How often have you caught yourself thinking that you are tired and cannot fully rest even on the weekend? This is a consequence of constant stress and loads that the body can no longer cope with on its own. To avoid overwork, you need to understand how to learn to relax psychologically and physically without losing performance.
Even in the most difficult and difficult moments, being able to relax means giving yourself the opportunity and a way to build a defense against stress. This will help get rid of many problems of modern people. Insomnia, headaches and migraines, weakened immunity. Each of the points is most often caused by general fatigue of the body.
To understand how to give yourself the opportunity to relax and unwind, you need to understand the causes of stress. This will help you quickly learn to activate your internal forces and be calm more often. To do this, it is not at all necessary to visit a specialist’s office or expensive relaxation salons. It is enough to understand how to negotiate with your own body.
Why am I always tense
Tension can be spontaneous (an hour-long workout in the gym), followed by calm quickly enough, or cumulative. It is the last option that is most difficult for a person. It consists of:
- Physical fatigue - lack of sleep, working on your feet or at the computer, constant chores, due to which there is no time to sit down.
- Stress, psychological pressures, conflict situations - they appear everywhere when there is no harmony within and with the environment.
- Ecology and rhythm of life - the space around us is very depressing and provides a gloomy background.
If you only feel tension in the body that does not go away, then the reason is your inability to hear it.
Manage different stages of stress
Experts divide professional stress into three stages:
- Growing tension.
- Actually stress.
- Reducing internal tension.
Our task is to control our condition and prevent the transition from the stage of increasing tension to the stage of stress. You can track the transition by observing behavior: we suddenly change it to the opposite when we become stressed. For example, a calm and reserved person suddenly becomes fussy, irritated, even aggressive and cruel, while a lively, active and sociable person can suddenly become gloomy, withdrawn and inhibited. Other signs of increasing tension: we stop looking the other person in the eyes, we feel the urge to move from meaningful conversation to personal attacks.
Being in the first stage, we can still be constructive, but gradually our self-control weakens. This means that it is important at this stage to take a break in communication, identify factors influencing tension, and remove them.
Relaxation and Relaxation Techniques
If it is a skill, then it can be learned. Different techniques are required in different situations - some are appropriate at home after work, others can be used during a lunch break.
Quick ways
They are suitable for moments when you need to switch to something, throw off the burden of negative thoughts and experiences. For example, before going to a business meeting, you should temporarily disconnect from current work problems.
Quick relaxation techniques:
- Find the cause of stress and mentally push it aside. Awareness is the first and main step towards calm.
- Do some exercise. Many large companies have both a recreation area and a gym. Because sports activities relieve psychological fatigue.
- Several inhalations and exhalations, accompanied by raising and lowering your arms. Breathing is an excellent indicator of stress; with anxiety and nervous tension, it becomes more frequent; it is necessary to force it back to normal.
- Compression of the body in the fetal position. Press your head to your knees and clasp your legs with your hands, freeze for 10 minutes, experiencing conscious tension. Then, exhaling, open your palms and straighten up. This technique will allow you to get rid of internal locks.
How to relax your body and remove tensions
The muscles contract involuntarily and do not return to normal. This physical reaction of the body indicates psychological problems. You may not notice the “muscle shell” for a long time until the muscles begin to ache. If clamped:
- Mouth. Indicates a need for protection and resentment. You need to take the fetal position and make sucking movements.
- Neck. This means that there is fear, as well as control over speech. It is necessary to make several yawns in the morning and in the evening - large, into all the lungs.
- Breast. Speaks of restrained emotions. Try lying crosswise on the bed with your feet on the floor. Place a cushion under your back and take deep breaths.
- Diaphragm. Most likely, you are afraid of something. You can remove the clamp by making static turns of the body to the sides and holding them for a minute.
How to learn to completely relax your body from tension
You need to give small loads to each muscle group:
Psychologist Daria Milai
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- Bends – for the neck and shoulders, lower back, arms, calves and thighs.
- Pull up - for the back.
- Turns to the right and left - for the oblique abdominal muscles.
