There are many things you can do to reduce stress and help your body and mind adapt to stress in a healthier way. Here are some stress relieving and relaxation techniques that have demonstrated beneficial effects on those experiencing chronic stress. Not everything works for everyone, but try different techniques and stick with what works best for you, for both stress management and general health and well-being. Remember, you’re never going to completely banish stress, because life is a big stressor in itself, but you can change how you react to stress and bring inner calm to many situations in your life. 

Acupuncture

Traditional Chinese philosophy states that our health is dependent on the free flowing movement of qi (life force energy) within the body. Stress, emotional trauma or any other emotional or physical problem disrupts this flow, causing pain, tension, stiffness and a myriad of health disorders. Acupuncture seeks to address these energy blockages by inserting the tips of fine needles into specific points on the body.

Research conducted by Butler et al (2005) on 55 patients suffering from stress-related emotional disorders found that acupuncture reduced the symptoms in all patients by 95.4%. In a 2002 study based in Scotland hospice staff were measured for stress using a psychological profile and tested again following four acupuncture treatments. A 44% reduction in stress was reported.

For more information on acupuncture see www.acunpuncture.org.uk.

Breathing

Breathing in oxygen is the essence of life. Our cells require oxygen for survival and their waste product, carbon dioxide must be expelled. Although breathing is an automatic process many of us have very poor breathing patterns that have a deleterious impact on our health and well-being.

When an individual is experiencing stress their breathing often becomes rapid and shallow. They use their shoulders, rather than their diaphragm to push air into and out of their lungs. This releases too much carbon dioxide from the blood. Continuous rapid, shallow breathing has been linked to fatigue, stress, palpitations, asthma, colds, panic attacks, indigestion and other health problems.

When a person is relaxed their breathing becomes slower and deeper, allowing them to inhale more oxygen. This is often referred to as diaphragmatic breathing, belly breathing or abdominal breathing. This refers to breathing into the lungs by flexing the diaphragm, rather than shallow breathing by flexing the rib cage. In doing this the lower abdomen expands when inhaling, rather than the chest.

The knock-on effects of proper diaphragmatic breathing can include:

• Lowered blood pressure.
• Reduction in stress hormones.
• Reduction in lactic acid accumulation in muscle tissues.
• Balanced levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood.
• Improved immunity.
• Greater energy levels.
• Sense of calm and well-being.

The diaphragm

The diaphragm is a dome shaped sheet of muscle that extends across the bottom of the rib cage. It separates the heart, lungs and ribs from the abdominal cavity, as well as performing a respiratory function. The top is located around 1.5 inches from the bottom of the sternum and supports the heart. The bottom of the diaphragm is attached around our lower ribs. When we inhale the surface of the diaphragm moves downwards and upwards as we exhale. If we take a correct, deep breath the diaphragm moves further down into the abdomen, allowing our lungs to expand more into the chest cavity and facilitating an increased intake of oxygen and release of carbon dioxide. As the diaphragm moves it massages the surrounding vital organs, promoting blood flow and peristalsis.

Overbreathing

If breathing is deep and fast, this can result in more carbon dioxide being expelled from the body and subsequent abnormally low levels of carbon dioxide in the blood. As a result the airways in the lungs narrow in attempt to counteract the loss of carbon dioxide. This is referred to as hyperventilation or overbreathing and can lead to breathlessness and dizziness. Asthmatics often chronically overbreathe.

The Buteyko Method focuses on breathing less, nasal breathing and relaxation. The method has been shown to reduce asthma symptoms in numerous studies. Between 1962 and 1982 thirty-five studies were conducted in Russia that demonstrated Buteyko as a safe and effective treatment for asthma and other breathing disorders. There have also been studies conducted in the West demonstrating its efficacy.

For more information see www.buteykobreathing.org

Click here for some simple tests to ascertain whether you are breathing correctly and breathing exercises that can help you to relax and reduce your stress levels.

Exercise

We all know that exercise keeps the body healthy but it’s also a fantastic way of reducing stress and relieving mild to moderate levels of depression. Researchers have found that physically active individuals are less likely to suffer from anxiety and depression than sedentary people. This is possibly because exercise elevates brain concentrations of the neuromodulator norepinephrine, which may help the brain deal with stress in a more efficient manner.

