Performing a relaxation exercise can be an effective way to lower emotional and physiological stress. It can help with all types of negative emotions, unpleasant thoughts, and somatic symptoms. Anger, anxiety, stress, trauma, worry, fear, and to a lesser extent, depression, have been effectively treated with the methods below.

The Anxiety guide describes a wide array of cognitive, lifestyle, and behavioral approaches to manage anxiety and other stress-related emotions. This article centers on practical exercises that can be used almost anytime to bring fast relief of symptoms.

The techniques can be used in a variety of ways. At the beginning of an emotional episode, relaxation exercises can be employed to prevent your emotions from worsening. Used at the peak of an episode, they can lower its intensity. When performed throughout the day while in good spirits, they can reduce the frequency and intensity of mental health perturbations.

Relaxation practices can often be combined with each other and with other types of mental health practices. For instance, you could recite a mantra during deep breathing or perform muscle relaxation while challenging your self-critical thoughts.

If stress or anxiety only rear their heads occasionally, you may only need to use these exercises when your emotions are particularly strong. If distressing emotions are a bigger issue in your life, you may need to be more vigilant to keep them at bay. For instance, if you have recognized that riding the bus to work is a stressful time for you, doing om japa on the bus before your stress becomes noticeable could keep you from becoming acutely stressed. If you have generalized anxiety, practicing deep breathing for 3 minutes at a time randomly throughout the day may be helpful to prevent your anxiety from peaking. Relaxation techniques can be used for both treatment and prevention.

If you already have methods that help you relax (i.e., listening to music, thinking about your partner), keep doing them. However, pre-existing methods of relaxation may not always be available and they may not effectively manage severe distress. If you still feel anxious after using your regular relaxation method, consider using one of the techniques described here as the stronger medicine to return you to a calm state.

Although these relaxation techniques are designed for quick relief, they tend to be more effective (and enjoyable) when performed regularly. Performing a technique at least once a day can also have a preventive effect on stressful emotions.

A peaceful mental state is also facilitated by non-judgemental, present-moment awareness. Being present in the moment has mental health benefits.

Of course, getting offended or angry at what you see around you isn’t any better for mental health than rumination. Present-moment orientation is therefore most effective when used with a passive, accepting attitude. Notice how children and animals seem to have such good mental health? That is in large part because they live in the now.

There are many situations in which being in your head is preferable to present-moment awareness, however. If the current moment is repugnant, present-moment awareness is often counterproductive. For instance, if you are doing a boring task at work or contending with a mean person, directing your mind to wander about pleasant things would probably be better for your mental health than being fully aware in the present. Nevertheless, an accepting, non-judgemental, present-moment orientation is a constructive default attitude from a well-being perspective.

Relaxation methods work by returning a distressed mind and body to a calmer state. If effective, practicing these methods will help your mind to let go of troubling thoughts, reverse physiological arousal, and alleviate distressing emotions. Thoughts, emotions, and physiology are all affected by each other.

A stressor in one area often affects all three. For instance, the initial stressor could be a pain in your abdomen. The physical pain causes you to feel emotionally distressed, followed by your mind running around thinking about everything in the world that bothers you. Other times, a thought about something bad that happened to you will be the original stressor. Following that thought, you become angry and your heart rate increases. Not surprisingly, feeling angry and having a pounding heart can easily create a negative feedback loop resulting in your negative thinking getting worse.

This destructive interplay is called a stress response (aka fight-or-flight response). Emotions, thoughts, physiology, and often behavior, are affected by stressors. The stress response begins in the brain. The amygdala senses a threat and signals the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus then signals the adrenal glands to release epinephrine (adrenalin) which activates the sympathetic nervous system.¹ Respiratory rate, heart rate, and blood pressure increase. Airways widen to allow more oxygen into the lungs. The brain puts the entire body on high alert to deal with a threat.

Following the initial adrenalin surge, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is stimulated. The hypothalamus releases corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and the pituitary gland releases adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Then the adrenal glands release cortisol and catecholamines, keeping you in a state of mental and physical distress.¹

Activation of the parasympathetic nervous system reverses the stress response — heart and breath rates decrease, blood pressure lowers, and emotional tension subsides.

The relaxation techniques presented here are designed to induce a relaxation response — the reversal of the stress response. Mental and physiological arousal will subside, and you will return to homeostasis. They are indicated for all levels of stress, but their most critical application is to alleviate severe physical and mental distress.

