A member of Cambridge University Health Partners Coping with stress
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- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- Guidelines for learning the relaxation response
- The 7:11 breathing pattern - the opposite of hyperventilation
- Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
- Out-of-hours’ service for CPFT service users
- Further help Psychological Wellbeing Service
- First Response Service
Careful motorists reduce wear and tear by checking the oil level and topping up when necessary, using the appropriate gears for the speed they are travelling. They do not race the engine or tear around corners on two wheels, spending most of the time in top gear. Nor do they keep pressing the accelerator when stuck at traffic lights. They notice new squeaks or noises as they arise and will attend to them early on, to avoid possible long term damage or costly major repairs. They keep a close eye on the road to be warned of dangers ahead and enable them to take avoiding action wherever possible. When travelling on unmade roads they drive slowly, avoiding potholes or taking them steadily. They arrange regular services and MOT tests and maintain the car’s insurance. If the handbook calls for 4-star petrol, they do not use 2-star as a false economy. They fill up with petrol before a long journey and arrange regular breaks when the journey is particularly long or arduous. In other words; careful motorists look after their car, gives it the right fuel, ensures regular maintenance and drives it carefully avoiding unnecessary risks. Some people take more care avoiding wear and tear on their cars than on themselves.
When it comes to maintaining your own health do you know what’s right for you and how to do it? We all tend to have quite grand and unspecific intentions, for example, ‘I’ll take up swimming and go every day’. However the first steps might be getting answers to these questions -‘Is there a pool near me that’s open when I could go? Can I afford the admission fee? Can I find my swimming costume – and does it still fit me?’ Concentrate on making your health changes as enjoyable and as convenient as possible. Most of the things we can do to improve our health and generally maintain our bodies in the best working order can be enjoyable in themselves. Healthy eating and moderate exercise can be fun. Try to reduce any health- damaging strategies you use in the short term in an attempt to cope with stress. These unhelpful strategies include smoking, excessive use of alcohol and caffeine and excessive reliance on medication i.e. overuse of tranquillisers. Although these strategies can offer powerful short-term rewards, they also add to the stress and often make it harder for you to address the underlying problem. These strategies can become problems in themselves as they are often hard to give up and may need careful planning. Should you find you need support to do this there is a good deal of help available; the CPFT website or NHS Choices can guide you to find appropriate help. Good things that you may already be doing include avoiding caffeine before you go to bed or deciding in advance how many alcoholic drinks to have. And, of course, deciding to find out more is a positive step forward.
Lifestyle A healthy lifestyle can be achieved through the following: Develop a balanced eating plan • Change harmful habits • Ensure that you have adequate rest • Build your stamina and resistance to stress through physical conditioning. • Learn to relax • Now think about your own lifestyle: You can now think about combining the issue of balancing competing tasks, which was discussed earlier, with what you now know about taking care of yourself. What you are now looking to do is make sure you are giving yourself the appropriate amount of time to relax, take regular exercise, and prepare healthy meals that give you a balanced diet.
Balanced eating plan Change harmful habits Adequate rest Physical conditioning Relax
23 In the box below make a note of some things you feel would be beneficial for you to do, if you had the time mentioned in each heading. Remember to think about each heading in terms of relaxation, developing and maintaining your social support network, taking regular exercise, and eating well. Relaxation Relaxation is a very important stress management technique. Physical symptoms, such as headaches, backache and high blood pressure, tend to respond best to the following: Muscle relaxation exercises • Yoga • Massaging • Breathing exercises • Aerobics
• Psychological symptoms, such as lack of concentration, worrying, etc, may respond well to: Breathing exercises with visualising • Muscle relaxation exercises • Meditation/prayer • Yoga
• Activities that require concentration – e.g. chess, jigsaws, Sudoku, • colouring, reading, painting Physical activities that require concentration – eg, sport, dancing, walking, • etc. If I had ten minutes for myself I would… • If I had half an hour to myself I would… • If I had one hour to myself I would… • If I had half a day to myself I would… • 24 Below are descriptions of four different methods of relaxation. Why not give them a try and see which one works best for you? You may find that relaxation is difficult at first. You may not find it easy to relax your muscles, or you may have trouble concentrating on relaxing. This is why it is important to practice relaxation techniques – it takes time and practice to be able to relax effectively. If you practice twice a day you will start to notice that it becomes easier to relax, and that you can become more relaxed more quickly. When you feel ready, you can reduce the amount of time you spend practising and use your skills whenever you feel you need them
