Metacognition: The key to success?
Anxiety reduction tips and techniques
The research basis for the strategies, tips, and techniques presented
Relaxation Response
Characteristics
Anxiety produces symptoms which inhibit learning by creating physical tension and stress in your body. Producing a relaxation response counteracts the stress and tension by helping you learn how to get your body to relax on demand. You can not be tensed and relaxed at the same time. The relaxation response does not affect the cause of the stress, but rather stops your body's normal reaction to it. There are many techniques which can be used to invoke a relaxation response, below are a few of many relaxation response strategies you can try.
Strategies:
Pick one that you wish to try out and assess any changes. Anxiety reduction
strategies may require more determination and practice than other strategies.
Good luck.
- The PLUG.
Imagine your body as a shell filled with stressed fluid. Begin clenching your fists and toes and tightening your muscles to create physical stress. Clench everything and hold it for a few seconds, so that you can feel the stress throughout. Then, imagine a plug in your big toe. Pop off the plug and imagine the level of fluid beginning to drain out if your body. You control how slowly it drains out.
Everywhere the fluid leaves feels good, peaceful, and relaxed. It may help to close your eyes as you imagine the fluid draining out and you feel the level drop slowly through your head, slowly through your torso, slowly through your legs, until it is all gone.
You can do this in a manner of a few minutes or seconds and can repeat it as frequently as needed. If you still feel stress and tension after the first time, you can do it again immediately. Practice this prior to a stressful situation to help train your body to relax on demand. the more often you use this technique the easier it becomes to use.
- Count to 60
Another strategy you may be familiar with is counting to 10 when angry. Counting to 10 gives you a chance to focus and think before reacting with feelings only. Counting to 60 extends the focus and time to allow you relax and give you a chance to bypass the physical reaction to stress on you body and relax. Simply count slowly and allow no other thoughts to enter or distract you until you reach 60.
If you reach 60 and still feel stress or tension, you can do it again. You can also decide to count to 100 or any number you choose. This one does little to invoke relaxation as it merely tries to avoid and bypass the tension.
- Visualizations-Escape to a special
place in your mind!
You need to find a strong image or memory that was especially pleasing and relaxing for you, maybe a special birthday celebration, a special happy moment, or a vacation spot that holds warm memories. You need to relive it and invoke as many of your senses as you can in it.
If it is a beach scene, imaging the warm sun on your face, the salty smell of the air as a gentle breeze cools your warm skin, listen to the surf as the waves crash against the rocks just off of the beach. Hear the gulls flying through the air, the feel of the sand beneath you, and notice how great and relaxed every muscle of you body is becoming as you continue to enjoy the visualization.
Involving other senses helps to make it more real and helps the body relax more fully. This can be a very powerful way to do more than avoid the stress reaction and have your body fully relaxed.
- Relaxation Tapes
Relaxation tapes can also be a good source to help you learn to visualize, but don't become dependent on them as you may not be able to use them at a test or other live stressful situations. Some tapes will do a guided imagery to help you learn to fully relax. Pick a tape of a situation which reminds you of some positive memory or imagining. At a beach, forest stream, or in the mountains are popular relaxation tape topics.