Emergency Stress Relief: A Psychotherapist's Secret to Effective Relaxation

Why Stress Isn’t Always Bad

Stress, often perceived negatively, is actually our body’s way of adapting to new situations. However, when stress becomes overwhelming, our bodies struggle to process it, leading to exhaustion. Even after the stressor is gone, our bodies can remain in a heightened state of alert, making it difficult to relax after a tough day at work or a disagreement with a loved one. The good news is that we can help our bodies exit this state of stress. Roman Lukyanuk, a psychotherapist, shares how.

Understanding Stress

From a biological perspective, stress is an adaptive response that helps our bodies cope with unusual, extreme, or emergency situations. The primary goal of stress is adaptation, achieved by mobilizing the body’s energy reserves through the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, various organs, and hormones.

In medicine and psychology, stress is categorized into two types: eustress and distress.

Eustress (from the Greek ‘eu’ meaning ‘good’ or ‘true’): This is beneficial stress that enhances the body’s functional reserves, aids adaptation to stressors, and ultimately eliminates the stress itself.
Distress (from the English ‘distress’ meaning ‘grief‘, ‘suffering’, or ‘severe discomfort’): This is harmful stress that depletes the body’s defensive forces, leading to a breakdown in adaptive mechanisms and potentially resulting in various diseases, even death. In simpler terms, distress is a state where an individual loses the ability to adapt to their environment, making it detrimental to health.

Stages of Stress

Stress progresses through three stages:

Alarm Reaction: The body becomes activated and tense. The sympathetic nervous system triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response, releasing adrenaline and cortisol. This stage is characterized by anxiety and physical tension.
Resistance: The body continues to resist the stressor by maintaining a state of mobilization. While physical tension increases, the initial anxiety typically subsides. If the body cannot cope with the stress or its resources are depleted, it moves to the next stage.
Exhaustion: Anxiety returns, but the physical strength to combat stress is depleted due to exhausted resources. This stage is dangerous and often requires professional help, such as consulting a psychotherapist.

Self-Help Techniques to Prevent Exhaustion

We can effectively help our bodies during the resistance stage. Often, our bodies maintain this stage for prolonged periods, even when there’s no objective reason to do so. Various relaxation techniques can help the body take a ‘break’ and rest. These include relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, meditation, and more.

One such technique is progressive neuromuscular relaxation, which has a significant relaxing effect on the body. It reduces adrenaline and cortisol levels and activates the parasympathetic nervous system.

Neuromuscular Relaxation Technique

Follow these steps for effective relaxation:

Sit or lie down, relax, and focus on your breathing.
Mentally scan through each muscle group in order: feet, calves, thighs, lower back, shoulder blades, shoulders, forearms, hands, neck, back of the head, forehead, eyebrows, nose, cheeks, lips, and chin.
Tense each muscle group for 10-15 seconds, repeating each group 2-4 times with maximum effort. For example:
- Pull your toes towards you, then push them away.
- Bring your left knee to your chest, then your right knee.
- Press your lower back to the floor.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together and press them to the floor.
- Clench your fists, raise them to your shoulders, and lift your shoulders to your ears.
- Press the back of your head to the floor.
- Frown your eyebrows, nose, and lips.
- Raise your eyebrows and stretch your lips into a smile.
Rest for 40-60 seconds, observing your body.
Tense all muscle groups for 40-60 seconds.
Focus on the feeling of relaxation.

Remember, this method is a form of ‘first aid’ and does not replace professional psychological help. Stress is an integral part of our lives, and our ability to manage it affects our overall quality of life, physical, and psychological health.

If you find it challenging to cope with daily events, do not hesitate to seek professional help.

For more information, you can refer to American Psychological Association.