Chapter 12: Methods for Changing Emotions - Psychological Self-Help

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1167 forearm, and your upper arm. Let your arms go completely limp. Feeling wonderfully relaxed, completely relaxed, very calm, warm, limp, comfortable and beautiful, just beautiful. Now, with your eyes still closed, imagine yourself relaxing all over...(you can tense and relax each part if you like)...relax your face, your neck, your shoulders, your back, your stomach, all over. I will now count down from 10 to 1. I am going to find myself deeper and deeper relaxed and I will have a feeling of well-being, as I count down to 1. Calm and relaxed, and wonderfully well, just relaxed. I'm going to count, 10...9...8...7...6...5, very, very relaxed, 4...3, very deeply relaxed, 2...and 1. I am very calm, very relaxed, and getting more and more deeply relaxed all the time. Think of nothing now but relaxation, feeling wonderfully relaxed, calm, feeling well all over, just relaxed, calm, relaxed, feeling wonderfully well. I will now enjoy some quiet time just relaxing. Then when I'm ready to wake up, I'll start the player again. I'll stop the tape player at this time so I can enjoy quiet relaxation as long as I want" ............ (leave a 15-20 second pause on the tape) "I am now ready to wake up and come back to the real world. When I count to 10, I will open my eyes and feel calm, I'll feel refreshed and wonderfully well, 1...2...3...4...5...6, more and more alert, 7...8, beginning to move, 9...10, feeling wonderfully relaxed but awake and eager to get on with the day." 3. Herbert Benson's method of relaxation is as easy as the above methods but may take more practice. In his second book, Benson (1984) recommends using a short meaningful phrase or religious saying for meditating, instead of the word "one" which was his 1975 suggestion. For the religious or values-conscious person, a moral phrase helps involve the relaxing power of faith--and you may be less likely to forget to meditate. What words to use? Any phrase of 6 or 8 words or less that has special meaning for you. Examples: o "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). o "Thy will be done." o "My peace I give unto you" (John 14:27). o "You shall love thy neighbor" (Lev. 19:18). o "Joy is inward" (Hindu). o "Life is a journey" (Buddhist). o "Allah" (Moslem) or "Shalom" (Jewish) or "Peace." o "Fear brings more pain than the pain it fears."
1168 o o o o o o o "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." "I can not do everything at once but I can do something." "God, give me serenity, courage and wisdom." "Life's greatest gift is to love and be loved." "It takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow." "To understand is to pardon." "The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention." After selecting or making up a phrase (a mantra), follow this procedure: (a) Sit in a comfortable position in private. (b) Close your eyes gently. (c) Relax. Search your body for tension; relax the tense spots by moving or stretching or tensing the muscles and then relaxing deeper and deeper. (d) Notice your breathing but let it be natural, don't control it. Start saying your selected phrase as you exhale. Say it silently, say it mentally to yourself. Say the special phrase each time you exhale (that's why it needs to be short). After you have found a phrase that works well for you, continue to use it every time. (This is relaxation, not a time to learn sayings.) (e) Your mind may wander. That's OK, don't worry about it. Passively observe the mind's thoughts and accept whatever happens. Just lazily bring your mind back to your special word or phrase. Just relax. Focusing on your special phrase is simply a way of relinquishing your control over your mind. Let your mind relax or do its own thing. When you become aware that the mind has wandered and has now finished its thought, bring it back to repeating the special phrase every time you exhale. Enjoy the peace. (See method #5 for more information about meditating.) STEP THREE: Arrange a private place and schedule a specific time for relaxing A private place is crucial: a bedroom, a private office at work, even a bathroom might be the best place. You should take 10-15 minutes twice a day. Ideally, it should be a comfortable place with no interruptions. A bed or a chair with arms and a high, soft back is good (as long as you don't go to sleep). Many people get sleepy if they meditate after a meal. Drown out distracting noise with a neutral sound: a fan, air conditioner, or soft instrumental music. Turning off the lights helps. Perhaps you had better tell your roommate, co-
Page 1 and 2: 1154 Chapter 12: Methods for Changi
Page 3 and 4: 1156 feelings are most intense. It
Page 5 and 6: 1158 Still other emotions may arise
Page 7 and 8: 1160 Storms and McCaul (1976) have
Page 9 and 10: 1162 therapy, self-help groups, or
Page 11 and 12: 1164 Steps · To aid other purposes
Page 13: 1166 o o o Occasionally give self-i
Page 17 and 18: 1170 task. In many of us, the stres
Page 19 and 20: 1172 report everything you notice.
Page 21 and 22: 1174 Eight You are very high now. S
Page 23 and 24: 1176 How to be happy--determinism M
Page 25 and 26: 1178 possible; the person who feels
Page 27 and 28: 1180 yourself from a constantly act
Page 29 and 30: 1182 assumptions, namely, that duri
Page 31 and 32: 1184 Calmly observe whatever comes
Page 33 and 34: 1186 Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full ca
Page 35 and 36: 1188 have, (d) how you behave while
Page 37 and 38: 1190 imagine addressing a class of
Page 39 and 40: 1192 a coke some afternoon after cl
Page 41 and 42: 1194 Learning to relax may take two
Page 43 and 44: 1196 Watson, D. & Tharp, R. (1972).
Page 45 and 46: 1198 three miles first and end up j
Page 47 and 48: 1200 intense, you need a dependable
Page 49 and 50: 1202 Several researchers (Gelder, 1
Page 51 and 52: 1204 making myself angry and unhapp
Page 53 and 54: 1206 instructions developed by you
Page 55 and 56: 1208 consequences depend on the out
Page 57 and 58: 1210 STEP FIVE: Try out the methods
Page 59 and 60: 1212 Meichenbaum, D. (1974). Cognit
Page 61 and 62: 1214 Holding in our feelings causes
Page 63 and 64: 1216 If you feel bored, feel depres
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1218 teeth, and imagine what you wo
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1220 relationship, it may be helpfu
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1222 Hart, J., Corriere, R. & Binde
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1224 Obviously, some people are ver
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1226 The environment can change fee
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1228 responding with intense fear.
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1230 Paradoxical intentions Emotion
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Chapter 12: Methods for Changing Emotions - Psychological Self-Help

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