Applied relaxation is something to do be done when you are alone and when you are not expecting any interruptions. Sit or lie down in a comfortable place (e.g. a bed or the sofa). It will be helpful if the room is relaxing – warm and pleasantly lit. If you find a piece of favourite music soothing, use it as a soft background to your relaxation. If too much silence puts you on edge, leave the radio on at a low volume – preferably to a music station. Try to adopt a ‘passive attitude’, which means not worrying about your performance or whether you are successfully relaxing. Just ‘have a go’ and let it happen. Remove your shoes and loosen tight clothing. Start by taking a couple of deep breaths. Allow yourself to be still for a few minutes to help you get in the right frame of mind and allow yourself to start to unwind. Focus on your breathing, and let your muscles slowly start to relax. Focus your attention on your hands and arms. Tighten the muscles in this area; notice what it feels like when these muscles are tight and tense. Hold this for about 10 seconds. Then relax the muscles in your hands and arms – let the muscles become floppy and limp. Concentrate on the changes in sensation in your muscles from the tense state to the relaxed state. Focus on the feelings of relaxation in your hand and arm. Then move on to other muscles groups. Tighten and release each of these groups of muscles, one at a time: Feet, calves, thighs • Buttocks, stomach, back • Shoulder, neck • Jaw, eyes, scalp • 25 Once you have gone through each of the muscle groups, tensing and relaxing, turn your attention back to your breathing. Focus on filling your lungs and letting the air out through your mouth as slowly as you can. Continue to breathe slowly and regularly and notice the rhythm – like wavelets, running onto and receding from a beach. While you are lying quietly, focus again on your body. Go through the muscle groups and check to see if your muscles have remained relaxed. It is not unusual for some muscles to have tensed up while you have been relaxing others. If you notice any tension at all, focus on relaxing that area. Let the muscles go loose and limp. When you are satisfied that you are physically relaxed and that your breathing is deep and regular, let your feelings of relaxation continue to deepen. There is no hurry – just enjoy the comfort. Sometimes people can use this time to imagine an imaginary scene in their mind; one in which they are completely calm, content, and relaxed. Pay great attention to detail, using all of your senses focusing on what can you: see; hear; smell; feel; taste. When you are ready to stop practising, count backwards from 5 to 0, and then open your eyes. Take a deep breath, stretch, and get up very slowly. Take your time and notice how relaxed you feel.
This simple method of relaxation was devised by an American doctor called Herbert Benson. It is based on research that examined the key factors in a variety of western and eastern forms of relaxation and meditation. The research identified four key factors that reduce the physiological response in the body. These are: Being in a quiet place • Using a word or short phrase which should be repeated over and over • again
Adopting a passive attitude – just letting it happen rather than striving to • relax Being in a comfortable position •
Prepare to relax Make sure that you will be warm enough. Sit quietly in a comfortable • position. Close your eyes.Think about letting go of the tension in all of your • muscles.. Keep the muscles loose. •
Focus on your breathing Breathe through your nose. As you breathe out say the word ‘one’ silently • to yourself (or another word, such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’, or easy). Breathe easily and naturally. •
Do not worry about if you are not good at reaching a deep level of • relaxation. Keep a passive attitude and allow relaxation to happen at its own pace. •
Distracting thoughts will probably occur. Do not dwell on these. • If you start to feel a little dizzy or breathless this will be caused by • overbreathing because you are feeling anxious about doing it right. Just breathe out when your body naturally wants to and concentrate on saying your word. If you notice a slight tension in your ‘favourite spot’ – your jaws, neck or • scalp – this will be because you are trying too hard. Just let go – this type of relaxation comes when you are not thinking about it. Bring your relaxation to an end You may open your eyes to check the time but do not use an alarm, which • will make you tense up again. When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes, at first with your eyes • closed and later with your eyes open. Then stand up slowly. The relaxation response can be adapted to many everyday settings when it’s not convenient to sit down and close your eyes. All the variations involve natural breathing and repetition of a word or counting to still the mind and relax the body. Think of times in your life when you could put into practice adapted versions of this technique. For example: Waiting for trains buses and other people. • In a lift. • While waiting for the safety release on a washing machine •
Visualisation Positive mental relaxation involves looking at, or ‘picturing in your imagination’, something that makes you feel good. You could choose to visualise a place, person, object or event that makes you feel good. You may prefer, or find it easier, to look at a photograph or hold an object. Eventually being able to ‘see it in your minds eye’ enables you to use this relaxation technique wherever you are, including using it when you want to get to sleep, when you will certainly need to have your eyes shut! As you go through this relaxation, if you are aware of your breathing, pay attention to breathing out smoothly and slowly. As you breathe out, let yourself go so that you enter into the visualisation more vividly.
Now ‘see’ the object as clearly as you can. Look carefully at its shape...what details can you see? What colour is it? Is it big enough for you to hold? If so, imagine yourself holding it in your hands or arms...How heavy is it?...Touch its surface...what does it feel like?...Does it have a smell?...If so what is it like?... Now that you have a clear picture of it, what does it remind you of? How did you get this object? When did you first see it? Is it linked to a special event? Recall this time in as much detail as you wish. What emotions does this bring back? How does it make you feel? Stay with the good feelings for a few minutes. Hold on to the good feelings that are linked with this object and bring them back with you as you finish your recovery period of relaxation. Visualising an event Choose an event that you were proud of being involved in, or that was highly enjoyable or worthwhile. Pretend that you have a videotape of this event and play the video in your minds eye. Remember, you are in control of the videotape and can turn it off if you want to. Perhaps you want to watch it as an observer to begin with or you may find that you recall it so vividly that you can see yourself involved in what is going on. What was the event? Where did it take place? Who was there? What happened? Recall the sights and the sounds. How does this make you feel? Stay with the good times and the feelings for few minutes. When the feelings and thoughts have refreshed you – hold on to the good feelings that are linked with this event and bring them back with you as you finish your period of relaxation.
