I often hear about relaxation techniques in pop psychology. We
also discussed them in the mental health section of our
Occupational Therapy (OT) curriculum when we explored anxiety.
But are they effective and science-based? Stress and anxiety are
common but relatively nebulous issues that can be hard to treat
– especially as the cause of stress can be difficult to localize
and anxiety has no direct apparent “cause”. Prolonged
psychological stress or anxiety can even manifest a variety of
physiological symptoms – high blood pressure, poor cognitive
performance, mood problems, gastrointestinal disturbance,
changes in eating habits, weight changes, somatic symptoms, and
substance abuse. Prolonged or excessive stress and anxiety are
recognized by the DSM as psychiatric disorders if they persist
and interfere with a person’s ability to engage in daily
activities. Now, that is a gross oversimplification and there
are many kinds of anxiety disorders with specific symptoms, but
a lengthy description is beyond the sco