The Benefits of Relaxation

For example: In the cases of stressor avoidance, we use our automobile brakes to avoid the stress of broken bones and blood loss; we reflexively pull away from the hot stove top to avoid the stress of 3rd degrees burns; the kidney filters the blood to avoid the toxicity of uremia and the loss of fluid (not to mention blood itself); we quit a job to avoid a harsh boss; we drink alcohol to avoid anxiety.

Effects of Relaxation

For resource replenishment, we eat food, drink water, inspire air and we rest for resource conservation---an act that reduces the replenishment demand. Relaxation, of course, involves resting. It is also much more than rest, simply, the reduction of exertion, inasmuch as relaxation also enhances the efficiency of resource replenishment. (However, keep in mind that most adult humans do not know how to relax---that has to be learned.)

One time during a hypnotherapy session my patient, an outdoorsy kind of guy, was in a trance and presumably at his favorite place in his mind's imagination when he began to show distress and started to sweat profusely. Then, suddenly, he tore off of his shirt and gave a great sigh of relief.

After the session I asked him about it. He said he was up in the high mountains and was fishing in a clear stream on a clear day when the midday sun became too much to bear.

Contributing to his sense of excessive warmth was the relaxation response of increased blood flow to the skin, flushing.

Lower blood pressure, decreased stress hormone (plasma cortisol), reduced anxiety, decrease in cigarette and alcohol use, improved concentration, lower oxygen consumption, reduced tension headaches, improved sleep, enhanced metabolic, cardiovascular and biochemical processes, enhanced recovery from, and reduced vulnerability to, depression ...(the list goes on and on) are some of the many benefits of relaxation. Research references for scientific investigations of the effects of relaxation.

Summary

Stress is unavoidable, so much so that our minds and bodies are constantly responding to stress. The stress response itself, however, can become a significant stressor, sometimes depleting our resources to the point of producing pathology. Relaxation enhances conservation of resources and improves the efficiency of resource replenishment.

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