Edited by Dr. Luca Franzon
The practice of physical activity to combat stress and relieve tension is now a proven and effective method. The disciplines that train the spirit as well as the body, then, allow you to work on the person in a more in-depth way.
What is Stress?
We often use the term stress improperly. A first distinction to be made is between the words stressor and stress.
STRESSOR is something that happens to us and can therefore be positive or negative. Noise, sounds, light, heat, cold, chemical additives, viruses, bacteria, family tensions, disturbed relational dynamics, neurotic anxieties, etc.
STRESS, which in English means effort, is the generic response that our body opposes to the stressor factor.
When a stress process takes place, all the systems and organs that serve to adapt to the stressor factor are called into question in the body.
The endocrine system reacts immediately by modifying the production of different hormones such as: adrenaline and noradrenaline (catecholamines), cortisol, growth hormone (GH) and prolactin which increase rapidly, the slower the thyroid hormones rise. Sex hormones tend to drop, blood sugar tends to rise, as do cholesterol and triglycerides.
The vegetative nervous system responds with an over-stimulation of the sympathetic system (fight or flight) to put the organism in a position to face or avoid the stressful situation as soon as possible. It is said that the autonomic nervous system is like a balance where in a plate there is the orthosympathetic part and in the other the parasympathetic part. As long as the scale is in equilibrium, the subject lives well when one of the two plates becomes heavier, he encounters two distinct pictures in:
- HYPERSYMPATICOTONY
- HYPERPARASYMPATICOTONY
Below are the main changes made by the autonomic nervous system.
Heart
Acceleration
Inhibition
blood vessels
- in the skin
- in the muscle
- in the heart
- in the abdominal organs
- compulsion
- dilation, constriction
- expansion
- compulsion
- none
- none
- compulsion
- none
Pupil
expansion
compulsion
lacrimal glands
possible secretory function
secretion
sweat glands
Secretion
none
hairs of the epidermis
piloerection
none
adrenal glands
Secretion
none
Liver
release of glucose
none
salivary glands
possible secretory function
secretion
stomach
inhibition of secretion and peristalsis
secretion and peristalsis
intestine
Inhibition
increased tone and movement
Rectum
Inhibition
expulsion of feces
Bladder
Inhibition
expulsion of urine
male genitalia
ejaculation
erection
The immune system is also involved. Initially there may be a decrease in the immune response followed by an increase in the production of antibodies.
Lately we hear a lot about interaction between the PSYCHO-NEURO-IMMUNO-ENDOCRINE systems involved in the continuous search for homeostasis.
Stress affects our whole body and is something extremely useful as it implements the phenomenon of "adaptation to sudden events. It is of fundamental importance for survival and is called" EUSTRESS ". If the stressor is very intense and stress does not adapt positively or does it in a prolonged way (chronic stress), the changes at the psycho-somatic level consolidate, leading the subject towards a condition of exhaustion and / or illness. This situation in the long run determines a decrease in our abilities of response and adaptation, the so-called exhaustion syndrome, in this case we speak of "DIS-STRESS".
MAIN CLINICAL PICTURES PRODUCED BY DIS-STRESS
ANXIETY - INSOMNIA - PANIC - DEPRESSION - FATIGUE - HEADACHE - ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION - LOSS OF MEMORY AND CONCENTRATION - PALPIATATION - MUSCULAR HYPER EXCITABILITY - DYSMENORRHEA - SEXUAL DISORDERS (VAGINISM, EOCIACULATION)
Stress, which is lately referred to as the disease of the century, has been and is being studied extensively. the functioning of the stressor / stress system has been described as a general adaptation syndrome by physiologist Hans Selye. This phenomenon is seen as: "... the set of non-specific reactions that the organism opposes to any aggression (trauma, fatigue, anoxia, intoxication, etc ...) to compensate, within certain limits, the physiological alterations derived from the specific situation ". The image below schematically shows what happens every time we are hit by a stressor.
As long as the body is able to adapt and does not yield to the phase of exhaustion, the subject can define himself in homeostasis. The best situation is when the subject can be defined as relaxed.
I make my own the words of Osho Raineesh who in the book "Tantra, the supreme understanding" defines relaxation as follows:
"Relaxation is a state of affairs in which your energy does not feel the need to go anywhere: it does not go to the future, it does not go to the past; it is simply there present with you. The silent pool of your energy, the the warmth of your energy envelops you. The present moment is everything: there is no other moment. Time stops; and c "is relaxation. As long as there is time, there is no relaxation. The clock stops, time is gone. The present moment is everything. Ask no more, just enjoy the present. Enjoy the present. beauty of ordinary things. In reality there is "nothing ordinary: if God exists, everything is extraordinary."
