Your Recommended Daily Allowance of Relaxation

Stress is the curse of living in modern times. Everyone suffers from stress. And the stress we suffer takes a heavy toll on our bodies, emotions and minds. Feeling stressed out, worn out by fatigue or just simply having a miserable day, the best thing to do is relax. The first and foremost method of relaxation I highly recommend is simply a change in attitude. When we condition ourselves and our minds into putting little relevance in stressors we can establish a habit whereby we learn to neglect things, events, and maybe even people, which we know often brings us stress in our daily lives.
 Watching television may be a form of relaxation for some, but is not a recommended method by experts. When we watch TV we are bombarded with commercials, ads, sounds and images. So how do we achieve,and more importantly, establish and maintain relaxation in our daily living? If there are thousands of ways we can get stressed, one of them is not meeting deadlines, there are also many ways we can relax.
 In recent studies, experts have determined that heart disease is linked to anger and irritability is linked to mental stress. Too much stress brings about ischemia that can lead to or cause a heart attack. Relaxation takes on added importance in light of this matter. Managing your anger and attitude is significant to heart health, and relaxation can help you manage stress.
 One way of relaxation is transcendental meditation. Recent studies have also shown that this method might reduce artery blockage, which is a major cause for heart attack and stroke. People practice transcendental meditation by repeating uttering soothing sounds while meditating, this is to achieve total relaxation. The researchers found that practitioners of transcendental meditation significantly reduced the thickness of their arterial wall compared with those who didn't practice transcendental meditation. Another study on another method of relaxation, acupuncture, seems to reduce high blood pressure by initiating several body functions for the brain to release chemical compounds known as endorphins. Endorphin helps to relax muscles, ease panic, decrease pain, and reduce anxiety.
 Yoga is also another method for relaxation and may also have similar effects like acupuncture. In another study, participants were subjected to several minutes of mental stress. Then they were subjected to various relaxation techniques, such as listening to nature sounds or classical music. Only those who did Yoga significantly reduced the time it took for their blood pressures to go back to normal. Yoga is a form of progressive relaxation.
 Breathing is one of the easiest methods to relax. Breathing influences alamost all aspects of us, it affects our mind, our moods and our body. Simply focus on your breathing, after some time you can feel its effects right away. There are several breathing techniques that can help you reduce stress.
 Another easy way to achieve relaxation is exercise. Make a daily regiment of just walking in a park, along the shore, or even just around your block. Try different routes regularly so every once in a while you see different views. By exercising you reduce stress and lose weight.
 Another great way of relaxing is getting a massage. To gain full relaxation, you need to totally surrender to the handling and touch of a professional therapist. There are several types of massages that also give different levels of relaxation.
 Another method of relaxation is Biofeedback. The usual biofeedback-training program includes a 10-hour sessions that is often spaced one week apart.
 Hypnosis is one controversial relaxation technique. It is a good alternative for people who think that they have no idea what it feels like to be relaxed. It is also a good alternative for people with stress related health problems.
 Drugs are extreme alternatives to relaxation. They are sometimes not safe and are not effective like the other relaxation methods. This method is only used by trained medical professionals on their patients.
 These relaxation techniques are just some of the ways you can achieve relaxation. Another reason why we need to relax, aside from lowering blood pressure in people and decreasing the chances of a stroke or a heart attack, is because stress produces hormones that suppress the immune system, relaxation gives the immune system time to recover and in doing so function more efficiently. Relaxation lowers the activities within the brains' limbic system; this is the emotional center of our brain. Furthermore, the brain has a periodic need for a more pronounced activity on the right-hemisphere. Relaxation is one way of achieving this.
 Relaxation can really be of good use once a relaxation technique is regularly built into your daily life. Here is what I recommend you should do; take a minute to get pen and paper and make a list of the daily stresses you encounter giving each stressor a numeric value of 1 to 10, ten meaning, of course, being the gravest. After you have made your list make a suggestion to yourself how you should deal with each respective stressor. You have to understand that there are other things going on during the day you simply have no control over and must deal with them appropriately when they do come.Remember that not all relaxation methods may work for you. Find one you are most comfortable or familiar with and stick to that. Good luck and remember," Don't worry, beeee happy".

