Individuals throughout life; In addition to emotions such as joy, happiness and pleasure, they also feel stress, anxiety and anger. However, negative emotions as well as positive emotions experienced during the day are all normal and all these emotions are responsible for giving various messages to keep individuals safe. Therefore, when this situation is not accompanied by adequate emotion regulation skills in the face of life's difficulties, emotions such as stress, anxiety and anger, which are expressed as normal and beneficial, begin to tire and consume individuals by experiencing them more intensely than they should.
These difficulties can cope with stress properly. When it cannot be resolved with the methods of treatment, it can also appear as psychological disorders under the name of mood disorder. Of course, there is no scientific data that every stress factor will turn into an emotional disorder. However, even if the emotional difficulties experienced by the individual in life do not turn into psychological problems or are resolved with appropriate coping methods, they can still cause a decrease in life satisfaction and motivation. They prefer options such as resting, traveling and doing their favorite activities. Although these options help to reduce the harmful effects of stress for a short time, the relaxing effects of all these may not last long. It needs to be adapted to daily life.
What are Breathing and Relaxation Exercises and What are they Used for?
Breathing and relaxation exercises are scientifically proven alternatives that help to gradually get rid of emotional tensions in the body and mind. relaxation methods. Breathing and relaxation exercises are used both in therapy sessions and as home exercises in order to increase the benefits to be obtained from therapies in cases of many psychological difficulties such as depression, anxiety disorders, phobias.
Breathing and relaxation exercises are also used daily. As a result of emotions such as stress, anxiety, anger, fear that occur in the flow of life, there is a change in the body and mind. These are techniques that can be applied by all individuals in order to reduce tension and get rid of this tension. The information obtained has become known as a result of scientific researches.
While these exercises provide benefits such as relaxation and relaxation as soon as they are applied, they have more benefits for mental and physical health when they are continued to be applied regularly. These benefits are; We can divide it into two as short-term benefits at the time of application and long-term benefits obtained as a result of regular applications.
Short-Term Benefits of Breathing and Relaxation Exercises
When breathing and relaxation exercises are performed correctly, we can divide the body into two. It calms the body and allows it to return to its normal rhythm. Thus, it is seen that the intensely increased anxiety, stress, fear, anger, excitement before the application play an effective role in the reduction of symptoms such as heart palpitations, frequent breathing, sweating and trembling in the body. and gives the message that it needs to slow down. In this way, the mind also receives the messages that the body needs to calm down and adapts to being slower. As a result of this attunement, emotions such as anxiety, fear, and stress are replaced by positive emotions such as peace, confidence, and comfort. By learning to observe, they can realize the reflections of their emotions on their bodies.
Long-Term Benefits of Breathing and Relaxation Exercises
With the regular use of breathing and relaxation exercises, emotion regulation skills are gained in the long term, while existing skills are strengthened. It is possible. In short, if intense emotions are triggered, regular repetition of breathing and relaxation exercises will increase the capacity of the individual to calm himself over time. This increase actually comes as a result of the strengthening of the brain and nervous system. The strengthened nervous system also means less strain in the face of negative situations and more It enables to experience less stress and to cope with existing stress symptoms more easily. As a result of all these, the time for individuals to calm themselves becomes shorter over time.
Breathing and relaxation exercises are based on focusing on body sensations or targeted external stimuli, ignoring distracting stimuli during practice. In this way, while working on focusing mental functions on the body, breath, dreams or targeted external stimuli, attention and focusing skills are also supported. Breathing and relaxation exercises, which are applied regularly every day or a few days a week, also strengthen attention and focusing skills over time. As a result of strengthening attention and focusing skills, the capacity of the mind to better control the impulsive responses of individuals to environmental stimuli increases.
When breathing and relaxation exercises are continued to be applied regularly, the harmful chemicals secreted by stress hormones in the body also decrease. In this way, the body's resistance increases and the probability of getting diseases decreases.
When to Practice Breathing and Relaxation Exercises?
Breathing and relaxation exercises can be applied to cope with the emotional strains brought by negative life events, as well as intensely. It can also be applied as a daily exercise without facing a problem.
