Progressive Muscle Relaxation Techniques - Term Paper Example

Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique Grade 29th February Progressive Muscle Relaxation Introduction Human bodies are designed to experience stress and respond to it. Sometimes stress can be positive, making our bodies alert and prepared to avoid danger. However, it becomes negative when the victim faces incessant challenges without relaxation, or relief between challenges. This results into a feeling of being overworked and building up of stress related tension. A continuous stress without reprieve leads to distress, which in turn leads to physical symptoms such as elevated blood pressure, headaches, chest pains, stomach upset and sleeping problems. Headaches are brought about by diversion of the blood from other body organs to vital organs such as the brain and heart. When somebody is stressed, the rate in which the heart pumps the blood increases with increase in respiratory rate, as a way of trying to get more oxygen. When this continues for a long period of time, the body releases stress hormones that lead to increased blood pressure. The situation can also lead to irreversible physiological brain damage. To overcome the effects of stress, people can use progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), a technique that helps to reduce anxiety through relaxing and tensing of muscles. According to Dr. Edmund Jacobson (1939), a stressed person gains a deep relaxation by releasing and tensing various groups of muscles. Many of the symptoms such as headaches, tightness around the eyes, tightness in the jaw, backaches, insomnia, high blood pressure, and spasms respond effectively to progressive muscle relaxation. Progressive muscle relaxation involves a succession of relaxing and tensing of sixteen different muscle groups. The idea is to tense the muscle groups in a hard way, that forces one to strain for about 10 seconds, and then allow the body to relax for about 15 to 20 minutes. Research When people are stressed, their bodies are engaged in flight or fight response, changes that occur in the body in preparation for fighting or running. A 300 – 400 % increase in the amount of blood pumped to the muscles and increased rate of breathing raises cholesterol levels, leading to disturbance of intestinal activities and depression of the immune system. Humans also possess relaxation response which is the opposite of flight or fight response. According to Herbert Benson, a Harvard cardiologist, relaxation responses are the changes that occur to the body when it is in deep relaxation state. This brings a feeling of calmness and control, and hence effective for countering ill effects of flight or fight response, as well as developing superior state of alertness. From the previous clinical studies done by scientists, relaxation reduces the perception of pain. A clinical study done among patients undergoing colorectal surgery proved this statement correct. The patients who listened to imagery tapes before the operation were recorded to have less painful operations and to require little pain medication as compared to the ones who did not (Scheufele, 2000). Results from another study showed that, relaxation stimulated fast response of the immune system. Some practices like visualization, progressive relations, and deep breathing proved to enhance the immune response in breast cancer patients. Relaxation techniques can be used to enhance coping skills to migraine sufferers, to reduce stress, and to improve the mood of cancer victims. A study done in year 2000 from the Journal of Behavioral Medicine revealed that, progressive relaxation reduces stress at a very high percentage. The researcher in the studies used a group of 67 volunteers who were exposed to stressful situations. The group was to practice progressive muscle relaxation through the use of music therapy. From the results obtained; the members of progressive muscle relaxation group had an experience of greater relaxation than the other groups. The study also indicated that progressive relaxation helps in soothing stress through the reduction of ‘cortisol’ levels. ‘Cortisal’ is a hormone released by the human body, to respond to any stress detected (Pawlow and Jones, 2002). In year 2003, a study from the journal of psycho oncology indicated that, progressive muscle relaxation helped to improve the quality of life and to relieve anxiety among 29 patients of colorectal cancer, who had freshly undergone a medical surgery (Cheung and Molassiotis, 2003). This was an indicator that the technique could be used to reduce stress, and to reduce the anxiety among patients undergoing surgery. All this is further stressed by a study done in year 2006 and published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. The study showed that, progressive relaxation reduced blood pressure among patients with heart diseases and also improved quality of life. Types of Stressors and Appraisal Stressors are things that cause anxiety and stress in life. I, in several cases, experience physical stressors which may be brought by physical and internal symptoms like headaches; stomach upsets as well as external stressors like excessive noise, cold and heat. Familial stressors which arise from relationship issues with spouses, children and parents are also very common in life and are predictable. Problems in families call for resources like money and time, and require immediate attention. Such problems are mostly evident in my academic life, where I have to concentrate fully in my career and at the same time look for extra money for sustenance while at the same time dealing with relationship issues. This stressors lead to poor performance in class, hence bringing the need to eliminate them, as they are a threat to my academic life. Sometimes, spiritual stressors result to stress when basic spiritual beliefs and values are formulated, disregarded or called into question. These occur when time constraints obstruct on spiritual growth or service attendance. Such stressors are not predictable, a situation that makes it