Your Daily Anger Management Therapy

There are really actually two things which cause us to act. There is a need which we cannot do without so we strive for it. That need may be something which brings us pleasure, a necessity, or even desire. Then again there is the other side of the equation which basically states that we act when we feel the presence of pain, that is we veer away or avoid factors in our life which can potentially bring pain and stress. How we express our content or discontent is, of course, by way of our emotions. An emotion we find ourselves dealing with most of the time is ANGER. Let's take a minute to think about why are we so angry, why we easily get angry, and why we end up hurting ourselves and other people as a result of our anger? Can anger be controlled? That is the question we should always keep in mind. We need to see our emotions of anger in a different light by stating, "being angry motivates us to take action!!". Anger is the only emotion which propels us into taking immediate action. Having said that, the actions we take are often wrong and negative because we fail to weigh other factors, or simply we do not listen. Being angry means being stressed and as with all of life's stressors, we must manage our anger in order to gain control of our lives. There are several things you can do to manage your anger on a personal level. I say personal because I'm assuming you may not yet have been to anger management therapy or anger management group sessions.If you are going to do this on your own you need to do it in stgaes. The first stage is Acceptance; you NEED to accept there is a problem with the way you manifest your anger. The second stage is Recognition; you NEED to recognize the many stressors or stimuli which infuriates you and makes you angry. The third stage is Avoidance; you NEED to avoid these stressors altogether. There are many ways to do this. By not putting any value to them or simply neglecting them can be one such way. The fourth stage is Diversion; you NEED to establish certain practices which diverts your attention away from anger.It is not always easy to do this but taking some lessons on stress management can help. Exercise is also a good, positive way to divert yourself from your anger. It is important to keep in mind, however, that Anger, in all its entirety, has a root cause. It is often best to seek the help of a therapist in uncovering, identifying , and dealing with these issues because given time they have a longstanding effect.Anger management programs offer the individual plenty of information regarding techniques and strategies for dealing with anger. Is there an anger management therapy available for those who feel the need to take their treatment a step further? In the early 1970's, a psychiatrist named Aaron T. Beck, M.D, developed an anger management therapy focusing on problem-solving. This therapy initially called Cognitive Therapy is now also known as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy or CBT. Beck worked with patients for years using his psychiatric knowledge but was burdened to see his patient's treatment making only slow progress. Beck wanted to use a more intense approach to anger management therapy. Cognitive Therapy is a form of anger management therapy which helps a person to correct or change specific details in their thinking. These details, involving negative feelings, will likely lead to anger and cause behavioral problems. Beck realized that it is during the thinking process, negative thoughts are formed which lead to changes in emotions and behavior. If an individual could be treated at this stage, helping them to change their way of thinking, then they would see changes in their emotions and behavioral pattern. Using strategies and techniques such as relaxation training and assertiveness training, CBT has proven to be a relatively fast method of providing an individual with relief and allowing them to experience freedom through endurance. Cognitive Therapy has proven to be the most effective type of psychological treatment. Its popularity has spread worldwide and is used by many qualified professionals to treat individuals with behavioral difficulties such as anger. Literature about CBT is widely available and there is training in CBT provided for professionals. Many people who suffer with anger-related issues avoid therapy. Some think they don't need it and others see it as a sign of weakness. The opposite can actually be said of an individual who seeks anger management therapy. They are strong and determined, willing to take whatever measures necessary to make positive changes in their life. When a person gets to the point where they can admit they need anger management therapy, it is essential to find a therapist who makes them feel comfortable. It is important to be able to communicate easily with a therapist since this is the person who will help reshape the individual's life. Building a trusting relationship with their therapist is vital when an individual is committed to therapy, no matter how long it takes. Being able to share emotions, whether good or bad, is important in anger management therapy. It is through sharing and trusting that a person begins to discover things about themselves. Once these discoveries are revealed, an individual will begin to work on making changes in their thoughts and emotions which will lead to positive changes in their lives. Anger management therapy may seem tough initially but with a trusting therapist, an individual will certainly make progress. This relationship between the individual and their therapist provides a safety zone, a place where they can feel free to disclose their innermost thoughts and inhibitions. Exploring underlying feelings of these thoughts will eventually provide the tools necessary for success. Anger management therapy, either CBT or meeting regularly with a therapist, is definitely beneficial for people striving to work through anger-related issues. Choosing anger management therapy is a big step and requires the support and encouragement from family and friends.