- Squats are for the legs.
It helps to relax energetic dance for 5-7 minutes. You can also sign up for swimming - water reduces resistance, so the muscles receive moderate, comprehensive development, but without overexertion. If you come home after training, a warm bath with aromatic oils or a contrast shower will work well.
Exercise for the brain
If you work mentally or study, you need to periodically clear your thoughts of worries. You can do it like this:
- using water procedures;
- through aromatherapy;
- drink tea with herbs - chamomile, thyme, linden;
- You can go for a massage or acupressure your body while applying milk or cream to the skin.
How to relax yourself after stress
First, you need to understand the cause of the condition, remove this factor from the environment along with secondary irritants - calls, noise from the street, the TV on. After this, you can do one of the following:
- take a walk in the forest/park, if the weather cooperates;
- play with your pet;
- watch a good movie or enjoy music;
- do yoga or stretching, Pilates - something slow, with elements of meditation;
- take a bath;
- meet good friends, lovers, share problems.
What to do if there is tension in your relationship with your spouse
Discord in the family always begins with misunderstanding, so the main trump card is a heart-to-heart conversation. Perhaps the problem lies in the presence of complexes - you are embarrassed by your appearance, afraid to express your opinion, or do not feel loved.
I recommend being together more often in places where you feel most comfortable - on joint walks, picnics, at your parents’ house. Even a room in an apartment matters, where it is easier and more free for you to speak, there are more ways to open up. A prerequisite is a conversation, gradually explain the problem to him, find a joint solution.
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Signs
Many people are looking for answers to the question of how to relax mentally. But is this necessary? How to understand that a person is mentally tired? Characteristic signs will tell you.
1. Psychological. These include the following conditions:
- Reluctance to do anything.
- Loss of interest in everything.
- Reluctance to live.
- Low self-esteem, reproaches and complaints against oneself.
2. Psychological and neurological. Characterized by the following symptoms:
- Mood swings.
- Insomnia.
- Irritability.
- Frequent tantrums.
- Aggressiveness.
- Tearfulness.
- Depressed state.
3. Physiological. Don’t be surprised, moral fatigue can even cause painful conditions, such as:
- Lack of appetite.
- Headache.
- Tachycardia.
- Dizziness.
- Diarrhea.
- Unexplained weakness.
A morally tired person most often does not take care of his appearance, slouches, and answers inappropriately.
If you notice such signs in yourself, you definitely need to find out how you can mentally relax.
Effective techniques
There are many types of methods, among which auto-training, meditation (especially good for those who practice yoga), and listening to music of a certain direction are especially popular. I made a selection of 6 techniques. To complete them, you need 15 minutes and complete privacy in comfortable conditions: order, silence, comfortable temperature, fresh air (you need to ventilate the room), absence of irritants.
Respiratory
It involves controlling the breath as the most important force guiding our body and mind. To do this you need:
- lie down in a comfortable position;
- close your eyes and concentrate on inhaling and exhaling through your nose;
- feel the coolness of the air;
- hold your breath for a while;
- exhale and feel the warmth.
This combination should be repeated 30-50 times. At the same time, you cannot think about extraneous things, only about enriching the body with oxygen. This exercise can be done anywhere, even while sitting. At the same time, the heart rate decreases, the nerves gradually return to order.
Relaxation technique progressive muscle relaxation
It is based on the opinion that if you tense each individual muscle in turn, then the whole body will come to calm in just 5-10 minutes. To do this, you need to move one muscle at a time - the neck (turns), the abs (twisting), the arms (raising small dumbbells).
Calming Visualization
Our subconscious “I” does not distinguish between real events. Therefore, you need to visualize images that bring peace. You need to act like this:
- Sit or lie down in a comfortable position and close your eyes.
- Normalize your breathing if it is lost.
- Imagine a place where you like to be, hold this picture, feel all the sensations (smells, tactile touches, sounds) that you experience there.
- Use maximum detail.
- Gradually return to reality, mentally recalling the furnishings of the room, focusing on real feelings.
- Open your eyes.
