For obvious reasons, mesothelioma is stressful. Whether you are a patient or caregiver, it is important to have a variety of ways to manage stress. One of the most versatile and effective ways to reduce our stress experience by practicing relaxation techniques.
To better appreciate how work relaxation techniques, it is useful to understand, Austress response at that we all have. All animals are equipped with the fight or flight response, which is activated when we feel threatened. Implementing a bear load or detection of the possibility of your work are examples that could trigger the response.
The fight / flight response is an adaptive biological response that allows us to flee or fight for our lives in a crisis. Our sympathetic nervous system is responsible for giving us the strength and speed when you need it most.
friendly systems and parasympathetic
When we feel threatened, our sympathetic nervous system
- Increases heart rate and respiratory rate
- slows digestion
- Increases in blood pressure
- Sends nutrients ... to muscle groups.
- Prevents tear and salivary glands secretions.
- prevents our immune function.
- dilates the pupils.
- relaxes the bladder.
So what happens when we feel threatened? Our parasympathetic nervous system is activated and helps us calm down. The sympathetic nervous system is the accelerator in the stress response, and the parasympathetic nervous system is the brake
The parasympathetic nervous system works by: ..
- increasing digestion
- The increase in our immune system.
- The increase in traffic to our internal organs.
- decrease our heart rate and blood pressure.
- decreasing the temperature of our body.
Because the diagnosis of mesothelioma is a serious threat to our well-being (or our loved welfare one, AOS), we feel stressed. There are usually measurable increases in stress hormones in cancer patients.
Relaxation techniques are designed to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. There are many physical and emotional benefits of relaxation:
- Decrease heart rate
- Decreased blood pressure
- Better sleep
- Improved concentration
- Lower stress
relaxation types
There are many different types of relaxation. Some of the most common types are diaphragmatic breathing, meditation, muscle relaxation and guided imagery.
- diaphragmatic breathing is the backbone of most other relaxation techniques. It is a simple but effective breathing which produces a rapid relaxation response medium. Singers, musicians, actors and public speakers all use this type of breathing to help them breathe properly and stay relaxed during a performance or speech. This type of breathing is also known as ?? abdominal breathing ?? and is done by releasing the abdominal muscles and pulling our breath down our lungs.
- With meditation , the goal is to reach a state ?? nothingness. ?? The mind is soothed by the focus and concentration on a single point, like a mantra or breath. Many people enjoy a relaxing feeling after meditation.
- Muscle relaxation helps relieve the stress of muscle tension. Progressive muscle relaxation is an active form of relaxation where you tense and relax different muscle groups throughout the body. Another type is called passive muscle relaxation and muscle relaxation doesn, AOT incorporate tensing and relaxing muscles. By simply pointing and focusing on how our muscles feel relaxed and visualizing, many people can get the feeling of muscle relaxation. Both types of muscle relaxation are useful when people experience muscle stiffness and restlessness when they are stressed.
- For those who can, AOT cut their worrisome guided imagery may be the best type of relaxation. Guided imagery takes your mind on a journey to a beautiful, peaceful and safe. There are many relaxation exercises that provide instructions on how to find this peaceful place. When disturbing affects sleep one, AOS or concentration, guided imagery can be very useful.
Some people need to try a couple of different types of relaxation techniques to find one that works for them. Guests can enjoy different types of music and relaxation exercises online or on iTunes (under New Age / Relaxation Music). Some cancer treatment centers offer their patients, caregivers and the community of relaxation courses.
Learning new methods of relaxation and stress relief are important tools that help us manage stress in our lives.
This material has been shared in the April 9, 2014, mesothelioma online support group.
If you have questions Monitoring anything discussed here, you can call (855) 404-4592 to speak with Karen Selby, our nurse on staff . Don, AOT miss the next online support group, Wednesday, May 14 Register today!
