Relaxation techniques that counter the stress response

You've probably heard of the stories of little old ladies lifting cars off other people, or a number of other stories of amazing strength in times of stress.

Any time that you are stressed you can activate the stress response - which releases adrenaline and other stress hormones - which can prepare your body for fight or flight.

It easy to see that the stress response serves an important role today and in our past.

For example, the stress response allowed the caveman to fight or flee from the saber tooth tiger and to live another day.

However, most of the pressures that face us today are not so life threatening.

According to a national poll of Americans, the major causes of stress are financial conce
s, increasing family responsibilities and work stress.

These types of stressors can occur on a daily basis - yet these stressors still have the same effect as they did on our ancestors. In short, these stressors activate our fight or flight response.

However, it would be pretty silly to fight or flee from a financial conce
or family responsibilities. In fact the fight or flight option may not be the best alte
ative to many of the emotional stressors that occur today - which often require complex decision-making and negotiation.

So while we may adapt to increasing demands and responsibilities - we may in fact just be living with an unhealthy amount of stress in our life.

Because fighting of fleeing from the cause of stress is generally not the thing to do in today's world of modern stressors - we may be left with increasing muscle tension and accumulated stress hormones in the body.

This increased muscle tension and inability to deal with stress effectively can lead to exhaustion, fatigue and many other stress related health issues.

A question arises - what can we do in the face of this unrelenting stress?

Now there are many stress management strategies that you can incorporate, from various skills for coping with stress, environmental planning and relaxation strategies.

It is the latter that I will write about today.

Relaxation techniques can help you to short-circuit the stress response. They give your body a chance to rest and recuperate.

Now I am not talking about watching TV or browsing the Internet to relax - although these may be welcome distractions in the short-term they don't fundamentally counter stress.

Relaxation techniques such as meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training, and breathing exercises can give you sustained relief from stress.

These relaxation techniques activate the relaxation response.

Each time you get stressed your body goes through a set of responses - known as the stress response.

Simplistically this is a set of sympathetic nervous system responses that prepare your body to fight or flee from the cause of stress.

However, relaxation techniques such as meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training and breathing exercises turn on the relaxation response.

The relaxation response are basically a set of parasympathetic system responses - the direct opposite of the stress response.

So relaxation strategies short-circuit your body's stress response. They use your body's natural mechanisms to bring your body back to homeostasis.

Do you remember learning to cycle or drive? These are skills that required practice before mastering.

Well it is the same with relaxation techniques - these are a set of skills that with more practice you will master.

So try not to put off relaxation strategies until you are stressed to the eyeballs and pulled in many directions.

Start today and develop your relaxation skills. Find out what works for you.

I have had clients who take to meditation like a duck to water, while others can't seem to concentrate or sit still long enough. They tend to prefer more physical relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation or autogenic training.

By making relaxation a daily habit, and finding out what works for you is a good way to build confidence in your stress management skills and to take control of stress in your life.