Stress Reduction and Relaxation Techniques
I suggest that you learn one or more relaxation techniques, such as muscle relaxation or meditation. You can do relaxation exercises daily to reduce your overall stress level. When you know you will have something stressful to deal with, you can practice your relaxation exercises beforehand. If all else fails and you find yourself in the middle of a stressful situation, you can excuse yourself for a moment, and do your relaxation exercise. There is no etter way to learn to cope with stress.
What are muscle relaxation techniques?
Muscle relaxation training refers to a variety of physical exercises for relaxing your body and mind. Here is one I use. Sit comfortably in a chair. Now tense all the muscles in your toes, feet, and legs. Tighten the muscles as hard as you can while breathing in slowly, then breathe out slowly and relax them. Next, tighten the muscles in your hips and abdomen as hard as you can while inhaling slowly. Hold your breath for a moment, then exhale slowly and relax those muscles. Now, tighten all the muscles in your fingers and arms while you breathe in slowly. Hold your breathe momentarily, then exhale and relax. Finally, tighten the muscles in your shoulders, neck, and face and breathe in slowly. Once again, hold your breath for a moment, then relax and exhale. Now notice your breathing. As you slowly breathe in, imagine you are gathering together all the stress in your body. Then breathe out slowly and exhale all your stress along with your breath. You should continue this breathing for at least a minute, although you can do it longer if you like. You can use this technique regularly, twice a day, or any time you have to deal with a stressful event.
What is meditation and how can I use it to manage stress?
Meditation refers to a diverse collection of mental, emotional, and physical exercises that have been devised over the last several thousand years for the purpose of changing the way we experience our lives by increasing our control over our thoughts, feelings, and physical bodies. Meditation can be useful in bipolar disorder to aid relaxation and reduce stress as well as to exercise our ability to focus and control our stream of consciousness.
What if I can't stop my wandering thoughts? My mind is racing.
If you can't keep intrusive thoughts out of your mind no matter what you do, then you are too distractible and your thoughts are too repetitive and obsessive. The next step is to talk to your doctor and make sure you are taking enough mood stabilizer(s) or other bipolar medications that can stop intrusive thoughts.
What about hypnosis? I think that would work for me if it were safe.
I do not recommend hypnosis for bipolar disorder. In bipolar illness, we are always working to improve control of thoughts and emotions, whereas hypnosis is a process of relinquishing control.