Long Term Stress:-

• Headaches
  Long-term stress can contribute to developing muscular tension
  Areas of tension generally are:
  Neck,
  Upper back,
  Jaw,
  Shoulders

This can cause:

• Chronic muscle pain,
• Tension headaches,
• Sleeplessness,
• Irritability
• Chronic fatigue - holding muscles in a tense position is hard work, therefore tiring - this is not Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
• These habits are acquired over many years.
• When we feel under threat, we tense our muscles.
• They react to the alarm signal, which causes our muscles to remain tense.
• With practise, the effect can be reversed.
• The physical effects of relaxation are opposite to those of stress.
• When the body is relaxed you are less likely to feel the effects of stressful situations
• Muscular relaxation is the first intervention we can make.
• Learning To Relax requires discipline and regular practise. Half an hour every day.

At first it may be difficult to relax because of: -

• Worrying about succeeding
• Trying too hard
• Concentration may be a problem
• Worrying that you may fall asleep
• There may be physical sensations, for example tingling, shaking; stomach rumbling is often the first sign of tension.
• You may fear the loss of the control when you relax because of your habits of rigid control of tension.
• It may cause old hurts/ feelings to rise to the surface.
• The more you practise the better you will feel.
• It is up to you to decide how much, or how little tension you are ready to let go of.
• After some practising you will begin to learn the exercises off by heart.
• When this happens you will be able to use the skill to enable you to cope.
• Only using the exercise at home or in the sessions will not be enough!
• You really need to use it prior, during and post any situation you find stressful.

The object of stress management training is to teach you new skills, to reduce harmful stress in your daily life. In other words, you can reduce the effects stress has on your mind and body. You cannot just use these exercises passively - only doing them in the session for example with no extra practice is NOT sufficient. Relaxation is not a quick fix it needs to be learnt and the more you do it the more effective it becomes. You may even reach a stage where you really do not know you are OR were doing it. You may even eventually find people who are surprised at how good you look as relaxation can take years off!

Research has shown that a substantial reduction in stress levels will only occur if you understand the facts about; muscular relaxation, together with other skills taught within a stress management training programme. There are a number of active coping skills to be practised, which can be used, effectively in daily life. The more you know about the stress reaction and stress management training, along with each time you use the exercise will increase the effectiveness of the technique which will increase your willingness to practise, which in turn brings its own rewards! In a sense, stress management training is about giving back the control over your life to you and it helps you to react to certain events in a certain manner. It is not a cure, nor is it psychotherapy. If you need counselling then seek out a qualified counsellor / psychotherapist - a governing body may be able to provide you with names of registered people in your area. People generally will find, that with practise, they are able to use stress management exercises to modify their response to stressful events and situations in their life. These are not cures they are stress effect reduction techniques

When stress management training is used as a coping skill in stressful situations, it not only induces relaxation, it also develops within the individual a feeling of being in control. You will find that you develop feelings and skills for taking the responsibility for managing your own health and life. This will not only lead to greater relaxation and a reduction in stress, but also improved self-esteem. You will feel stronger and possibly able to tackle both stressful events and your own stress response. All the techniques will have some effect even those that you don't think worked, you will be surprised at what you can learn and understand from something that appears not to be helping.

RELAXATION

PHASE 1.

Preventative measure - to protect the body from the effects of stress and tension.

PHASE 2.

Treatment to relieve stress in conditions such as, tension headaches, hypotension etc.

PHASE 3.

Coping skill - to calm the mind and allow thinking to become clearer.

Spontaneous relaxation following muscular tension occurs very slowly - even sleep may not induce total relaxation. This means the body is under continual increasing AND sustained muscular tension. This becomes painful and extremely tiring, holding tense muscles is hard work.

What does this mean?

• Muscular tension can build up over many years, BUT reducing stress can reverse it.
  
• Muscular tension is a relaxation method and coping skill, it requires practice.
  
• Tense muscles can lead to other problems such as faulty breathing patterns, so by learning effective ways of relaxation we can then work on breathing patterns.
  
• Muscular relaxation does not mean that mental relaxation is happening as well. This is another skill.
  
• Muscular relaxation is effective and the result will be one of relaxation and calm.
  
• You will NOT loose consciousness, and it is not a form of hypnosis.
  

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TENSION AND RELAXATION?

TENSION = Muscles contract = Fibres shorten = Muscle = fat

RELAXATION = Muscle returns to resting state = Fibres lengthen

SIMPLE EXERCISE - DO THE BELOW IN THE ORDER LISTED

• Move thumb across the hand towards little finger
  
• With the other hand touch the thumb muscle
  
• Note the size and feel, tense and fat
  
• Keep your thumb and finger in this position for five minutes
  
• After a couple of minutes you will find holding this position painful and hard.
  
• You will want to stop because it is hurting.
  
• Stop after five minutes
  
• Move the thumb back to normal position
  
• Note the relaxed feel, spongy and loose.
  
• Notice the relaxed feel, the release, how good it feels when the pain dissipates as you work to reduce the pain.
  
• Notice what you are doing - opening and closing your hand? This in fact is tensing and releasing your muscles which help remove the lactic acid build up.
  
• Now THINK what this must do to your entire body when ALL your muscles are tense.
  
  

If you did the small exercise above and got to the stage where your thumb and hand hurt. You should have found that the pain and discomfort continued for sometime afterwards. The point of this example is to demonstrate how easy and hard our body works. When we feel stressed we will have tense muscles and at some point those muscles will ache and be painful. Do you remember times when you arrived home from work and needed a good neck/back/shoulder massage etc? This was your early warning signal that something you were experiencing, mentally or physically was causing tense muscles therefore you were experiencing stress. Yet, there comes a time when we ignore the pain, because it has become the norm. This means we become less aware of our body as we actively switch off what it is telling us is wrong. Think of drinking alcohol, some drink until they get drunk, become sick etc, but this does not stop one from going out again and getting drunk. By disregarding what our body is informing us in the early stages, means the body goes through the early warning signs until often it results with a large warning sign, something one cannot hide from or ignore!

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Midi "tears4jn" is used with permission and is copyright © 2001 Bruce DeBoer

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Thank you for your visit - Michelle Pearson.

Email: michellepearson@worldonline .co.uk.