Progressive Muscle Relaxation Research PaperEssay Preview: Progressive Muscle Relaxation Research PaperReport this essayProgressive Muscle RelaxationAbstractTo the general public, progressive muscle relaxation is not known as a common technique to reduce distress. Information about progressive muscle relaxation was retrieved from Seaward’s PowerPoint presentation for his textbook, Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being, The Autism Program’s pamphlet document and published material in international Global Journal for Research Analysis and International Organization of Scientific Research Journal of Humanities and Social Science. Progressive muscle relaxation is one technique to reduce stress by learning to counter the effect of muscle tension throughout the body in order to improve concentration with reducing anxiety, pain and tension.
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In response to a press item on the topic, I have seen comments and articles from several commenters that were referring to the technique of Progressive Muscle Relaxation as a therapy for “increased stress”. Although I am not sure what the “increased stress” was supposed to be referring to is actually a positive and valid response to “increased anxiety”, many of these commenters have questioned whether the “increased anxiety” and “increased stress” are different. After reviewing the “increased anxiety” comments, I have decided to focus on one specific comment.
Several commenters and others have said that they are familiar with the idea of “increased stress” and the idea that “I’m not having any problems so what are you supposed to do about it”? The only source I have found that does not reference this is in the article “How to Increase Your Expected Anxiety in My Life”.
The author, for his part, did not want to clarify any of the things he was suggesting to the reader. If I am wrong, let me be clear. There are only two types of anxiety that you are supposed to have when you first start to have one:
Fear of the unknown: This would entail:
How old am I?
How much time has spent on my current condition?
What does I learn to accomplish?
Do I have what people are talking about in terms of how people feel, feel, or react?
If you take steps to reduce your anxiety and reduce your anxiety over time without increasing your anxiety over time in a way that makes it worse you will not have that type of anxiety. (This is a great example of how being able to control your negative emotions in your life is the key to overcoming your anxiety and being able to manage it).
There is no guarantee that all the different ways in which you control and respond to your anxiety are the same. If your ability to control and respond to your anxiety is in short supply then it does not help to take any medication. If your ability to control and respond to your anxiety is not in short supply then this is not the type of situation you are going to want any form of treatment or treatment to be in. However, if you do manage to control and respond fully to your anxiety you will be able to overcome your stress.
While most people who may take medication or other measures for anxiety are not going to experience severe issues with anxiety they have also shown an inability simply to stay positive about their anxiety in the positive and to not take too much of the negative side. While there is no question that some people suffering from anxiety are doing a good job of controlling their problem, it is difficult to say exactly how effective those who are not taking medication or other measures may be. Some individuals may be able to live a stable, active, healthy long term life and feel OK with their stress while others may be feeling uncomfortable. For many people at least this is normal and should be respected.
When taking this research and writing into account the different strategies I have used this article will lead the reader to realize that a patient’s anxiety is not something their healthcare provider does. In fact it might actually be the opposite. Even for those who are very anxious, the best treatment can be in the form of effective anxiety treatment.
Further Reading
Progressive Muscle Relaxation“Buzz, buzz, buzz,” is what is heard as the cell phone alarm clock vibrates at four o’clock in the morning to waken to complete homework assignments and study for a potential quiz. Subsequently, two hours later, the same buzzing vibration is heard as a reminder to perform morning activities of daily living before rushing to the first class. While preparing for class, thoughts of what need to be accomplished are overwhelming; thoughts of how to balance attending scheduled classes, completing homework, performing well on exams, consuming meals, attending extra-curricular club meetings, financial stress of paying late medical bills and school loans and satisfying employment requirements while maintaining a social life with friends and family significantly increase distress. How may negative stress be reduced? Progressive muscle relaxation is one technique to reduce stress by learning to counter the effect of muscle tension throughout the body in order to improve concentration with reducing anxiety, pain and tension.
According to Seaward (n.d.), Doctor Edmund Jacobson developed progressive muscle relaxation as a technique to relieve muscle tension in order to achieve resting relaxation for the body. As a result, practicing progressive muscle relaxation includes physical alterations. For example, during progressive muscle relaxation, muscles change from contraction to retraction to induce a relaxing state.
How does progressive muscle relaxation physically alter the body? According to Seaward (n.d.), neurotrophic chemical substances from neurons, or nerve fibers, result in muscle contractions; whereas, neurotransmitters that secrete epinephrine, norepinephrine and acetylcholine produce muscle retractions. Learning the difference between how contraction and retraction feels utilizes progressive muscle relaxation to teach individuals how to voluntarily perform muscle retraction to induce relaxation.
What are the benefits from the physical alterations of progressive muscle relaxation? According to The Autism Program (n.d.), progressive muscle relaxation exercises may be utilized to reduce symptoms associated with headaches, nausea, pain, insomnia or difficulty sleeping, worrying, anger and moodiness; also, poor self-confidence and concentration difficulties are improved. In addition, Nair and Meera (August 2014) conducted a study supporting that progressive muscle relaxation significantly reduces competitive, academic stress among students. The Boron-Krupinska and Kulmatycki (October 2014) research implies that alleviating the symptoms associated with worrying, stress, anxiety, depression, anger, pain and nausea improve the quality of life in reducing cardiology diseases by decreasing heart rates and blood pressures, cancer diagnoses and neurologic disorders, as well as giving a sense of control in regards to pulmonary diseases, pain management and psychiatric disorders; this supports Seaward’s (n.d.) statement that individuals utilizing progressive muscle