by David Stillwagon

Created on: May 21, 2010

Stress is a vital part of life, without it we wouldn’t have any warning sign that peril lies ahead. Unfortunately stress is a double edged sword that can also break you down emotionally and physically. Relaxation is an important part of our life and part of our stress management system that keeps anxiety and worry under control.

The term stress was first coined by Hans Seyle, an endocrinologist who considered stress as a reaction to physical or emotional threats, whether the threats were real or not. He also believed that there were things called stressors that brought on stress. Not all stress is bad, good stress called eustress challenges us rather than weakens us physically or emotionally. 

Stress management is an ever expanding field that helps to identify and control stress through a thought-out plan. There are various methods that are used in stress management such Autogenic training. Autogenic training has been around for quite a while. It was developed by German psychiatrist Johannes Schultz in 1932. It has been widely used as a treatment for stress and anxiety. While you can learn the treatment by your self it is advised that you seek instruction from a therapist. 

Autogenic training involves meditation and the ability to relax your muscles and in turn calm your thoughts and mind. This form of stress management could almost be considered self hypnosis because you reach a deep level of relaxation and awareness as if you are in a trance. It is also similar to yoga. 

Like most relaxation techniques you need to find a place that is quiet and where you won’t be disturbed. You can either sit down or lie down while doing the exercise, although if you are lying down you may fall asleep. To begin autogenic training you start at your feet and say to yourself ‘my feet are heavy and relaxed.' While you are saying these commands either aloud or to your self you should be concentrating on your feet muscles, making the perception that your feet are indeed heavy and relaxed. From the feet you go up the body concentrating on each set of muscles and repeating the phrase how your muscles are heavy and relaxed.  When you get to the top of your body take a moment to take a deep breath and enjoy the total tranquility of the moment. If the training is used in conjunction with self-hypnosis you might repeat positive suggestions while you are in this calm and relaxed state. In order for the training to be effective it must be done at least once a day possibly twice. 

Autogenic training has been around for quite a while. It was developed by German psychiatrist Johannes Schultz in 1932. It has been widely used as a treatment for stress and anxiety. While you can learn the treatment by your self it is advised that you seek instruction from a therapist.

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