Page 3 Comment April 1978 ot fans as his most stressful situation, we asked him to imagine the most relaxed es situation he could think of. For this particular young man it was a soft, quiet snowfall outside, while he was warm and comfortable’ before a fire.’’ ~ Approach stress Taking him greatest stress admitted while backward from the while performing he to experiencing playing students, then before junior less tension high school high students. Finally, he was most relaxed playing in ~ the backyard with small neighborhood children watching through the fence. _ deal of up-tightness are doing so because they have acquired an emotional habit of worked and he was able to complete a Anumber of responses we can use that ‘seem to restore a more comfortable state and back off tension include eating, injesting alcohol or drugs, running and engaging in relaxation or rational _ emotive imagery. Often when we feel anxiety we resort to eating. Eating has reduced similar feelings of anxiety in the past. Habits adopted to lessen tension, such as eating, drugs or alcohol, have later consequences of their own which then increase stress and it becomes circle. More adaptive responses and include rational i eh generation of a new sense of aliveness and freshness, Dr. Carson said. It is important to be moderate, building up to it and not over-taxing in the beginning. Relaxation generates a mental awareness of what it feels like to let go of the tension that exists in the muscles. Gaining this mental awareness comes through a process in which a person contracts and relaxes the various muscle groups in the body. Eventually the relaxation is recognized by the person as an active involvement in ‘‘letting go’’ of the tension, by increments. Learning relaxation by steps, and practicing over a period of several weeks, the person can eventually induce states of relaxation, gaining a general anti-stress capability. associated with specific stress inducing situations such as taking tests, math classes or engaging in the performing arts, including athletics. This process is known as systematic desensitization and involves attaining a relaxed state and then imagining a series of scenes that more and more closely approximate the testing, math or performance circumstance that creates maximum amounts of apprehension. ‘‘As an example,’ said Dr. Carson, ‘‘we had an athlete a few years ago who was under extreme stress playing before a full-house audience. It was so stressful he was ready to quit although he was an outstanding player. It has been reported Johnny Mathis suffered from acute apprehension this same process. The young athlete came until using in for help. Using his experience while performing before a knowledgeable crowd ‘‘Maxi-Maultsby, M.D., author of Rational Emotive Imagery, feels this to be the most efficient process for emotional reduction and_ stress management.”’ Deep breathing exercise involves inhalation and exhalation seperated by 10-second intervals over a 2 minute time frame. Having engaged in deep breathing in this manner the person then allows the normal rate to be established and becomes aware of the natural ryth- mn and relative effortlessness of his breathing and in this context imagines himself functioning optimally in what is usually a_ stress-inducing circumstance,’’ said Dr. Carson. Practicing this process three times a day for 3-4 minutes, assists a person in the process of emotional reeducation, resulting in the reduction of stress. 7 ou exercise, relaxation emotive imagery. a vicious the Relaxation can also be used as the foundation for inhibiting anxiety as ie apprehension, Dr. Carson said. such ee “butterflies’’ in the stomach. These clues let us know we’re experiencing exercise “ Teactions such as sweating palms, increased heart rate and breathing, and strenuous gegen psysiological Any calisthenics, jogging, and swimming that taxes the body drains out tension. The advantage of draining off tension is eae anxiety mene including to * clues created de responses, many scenes w= are with ata There coupled by the person in which they see themselves functioning in the fear situation in | an optimally effective way. Se managed processed or with professional assistance. exercises Out relaxation techniques. self- 0 arta eliminating through ee for habits " responsibility these emotional Rational emotive imagery is a similar process involving deep breathing FEELING STRESS? Dr. Gary Carson, right, explains the western behavioral approach to stress management. Tony Spanos, foreign student advisor, tries must * ‘nig assume and re reactions Dr. eee stress said le taining season,’’ as very successful Carson. _ responding in a way that is similar to the _way they react under stress—when in fact the stress is not present,”’ said Dr. Carson. They are creating and main- ge en the same amount of relaxation— picturing the neighborhood setting— when he played in the gymnasium. It RELAXATION TECHNIQUES mie th ‘“‘We tried to help this student achieve activity level to return to a more normal - state. “People who are experiencing a great (time: 4-5 OF ARMS RELAXATION min.) Settle back as comfortably as you can. Let yourself relax. As you relax clench study the sensations...relax; straighten out your fingers and feel relaxation. Continue relaxing hands and forearms your right fist, tighter and tighter. Study the tension. Keep it clenched and feel the biceps, tense them harder and harder and study the tension again. Let relaxation develop...tense biceps; hold tension and observe tension in your right fist, hand, forearm...relax. Let the fingers of your right hand become loose, and observe the contrast in your feelings...try to become relaxed all over. Once more, clench your right fist tight...hold it, more and more...Bend elbows and tense carefully...Straighten arms and relax to the best of your ability. Each time pay close attention to your feelings when you tense up. Straighten arms. Feel tension let them relax further and further. Continue relaxing your arms ever further. Even when your arms seem fully relaxed, try to go that extra bit further; try to achieve deeper and deeper levels of relaxation. Using the same procedure as above, relax the facial area, neck shoulders, and upper back for 4-5 minutes. Relax chest, stomach, and lower back, hips, thighs and calves, followed by complete body relaxation. When you wish to get up, count backwards from four to one. You should feel your in the triceps muscles along the back of fingers straighten out, notice the difference once more...repeat with left fist. Clench your left fist while the rest of your body relaxes; clench that fist tighter and feel the tension...relax. Enjoy the contrast...Repeat once more, clench the left fist, tight and tense...do the opposite of tension-relax and feel the difference. Continue relaxing for a while...Clench both fists tighter and tighter, both fists tense, forearms tense, your arms. Stretch arms and feel tension. Relax. Get your arms back into a fine and comfortable position. Let the relaxation calm. notice the tension again...relax; proceed on its own. The arms should feel comfortably heavy as you allow them to relax. Straighten the arms once more so you feel the tension in the triceps muslces; straighten them. Feel the tension...relax. Concentrate on pure relaxation in the arms without any tension. Get your arms comfortable and hl nt Id In ch ~) P.S. refreshed, Please finish wide awake reading and paper before you begin or it will slip off onto the floor. i i iF