Fighting stress with fitness
Moving from theory to practice, I am going to present the relaxation method that is the subject of this paper. This article talks about the "Progressive Muscle Relaxation" method developed in the thirties by the American physician and psychophysiologist Edmund Jacobson and illustrated in 1959 in "How to relax and Have your baby".
The primary objective of any form of relaxation, and of Jacobson's model in particular, is to activate or perhaps it is better to reactivate the parasympathetic system, trying to slow down and counteract the orthosympathetic system which in stressed subjects is hypersolved and whose activation tends to determine that physiological state that is commonly defined as an anxious state. Like all methods and theories, this method also has pros and cons. In the opinion of many, the Jacobson method has the advantage of being able to be used effectively and quickly in any circumstance and in every place.The main disadvantage is represented by the fact that not everyone is able to reach the state of calm with this method, which they can do with other methods such as autogenic training.
Progressive muscle relaxation according to the Jacobson method is divided into a general form, which involves the involvement of all muscle groups, and differential relaxation which instead involves the involvement of only a part of the muscle groups.
The method initially had the big problem that it required a total of 56 sessions and exercises ranging from one to nine hours a day. Later J. Wolpe in the 1950s-1960s proposed the method in six sessions lasting about thirty minutes. Lastly, Bernstein-Barkovec in the 1970s proposed deep muscle relaxation in ten sessions
To be effective, the method must follow precise guidelines which are:
- exercise regularly and do not allow more than four days to pass between one session and the next;
- the duration of the session will range from 30 "to 45"
- during the execution of the exercises you must not be disturbed or distracted;
- wear comfortable clothes;
- practice everything in a relaxing environment, not too hot, not too cold, quiet and with soft lights;
- inhale through the nose, exhale and inhale again only when you feel the real need to do so;
- perform the exercises supine (on a rigid surface) with the arms along the body, legs slightly apart, feet relaxed.
Total relaxation
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Exercises
- LEGS:
- extend your toes. Maintain tension for 2 seconds if the muscles are not trained, otherwise for 2 to 6 seconds. Leave and relax about 15 seconds.
- flex your toes and try to touch the floor with the sole of your foot. Maintain tension for 2 seconds if the muscles are not trained, otherwise for 2 to 6 seconds. Leave and relax about 15 seconds.
- Contract the leg muscles by holding the hammer foot. Maintain tension for 2 seconds if the muscles are not trained, otherwise for 2 to 6 seconds. Leave and relax about 15 seconds.
- Maintain tension for 2 seconds if the muscles are not trained, otherwise for 2 to 6 seconds. Leave and relax about 15 seconds. Proceed first with one leg then with the other.
- BUTTOCKS: Contract the buttocks. Maintain tension for 2 seconds if the muscles are not trained, otherwise for 2 to 6 seconds. Leave and relax about 15 seconds.
- ABDOMINALS: Contract the abdominal muscles, retracting the belly. Maintain tension for 2 seconds if the muscles are not trained, otherwise for 2 to 6 seconds. Leave and relax about 15 seconds.
- ARMS: Squeeze your fist firmly and bend your forearm over your arm while maintaining tension try to reach the shoulder with your wrist. Maintain tension for 2 seconds if the muscles are not trained, otherwise for 2 to 6 seconds. Leave and relax about 15 seconds Extend your arm back to the ground and relax.
- BACK AND SHOULDERS: Push the upper limbs against the hips and at the same time place the shoulders down and forward. Maintain tension for 2 seconds if the muscles are not trained, otherwise for 2 to 6 seconds. Leave and relax about 15 seconds.
- NECK: bring the shoulders upwards until the head is wedged between them and contract. Maintain tension for 2 seconds if the muscles are not trained, otherwise for 2 to 6 seconds. Leave and relax about 15 seconds.
- FACE: Curl the forehead, close the eyelids and tighten the lips as much as possible. Maintain tension for 2 seconds if the muscles are not trained, otherwise for 2 to 6 seconds. Leave and relax about 15 seconds.
At the end remain lying down for a few minutes enjoying the deep relaxation. It is recommended to finish the exercises with slow but accentuated breathing.
Apparently it is a simple method, but since it acts on multiple levels and systems of the body it should not be underestimated or to be practiced recklessly. Sometimes for the first sessions it would be good to ask for help from an expert therapist. A possible contraindication of progressive muscle relaxation is the onset of cramps. If during the execution of the exercises you feel pain it is necessary to decrease the intensity of the contraction.
