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Relaxation therapies have received increasing attention by researchers in recent years. Autogenic visualization was developed by german psychiatrist Johannes Schultz in 1932. Autogenic training is a natural technique which has been shown to have positive health benefits in those suffering from a variety of conditions including tension headaches, back pain, menopause, bulimia nervosa, stress and anxiety. Psychologists promoting the use of autogenic training suggest that it increases the neurosteroid hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), which may lead to improved mood and relief from depression (Wolkowitz, Reus, and Keebler, 1999; Schmidt, Daly, Bloch, et al., 2005), reduce fatigue and improve overall quality of life.

Autogenics involves getting into a comfortable position while performing a series of visualizations which assist the body in creating a state of heaviness and warmth thereby inducing relaxation. Sessions last aproximately 15 minutes and should be practiced frequently in order to master the technique.

An autogenic session is typically started with a series of breathing exercises. It is then followed by a series of visualizations:

• Heaviness (of each arm, both arms, each leg, both legs, both arms and legs)
  • My right arm is feeling heavy (repeat 6 times)
  • My right arm is getting heavier (repeat 6 times)
  • My right arm is heavy (repeat 6 times)
  • I feel calm
• Warmth (of each arm, both arms, each leg, both legs, both arms and legs)
  • My right arm is feeling warm (repeat 6 times)
  • My right arm is getting warmer (repeat 6 times)
  • My right arm is warm (repeat 6 times)
  • I feel calm

Eventually the participant incorporates warming and calming the heart, breathing, and seeing the stomach as soft and warm. A session eventually ends with visualizing the forehead as becoming cool and calm. As each step is mastered, the phases of autogenics become automatic and the participant is able to experience an increased feeling of relaxation.

While autogenics is simple and easy to learn, true mastery comes with daily practice.

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References:

Wolkowitz, OM., Reus, VI., Keebler, A. et al (1999). “Double-blind treatment of major depression with dehydroepiandrosterone”. The American journal of psychiatry 156 (4): 646-9. PMID 10200751.

Schmidt, PJ., Daly, RC., Bloch, M., et al (2005). “Dehydroepiandrosterone monotherapy in midlife-onset major and minor depression”. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 62 (2): 154-62. DOI:10.1001/archpsyc.62.2.154. PMID 15699292.

Think about the last time you lost something and spent the entire rest of the day worrying about where it went.

• How productive was the worry?
• How did this behavior change the outcome?
• Did you notice how your body felt?

Worrying about events does not change them, but it does oftentimes increase the level of stress and tension held in the body. 

A few suggestions for worrying with purpose are included here:

1. Set aside a specific time frame each day and call it your “worry time.” During this time you are free to worry, but only during the aloted time. Once the time is up, so is the worry. The entire rest of the day is “off limits” for worrying behaviors.
2. Keep a daily worry journal. Record your worries rather than worrying about them. In the book ”No More Anxiety: Be your own anxiety coach, by Gladeana McMahon, she suggests that you divide a journal of this type into four columns; a) things that might happen, b) things that have happened, c) insignificant things, and d) important things. This offers a way for you to maintain a balanced perspective of those items that may be troubling you

Keep in mind, the most effective way to resolve an issue is to take control and find a solution.  By reducing and limiting the time you spend worrying, you’ll open up space in your life to actually address the worrisome problem.

Less worry =less stress+less anxiety+more energy+happier relationships

It’s too bad we aren’t equiped as people with warning lights. “Danger, anxiety levels are reaching catestrophic proportions!

Mental catastrophizing occurs when a thought enters the brain, followed by another thought about what might occur, followed by an even worsening series of thoughts. Until one perceives that the situation is unbearable or catestrophic.

Here is an example:

You have a conversation with your partner leaving you both in disagreement. As stress levels rise, you feel as though you are not being heard or listened to. You  eventually leave the situation without closure. Your mind continues to dwell on the previous encounter and eventually jumps to the conclusion that “he/she is probably going to break up with me, leave me or abandon me.” In reality, it may be a situation that needs more time to for both of you to process what was said. There may be a whole list of reasons why you may be in disagreement, but one or both of the parties somehow jumps to the conclusion that the “worst” is about to happen. This is an example of catestrophic thinking.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) coupled with stress reduction techniques are effective ways of countering catestrophic beliefs.

First, give your body permission to take a “time out.” Your brain will be able to think more clearly if your body is calm and relaxed when you revisit the conversation at a later date.

Second, counter your thoughts with an opposite action. Instead of saying to yourself, “he/she doesn’t love me anymore,” look at other positive possiblities and run those through your mind. Maybe he/she is tired, or having a bad day in general. Maybe a cold or the flu is coming on. Maybe it is a situation where the two of you may agree to disagree.

By countering the onslaught of catestrophic thinking, anxiety levels will have time to come down allowing the higher reasoning area of your brain to become more accessible.

Putting a stop to the spiral of negative thinking will allow give you the necessary time and energy to analyse the situation more clearly.

Try it next time you’re feeling like the “end” is near.