Relaxation Exercise:
1. Sit quietly in a comfortable position.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Deeply relax all your muscles, progressively contracting and relaxing muscle groups,
beginning at your forehead and moving down to
your feet.
4. Breathe through your nose. Become aware
of your breathing. As you breathe out, say the
word RE silently to yourself. As you breathe in
say the word LAX.
5. Continue for roughly 10 minutes. You may
open your eyes to check the time, but do not use
an alarm. When finished, sit quietly for a brief
time; at first with your eyes closed and later
with them opened.
6. Do not worry about whether you are successful in achieving a deep level of relaxation.
Maintain a passive attitude and permit relaxation to occur at its own pace. When distracting
thoughts occur, try to ignore them and return to
repeating “RE-LAX”.
RELAXING INGREDIENTS: This model is taken
from The Relaxation Response but is not the only
model for meditative relaxation. All seem to involve
variations on the following ingredients: a quiet environment, a mental device, a passive attitude, a comfortable position.
Understanding and
Managing Stress
UW-Eau Claire
Counseling Services
2122 Old Library
Phone: 715-836-5521
Web Site: www.uwec.edu/counsel
UW-Eau Claire Counseling Services
Division of Student Affairs
2122 Old Library
Phone: 715-836-5521
Web Site: www.uwec.edu/counsel
S/MSPUB/TRIFOLDS/understanding and managing stress/8-12
Definitions of Stress
Layman: Undesirable pressure from
life that brings discomfort, tension, worry, and frustrations.
Psychology: The response of individuals to circumstances and events, called
stressors, that threaten or tax their
coping ability. (Simons, et. Al., 1994)
Selye (1977): The nonspecific response of the body
to any demand on it.
Stress is the state that you are in,
not the agent that produces it.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT!
Evolutionary heritage—ANS
mobilizes physical resources
for attacking or fleeing any
enemy. (Cannon, 1932)
1. Alarm reaction: Recognition of threat, sympathetic nervous system activated (increase in heart
rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, adrenaline,
blood sugar level). Abundant energy, highly alert
(fight or flight equivalent).
2. Resistance stage: Physiological resources have
been mobilized and stabilize as coping efforts get
underway. Arousal continues to be somewhat
higher than normal, though subsiding some from
the alarm stage. Resistance is high but costly in
terms of energy and resources.
3. Exhaustion stage: Prolonged stress depletes
the body. Resistance fails. Wear and tear on the
body results. Reduced resistance leads to
“diseases of adaptation”.
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF STRESS:
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Anxiety
Anger, irritability
Burnout
Caffeinism
Cigarette use
Yes, I’m under stress
Depression
… how can you tell?
Decreased appetite and weight loss
Difficulty concentrating
Excessive appetites—food, alcohol, etc.
Frequent crying
Negative attitude
Overwhelmed/Out of control feeling
Sleeplessness
PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF STRESS:
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Bowel ailments
Cancer
Cardiovascular problems
Chest pain
Chronic back problems
Constipation
Fatigue
Insomnia
Migraine headaches
Muscle spasms
Shortness of breath
Ulcers
Elevated scores on “Life Change: or “Daily Hassle”
inventories are correlated with an increased risk of
health problems and accidental injury.
STRESS MANAGEMENT METHODS:
 Meditation (e.g., breathing meditation)
 Exercise (regular aerobic exercise)
 Relaxation Techniques (progressive relaxation, relaxing
postures, passive stretches)
 Cognitive Approaches: (what I say to myself, not
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what happens, causes my upset)
Goal Setting: (clear, specific goals reduce unrealistic demands and build a “centeredness” that is
calming)
Time Management: (80/20—doing the right
things—learning to say no)
Expand Support Network: (teamwork on the job/at
home)
Nutrition: (junk food and caffeine are destructive
attempts at coping)
RELAXATION TRAINING
The ability to relax is especially
important to us because we live in
times of high stress. Stress, whether
from bit picture concerns and catastrophes or from daily hassles, can bring
unwanted psychological and physical damage if we do
not know how to relax. You may practice one method
of reducing stress:
Relaxation Training. The method outlined below
combines two common methods—progressive and
muscle relaxation and meditation. This method works
best if used frequently, since it takes practice to train
your body to relax.
Most sources recommend one or two 10-minute relaxation sessions daily, with the expectation that you will
experience greater benefits as you continue to practice
relaxation.
Readings that may supplement this training include The
Relaxation Response (Benson, 1976) and Learn to
Relax (Walker, 1976).