difficult for them to be dealt away with. Neglecting spiritual needs accumulates higher levels of impairment and stress. I however, consider this as a challenge and as a situation that is of benefit to my spiritual life. Reactions to Stress (Psychological Physical Emotional reactions) Psychological stressors are also common and they are brought about by time pressures or expectations that are not realistic in our lives. While some are brought by others, others are caused by our own selves. Things like being perfect, knowing everything or expressing ones feelings at all cost, result into psychological stress in our lives. Some people believe in irrational beliefs such as doctors not getting sick with ailments such as depression, anxiety or psychiatric disorders (Barlow, 2002). They are not aware that, time and fatigue demands can lead to substance abuse and depression. In my day to day life, there are times I experience physical reactions which are brought by physical symptoms like headaches, stomach upsets as well as external stressors like excessive noise, cold and heat. These reactions result into lack of good concentration, not just in class but also in other parts of my life. The more my mind feels stressed, the more my system becomes reactive and activated. This results into a mind overload, a situation that aggravates everything I do. According to scientists, chronic overreaction of stress makes the brain overloaded by powerful hormones intended for short term duty of emergency situations. The accumulation effect of stress kills or damages the brain cells. The reaction of my body when there is an encounter of stress can help me indentify stress at an early stage. A slight headache acts as a signal that my body is stressed and hence, allows me to find a way of stopping the headache or preventing more symptoms likely to aggravate pain. In situations of stressful encounters, my body becomes moody and a feeling of isolation develops. These emotions are only experienced when the body has such an encounter. Coping techniques To relieve stress, I use solution focused coping strategies more often than emotion focused strategies. This involves change of a single thing, which eventually leads to change of other things, resulting to a succession of reaction of affirmative changes. The technique helps in dissipating stress to a great extent. Use of emotion based strategies can be very effective in stress reduction. They help in cultivating optimism and in maintaining a sense of humor in how we perceive things. The strategy is very effective in situations that I have little or no ability to control, and therefore makes the stressor appear as a challenge in place of a threat. To make use of emotion based strategies, I need to associate myself with professionals who can help me feel encouraged to practice them. These will work towards ensuring that I acquire a good attitude towards the strategies and hence gain confidence in their effectiveness. In addition, the strategy will increase the ability of the mind to compartmentalize and separate memories, emotions and thoughts. The Stress Reduction Technique Releasing and tightening of all major muscle groups of human body in an exaggerated manner makes one feel at peace and very relaxed. This technique is based on observation, and hence very easy to practice. It only involves subtle muscular movements, and not gross movements, and hence promotes tension and relaxation. However, I experienced some challenges when practicing the technique. One such challenge was that, tight schedules limited the time needed for an effective practice of the technique. The practice calls for adequate time in order to relieve the stress after every step of the practice. As a solution, I intend to find adequate time for practicing the stress reduction technique. As a way of dealing with my busy academic schedule, I planned to create a special short period in my diary, as a way of ensuring that I get time to release any stress gained during work. This technique has helped my jaws and eyes loosen, and the backaches and headaches disappear. After a massive practice of the technique, my agitated sympathetic nervous system has shot into action instantaneously, making the body return to normal. Summary and Conclusion Overall experience with the Stress Reduction Technique shows that; Stress management is all about taking charge of emotions, thoughts, environment, schedule and the away a person deals with problems. Every body’s ultimate goal is to have a balanced life which comprises of time for fun, work, relaxation, and relationships as well as to meet challenges head on. Continuous use of progressive muscle relaxation increases creativity, self esteem, spontaneity and control of moods (Barlow, 2002). People who use the technique have improved aptitude to face phobic situations, through graded experience. It should be noted that, there are no contraindications for this technique, unless the muscle groups to be relaxed and tensed are injured. The activity has been proven very successful in lowering dosage, and overcoming fear and panic (Krisha, 2011). The technique is much recommended for people who have anxiety disorders like chronic pain and insomnia, as well as for victims of breast cancer, to reduce anxiety and depression (Barlow, 2002). References Barlow, D. (2002). Anxiety and its disorders: The treatment and nature of anxiety. (2nd Ed.). New York: Guilford Press. Cheung, L. & Molassiotis, A. (2003). The effect of progressive muscle Relaxation. Psycho oncology, 12(3):254-66. Jacobson, E. (1939). Progressive Relaxation. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Krisha, M. (August 16, 2011). Progressive Muscle Relaxation for Insomnia. Everyday Health. Retrieved on February 29, 2012; from http://www.everydayhealth.com/sleep/insomnia/tips/guide-to-relaxation.aspx Pawlow, A & Jones, E. (2002). The impact of progressive muscle relaxation on salivary cortisol. The Biol Psychol, 60(1):1-16. Scheufele, M. (2000). Effects of progressive relaxation and classical music on measurements. J Behav. Med., 23(2):207-28. Read More