Relaxation and relaxation technique: “entering the alpha state”
Our brain works as a wave generator, and its activity can be at 4 levels, where:
- β – active work;
- α – state of rest;
- θ – meditation or hypnotic influence;
- δ – sleep.
The task of technology is to switch to frequencies from 8 to 14 Hz. This can be done according to the algorithm:
- lie down more comfortably;
- count from 3 to 1, mentally pronouncing these numbers;
- list the values from 10 to 1, thinking in the phrases “I calm down”, “I relax”, “I sink deeper into calm”, “I am calm”, etc., at ten say “I am in alpha”.
This is similar to self-hypnosis and requires repeated repetition to learn how to dive deeper at each stage.
How to relax well when you have neurosis
This condition is accompanied by panic, fears, irritability, as well as depressive thoughts and a general negative attitude. Autogenic training helps a lot, during which a person, for a short time, but every day, inspires himself with correct, positive thoughts. Basic recommendations:
- mantras should not have a negative particle “not”;
- they must have simple language;
- During the exercise, development should occur - from the easiest to the more complex.
Examples of self-hypnosis: “I am happy,” “I am calm,” “I respond well to any situation.”
According to Jacobson
According to his theory, it is necessary to tense and then release tension from the muscles - this method of relaxation should be used not only for physical fatigue, but also for psychological fatigue. Thoughts need to be concentrated on sensations.
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Learn breathing practices
Psychologists consider breathing control one of the effective methods of dealing with stress. Scientists say that breathing exercises have a positive effect on all systems of the body, including the nervous system.
See also: How to increase stress resistance
To relieve tension, try concentrating on your breathing, the movement of your chest, rhythmically rising and falling in time with your breathing. Or on the flow of air passing through the lungs. At this moment, thoughts are distracted from the source of stress and attention switches from the traumatic situation to the breathing process.
Recommendations for relaxation
Regardless of which method you choose, follow some tips.
Simple exercises
Normal breathing actions and physical movements can be done for 1-2 minutes in any place - at work, at home, in line at the store. Take a break from your computer or phone right now, close your eyes, take a deep breath as you raise your arms, and exhale as you quickly lower them. Feel how the fatigue leaves you with the air, all the tension falls off your shoulders. Now stretch your hands, elbow joints and shoulders with rotational movements, twist your back from side to side, shake your limbs. In these couple of minutes you will already feel light.
Food
Part of the heaviness in the stomach is the cause of the general drowned state. Adviсe:
- do not eat at night;
- avoid large amounts of fatty foods;
- give preference not to buns and chocolates, but to fruits;
- drink more clean water.
How to calm down easily
If you feel excitement (anxiety, fear, resentment), then your breathing and heartbeat quicken. The first thing you need to do is stay alone with yourself and normalize them with the help of deep breaths, short holds and exhalations.
Sport
25. Do yoga
Put your feet up against the wall—literally! The Viparita Karani yoga pose looks like this: you need to lie on the floor with your feet resting on the wall. It not only provides stretching to the muscles, but also gives peace.
26. Stretch
Get up from your chair and do a couple of simple exercises to relieve muscle tension. Some exercises don't even require you to stand up!
27. Run in place
Of course, you won’t run away from stress, but running itself won’t hurt you. Try running in place to get your endorphin fix. A short burst of physical activity will significantly help you combat stress.
28. Take a walk
Take your stress out! If you feel like the clouds are gathering, take a short walk around the nearest neighborhood. You will enjoy solitude and physical activity and will be able to organize your thoughts.
How to relax: 9 sensible tips
- Give up cigarettes and alcohol as stress relievers.
- Brew soothing teas with healing aromatic herbs - chamomile, lemon balm, thyme. It is better to buy natural ones at the pharmacy than to buy tea bags with flavors.
- Use aroma oils - in aroma lamps, when taking a bath, for massage.
- Avoid people and situations that make you nervous. No matter what it is - communication with your mother-in-law or the sound of a leaking faucet, fix it.
