Often, stress and anxiety interfere with our daily activities. In the article you can find some techniques to break the cycle of anxiety and restore calm.The relaxation techniques are very effective in regulating activities and manage the status of anxiety and stress. The goal is to relieve tension and restore psychophysical balance.
Before taking any action, however, it is of fundamental importance to ask yourself a few questions : when do I feel tense? What physical sensations do I experience? What emotions are associated with it? In what situations does this happen to me? It might be very good to write down these reflections, writing is a good way to become aware of yourself.
The next step is to pay attention to one’s breath . Breathing is key, and a single long, deep breath can sometimes interrupt that vicious cycle of anxiety and agitation characterized by short, fast, shallow breath.
The questions to ask are: how do I breathe? Do I forget to breathe? During the day, on what occasions do I hold my breath?
The “correct” breathing is the diaphragmatic one , simply called “belly” . If you have seen small children on the beach, for example, you will have seen how their bellies swell and deflate at their breathing rate: no other part of the body is involved in this activity. That way of breathing is the correct way, before anxieties and emotional blocks interfere with our natural rhythm. To get back to breathing like this, I wrote aballoon exercise article which will facilitate this step.
Once good breathing is restored, it is helpful to associate a word that evokes a state of calm and mentally repeat it while breathing. I also usually recommend listening to relaxing music with sounds of nature. It is also important to associate this step with a reassuring gesture, a routine, a simple ritual (for example, massage the base of your neck, caress your nose, etc …). Initially repeat it at regular intervals throughout the day to create a conditioning, then you can use it as needed.
When anxiety and stress are particularly strong, together with these two simple but effective activities you can associate mental actions that activate the pre frontal cortex (seat of rationality) which serves to break the cycle of anxiety: make a shopping list, describe how you are dress, describe the room briefly.
These activities are very useful done alone but their power is multiplied in the group paths in which sharing and comparison strengthen the underlying processes: for these reasons I lead relaxation groups in which the psychological processing of personal experiences goes hand in hand. with the construction of a group identity.
