Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Our body’s survival system was developed during a vastly different time. Our fight/flight response was developed during a time that we were needing to be on the lookout for tangible stressors such as predators and rival tribes. While many of us do not encounter things like these anymore on a daily, our survival systems are much, much slower to adapt.
Meaning our body doesn’t always know what to do with the current stressors that we experience. There are many times that we may leave various stressors like work, social interaction, watching the news, online activity, etc. but we still carry the stress with us. Due to how connected we are these days thanks to technology and social media, there is rarely a clear, distinct ending to our stressors as there has been in the past. So, our bodies continue to carry the stress and stay in fight/flight much longer than we need to.
This can look like anxiousness, rumination, worry, fearfulness, hyper-vigilance, and paranoia.
One thing that could be a potential coping skill to use during these times is progressive muscle relaxation. This practice helps mimic fighting for the body, which can help signal that we can move out of stress. It helps our bodies feel as if we are doing something to keep ourselves safe from the stress we are experiencing.
This practice can look a couple of different ways and you can find videos on YouTube to help guide you through this practice. One way is to take a deep breath in for 4 counts and tense all the muscles in your body, hold this position for 8 counts, and then slowly exhale and relax your muscles for 8 counts. Do this until you start to feel an overall relaxation within the body. Another way is to do similar counts and inhale/exhales, but, instead of tensing the whole body, you can progress through various muscle groups in the body. Maybe start at the top of the body and slowly work your way down as you take deep breaths in and out. Or start in the middle or lower parts of the body, whatever feels natural.
If you are an athlete, you know how physical excise can calm your nerves. This is a great alternative if you are in a situation where you aren’t able to do your preferred exercise.
So, if you find yourself carrying a lot of stress lately, give progressive muscle relaxation a shot. It’s a coping skill you can use anywhere at any time and just may be the signal your body is needing to finally move through the stress you’ve been carrying.