- Change your activity - if you have been sitting at the computer for a long time, get up and walk, if, on the contrary, you have worked a lot physically, read a chapter of a book or a newspaper article.
- You are more in contact with nature and animals. If you can’t visit zoos or go out of town, plant a few homemade flowers and get a kitten.
- Make it a spa day with a massage, jacuzzi and chocolate wrap.
- Unleash your creativity - now there are a lot of handicraft products, clay modeling courses, as well as intuitive drawing lessons, find a hobby you like.
- Sign up for my consultation and I will help you find tensions and psychological internal conflicts, together we will find solutions without the use of antidepressants and sedatives.
Smells
33. Smell the flowers
Just stop and smell! Some smells can change our mood. It's hard to be angry when everything smells like roses, right? Place a vase of fresh flowers at work or in your living room and go smell them every time you feel a wave of anxiety.
34. Try aromatherapy
Apply a few drops of lavender or tea tree oil to your palm and inhale deeply. It does not take a lot of time! Calming scents can help relieve stress and anxiety by stimulating receptors located in the nose that connect to the part of the brain that controls emotions.
35. Smell lemons or other citrus fruits
Oranges don't have stress! The smell of citrus fruits helps you relax by influencing the production of the hormone norepinephrine, which is associated with stress.
36. Smell the coffee
Stick your nose in a mug of fresh latte! The mere smell of coffee reduces the production of stress hormones. Drinking coffee is optional. (Try not to get burned though!)
What happens to the body during moments of stress?
In moments of stress, the human body prepares for long-term work and begins to use not all resources, but to save them. That is why everything falls out of hand, concentration disappears - there is simply no energy supply for the brain. The condition can be compared to starvation. With a rapid transition to minimal nutrition, the body begins to actively store calories because it is preparing for a period of hunger.
Causes
Knowing what causes mental fatigue, you can understand how a person can relax mentally. There are a great many reasons for this condition. In fact, each person is caused by his own set of circumstances. Psychotherapists identify the following main factors observed in most cases:
- Social inequality. There are people who find it hard to come to terms with the fact that someone has a mansion, a luxury car, but they don’t even have money for new shoes.
- Underestimation of management. There are thousands of people working in humble positions, but dreaming of taking a more worthy position. If they don’t succeed for a long time, moral fatigue sets in.
- Underestimation in the family (constant ridicule from your significant other or her/his relatives).
- The inability to change life for the better, constant thoughts that the world is heading into the abyss.
- Dissatisfaction with oneself (overweight, acne, short stature, hooked nose, and so on).
- Loneliness.
Moral fatigue can be observed not only in adults, but also in children, for example, those who live in single-parent families, or those who are constantly bullied by their peers.
Silence
In our modern life, we all daily “cook” in the information surrounding us from all sides. Television, telephone, Internet, just conversations with neighbors, colleagues, acquaintances. Various information (often negative) covers us like an avalanche. Many people can’t stand it and say: “I want to rest mentally and morally.” What does such a vacation mean? For some, silence will be the best remedy. This method is more suitable for those who live alone. Take a few days off from work. If you stay at home, turn off the TV, hide your phone. Spend at least one day without information. Enjoy reading your favorite book. Light scented candles. Take a relaxing bath. Eat something very tasty. Dedicate this day to yourself.
Dream
How to relax mentally with sleep? Scientists have found that during night rest, brain cells get rid of not only negative information received during the day, but also harmful toxins. That is why a person always thinks more positively in the morning than in the evening. Popular wisdom says that there is nothing sweeter in the world than sleep.
If you are tired of everything that is happening in our world and in your life, if you are tormented by thoughts that nothing can be changed, give yourself a good, sound sleep. This method is perfect for those who work hard. Do not think that your self-sacrifices will go unnoticed by the body. He will endure as long as he can, and then he will begin to react with moral fatigue and all sorts of sores.
A person should sleep about 7-8 hours a day. Try to set aside this time. To make your sleep more pleasant, buy a sachet pillow and place it at your head. Take a light walk before bed. When you get home, take a relaxing bath with aromatic oils and drink a cup of herbal tea with honey.
