Stress Affects Diabetes - By: Brain

Deep Breathing Two to three deep breaths are taken for immediate release of tension. For deepr relaxation, seven to eight breaths are recommended. This is deep, abdominal breathing, and light-headedness can occur if you get up too quickly afterward.

Progressive Relaxation This is a process of contracting and relaxing the muscles, beginning with the toes and moving up to the face. You learn to sense how the muscles feel by contracting the muscles for 10 to 20 seconds and sensing how they feel in that contracted state, then relaxing these same muscles and sensing how they feel in the relaxed state.

Autogenic Therpay The same muscle sequence can be followed as in progressive relaxation. In this approach, you imagine that your muscles are very heavy (relaxed). When the muscles surrounding the blood vessels are relaxed, these muscles become warmer due to unobstructed blood flow. This is a physical, or mechanical, response rather than an imagined response.

Meditation Traditionally, the focus here is a sight or sound. For example, a mantra or other specific sound might be repeated over and over again. Dr. Herbert Benson, associate professor of medicine at Harvard, is a leader in the stress-management field. Dr. Benson has people focus on the repetition of the word one as part of his program involving the "relaxation response." Other people use prayer or a scripture. Still others concentrate on a picture or on a spot on the wall. As relaxation ability improves, the relaxation response can occur within a shorter period of time.

Imagery This technique takes your focus away from your problems. The imaging can take the shape of people, places, or things, or it can involve focusing on bright to calm colors (and back) or bright to calm music (and back). Visualizing an accomplishment, such as climbing a mountain with supportive aid as needed (from family, friends, or spiritual strength), gives an impression of accomplishing a goal and the peace and good feelings that accompany it.

Biofeedback Biofeedback is a technique in which you learn to use information about changes in your body. Relaxation training may be enhanced through biofeedback, such as might be obtained by measuring skin resistance, muscle energy output, or temperature of the hands or feet. The initial use of biofeedback is just to let you know how you are responding to changes in thought or position. Later on, it aids in training you to become more relaxed by letting you know which types of activities represent your "getting out of the way of yourself" so that your body automatically relaxes. The key is not to try. (Remember what happens when you try to go to sleep? You are more wide awake. Similarly, if you try to relax, you will become more tense.) Instead, allow yourself to become relaxed by focusing your thoughts away from the hectic problems of the day.

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