Deep Breathing Relaxation and Guided Imagery For Phobias

Deep breathing is a simple, but very effective, method of relaxation. It is a core component of everything from the "take ten deep breaths" approach to calming someone down, right through to yoga relaxation and Zen meditation.

It works well in conjunction with other relaxation techniques such as Progressive Muscular Relaxation, relaxation imagery and meditation to reduce stress. By concentrating on our breathing, deep breathing allows the rest of our body to relax itself. Deep breathing is a great way to relax the body and get everything into synchrony.

Relaxation breathing is an important part of yoga and martial arts for this reason.

1. Lie on your back.

2. Slowly relax your body. You can use the progressive relaxation technique we described above.

3. Begin to inhale slowly through your nose if possible. Fill the lower part of your chest first, then the middle and top part of your chest and lungs. Be sure to do this slowly, over 8-10 seconds.

4. Hold your breath for a second or two.

5. Then quietly and easily relax and let the air out.

6. Wait a few seconds and repeat this cycle.

7. If you find yourself getting dizzy, then you are overdoing it. Slow down.

8. You can also imagine yourself in a peaceful situation such as on a warm, gentle ocean. Imagine that you rise on the gentle swells of the water as you inhale and sink down into the waves as you exhale.

9. You can continue this breathing technique for as long as you like until you fall asleep or being to feel relaxed.

GUIDED IMAGERY

In this technique, the goal is to visualize yourself in a peaceful setting.

1. Lie on your back with your eyes closed.

2. Imagine yourself in a favorite, peaceful place. The place may be on a sunny beach with the ocean breezes caressing you, swinging in a hammock in the mountains or in your own backyard. Any place that you find peaceful and relaxing is OK.

3. Imagine you are there. See and feel your surroundings, hear the peaceful sounds, smell the flowers or the barbecue feel the warmth of the sun and any other sensations that you find. Relax and enjoy it.

4. You can return to this place any night you need to. As you use this place more and more you will find it easier to fall asleep as this imagery becomes a sleep conditioner.

5. Some patients find it useful to visualize something boring. This may be a particularly boring teacher or lecturer, co-worker or friend.

We thought it might be nice to give you some general information about spiders to help you on your way toward conquering your fear of them. We've said before that experts believe the more you know about what you fear, the better you'll be able to cope with that fear.

Reference : articlesphere.com
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Manage Your Stress in Moments

Commuting. Living in a city. Relationships. Parenting. Work (or lack of work). Dealing with a rapidly changing society and its technology. We talk about all of these things causing us "stress". But what is stress?

I use a three-part definition. Stress is when:

* you feel out of control of the situation,
* you have negative feelings about that, and
* it winds you up physically.

Now, immediately that gives us several different possible approaches to dealing with stress. We can work on the control, the negative feelings, or the physical effects.

But why do these situations cause these effects?

Not all that long ago, our ancestors lived in a world where they often faced physical danger. In a dangerous situation it was useful for your body to prepare itself quickly to fight or run away. It still is, in situations like the Australian bushfires, or if your child is trapped under something that you normally couldn't lift.

When you're stressed, your heart beats faster, your blood pressure rises, and blood rushes away from your internal organs and into your arms and legs – up to five times the normal blood flow. Your breathing speeds up, your digestion slows down, and more energy floods into your bloodstream. Your large muscles tense. Your senses become sharper so that you can observe danger, and your memory becomes sharper so that you can learn from the situation. You temporarily become a superhero!

The problem is that we haven't had much time to come up with an alternative system to use when the threat isn't physical, when we're stuck in traffic, or interviewing for a job, or asking someone out, or the kids won't do what they're told. We need to drive in a screw and all we have is a spanner to pound it with. (Or maybe it's a tree branch.)

Not only that, but the stress system is set up for short-term use, to get you out of a bad situation quickly. When there isn't a physical threat, you often can't resolve it quickly. Some life stresses go on for years, and if you keep your body in constant stress mode, it starts to wear out, like your car would if you drove it at top speed all the time.

Your body also becomes overreactive, like soldiers who've been on duty for too long and start to shoot innocent bystanders by mistake because they're just so wound up. This is where a lot of allergies, and even some autoimmune diseases, come from. The body's immune system is worn out and confused by being on standby all the time for some physical threat that never actually happens, and it starts treating things that aren't harmful as if they were.