However, the practices are also useful for inducing deep calm in the face of mild emotion. Even if you feel normal, relaxation exercises have the potential to put yourself into a more peaceful state, particularly if your normal is on the tense side. Religious traditions have used similar relaxation techniques for many centuries, more to maintain a state of inner peace than as a solution to acute psychological distress.

Several mechanisms of action have been proposed for the impact of relaxation techniques on mental health. There appears to be a consensus that multiple mechanisms are at play and the overall process is not yet well-understood. Firstly, the techniques direct attention. When you practice a technique, your mind is impelled to focus on the technique, leaving you with less attention available for your offending thoughts and feelings.

Secondly, relaxation exercises stimulate the parasympathetic (calming) nervous system while depressing the sympathetic (stress response) nervous system. Activation of the parasympathetic nervous system reverses the stress response — heart and breath rates decrease, blood pressure lowers, and emotional tension subsides.² Studies have shown that practicing relaxation exercises significantly lowers serum cortisol, one of the primary stress hormones.³

Clinical trials of relaxation techniques have also documented positive effects on immune system markers. Two markers of inflammation, proinflammatory cytokines and serum c-reactive protein, have decreased in trials of relaxation techniques.⁴ Trials have also documented a correlation between relaxation methods and antibody titers, number and cytotoxicity of natural killer cells, number of T helper and T inducer cells, and telomerase activity.^5,6 Thus, relaxation practices are correlated with reduced inflammation and a stronger immune system.

Mental health disturbances, including depression and anxiety, have been linked to neuroinflammation. Causality appears to be bidirectional. Emotions can cause inflammation. Inflammation can also create or exacerbate emotions. For example, proinflammatory cytokines are believed to inhibit and excite neurotransmission, stimulating the amygdala (the brain’s fear center) and depressing the prefrontal cortex which keeps negative emotions in check.⁴

Breathing exercises are the closest thing to a default relaxation method in the psychological field. Harking back to the Vedic period of India, intentional breathing for well-being is not a new idea.

Slow, intentional breathing induces relaxation using both mental and physiological means.⁷ Focusing on the breath provides your mind with a soothing place for your attention, mitigating negative thinking. It has also been suggested that intentional breathing offers an increased sense of control over oneself.⁸ Low sense of control has been linked to greater levels of anxiety. Thus, raising one’s sense of control could lower anxiety.

Exhalation should be 50-100% longer than the inhalation.

Physiologic effects of breathwork arise from stimulation of the vagus nerve.⁹ With slow breathing, the lungs send a signal to the vagus nerve which sends a signal to the heart. The heart beats more slowly and the duration between beats becomes more variable.¹⁰ The sympathetic (stress response) nervous system becomes depressed while the parasympathetic (relaxation response) nervous system is stimulated. More recent studies have demonstrated the stress-relieving effects that deep breathing has on the brain that are not related to the parasympathetic nervous system. Notably, theta wave power decreases and alpha wave power increases.¹¹ Alpha waves support calmness and alertness.

Breathing should be slow — at least 4 seconds each for inhalation and exhalation. Exhalation should be 50-100% longer than the inhalation. A 4-second inhalation followed by a 6-second exhalation is common for relaxation. If comfortable, slower rates such as 6-second inhalation and 10-second exhalation can bring even better results. The pause between breathing in and out should be brief and natural (i.e., one second). Try to breathe from the abdomen rather than the chest (diaphragmatic breathing).

For parasympathetic stimulation, the lungs should be completely filled and evacuated, inhalation and exhalation should be 4-10 seconds each (possibly longer for experienced breathworkers), and the exhalation should be considerably longer than the inhalation.¹²

Box breathing is another popular breath relaxation exercise: inhale for 4 seconds, pause for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, and pause for 4 seconds. It doesn’t activate the parasympathetic nervous system to the same degree as the previous method, but it can provide a more reliable means of quickly directing attention and interrupting mental distress.

Finally, cyclic (or physiological) sighing is similar to the first method, but with a quick extra inhalation added: using the nose, take a full (or mostly full), slow breath in; pause for around one second; make a quick, sharp second inhalation; again pause for about a second; now using the mouth, exhale slowly–longer than the inhalation.

The extra inhalation in cyclic sighing is thought to increase the physiological effects of deep breathing by facilitating a fuller inhalation. That means a greater volume of oxygen entering the body and subsequently a greater volume of CO₂ exhaled.

