Stress Reduction Techniques


	Stress Reduction Techniques: Harnessing The Placebo Effect And Classical Conditioning For Relaxation What do stress reduction techniques, the placebo effect, and classical conditioning have to do with each other? Everything, when it comes to relaxation. Affecting the placebo effect You've heard of the "placebo effect." It's the phenomenon by which people receive therapeutic benefits from a "fake" medicine because they have been told it's real and they believe it. Research shows that the placebo effect goes away once people are told they are taking fake medicine -- their conditions worsen again, but the only thing that has changed is their belief in what they were taking. But why does that have to be so? Can't we harness the placebo effect and use it for our own benefit, with stress reduction techniques? I mean, the existence of the placebo effect is proof of the power of our minds to influence the state of our bodies. That's something we can tie our horses to. There's evidence and everything. So taking that principle, why can't we use the power of believing something will help us to get it to help us? Classical conditioning -- not just for dogs anymore! Also, classical conditioning. This is the type of conditioning involved in the experiment popularly known as "Pavlov's Dogs." Pavlov rang a bell just before feeding the dogs. The dogs began to associate the sound of the bell with eating, and would begin to salivate when they heard it. Why can't we classically condition ourselves? Can't it work even if we're aware of it? Shouldn't it work if we're not only aware of it, but we want it to work? It makes sense to me. What do we mean when we say it "works"? Just to be clear here, I'm not saying that believing something works makes it work. I am saying that believing something works activates our mind to change what's happening in our brain and/or body. With the placebo effect, the sugar pill does not have a therapeutic effect. The patient's belief that the sugar pill will help them activates their mind to make physiological changes consistent with what the patient expects. With classical conditioning, it's not the sound of the bell that makes Pavlov's dogs salivate, it's the mind's response to the sound of the bell. Because the dog's mind has been conditioned to associate the sound of the bell with food, when the dog hears the bell, the dog's brain gets the dog's body ready to eat. Does that make sense? Classical conditioning for stress reduction techniques So how do we use this to manage stress? Let's take aromatherapy as an example.	Stress News It's National Stress Awareness Month! Did you know April is National Stress Awareness Month? Since 1992, thanks to the Health Resource Network, Americans have a month to focus on the problem of stress and how to better handle it. According to HRN's website, health care professionals and people who promote health are disseminating information and leading forums, discussion groups, and community events to raise awareness and educate the public about stress. There's also a National Stress Awareness Day -- April 16, the day after taxes are due. Which may make it a great occasion on which to reflect about starting your taxes earlier next year. Gene Reduces Vulnerability to Stress If you handle stress well, you may have mom and dad to thank. UCLA researchers studying the IL6 gene and the biochemical pathway that triggers it have discovered that people who have a less common variant of the gene may be more able to withstand life's stressful events. The IL6 gene controls the body's immune response, causing inflammation when activated during the body's "fight or flight" response to stress. The most common variant of IL6 is associated with cardiovascular disease and cancer, and people with this variant have an increased risk of death for 11 years after suffering a stressful life event severe enough to trigger depression. But a less common version of IL6 lacks the pathway for stress to trigger it, resulting in no increased risk of death following major stress for those who carry it. The study will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (UCLA News Release, 2/10) Want More Stress News? Check out the Stress News Archive
Contents Home This Just In! Quote of the Day Thought of the Week What is Stress? Stress Symptoms Effects of Stress Stress and Health Stress Statistics Coping with Stress How to Learn to Relax Conditioned Relaxation 101 Stress Tips Work Stress Kids and Stress Holiday Stress About Me Disclaimer Privacy Policy Contact Me Enjoy This Site? Then why not use the buttons below, to add us to your favorite bookmarking service? Subscribe to StuckFress.com Stress During Learning Affects Ability to Remember Stuff If you want to retain what you learn, don't try to learn it when you're under stress. German researchers subjected people to stress (immersing their hands in cold water -- ouch!) while they were learning words. During recall and recognition tests 24 hours later, the numb-handed people performed less well than control subjects who were not exposed to stress during the learning exercise. (Journal of Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 2/10)
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