The good news is that there are some tools and techniques you can use to deal better with stress. The even better news is that they're simple. Right here, right now, I'm going to introduce you to some of them.

The Welcoming Practice

The first technique is called the Welcoming Practice. It's very simple, but very effective. It goes like this:

Whenever, in the course of your life, you become aware of feeling an emotion such as fear, anger or sadness, say, "Welcome, [name of emotion]."


You're not welcoming the circumstances that caused the emotion, or the pain that it brings. But in acknowledging the emotion itself, greeting it as part of you, giving it its name, you diminish its power to hurt you.

saying its name, you shift the location of the activity within your brain and so shift your experience. Negative emotions are handled deep in the brain, in the basic structures that we share with reptiles and fish. They're there to help us protect ourselves in dangerous situations, and because the parts of the brain that handle them are right next to those which control heartbeat, blood pressure and breathing and those that release the chemicals that wind our bodies up, it's easy for them to get us ready quickly to fight or run away.

When we use words for the emotions, though, we're using a specifically human part of the brain that is near the outer surface, and setting up a pathway between the inner brain and the outer brain. That pathway drains off the activity so that you quickly calm down. You'll still feel the emotions a little for a while as the chemicals released into your bloodstream get recycled, but it won't be nearly as strong. This gives you the space to weigh up the situation and make good decisions.

In effect, you are stepping back from the emotion and recognizing it for what it is, and it's like turning off an alarm in your car or house – you look at the situation and decide that you've received the message that there might be something dangerous or harmful here, and that what you're going to do about it is not to freak out but to deal with solving it.

That's useful, because it puts you back in control, and feeling out of control is the first part of the definition of stress. It also defuses the negative emotions to a degree (the second part of the definition), and that starts to calm you down.

Practice welcoming the Big Four (sadness, fear, anger and guilt) in the shower each morning. This develops the habit of the Welcoming Practice.

It's All in the Way You Hold Your Mouse

The technique I want to look at now is an even more powerful calming technique which helps you to get back in control of difficult situations. It does this by "importing" a sense of control from a previous situation.

What you do is settle yourself comfortably, close your eyes, and remember a time when you felt in control, or when you'd just achieved something that you felt good about – when you were calm, on top of things, and felt confident in your own abilities. If you have trouble thinking of a memory like that, you can imagine that you're a character from a book or a movie or a TV show who has been in that kind of situation, and think about what that would feel like. Use all your senses to summon up a really clear, strong memory (or imagined memory): see what you saw, hear what you heard, feel what you felt, even add in smells and tastes if there were any.

Now turn up the intensity of those sights and sounds and feelings as if you were turning up the volume or the brightness on your TV. Count from 1 to 5, and as you do so, turn up the intensity so that by "5" the memory is really bright and clear and loud and firm and strong. And when you've done that, press one of your thumbs to a finger on the same hand (any finger, whichever you want). Press gently but firmly for a few seconds while you think about and re-experience that good memory, and then let go the pressure and the memory and open your eyes.

It's good to practice several times so that you get a really strong association between the finger press and the good feeling. You're using a process called "conditioning" to set up the link between two things that don't have any logical connection, a set of feelings and a finger press. So, from now on, you can use the press of the fingers to bring back the good, positive feelings and the whole mindset associated with those memories.

I read recently about an interesting experiment with mice. The mice were trained to associate feeling safe with hearing a bell. The experimenters then put them under stress and played the bell – and the mice relaxed. It was as if they'd been given antidepressants. The technique I've just outlined works exactly the same way, except you're training yourself. One of my clients calls it "happy hands" because he likes it so much, having the ability to trigger off good feelings for himself whenever he wants.

Now, when you do this in the middle of a situation where you feel stressed, what it does is put you into a state of mind where you feel confident and competent to solve the problem. You're in control of your own feelings, and that helps you to be in more control of the situation.

Give it a try.

What You Look At is What You See

Now I want to talk about what you can do once you have calmed yourself down a little, ways of mentally cutting the situation down to size.

Stress turns on a big spotlight so that you will remember a stressful situation clearly and avoid it in future. Sometimes, though, we're too good at identifying stressful situations. Anything that reminds us of a bad time can get us stressed. If something bad happened on a sunny day, sunny days can start to make us nervous. It's the flip side of the process that lets you use a finger touch to recall a positive mindset. So the first thing we can do about stress is to stop and ask a few simple questions.