For any of these breath exercises, you will probably start to feel the benefit after three breaths. If you feel slightly stressed, try taking three slow breaths. If your stress is stronger, take five minutes or so to do a breath exercise. For a preventive effect, or for those with continuous stress, practice deep breathing for five minutes once or twice a day including on non-stressful days.

Developed in the early twentieth century by an American physician, Dr. Edmund Jacobson, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) continues to be very highly regarded today. Begin my taking in three slow, deep breaths. After that, you will flex and contract muscle groups throughout your body, one muscle group at a time. The order is not important. You can contract small muscles, too, such as raising your eyebrows and scrunching your toes.

While breathing in, flex any muscle you like for five seconds. Then breathe out and relax the muscle for 10 seconds.

Keep as much attention on the muscle being worked as possible. Really feel it contract, and most importantly, feel the tension in the muscle release when you stop flexing.

Don’t squeeze the muscle so hard that you feel pain or strain. What matters is putting maximum attention onto the working muscle, not trying to contract as hard as possible. Flex each muscle three times before going on to the next muscle. Each contraction on the same muscle should be less intense. It may help to mentally say relax, soften, or a similar word when letting go of the contraction. Continue flexing and releasing throughout your body. You don’t need to work every single muscle, but it is best to cover all areas of your body.

Progressive muscle relaxation has been shown to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and incite the relaxation response. Why contracting and relaxing muscles would have that effect is not well-understood. One theory suggests that reciprocal inhibition is induced whereby the relaxation of one muscle encourages the relaxation of other muscles.¹³ Another theory postulates that PMR improves one’s awareness of what is happening inside one’s body. With better interoceptive awareness, internal sensations will no longer be interpreted as stress—a reaction which tends to exacerbate existing stress.¹⁴

For prevention and to maximize effectiveness, it is advisable to practice PMR regularly. A 5-10 minute session once or twice a day may be beneficial for the chronically anxious or stressed.

A mantra is a sound, word, or phrase that is repeated, silently or aloud, in order to achieve a particular goal. In this context, we are discussing the use of mantras as a form of relaxation. However, they can be used in an attempt to achieve any desired mental state. While mantras are very common in meditation as a spiritual practice, they are also used in secular mental health exercises. You do not need to hold any supernatural beliefs to use them for mental health.

Mentally reciting a mantra is a means of focusing attention. If you feel stressed or depressed, repeating a mantra in your head can redirect your attention towards something empowering and soothing. The mantra could be a word you find calming or comforting. Peace, calm, one, love, and bliss are some possibilities. If you are religious, you can recite the name of a deity, saint, or concept of your religious tradition (i.e., Holy Spirit, Allah).

Mantras can also be short sentences or affirmations. For example, I can do this, I will prevail, God loves me, or I am enough. Finally, a mantra can be a sound. Om has been used as a mantra for millennia. Sound-based mantras are particularly well-suited to be used with breathwork. Mentally saying so on inhalation and hum on exhalation is one example of a breath mantra.

If you feel distressed and you are not doing something that takes up all your attention, try mentally chanting a mantra for a few minutes. Experiment with different words and expressions to find the ones that resonate with you the most. Japa (recitation of a mantra) can be performed mentally while breathing normally. You can also synchronize japa with deep breathing, for example, by chanting om once on each 4-second inhalation and twice for each 8-second exhalation.

Mantras are indispensable for mental health due to their ease and accessibility. They are the simplest and easiest form of relaxation. If you need stress relief while others are around who could harass you if they notice you deep breathing or tensing your muscles, you can always repeat a mantra in your head without anyone knowing. Imagery, even body scans, require more concentration but you only need a small amount of attention to do japa.

Mantras can also be chanted out loud. If you are starting to use mantras for the first time, it can be helpful to say them out loud at least some of the time. It could make it easier to say them silently if you practice them out loud occasionally.

Mantras can be used when feeling stressed. They can also be used preventively. Doing japa for 5 minutes at a time, three times a day, for instance, can help you maintain a peaceful state throughout the day.

A more advanced yet rewarding form of om japa involves adding a divine energy beam. Imagine that God (or the universe) is beaming a powerful ray of healing, unconditional love into you while you mentally chant om. If you feel stress in a part of the body, imagine a beam entering from the front into that body part, dissipating the tension with love.