Often people claim not to like exercise, but it takes many different forms and there is something for everyone to benefit from. If you can’t stand the gym perhaps take up a sport such as badminton or tennis. If you prefer something gentler, try yoga, tai chi, qi gong, pilates or another more relaxing form of exercise. Even a brisk walk every day counts. The important thing is to get off the couch and get moving.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis or hypnotherapy is a trance-like state where your focus and concentration is heightened. It usually creates a feeling of calm and relaxation and is used to help people make positive changes. Either a qualified hypnotist can facilitate the experience, or an individual can practice self-hypnosis. It doesn’t work for everyone, but researchers conducting an imaging study of hypnotised individuals found that those who were susceptible to hypnosis displayed decreased activity in the parts of the brain associated with daydreaming.

In other research hypnosis was found to reduce stress symptoms in Irritable Bowel Syndrome sufferers. This resulted in a corresponding reduction in IBS symptoms. It has also demonstrated other benefits such as reducing pain from cancer and other chronic conditions.

Here is a simple self-hypnosis technique:

1. Sit in a comfortable position, in a quiet place, without distractions.
2. Choose a goal for yourself with an accompanying positive affirmation, such as “I am extremely calm and relaxed.” Avoid negative statements, such as “I’m not stressed,” which can be ignored by the subconscious and might in fact focus your attention on the word stress, thereby elevating the problem.
3. Begin breathing in and out through your nose, slowly. As you breathe in silently say to yourself “I am breathing in calm,” and as you breathe out silently say to yourself “I am releasing stress completely.” Spend at least a couple of minutes doing this.
4. Choose an environment that is calming and relaxing to you. Perhaps it’s a beach, a forest, a beautiful palace – whatever conjures peace and well-being for you. Perhaps it’s even a luxury spa where you can leave your worries behind. Imagine going deeper into this environment. Feel and see the colours more as you leave your regular surroundings behind. Imagine the sights, sounds and smells. If you are at the beach, perhaps you can hear the sea lapping at your feet and the sensation of beautiful warm white sand between your toes. If you are in the forest, you might hear the crunch of leaves under your feet, see the sun shining through the trees and warming the top of your head and hear birds singing merrily. If you are at a spa, the therapist may be talking to you in a calm voice before conducting a wonderful soothing massage with blissfully aromatic oils.
5. When you feel more relaxed, begin to repeat the initial positive phrase you chose for yourself. Think about the sounds and vibrations the phrase makes within your mind. Each time you repeat the phrase, feel your body let go and sink deeper into relaxation.

Tip: Personally, I have found that recording myself talking through a guided visualisation helps me. Before I go to bed I listen to the recording on an mp3 and it’s very much like being my own personal hypnotist. Try talking in a very soothing, relaxing voice. Speak slowly and deeply.

Meditation

Meditation is a wonderful way of relieving stress and boosting health and well-being. It has been shown to decrease levels of the stress hormone cortisol in healthy volunteers and in patients suffering from cancer. Meditation has also demonstrated positive effects in medical students, who often report high levels of stress.

In a study at Massachusetts General Hospital meditation was found to physically change the structure of the brain, thickening the regions associated with concentration, emotions such as compassion and sensitivity to external stimuli. Older participants who meditated were found to have less neural degeneration in one area of the brain, compared to those who didn’t meditate.

Meditation techniques

1. A really simple meditation technique is to focus your attention on your breathing, noticing the passage of the air into and out of your nostrils. Whenever your mind drifts, bring your focus back to the breathing.
2. Another easy meditation technique is to focus on a single object or word. For instance, you might place a beautiful vase in front of you, as you sit in a relaxed position and really notice the detail. Every time your mind drifts, bring it back to the object again.
3. Mantras can also be used during meditation. Chanting a single word repeatedly can help you to enter a meditative state. In the Japanese Shinto tradition words are believed to carry a spiritual energy, so by chanting them, you evoke that energy. You can start off with something simple like ‘OM,’ or ‘Haa.’

Qigong

Qigong (or ch’i kung) is an internal Chinese meditative practice that uses slow graceful movements and controlled breathing to promote the flow of qi (life force) energy within the body. There are numerous forms and it is practiced by millions of people around the world. Medical qigong is recognised as a standard medical technique in Chinese hospitals and is included in the curriculum at major universities in China. A study published Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, found that qigong reduces the symptoms of stress by having a positive impact on the sympathetic nervous system – a branch of the autonomic nervous system that becomes more active when stress is experienced.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

PMR is a useful techniques for stress relief and general well-being. The exercise involves tensing one muscle group at a time and then releasing the tension. For example, you can tense one leg - squeezing the muscles as tightly as you can and relax the muscles, then do the same with the other leg and work your way up the body until you have contracted and relaxed all the muscles within your body. This technique is often used at the end of yoga classes to relax the body. 

