Stress Management Benefits [Are Your Patients Prepared?]
The best thing is that many of the most effective plans for reducing stress levels and soothing the minds and hearts of your patients are also very simple. So, let us take a closer look at some of the most effective plans to reduce stress levels in your patients’ lives.
Guided Imagery
No one can deny the therapeutic power of time away from your thoughts and worries. Guided imagery can provide your patients with this escape. Instruct your patients to find a comfortable standing or sitting position and picture a beautiful vacation spot. By taking a minute to envision the imagery, listen to the sounds and take in the smells of their imagined environment, stress levels can significantly reduce.
Guided imagery can be done alone or with the help of a recording of a person walking through a lovely picture. Instruct your patients to begin with a full five minutes in which they will remain in this calm state of mind. Once patients have envisioned a “happy place,” it will often be easier for them to close their eyes and return to a place of calm and serenity.
This exercise provides the individual with a considerable measure of control over their mind in times of stress and discomfort. In addition, taking a short leave of their mental events can have physiological effects such as reducing the heart rate, and rapid breathing often felt in times of high anxiety.
Often, patients have very little practice in engaging with their minds in times of stress and anxiety. Therefore, this exercise is an excellent entry-level practice to building awareness of the mind and its singular capacity to influence the physical conditions of the body.
Meditation
Meditation is a natural function of the mind that can have long-term and short-term stress management benefits to your patients’ state of mind. The topic of meditation is certainly a large one, but there is no need to get into the vast philosophies of meditation to practice it effectively.
Meditation could be clearing the mind of all thoughts by bringing awareness to the sensations of the present moment. Encourage your patients to choose a comfortable spot to sit undisturbed and focus their attention on the feelings passing through their awareness.
Others may find it easier to focus their mind on a mantra or their breathing. Either way, it is essential to remember that thoughts will come up in the mind; it is inevitable. But tell your patients to allow them to rise and fade away by themselves by not shifting their attention from concentration in meditation and mindfulness exercise.
Improved sleeping habits, improved immune conditions, increased mental fortitude, emotional balance, and reduced anxieties are among the reported stress management benefits of meditation. Meditation can also improve your patient’s social, professional, and personal lives.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation is a good way for your patients to begin building awareness of their body from its parts. Tell your patient to start with the toes and get a feel for the muscles within them. Next, tell them to relax and tense their muscles in synchronization with breathing.
From the toes, work upwards to the heels, calves, quads, and glutes. Interface with each muscle system in succession until you reach the fingertips, neck, and head muscles. Then starting at the forehead, reverse the process back down to the toes.
Breathing Exercises
According to the ancient ayurvedic tradition, the breath, or prana, is the link between the mind, the body, and spirit and can be used to improve health and increase longevity. Medical sciences have also noted the valuable function of breathing in improving mental and physical processes.
One of the most notable benefits of building awareness of the breath is calming the mind and body and regaining composure in moments of stress and the need for focus and mental acuity. In addition, there is a wide range of specialized breathing exercises such as pranayama or karate breathing, and you may encourage your patient to seek out instruction in these arts.
Taking a Walk
Simply taking a five-minute walk can have an incredible impact on settling the mind and body. A change of scenery can change the frame of mind dramatically. Encourage your patients to develop an awareness of their triggers, and when they feel uncomfortable with their situation, excuse themselves from the location. Simply stepping outside to focus on the sights and sounds of the outdoors can be enough to mitigate the harshness of an anxiety attack.
Physical Contact
The human touch is a powerful stress relief in today’s cold modern society. Those who receive more hugs and physical contact enjoy a greater sense of stability and well-being, leading to better health. This same holds for small babies and grown adults alike.
Affection from a loved one releases oxytocin into the blood. The effects of the “cuddle hormone” have a compelling impact on happiness levels and can significantly impact stress levels in the short and long term. Therefore, encouraging more significant levels of affection between close friends and family members is an excellent way to keep your patients’ stress levels at a manageable level.
Similar results can be found in a regular massage for those who live far away from close friends and family. Massage can stimulate circulation throughout the extremities and release toxins. Furthermore, many types of massage have a soothing and relaxing effect on the mind and body.
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy has fast-acting stress management benefits that your patients can use to counter the onset of an incredibly intense moment of stress or anxiety. In addition, emerging research has indicated that certain smells are capable of directly impacting the limbic system and making the individual feel more relaxed and energized.
Eating a Balanced Diet
One of the most important places to begin reducing stress is in the diet. A well-balanced diet well-suited to the needs of the individual will promote better health and maintain a more relaxed mental state.
When the diet is rife with sugars and refined carbs, the individual will experience more rapid spikes in blood sugar levels. Furthermore, stressed individuals would more easily succumb to emotional eating, which can also play a role in encouraging more significant levels of stress.
There are foods to suit every taste, and the limitation is only the capacity to maintain balance and eat to be healthy. The benefits of a better health plan affect every aspect of your patient’s lives.
BioScan Testing
Detecting the source of stress can be another critical path to stress reduction in your patients’ lives. Combining the disciplines and sciences of Homeopathy, Biofeedback, and Acupuncture, the BioScan system can take Galvanic Body Scan readings to provide many important clues to the nature of the stress they experience.
The BioScanSRT will collect specific data on the galvanic skin responses of your patient. This information will then be analyzed against a database of stressors. Stressors that typically cause stress in the body include dietary elements, environmental factors, toxins, and even emotional patterns.
The whole process can be completed in as little as 10 minutes. In addition, BioScan can help you formulate a plan to target stressors affecting your patient’s life right now.
Reducing Stress
No matter their work line, social status, or economic capacity, your patients will be suffering from a certain degree of stress. Even though many people function well under stress, if stress levels are not balanced and regulated, their effects in the long term can be just as harmful.
For this reason, health providers should be doing all they can to teach their patients about the adverse effects of prolonged periods of elevated stress and how to manage stress levels effectively.