Questions like, for example, "Am I reacting to this or to what this reminds me of?" This is a classic one in relationships – something your partner says reminds you of your mother, and straight away all of the stress of that relationship comes crashing into this relationship. And your partner eyes the smoking crater and thinks, "What just happened there?"

So question two is, "How else can I look at this?" I was in Sydney recently, driving through the new harbour tunnel, and I started thinking about how deep we were under the harbour and what would happen if it leaked. And I started to feel a bit nervous (particularly since I wasn't sure I was going to get to the airport in time to catch my plane). What I did was change the frame: "I'm on an adventure." Your body has a hard time telling the difference between nervousness and excitement. Your mind can tell it, "It's excitement. Trust me."

And question three is, "Am I really not in control?" Because if there are things you can do to change the situation, what you have is a challenge, not a stress. And once you have a challenge, you can start to think about what to do next.

Train yourself in finding positive ways to look at situations. As a hypnotherapist, it's part of my job to find positive ways to look at things, because focussing on what is wrong just produces more of it. This is why "trying harder" doesn't work. The more energy you pump into what is wrong, the more power it has over your imagination.

It's like that episode of the TV show Frasier where Frasier was learning to ride a bike. Early on in the process, he runs the bike into a tree. From then on, every time he rides past that place, he's totally focussed on the tree – and inevitably, his front wheel is magnetically drawn to it. If he'd focussed on the path, he would have breezed right past it. It's a mental trick.

In other words: Whether the glass is half full or half empty depends on whether you're emptying it or filling it.

So, in summary: In a situation where you feel threatened or upset, you now have some techniques to calm yourself down, deal with the negative feelings so that they don't get in the way of working out a solution, and re-assess the situation to decide whether you're really threatened or out of control or not. I hope that's helped you and will continue to help you as you engage with the challenges of 21st-century life.

Reference : www.articlesphere.com
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Giving Stress the Boot For Better Health, Wellbeing, and Success

As a business owner, it’s imperative to stay healthy both physically and mentally. If you’re a planner and think ahead, you may have systems in place which can handle your business during your absences. However, illnesses wear away at your vitality and your passion for your business. When that happens, regardless of the systems you have in place, business and profits suffer.

Now we’re not just talking about the costly effects of getting sick - and it is costly. Annually, illness costs US businesses more than 45 billion and that doesn’t take into account your personal costs for medical expenses and time off of work. What may be more insidious are the effects of mental health on your business.

Stress causes us to feel:

• Overwhelmed
• Frustrated
• Ambivalent about our success
• Depressed
• Angry
• Exhausted
• Moody
• Unfocused
• Indecisive
• Anxious
• Burned out

Chronic stress, the type of stress that seems never-ending and inescapable, like the stress of a bad marriage or an extremely taxing job (this type of stress can lead to burnout), is the most insidious of the various types of stress. It is this type of stress causes severe complications, symptoms and conditions including chronic headaches and a decreased immune system.

According to many studies as many as 90% of doctor’s visits are for stress caused symptoms. The good news is that stress, at least the majority of it, can be not just managed but eliminated completely.

If you’re too stressed to enjoy your life and to focus on your business positively and productively then something needs to be done - quickly!

Take Control Over Your Life, Your Health and Your Success

When you take the steps to take care of yourself you’re not only poised for better success and profits, you’re in a better situation to enjoy the fruits of your labor. What good are millions in the bank account if you’re too sick or depressed to enjoy it, right?

The question is, how do you eliminate stress? Here are five steps to get the job done.

Step One - Recognize the cause of your stress. There are a few instances where you feel tremendously stressed - which of these triggers can be eliminated from your life?

For example if you’re stressed by customer service responsibilities the fastest way to eliminate this stress is to outsource the task. If you’re stressed by not having enough money to meet the bills, consider consulting an expert financial advisor or credit counselor. This may not eliminate the stress however it will give you more control over the situation which will go a long way toward reducing your stress.

Step Two - Catch yourself when you’re thinking negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. An easy way to do this is to make a list of the negative thoughts you have regularly, just let go and don’t edit yourself. Write down every negative thought, these are often complaints, which come to mind.

For example, “I’ll never get this done,” or “I’m too busy,” or “I’m always exhausted, sick, angry...” “I’m never going to get this business to the next level,” and so on...

