The most common symptoms of a social disorder are trepidation and nervousness. It is imperative that we learn the depth of this disorder, but more importantly, the aim should be to figure out just how to support you through it. In our effort to offer you the help you need, we give you some relaxation techniques for anxiety.
Firstly, there is the Jacobson’s Progressive Relaxation (PMR) technique. It was developed in the earlier part of the 1920s by Edmund Jacobson, a physician from the United States. The main principle of this technique speaks to the fact that muscle tension usually go along with anxiety. As such, once you have learnt how to relax your muscles, you will automatically diminish your anxiety. With this technique, you are in a stress-free setting where you engage in deep meditation. You are psychologically concentrating on separate muscles, body parts or muscle groups and methodically trying to relax each of them one at a time. Aptly named body scanning, this technique effectively helps to relax your muscles either before or after somatic exercises. This is usually done in five to ten minutes, beginning with one time a day, and then doing it as is necessary. You can tape the instructions to help you along.
There is also Autogenic Training; which was created by Johannes Schultz, the psychiatrist from out of Germany. A little more complex than PMR, but has the same basic mechanisms. There are 6 regular exercises using optical imagery. These exercises leave your body in a calm, warm, heavy mode. The aim is to be aware of one’s body and use visual imagery to get you into a relaxed state of being. This particular technique takes anywhere from 4 to 6 months to be able to perfectly execute. It should be done in 5 to 10 minute stints numerous times a day. This may call for instructions from a trained therapist, but can be done via taped directives.
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