Discover how to escape your prison of stress
by Cecil McIntosh
Working as a volunteer I teach relaxation by the bedside for
heart, stroke and cancer patients in
hospitals.
I thought it might be interesting to address what I call the 7
Myths of Relaxation. Since many patients share similar
misconceptions about relaxation, I thought it might be interesting
look through the eyes of the patients.
Myth 1 If you slow down and relax nothing gets done.
Reality Check 1 Having a major health challenge allows you to
appreciate the joys of slowing down.
Myth 2 I don't know how to relax.
Reality Check 2 Patients in the hospital learn the relaxation
process faster than all my other clients. I guess their mind is not
cluttered with all the stresses of the world.
Myth 3 Keeping yourself busy is therapeutic for dealing with
stress.
Reality Check 3 A 40 -year- old stroke patient discovered that
being busy prevented her from getting in touch with her true
feelings. It took the experience of a stroke to convince her that
there is no need for or benefit from always being busy.
Myth 4 You need to accept that you are stressed.
Reality Check 4 A 40 - year- old man was stressing out about
having a stroke. In the relaxation process I was able to take him to
a garden. This garden brought back memories that he had not recalled
for 35 years. He now understood that by recalling (getting in touch
with past pleasant memories) these memories, he had no need to be
stressed.
Myth 5 Relaxation is from the outside.
Reality Check 5 One older gentleman who had had a stroke told me
that in the past (when he was much younger) he had found relaxation
by pleasing his dad. This desire caused him to forsake his own
immediate family because to please his dad, he was always attempting
to change the world. Changing the world meant that he got his dad's
approval.
When his dad finally acknowledged him (giving a pat on the
back)he felt relaxed. Now after having a stroke at age 67 he has
decided it is time to spend some time with his own family.
Myth 6 Relaxation should be a one time thing.
Reality Check 6 Most patients agree, from experience, that to be
healthy you need to slow down and smell the roses. Slowing down is a
process and not a quick fix.
Relaxation is not part of life; relaxation is a process of living
in each moment.
Myth 7 It is OK to be all stressed out.
Reality Check 7 Sometimes you need a life altering experience
(like a stroke or a heart attack) to appreciate the fact that you
create stress. That is the bad news.
The good news is: now that you know you have the ability to
create stress, you can also find pleasant memories within you to
help create relaxation.
In summary
1.Relaxation helps you slow down so that you can notice a feeling
of peace and tranquility and listen to your thoughts which will make
you become more relaxed, productive and healthy.
2.Relaxation if practiced regularly, gives you the feeling of
having more energy as you notice yourself becoming more focused.
3.Now you can notice the feelings of relaxation, it is not
healthy to avoid a situation by being busy.
4.Relaxation makes you more aware, as you listen to that part of
you that is now 'relaxed.'
5. You do not need other people's approval to make you feel
relaxed. Also, you may begin to notice the health benefits that come
from being relaxed.
6.To begin to acknowledge and notice and experience the sounds of
the simple things in life, you need to practice relaxation
regularly.
7.When you discover the ways you create stress, within the next
30 days you can look forward with excitement as you tell yourself
how many ways you are going to create relaxation.
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