Now taking a look at the negative thoughts in your life, turn them around and make them positive affirmations.

For example, if you’re complaining about never having any energy, change it to say “I’m always awake, alert and alive.” When you feel yourself starting to complain or think or say a negative comment, stop yourself and think or recite your affirmation.

Some experts recommend posting your affirmations where you can see them, say for example your bathroom mirror, and then reciting them several times a day until you have them memorized and/or you’re no longer feeling the negative emotions and can move onto cleaning or eliminating other negative effects on your life.

Step Three - Take better care of yourself. Get better sleep, exercise more and eat a nutritious and life sustaining diet. We’ll talk about all three of these in subsequent chapters however it’s important to know that diet, sleep and exercise all help your body and mind better cope with stress so that even when you are feeling stressed, it doesn’t have the negative effects on your body and mind.

Step Four - Calming rituals. Find your own calming ritual, for example meditation, a candle lit bubble bath, massage, and even aroma therapy (scents like lavender have a proven calming effect).

Step Five - Remember what is good in your life. Regularly making entries into a gratitude journal is a wonderful way to remember all that is good in your life and when you’re able to feel gratitude, suddenly the problems you do have don’t seem as big or important. If journaling isn’t your thing, just try to think of five things you’re grateful for before you go to bed or first thing in the morning before you get up. You can even create a ritual out of it, for example sitting outside on your patio, enjoying your morning cup of joe and saying thanks for all that you have and all that you are.

You don’t have to live with stress and you certainly don’t have to suffer the symptoms and conditions it causes. In addition to managing stress and striving for optimal mental health, it’s important to know that diet, sleep and exercise all play a role in how your body and mind handle stress. The healthier you are the better you’ll manage the stress you have and the happier and more productive you’ll be.

Source :www.articlesphere.com
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Caffeine and Sugar

Caffeine and Sugar: Why These Energy Boosters Are Poor Substitutes for Sleep

When you’re living with less sleep than your body needs to operate, it’s tempting to go the easy route and keep yourself alert with caffeine and sugar. But these quick fixes can make things worse in the long run.

Sugar brings a quick crash
Sugar can give you a temporary energy boost, but when that “high” wears off, you may become even sleepier and slower to react, according to a 2006 study from England’s Loughborough University.

“Sugar is not the best way to stimulate the brain,” says Ralph Downey III, PhD, director of the Loma Linda University Sleep Disorders Center in California. “It doesn’t have the value that caffeine does for the short boost.”

For a boost to get you through the day, you’re better off with a small snack; aim for a combination of protein and carbohydrates, like an apple with peanut butter. But don’t eat too much: A full stomach can make you even more tired.

Caffeine is a sleep stealer
Caffeine—and coffee in particular—poses the opposite problem. Within 15 minutes of drinking a cup, you’ll have the jolt of energy you were looking for. But since caffeine can stay in your system for 12 hours, its effects continue long after your latte is gone.

That’s why experts recommend quitting coffee altogether if you have difficulty sleeping at night, or at least stopping after your morning cup. Soda and chocolate generally contain less caffeine than coffee, but if you are sensitive to even small amounts, they can cause problems—especially in excess or too close to bedtime.

Why These Energy Boosters Are Poor Substitutes for Sleep

Even decaf drinkers should beware: A 2007 Consumer Reports study found that “decaffeinated” coffees sold at several chain restaurants varied widely, containing up to 32 mg of caffeine per cup—about the same amount in 12 ounces of cola. This amount of caffeine won’t keep most people up, but if you are particularly sensitive, two or three cups might.

Still, for some insomniacs, the need for caffeine is so great that they will sacrifice their sleep in order to stay alert during the day—creating a vicious cycle of sleeplessness. Jacqueline Cutler, 49, is one of them: While most coffee drinkers average three cups a day, she drinks six.

Caffeine props her up during the day. Once the coffee starts flowing, “I just go into automatic,” says Cutler, a journalist in suburban New Jersey. “If a story is due or I have to go somewhere, I just do it.” Cutler did make an effort to eliminate coffee from her diet, but she ended up getting headaches.

She now drinks six cups a day and is awake from 2:30 to 5:30 every morning. At this point Cutler may need the help of a doctor—and either temporary medication or cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions—to gradually get better sleep and break her dependence on coffee.

source : http://living.health.com
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