Reiki

Reiki is an energy healing modality originating in Japan where a qualified Reiki practitioner channels external universal energy into a client to promote health and well-being, and to work directly on any physical illnesses or emotional issues. Studies so far support the ability of Reiki to reduce anxiety and pain, increase relaxation, improve fatigue and symptoms of depression and heighten general overall well-being.

Reiki is very simple to learn in a two-day course. Click here for information on Reiki courses and Reiki treatments.

Visualisation

Our power to heal seems to often lie in our perception. Placebos work better if they smell medicinal and appear like pharmaceutical drugs. It’s even been found that we associate particular colours with different things. Blue placebo pills administered as sleeping pills had a much greater ‘sedative’ effect on patients than pink ones in one study, because the patients associated blue with calm and relaxation. Angina patients who received fake surgery in a study reported greater improvements than those who received real surgery, because the knowledge that they were having an operation was enough to ignite their expectation of a drastic improvement.

The mind is more powerful than we ever dare to imagine, after all we don’t use two-thirds of it, even more for some individuals. When we learn new things, though, the brain changes and grows thicker in certain areas corresponding to the newly undertaken activity. It’s not static.

Thoughts actually produce chemicals (many of these are called neurotransmitters), which when repeated enough activate genes on DNA, producing substances that create new connections between neurons (impulse conducting cells in the brain and nervous system that process and transmit information). So, our thoughts affect our genes. Other chemicals known as neuropeptides correspond with different emotions and attitudes and interact with neurons by affixing themselves to areas of the surfaces known as receptors. Neurons have different shaped and sized receptors to match different shaped and sized neuropeptides. These correspond with our different emotions and attitudes. When a neuropeptide sits on its relevant receptor specific messages are transported to the cells, which activate or deactivate certain genes. The genes in turn produce a protein, which may for instance, be a hormone that instigates repair within the body.

Say you had an injury and you were in a bad mood and feeling self-loathing because you believe you brought it on yourself, the neuropeptides associated with these emotions would activate specific genes with proteins being produced. Some genes may not be activated adequately because of the effect of your state of mind on the body and some may be deactivated (for instance the all important hormones that instigate repair). Your state of mind would then stop your body repairing at its optimum level. It’s actually been found that a number of genes are upregulated or downregulated by stress, which could cause adverse effects within the body, such as cell death for instance, instead of cell repair. In contrast, if you were completely relaxed and calm the body would repair more quickly.

The key is to make positive thinking a habit. Stress and emotional traumas can actually kill cells in certain parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus, but an enriching environment, certain therapies, talking to others about your problems and freeing yourself from that stress and those emotional traumas may regenerate the damaged areas – a process known as neurogenesis. Learning new skills may also have this effect.

Visualisation has proved beneficial to those who have suffered from strokes, spinal injuries, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, asthma, allergies, depression, hay fever, depression, heart conditions, blood pressure, arthritis, stomach ulcers, weight loss and numerous other conditions.

Remember, when you visualise yourself getting better, the brain and body responds accordingly. The key is to visualise the healing taking place within your body, to make the experience fairly light-hearted so the visualisation doesn’t cause you stress and to focus on the area of the body that needs fixing, to target the healing more accurately.

Click here for some easy stress-reducing visualisation techniques.  

Yoga

Yoga, which dates back over 5000 years, originated in India and encompasses physical postures, breathing control and meditation. The benefits of yoga are many and varied. Numerous studies have been undertaken on the benefits of yoga. Researchers in the UK examining the effectiveness of yoga in enhancing well-being and resilience to stress among university employees, found that those who had taken part in a six week Dru Yoga intervention (taking one 60-minute class per week) reported improvements in feelings of clear-mindedness, composure, elation, energy and confidence. Participants also reported increase life purpose and satisfaction and greater feelings of self-confidence during stressful situations. Yoga was also found to aid relaxation and diminish stress levels in cancer patients. Other reported benefits of yoga include:

• Weight loss.
• More positive self-image.
• General improvement in health and well-being.
• Increased fitness levels and flexibility.
• Reduction in back pain.
• Increased confidence levels.
• Improved sleep patterns. 
• Improved mood.

Hatha yoga, which focuses on purifying the physical body in order to purify the mind, is a good place to start for beginners because the movements are slow and the postures are easier to hold.  Yoga can be used for personal and spiritual development, as well as physical health and well-being, so it's well worth researching the different types of yoga to see what appeals to you the most.