Don’t actually visualize anything (unless that comes naturally and effortlessly). Just recite om with the idea that a beam from God or the spiritual realm of the universe is entering you, dissipating any negative emotions and sensations, and filling you with non-judgemental love.

Each om should take about 3-8 seconds. Really concentrate on the resonation and divinity in each om. If you don’t believe in God, the practice works equally well–imagine the healing love beam coming from the subtler unseen dimension of the universe.

Love beam om japa can also be practiced when not feeling stressed. Imagine the beam entering the center of your head, center of your chest, and center of your abdomen in sequence from the front. It then fills your head/chest/abdomen with its healing energy, respectively. If you want, you can further imagine the energy flowing to the rest of your body or down your spine.

It is possible to om too much into one spot (especially the head) and develop tension or an ache in that area. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid omming into the same spot for more than a few minutes at a time even if you still feel tension in that spot.

Visualization can be used to deal with stress. By imagining that you are in a safe and secure place, you can induce a feeling of peace and security. It can be done with eyes open or closed. The goal is to mentally place yourself in a place and situation in which you feel peaceful.

That mental place could be a memory of yours. It could be a time in which you sat on a boulder with an amazing view after a challenging hike. It could be lying in bed with a past lover, gazing into each other’s eyes. The mental place could be entirely imaginary–swimming with dolphins or dancing at an elegant ball like royalty. It doesn’t need to be exotic, however. It can be something simple like imagining yourself as a child, slowly rocking on a swing.

Visualize a place in which you feel happy and at peace, without a care in the world. Imagine that you are actually there. Take in all of the senses–what do you see, hear, smell, and feel? For instance, if you are imagining walking along a beach, try to feel the sand underneath your feet, listen to the birds in the background, and take in the fresh ocean air.

You can also imagine yourself as different. Maybe you are younger, better-looking, or more successful. You might imagine yourself as someone important, like an army general or TV personality. More important than imagining who you are is to imagine how you feel. In the visualization, give yourself qualities that you would like to have and emotions you would like to feel–radical confidence, serenity, genius intelligence, beauty, iron courage, and so on.

You can even add a dash of fantasy by imagining that you feel so light you might float up like a balloon or you have a magical, blissful energy coursing through you. You can be wherever you want, whoever you want, and feel however you want in your mind’s eye.

Imagery can also be used in a targeted fashion without imagining that you are in a different place. If you feel stress in your abdomen, you might want to touch it with your hand and imagine that you possess supernatural healing powers that dissipates the tension. You could make yourself feel secure and powerful by imagining that you are a warrior holding a sword and shield. Visualization is a tool that can be used for any mental purpose.

People vary widely on their ability to practice imagery. If your visualization ability is low, you can still derive benefit from very simple, vague images. For instance, you may think of how much you used to love summer barbecues at your cousin’s house–no need to actually visualize anything specific, just hold the idea of those summer afternoons in your mind. Focus on how you used to be so happy and relaxed during those times.

The beauty and usefulness of a body scan is that it is about connecting with your body in the present.

Another option is to imagine that you are floating on a warm body of water. No need to visualize anything. Just feel the water gently moving beneath you and the warm sun on your body. These ‘light’ visualizations can still bring you relief from stress and have the advantage of being quick and easy to bring up.

It is a good idea to select one image to be your default safe place. If you are feeling overwhelmed, you may not have the mindspace to be creative at the time and wing a visualization. Have one image pre-developed that you can bring up effortlessly when feeling stressed. You can always add more to it or change it during the visualization. You can have any number of visualizations in your repertoire, perhaps different visualizations for different circumstances, but having a default image is useful for when you need to escape to your safe place in a hurry.

Body scans are the essence of mindfulness–being present and non-judgemental in the moment. During a body scan, you intentionally put your attention into your body. This has the potential to lower or raise stress. It is not a reliable method of dealing with severe stress as is deep breathing, but it has an important place in a relaxation repertoire.

A body scan involves putting attention onto one area of the body at a time–simply observing it. You may start at the bottom or top of your body and work linearly. Begin by noticing your breath. You may want to take slow, deep breaths to relax, but it isn’t necessary for a body scan. Just be aware of your breath and how your body feels with air entering and leaving. Feel where your body is touching a surface. If you are standing, notice how your feet feel on the floor. If you are sitting, feel your back, butt, and legs against the chair.

