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Relaxation therapy, the application of relaxation techniques, can be applied in various settings to complement treatment for stress, anxiety, depression, and pain. It addresses both psychological and physiological effects of stress such as increased heart rate, sweating, and muscle tension. [ 2 ]
Relaxation techniques are often used as mood-repair strategies to help an individual achieve a level of calm and reduce the stress or tension that can come from negative moods. These techniques are often very methodical in their approach and can be actively engaged by willing participants who are aware of how to enact them. [10]
It also involves relaxation exercises that, in concert with the breathing technique, have been purported to aid depression and anxiety. Developed at Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire , England , the method seeks to control "over-breathing" (rapid shallow breaths taken at the top of the chest) that are usually associated with persons under ...
Yoga as therapy is the use of yoga as exercise, consisting mainly of postures called asanas, as a gentle form of exercise and relaxation applied specifically with the intention of improving health. This form of yoga is widely practised in classes, and may involve meditation , imagery, breath work (pranayama) and calming music as well as ...
There are several exercises designed to develop mindfulness meditation, which may be aided by guided meditations "to get the hang of it". [9] [70] [note 3] As forms of self-observation and interoception, these methods increase awareness of the body, so they are usually beneficial to people with low self-awareness or low awareness of their bodies or emotional state.
Autogenic training is a relaxation technique first published by the German psychiatrist Johannes Heinrich Schultz in 1932. The technique involves repetitions of a set of visualisations accompanied by vocal suggestions that induce a state of relaxation and is based on passive concentration of bodily perceptions like heaviness and warmth of limbs, which are facilitated by self-suggestions.
Relaxation may help reduce insomnia in those who have sleeping disorders. Those with insomnia may even give up sleeping aids just by practicing relaxation techniques. [47] Avoiding unnecessary medication or sleep aids may help health. Even though relaxation cannot get rid of chronic diseases, it may help dull of the symptoms one may have.
Systematic desensitization (a guided reduction in fear, anxiety, or aversion [10]) can then be achieved by gradually approaching the feared stimulus while maintaining relaxation. Desensitization works best when individuals are directly exposed to the stimuli and situations they fear, so anxiety-evoking stimuli are paired with inhibitory responses.