There are a number of CBT techniques that are commonly used to help
people challenge worry including: thought records, thought stopping,
worry time, challenging the value of worry, problem solving, experiments
to increase intolerance of uncertainty and cognitive exposure. Let’s
take a look at them one at a time:
Progressive Muscle Relaxation: When people feel stressed
they usually carry anxiety in their body. We often say that people who
are anxious are tense people. People who are anxious or tense usually
report a variety of aches and pains including headache, sore neck, back,
and shoulders. When you carry anxiety in your body, you feel tense and
sore. Feeling tense and sore creates more stress and anxiety…more fuel
for the negative downward cycles of depression. Fortunately there are
ways in which you can download tension. Box breathing is one way to
reduce anxiety and tension. Progressive muscle relaxation is yet
another.
We often don’t notice the tension we carry. What you do in
practicing progressive muscle relaxation is simple. Try tensing all of
your major muscle groups at once, and then relax. As a result you really
notice the feelings of tension and relaxation. Progressive muscle
relaxation allows you to relax one muscle group at a time. As you do
this you’ll learn to notice which parts of your body are tense, and how
to relax them.
To do progressive muscle relaxation you’ll need a half hour or so. You also need to sit or lie down.
What you’re going to do in progressive muscle
relaxation is tense a muscle group for 10 seconds, and then relax it for
20 seconds. Basically, we’d like you to tense a muscle group and count
to 10, relax and count to 20, then tense the next muscle group. The
trick is to tense up for 10 seconds and then really let go. Don’t relax
the muscle slowly; relax it all at once, so that you can really feel the
muscle go from maximum tension to maximum relaxation.
If you have any kind of muscle or joint problem, take it easy.
Don’t tense too hard. If it hurts, back off a bit. Use common sense and
do not tense any muscle group that causes you pain.
Start with your feet and legs, then your back, chest and stomach,
shoulders, hands and arms, move to your head and then finish with a body
scan. To get the most out of this exercise you’ll need at least half an
hour and a quiet room.
Ashley, Health Educator