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Recently, “Swine flu.” Yesterday, “Bird flu.” Previously, “Pirates.”

Add to the above tagline, headlines about the economic downturn, job loss, foreclosure, and the most recent unemployment figures, and it’s not too difficult to see why we have an ever growing number of people feeling stressed. What may less obvious however, is identifying how this increase in societal stress is affecting our children.

The Sammamish Reporter recently ran a front page article by Jake Lynch titled, “ Children start to show signs of recession stress.” He states that elementary and pre-k children are exhibiting the signs and symptoms of stress in their lives at home and at school. Lynch states, “I had a fourth-grader say they were worried they were going to lose their home.” Lynch’s piece draws attention to the multi-systemic effects of stress on society; as parents, children, classmates, teachers, principals, and counselors are being exposed to a variety of stressful information in multiple settings.

In my relaxation coaching practice, I often emphasize the systemic effects of stress and how we as people energetically take on the feeling and sensate state of those around us; be it at the store or shopping mall, at school, or in the workplace. A beginning strategy to start confronting and changing stress is to start noticing what’s going on around you and what’s happing within your body. Like the common cold, we need to be aware of how we are spreading stress in our own lives so as not to inadvertantly displace that stress onto our children.

Here are some quick tips for relaxation now:

• BREATHE: This is believed to stimulate the Vagus Nerve, sending an “a, OK” response to the brain.
• PRACTICE COUNTERTHOUGHTS: Tell yourself “it’s all ok. This too shall pass. Everything is as it should be. I feel a sense of calm.”
• TRY PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION: Tighten your shoulders as tight as they can be; hold for 3 minutes and relax. Tighten your fists; hold for 3 minutes, then release. Experiment with other areas of your body until you feel better.
• CHANGE THE SCENERY: Focus on something positive. Notice what is going well in the moment.
• GET ACTIVE: Go for a walk; ride a bike; play with your children and get engaged in something phsycial.

Whatever you do, find what works best for you and your children. Develop these skills with each other. Children’s lives are stressful too, and now more than ever before, they need healthy ways to counter the stress they are picking up from us.

Looking for ways to promote increased health and wellness?

It may be as simple as setting your watch and taking a moment to be grateful according to a recent report by Jean Enersen of King 5 news. Enersen recently interviewed Dr. Kathleen Hall, Founder and Director of the Stress Institute, who suggests that “there’s actually a physiological response when people are grateful. They have more energy. They’re more enthusiastic. They’re more optimistic.” 

The important point to take away from Enersen’s interview with Hall is that research is now confirming that gratitude does in fact “change the body.”

Harnessing the effects of gratitude and using it to ones benefit might be the easiest form of stress reduction available on the market today. And that’s something to be grateful for. 

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.