by ArtiSiN

Created on: April 30, 2009   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

When thinking about stressors a popular cliche springs to mind: "[Stressors,] can't live with em can't live without em". While the actual saying about girls is a humorous take on marriage and propagation, the cliche is even more true to life when stressors are substituted for girls. Stress is an invaluable tool for the survival of our species, albeit not as much in modern times as it used to be. Stress was wired into our bodies for flight or fight response in regard to serious life threatening situations. However, more often than not, we feel this flight or fight response in everyday situations such as: commuting, school, work, and family obligations. In today's more peaceful way of life it's not very often that most of us are actually face to face with impending doom. Still, these situations still exist and stress cannot be eliminated for our life due to this purpose. With that said, in order to better manage our lives it is necessary to learn how to cope with stress, and not eliminate it. Therefore we will look at three methods to better help deal with stressors. These methods are: autogenic training, progressive relaxation, and diaphragmatic breathing. Prepare to enjoy your everyday life again as you feel your stress slip under the radar!

In 1900 Oskar Vogt, a brain physiologist, became aware of some of his patients ability to put themselves into a hypnotic like state that he dubbed autohypnosis. This hypnosis proved to be a great way to lower stress related problems such as fatigue, tension, and psychosomatic disorders. In 1932, a German psychiatrist Johannes Schultz expanded on this technique and developed autogenic training. This technique proved to dilate the blood vessels causing the patient to feel warm sensations, and relax the muscles resulting in a feeling of heaviness. This relaxation of the body in turn relaxed the mind into a hypnotic state. "Autogenic training uses the bodily sensations of heaviness and warmth to first relax the body and then expand this relaxed state to the mind by use of imagery". Autogenic training has several benefits including physiological and psychological. "Heart rate, respiratory rate, muscle tension, and serum-cholesterol level all decrease." Furthermore, autogenic training has been proven to improve the immune system in cancer sufferers, and the the quality of life in people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Nevertheless your stressors need not to be on the level of those suffering from the aforementioned ailments,

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