I Have a What? A Guide for Coping with Moderate-to-Severe TBI

RRTC ON COMMUNITY INTEGRATION OF PERSONS WITH TBIHow are you breathing at this moment? Notice the air as it flows easily inthrough your nose, filling your lungs with refreshing energy. There is nothingfor you to do but observe the quiet flow of air.When you breathe out, gently open your lips, and let the air flow out. Thinkof it as if you were gently blowing on a candle flame just enough to make itflicker.Continue breathing this way, easily and effortlessly in through your noseand easily out through your lips as you let go. Try this approach for abouta minute.How did you feel when doing deep breathing? Did you notice any differences between theactive and the passive type? If you found that deep breathing helped you to relax, you maywant to practice this a few minutes every day.Method #4: VisualizationIn this approach, you can reduce stress by using your imagination. Everyone visualizes.When you daydream or when you think about the past, you are using your imagination.When you use visualization to help you relax, you focus on an image that helps your bodyrelax and that helps you ignore stress.Let’s try it:Page 67Sit or lie down in a quiet place. Close your eyes.Scan your body for tension. Release any muscle tension you notice.Imagine a special place. Think of a place that you find relaxing. For some peoplethis might be a forest, for others the beach, for others a mountaintop, and forothers a quiet room.Use all of your senses in thinking about this special place. Useyour sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. For example,if you are imagining a beach scene, you might think aboutseeing the waves crashing into the shore, seeing seagulls flyingabove you, seeing the water meet the sky in the horizon, andso forth. You might imagine hearing the roar of the water asthe waves come in, the call of the birds, the sounds of thebreeze, or the laughter of children. You might smell the saltysea air or the scent of sunscreen lotion on your skin. Youmight taste the salt on your skin or the sweetness of an ice