Actually, breathing and relaxation exercises; These are healthy methods that can be applied by anyone who wants to improve the nervous system, increase attention and focus, and ability to stay in the moment, to calm oneself without being dependent on external factors, and to cope better with the physical and mental strains reflected by daily stress factors. The use of breathing and relaxation exercises is extremely useful and important in coping with most psychological problems.
Psychological Problems Where Breathing and Relaxation Exercises Can Be Used
▪ Depression,
▪ Trauma Post-Stress Disorder,
▪ Social Phobia,
▪ Generalized Anxiety Disorder,
▪ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,
▪ Specific Phobias,
▪ Exam and Performance Anxiety,
▪ Separation Anxiety,
▪ Panic Disorder,
▪ Eating Disorders,
▪ Depersonalization and Derealization,
▪ Dissociation,
▪ Somatization Disorders,
The Most Used Breath in Daily Life Which are the Exercises?
Breathing; It is the physiological force at the very beginning of the life energy sources that enable the human son to survive by starting his existence on earth. The reason why it is at the top of the vital energy sources is that people cannot survive without breathing. Breathing carries the necessary oxygen to all cells and ensures a healthy functioning of the mind and body. For this reason, healthy and correct breathing increases one's life energy, physical strength and psychological endurance.
The power of correct breathing is used in many parts of daily life and in many scientific fields. For example, in the field of sports, the athlete must breathe correctly in order to use his attention and bodily power at the highest level. Also, the first thing to say to increase resilience to pain is “Breathe deeply.” is the sentence. For example, regular and healthy breathing is provided to a mother who has given birth normally. Thus, while helping the mother to increase her pain and pain threshold with correct breathing exercises, it is aimed to help the mother manage her stress and focus only on the behaviors she should do during the birth process.
The most common advice given to someone who is very bored and overwhelmed in the environment is "Get out, come breathe." known as. These examples are just a few of the areas where healthy breathing and relaxation are most common in human life.
Scientific studies reveal a lot of evidence that using the breath correctly provides both mental relaxation and physical relaxation. For this reason, breathing exercises in different techniques that have proven to be beneficial in many branches of science such as sports, health, education, art and music are applied. We, on the other hand, will continue this article by talking about the breathing exercises, which are the most recommended and easy to apply by the experts in the field of psychology.
Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise
Diaphragmatic breathing exercise is by breathing slowly and correctly. a relaxation exercise that provides relaxation is. For this reason, it is important to make sure that the exercise is done correctly. In order to do this exercise correctly, it is necessary to follow the necessary instructions. For correct diaphragmatic breathing exercise:
It is necessary to sit in a comfortable position with a straight back or be in a lying position on your back.
In order to control whether the breath goes to the diaphragm, one hand on the abdomen, one hand on the diaphragm. It is recommended to be on the chest.
Inhale slowly and lightly through the nose for 3 seconds. The abdomen should be inflating to a large extent as you take this breath. The breast may swell slightly or not at all. The important criterion here is that the breath inflates the abdomen more and more into the abdomen.
The breath taken should be held in the abdomen for 3 seconds, that is, it should be held.
Finally, the breath in the abdomen should be given slowly and gently through the mouth for 3 seconds. .
While doing the exercise, attention should be given to the breathing completely. If attention is scattered in different directions, try to focus on the breath again.
This exercise should be continued until the body and mind relax and relax. For this reason, it is recommended that the exercise be continued for at least 10-20 minutes. It is a type of exercise that provides mental relaxation. These exercises can be especially supportive in order to get positive results in pain caused by emotions such as anxiety, stress, fear, anger, sadness and involuntary psychological contractions in the body.
In case of various medical disorders in the muscle and joint structures of various parts of the body. Before doing this exercise, the relevant doctor should be consulted. It is important to practice the progressive muscle relaxation exercise correctly. The steps of the progressive muscle relaxation exercise are as follows:
A comfortable position should be taken with comfortable clothes. Lying on your back or sitting comfortably can be preferred as a bodily position. Before starting to contract and relax the muscles, it is helpful to breathe in and out of the diaphragm a few times to focus attention and relax.
Before the progressive muscle relaxation exercise, start from the feet.
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