Stress is a part of our everyday lives, like it or not. If you’re a full-time caregiver then you already know what a challenging and emotional rollercoaster of emotions you go through day after day and sometimes minute by minute. (And I never liked roller coasters.) So I know it’s necessary for us to learn stress-relieving techniques that will help relieve stress as best we can.
Here are three techniques to help relieve stress:
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Lie down on your back and place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly. Take a deep breath through your nose while trying only to move the hand on your belly; the hand on your chest should stay still. This is a deep “belly breath” that moves your diaphragm, thereby stimulating your vagus nerve, and activating your parasympathetic nervous system.
This type of breathing technique is great to use right before you go to sleep, and will help you attain greater, more restorative rest.
Full-Body Relaxation
While lying on your back, or sitting comfortably in a chair, close your eyes and imagine submersing your whole body in a warm bath. Starting at your head, clench the muscles around your eyes and then release. Continue around your entire head, contracting and then releasing the muscles around your mouth, your nose, your neck. Then, begin to move down your body, and out into each of your limbs, contracting each muscle group for a moment, and then releasing the contraction. After you’ve reached your feet, and have gone through the technique on your whole body, you should feel very relaxed, rested, and restored. This technique, also, is a great one to perform before bed.
Meditation
The first two techniques are great for bedtime, meditation is a helpful technique to perform anytime, anywhere!
Begin by sitting in a comfortable position, with eyes closed. As you relax, tune everything out but your breathing. Your breathing should become your focus, and as your mind begins to wander, acknowledge that, but bring your focus back to your breathing each time. This is easier said than done, and does take some practice.
What’s great about meditation is that it is a technique that you can carry with you and use in just about any situation when you begin to feel stress. No one else needs to be aware that you’re even doing it. (Although It’s been pointed out to me when I begin closing my eyes and breathing deeply)
Between these three techniques: diaphragmatic breathing, full-body relaxation, and meditation, you’re beginning to build an arsenal of stress-relieving skills at your disposal to use whenever you feel stress creeping into your life. Use them whenever and wherever you feel the need!
That’s what we want to do… build an arsenal of techniques for relieving stress because if one thing doesn’t work we pull out something else from our bag of tricks!
Have you tried any of these or have any of your own? Let me know comment below.