Traditional approaches for stress management can trigger the relaxation response and help you reduce stress, but most people don’t have a lot of time to do them.
Usually, stressful situations come up quickly when you’re working, while driving or even talking on the phone with a difficult person. So, you need a rapid way to reduce stress. Read on…
Most people don’t have time to do the traditional approaches for stress management. By using the Instant Stress Reliever, you can trigger the relaxation response and reduce stress rapidly. So, you can block the release of stress hormones and avoid their harmful health effects.
If you’re too busy, you’re probably too rushed to relax. Most people can’t afford to take about 30 minutes twice a day to meditate.
If your day is too hectic, it can be stressful to even think about adding more tasks to your to-do list – even if it’s for meditation or relaxation. For some high-energy people, who are usually pressed for time, the traditional relaxation techniques can cause a lot of anxiety or stress.
By using the Instant Stress Reliever, you can trigger the relaxation response and block the physiological effects of the stress response quickly.
Here’s a brief review of the stress response and the relaxation response:
When faced with a stressful situation, your body triggers the stress response or fight-or-flight response. This leads to the secretion of cortisol, adrenaline and other stress hormones along with an increase of your blood pressure, breathing and heart rate.
The relaxation response produces the exact opposite effect of the body’s physiological reaction to stress. The state of deep calm produced by the relaxation response results in a decrease in blood pressure, breathing and heart rate as well as muscle tension and oxygen consumption.
Top Reasons Why You Need to Trigger the Relaxation Response and Reduce Stress Rapidly
By using the Instant Stress Reliever, you can trigger the relaxation response automatically and reduce stress… even when you don’t have a lot of time.
At first, you have to practice the Instant Stress Reliever consciously. But after a while, you can start using it automatically whenever you’re dealing with stressful situations.
To maximize its effectiveness, it’s important to trigger the Instant Stress Reliever BEFORE you start feeling the effects of stress. If you wait until you’re really stressed out before you trigger it, you will have more difficulty neutralizing the harmful effects of stress.
Why?
In response to the stressful situation, your body has already released a cascade of hormonal and neuro-chemical signals leading to a surge of stress hormones along with increased blood pressure, breathing and heart rate.
This is the key difference between the Instant Stress Reliever and other stress management techniques which attempt to reduce the harmful effects of stress AFTER the individual has already dealt with one or multiple stressful events.
The most effective way to neutralize the harmful effects of stress is to trigger the relaxation response immediately at the earliest signs of stress or BEFORE your body reacts to the stressful situation.
You can anticipate some stressful situations and you can practice the Instant Stress Reliever before stress occurs. For example, you’ll probably be feeling stressed when dealing with a customer complaint, performance evaluation, flight delay, traffic jam, employee termination, job interview or when dealing with difficult situations at work, at school or at home.
Although it’s less effective, you can still control the effects of stress immediately after it happens. You can practice the Instant Stress Reliever immediately as soon as you start feeling any sign of stress, including rapid and shallow breathing, frustration, muscle tension, anger, anxiety, worry or any feelings of distress.
2 Steps to Trigger the Relaxation Response and Reduce Stress Using the Instant Stress Reliever
The Instant Stress Reliever is a simplified version of Dr. Robert Cooper’s Instant Calming Sequence.
#1. Control your breathing when you’re about to deal with a stressful situation. Breathe as slowly and deeply as possible. This will help calm you down while maximizing oxygen to your brain. You’ll need it to be able to think clearly.
During stressful situations, breathing usually becomes shallow and rapid resulting in less oxygen to the brain. This further adds to the feeling of distress during stress.
#2. Maintain a good posture. This can facilitate maximum intake of oxygen during breathing — much more than breathing while hunched-over.
2 Ways to Maximize the Relaxation Response Triggered By the Instant Stress Reliever
#1. You can focus on relaxing your muscles from head to toe. Just allow relaxation to occur at its own pace. Don’t worry if you can’t totally achieve full relaxation.
SKIP this step if muscle relaxation will cause you to be too distracted; for example, while driving or doing some task that requires a lot of concentration.
#2. You can try smiling. Studies have shown that smiling releases endorphins and serotonin.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps maintain a “happy feeling.” Endorphins are neurotransmitters which function as natural pain and stress killers. Smiling can make you feel good.
Of course, you have to SKIP this step if you’re in the middle of an argument or some other stressful situation where smiling is inappropriate.
Not only can chronic stress lower the quality of your life, but it can also put you at increased risk for numerous health problems and shorten your life. So, it’s important to neutralize or reduce its harmful effects.
By using the Instant Stress Reliever to trigger the relaxation response and reduce stress quickly, you can avoid the damaging effects of stress to your health.