Alarm Response
Anything that relieves mundane stress on a daily basis, such as relaxation, can help. However, Hans Selye, a Hungarian medical scientist, was the first to use the word “stress” in connection with a picture of health wellness. His theory is that when the body reacts to stress, it creates an “alarm” response.
Adaptation
That means that your body is in good shape to accordingly respond to any given stressor, appropriately and effectively in ways that relieve it. If the stress continues, an “adaptation” state may result, where we learn to accommodate or sustain the symptoms of stress by adjusting to them. This can, more positively, mean creating an increase in our tolerance to frustration and moving back into the alarm state, which relieves the stress, or, negatively, reacting with an accommodating adjustment that (temporarily) alleviates the pain of the stress but becomes a new holding pattern.
Exhaustion
Prolonged stress that continues is an “exhaustion” state created that may lead to a considerably weakened system. This alarm / adaptation / exhaustion model fits all forms of stress, physical, mental, or emotional. Stress reduction is key to well-being. Relaxation helps, when we know where stress may be hiding in the adapted or exhausted states physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Biofeedback stress reduction offers the following benefits
- Ability to relax more quickly
- Deeper state of relaxation during sleep
- Easier to fall asleep and stay asleep
- Reduction of stress and hypertension
- Improved general health
- Increase in amount of calmness and peacefulness
- Reduction of anger
- Less fearfulness
- Fewer anxiety attacks
- Amelioration of sorrow
- Reduction of the depth of depression
- Heightened muscle mobility
- Enhanced mental clarity
- Able to pay attention more consistently
- Better focus of attention
- Deeper concentration and enhanced memory
- Less attention to pain and stressors
- Less concentration on pain and stressors
- Fewer feelings of pain and stress
- Less intense focus on pain and stressors
- Less intensity of any pain or any stress
- More able to manage stress and pain