Find out how you can use your muscles to control anxiety in this chapter now.
- Scan your muscle for tension
- Progressive muscle relaxation
- Preparation for relaxation
Relax
Breathing exercises are very effective against anxiety and you can practice these techniques to get hold of your anxiety but there is another technique which is called muscle relaxation technique which can help you in controlling your anxiety in long run. There are certain steps which you need to follow for executing muscle relaxation techniques.
Scan your muscles for tension
You need to think about your whole body for a moment and try to realize that, which are the parts where you feel most stress or tension after a tiring day? Make a chart of all body parts including shoulders, forehead, stomach, arms, legs and others. And select all those parts where you think that you feel tension.
Muscle relaxation is more effective for people who feel stress in their muscles more than other parts of the body because this technique can tell you to respond differently towards that muscle stress and your muscles will become more responsive than other parts of the body.
Progressive muscle relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation is a technique which is being used now for many years and people have found this technique very effective. I this technique, you basically train your muscles gradually to respond to prolonged anxiety. There are some crucial steps in learning and executing progressive muscle relaxation technique.
- First of all, make sure that you know exactly about all the different muscle groups in your body and if you do not know then, try to learn and group muscles.
- You also need to know that how you can make some muscles tense and how to utilize that tension.
- Learn some relaxation techniques and let go of yourself.
- Practice is the key to success in this case and more you practice, more results you will get out of this technique.
Preparation for relaxation
First and key step is the preparation to execute progressive muscle exercises as you need to make your body ready to relax.
- You should not have any physical injuries or any history of old muscle injuries and if you have then, before attempting muscle relaxation, you should consult your doctor.
- Select an environment where, you have minimum distractions to five senses. Turn off TV, radio, mobile phone and other similar things which can distract any of your senses.
- Find yourself a very relaxing position to sit in. this can be a chair, sofa or bed or anything where your whole body from head to toe is in relaxed position.
- Avoid practicing these techniques after a heavy meal or any drinks like alcohol.
- Practice is the key, as I mentioned earlier, and once you start then, you need to be very regular with your routine.
Relaxation Techniques
Here are some of the techniques for relaxations:-
- Make a fist of your hand. Feel the tension in your hand and forearm and hold that tension for 5 second then, release the tension and feel the difference between relax and tense position.
- Re[eat this procedure for both arms and hands
- Raise your eyebrows as up as you can as if you were surprised by something and feel the tension above your eyes then, release the tension.
- Open your mouth as wide as you can and feel the tension around your mouth then, release this tension.
Similarly, these kinds of exercises are there for almost every muscle of your body and once you start executing them, you will feel the difference. It is not necessary to execute all of these exercises daily instead, you can categories them in sets and execute them for different sets of muscles in different days of the week.
Get rid of test, interview or meeting anxieties
In this chapter, we will be discussing about getting rid of the test, interview and meeting anxieties.
- Situation before test, interview or meeting
Calm down
Some people have this problem that whenever they need to undergo some tests, interview, they feel anxiety and stress. This is not only about students who feel anxiety before tests but I have seen grown up adults going through similar kind of anxiety when they have to undergo any kind of similar situation and main reason behind this tension and anxiety is less control.
They did not control this anxiety in their childhood and it becomes so big that it creates hindrance in their career. There are some techniques available which can help you to decrease that anxiety of interview, test or meeting with boss.
Situation before test, interview or meeting
You need to have believe in yourself and make sure that you are not taking that particular test, interview or meeting as your life’s depending upon it. This is not the only opportunity of your life instead you need to be very casual and remain in light mood. Make all the preparations as good as you can and after giving your full effort, try to forget about the fact that you are not prepared for the event.
Believe in the fact that you have done whatever was necessary and whatever was in your approach to make things better. If you are still confused then, try to remember some of the old successful tests, interviews and meeting which you have done. This will boost your confidence and think this event as another similar event. Enter the event with a full positive frame of mind and observe the things closely. Observe the environment and you will feel very relaxed and well-prepared.
Things to look for during the event
When you are in middle of that particular event then, do not lose your confidence and be sure of your success. If you give even a single bad gesture then, it will ruin your whole preparation and background of that event. You can expect some complications during the event but make sure that you overcome those things properly.
Excerpted from the book The Anxiety Antidote.
This excerpt has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Download this book on Boostlane:
https://boostlane.com/p/boostlane/890/the-anxiety-antidote/