Coming out of relaxation Take your time coming out of the relaxation • Open your eyes... collect your thoughts and stretch you body • Get up slowly to avoid feeling giddy or odd. If you have been lying down, • roll onto one side and gradually sit up before standing. Many people enjoy being able to visualise a variety of objects, places, people and events. We hope you will experiment to find out what suits you. Other people stick to one image so that, with practice, the picture springs instantly to mind. T his provides a fast escape route when you are feeling harassed. The 7:11 breathing pattern - the opposite of hyperventilation The important thing here is that the out-breath must be longer that the in-breath. This causes stimulation of the part of your nervous system responsible for relaxation. This is a basic law of biology and if you breathe in this way then your body will have no choice but to relax. It may take a few minutes but the body will respond regardless of what your mind is thinking. Experience this now. Sit down and close your eyes for a little while. Just become aware of your breathing and breathe in to the count of seven and breathe out to the count of eleven. You can hold for a couple of seconds at the bottom of the out breath if that’s comfortable for you. It may be a little difficult at first, but doing this regularly causes your general anxiety level to come down. You may also find that you begin to breathe this way automatically if you feel anxious. Regular relaxation actually starts to inhibit the production of stress hormones in the body so it actually becomes harder and harder to panic. As you become more generally relaxed the ‘baseline’ of arousal from which you are starting lowers. It actually becomes harder to get stressed! Hyperventilation responds very well to this technique. If you practice this daily, hyperventilating should cease to be a problem very quickly. It can also give you much more control over anxiety/panic attacks which contribute to you feeling stressed. Here is how you do it, and it is as easy as it sounds: 1. Breathe in for a count of 7 2. Then breathe out for a count of 11
breathing’ (your diaphragm moves down and pushes your stomach out as you take in a breath) rather than shallower higher lung breathing. If you find that it’s difficult to lengthen your breaths to a count of 7/11 then reduce the count to breathing in for 3/5, or whatever suits you best, as long as the out-breath is longer than the in-breath. Continue in this way for 5-10 minutes or longer if you have time – and enjoy the calming effect it will have on your mind and body
Try all the different methods of relaxation and decide which one works best for you. It is possible that there are times of day or circumstances that lend themselves to one method over another. So try them all and discover which you are most com- fortable with.
Section C: Summary Hopefully by now you will have had the chance to practice some of the techniques in this manual. If you have not started to see results immediately don’t worry, remember it takes time and practice to deal with your stress. You are now aware of the life-style changes that can be made as well as having some methods of relaxation. Once you have had the chance to work on the techniques for a few weeks you should have a good idea of which one works best for you. Remember the more you practice the better you get. We looked at the reasons for being assertive and the benefits that can be gained from them. We identified how time management, through prioritising tasks and learning to delegate appropriately, can be used to reduce stress. Then the manual addressed your self-esteem in relation to your self-image and how this is important for building a network of friends. We hope this manual has been useful and that you have been able to apply these practical solutions to your every day life and combine them with the relaxation techniques. You can find out more information about stress and anxiety on other websites by searching the CPFT website www.cpft.nhs.uk or NHS Choices. 31 Recording day-to-day problems Date:
Time: What happened? How did I ‘see’ it? How did I feel? What physical symptoms of the stress response did I have? Stress score out of 10 for this problem: Date:
Time: What happened? How did I ‘see’ it? How did I feel? What physical symptoms of the stress response did I have? Stress score out of 10 for this problem:
Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) If you have any concerns about any of CPFT's services, or would like more information please contact: Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on freephone 0800 376 0775 or e-mail pals@cpft.nhs.uk
Contact Lifeline on 0808 808 2121 7pm-11pm 365 days a year Leaflet updated August 2017 Leaflet review date: August 2018 en Elizabeth House, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge CB21 5EF. q 01223 219400 c 01480 398501 ïïïKÅéÑíKåÜëKìâ Further help Psychological Wellbeing Service If you are registered with a GP in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Wansford or Oundle, you can access the Psychological Wellbeing Service via self-referral or through your GP. Call 0300 300 0055. Lines are open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays. it offers a range of support to help you make changes in your life to improve your wellbeing and to help you cope with stress, anxiety and depression. This includes self-help reading materials, guided self-help (both over the telephone and face-to-face), one-to-one therapies.
If you or a loved one is in mental health crisis, you can call our 24-hour First Response Service on 111 (option 2). This service is for anyone, of any age, living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Specially-trained mental health staff will speak to you and discuss with you your mental health care needs
www.mind.org.uk/Stress Urgent Care Cambridgeshire Dial 111
NHS Choices http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/pages/understanding-stress.aspx Yüklə 2,06 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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