Chicago. His research was aimed at improving the general human well-being.

In 1932, Johannes Schultz and Wolfgang Luthe developed a method of relaxation that emphasized using the power of suggestion, called autogenic training. In 1975, Herbert Benson and Mirium Z. Klipper published a book called The Relaxation Response, which gives instructions on tying meditation techniques into daily activities the average person could do.

Techniques

Although stress levels vary across society, the fact remains that stress can be detrimental to one's health. In order to combat this stress, there have been a variety of methods developed that have been proven to reduce stress and its consequences in everyday life. The majority of techniques can be classified into either physical, mental or therapeutic techniques.

Physical Breathing techniques are one of the easiest ways to reduce stress. They require little effort and can be done anywhere at any time. Proper breathing techniques that incorporate deep abdominal breathing have been shown to reduce the physical symptoms of depression, anxiety and hypertension as well as everyday emotional symptoms of anger and nervousness. A study found cyclic sighing to be effective in reducing anxiety, negative mood and stress, and more so than equivalent-duration mindfulness meditation. These 5-min breathwork exercises consist of deep breaths followed by extended, relatively longer exhales. Progressive muscle relaxation is a technique wherein people focus on flexing and holding a certain set of muscles and then slowly relaxing them and focusing attention on a group of muscles. Gradually, from top to bottom, one might feel a deep sense of relaxation. Progressive muscle relaxation is a somewhat adapted version of the Jacobsonian Relaxation Technique developed in the 1920s. Progressive muscle relaxation is currently used in clinical and non-clinical settings to reduce the effects of anxiety and sleeplessness brought upon by stress.

Mental Meditation has long been practiced around the world, but has only become commonplace relatively recently in North America. Studies suggest that in addition to reducing physiological and psychological stresses placed on a body, people who practice meditation have fewer doctor visits for physical or psychological illnesses. Hypnosis relaxation therapy has recently become another technique used among healthcare professionals to promote relaxation. When performed correctly, it puts a person into a state of deep relaxation and high vulnerability to suggestions made by the hypnotist. In addition to relaxation, hypnosis therapy is used to treat a variety of conditions. Hypnosis is promoted by the Mayo Clinic for conditions such as smoking addiction, pain, obesity, chemotherapy reaction, asthma, and allergies. Many relaxation techniques, including physical ones, involve sustaining a passive simple focus.

Therapeutic Relaxation techniques used in therapy by a certified counselor or therapist could include any of the previous techniques discussed. Professionals in the fields of psychology or counseling can administer a variety of these techniques. If they feel it is appropriate they may prescribe medication to assist the patient with relaxation. Although a number of these techniques are simple and can be performed on one's own time, patients may receive better results if they are guided by a professional who is very familiar with the techniques. A common example of this guided imagery. Guided imagery includes focusing on a positive mental image or scene. It may also be known as visualization or guided meditation. One could either visualize peaceful or pleasant; it all depends on personal preference. Medical News Today indicates that guided imagery relieves pain, alleviates stress, reduces anxiety, decreases depressive symptoms, and improves sleep quality. This is commonly practiced at hospitals with the guidance needed, but there is also a way to do this at home. Multiple videos or audio are out there to help guide when lacking a guide. For example, the National Health Service (NHS) provides information about guided imagery and links audio with someone guiding the process. Additionally, they recommend doing the exercises anywhere from 15-30 minutes, practicing in an uninterrupted setting, and that for the first two weeks, practice it twice a day until you and your mind master it.

Meditation Herbert Benson, a professor at the medical school at Harvard University, has proposed in his book The Relaxation Response a mechanism of the body that counters the fight-or-flight response. The relaxation response reduces the body's metabolism, heart and breathing rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and calms brain activity. It increases the immune response, helps attention and decision making, and changes gene activities that are the opposite of those associated stress. The relaxation response is achieved through meditation. Benson's meditation technique involves these four steps:

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