For a top-down scan, begin by putting your attention on your head and face. What do you feel? Is there tension or stress? After several seconds, move on to your neck. How does it feel? Is it holding any tension? Next, put your attention on your shoulders and traps. This is a common area to hold stress. Do you feel like your shoulders are high or your trapezius muscles are tense?

One-by-one, mentally travel down your body until you reach your feet. In each body part, take ten seconds or so to simply notice if there is sensation or tension. Is there pain? How is the temperature? Whatever you notice–accept. Scan with the attitude that you love yourself unconditionally. Whether an area of your body feels good or you don’t like how it feels, it’s okay. You are perfect and however your body feels is perfect.

The beauty and usefulness of a body scan is that it is about connecting with your body in the present. It can be used as a distraction technique against negative thoughts, or to relax each body part like progressive muscle relaxation without the contractions. However, body scans are fundamentally about simply connecting and accepting.

Your body and mind are inseparable. You will never fully understand your mental well-being without being aware of the effect that your mind and body have on each other. Refraining from resisting and simply accepting how your body feels can foster self-acceptance and self-compassion–two hallmarks of well-being. This is perhaps where body scans shine. They foster understanding and acceptance that everything is okay.

Body scans have some disadvantages. They are generally used to relax, however they are less effective at mitigating acute stress than other methods described on this page. Stress and somatic sensations may be exacerbated in a body scan if you respond with fear rather than acceptance to your bodily sensations. Putting attention onto one’s body can also unlock repressed emotions and traumas. Therefore, it is not recommended to practice before an important event or by those who have trauma and don’t feel ready.

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy have kind of gotten a bad rap. They have not been well-accepted in the mental health field despite robust evidence for safety and effectiveness. The public often views hypnosis as either a fake stage trick or a dangerous practice that involves giving up control of one’s mind to another person.

Stanford University’s Dr. David Spiegel, a recognized expert on hypnosis, considers both these beliefs to be false. Spiegel states that hypnosis is real, however, a competent clinical hypnotherapist should help you gain more control over your subconscious rather than less.¹⁵ Of course, surrendering autonomy is not an issue with self-hypnosis.

Peer-reviewed literature on hypnosis for stress and anxiety has shown relatively strong evidence of efficacy. A 2018 meta-analysis of hypnosis for anxiety found that over the 15 included trials, anxiety decreased 79% more in the intervention groups than in the control groups.¹⁶ In a 2017 systematic review of hypnosis for stress, 6 of the 9 studies included in the review reported a significant reduction in stress relative to control groups (3 active; 3 passive).¹⁷

Self-hypnosis is basically meditation employing active techniques to clear the mind followed by affirmations to rewire the mind.

A 2025 survey of users of the Reveri self-hypnosis app discovered a fairly large reduction in stress after each session.¹⁸ In this enormous ~84,000-subject study, no cumulative or lasting stress-relief effects were discovered, however each session of the 10-session protocol lowered current stress levels significantly. (It is worth noting that a study performed by a company on its own paid service has a very high risk of bias.)

Hypnotherapists commonly state that approximately 10-15% of people are highly hypnotizable and 15-20% are poorly or not hypnotizable, with the rest lying in between. However, the following techniques of self-hypnosis can help alleviate stress and anxiety even if the subconscious never becomes hypnotized. Like other forms of relaxation or meditation, simply doing them can provide considerable benefits. The highly hypnotizable, however, can expect to benefit the most.

Meditation versus Self-Hypnosis

Self-hypnosis is a form of meditation which utilizes an induction technique and affirmations. Meditation typically entails sitting with the eyes closed and trying to think as little as possible. It is about being and observing one’s inner state. In self-hypnosis, one also sits with eyes (usually) closed, however the focus is more intentional than passive. An induction technique is used to quiet the mind at the beginning of the session.

Once settled in, an affirmation or suggestion is mentally repeated in an attempt to train your subconscious to accept it. For instance, if you suffer from low self-esteem, you might want to repeat I am special just how I am. If you have work-related anxiety, I am a superstar worker could help.

Self-hypnosis is basically meditation employing active techniques to clear the mind followed by affirmations to rewire the mind.

Method

Hypnosis has four stages: induction, deepening, suggestions, and emergence. Actual wording of suggestions is up to you. Examples are given.

Induction

Begin by closing your eyes and taking two or three deep, slow breaths. Use one of the following techniques to calm and clear your mind to put you into a more neuroplastic suggestible state. You can even use induction techniques by themselves to relax, without doing anything afterwards.

Looking up: Set your gaze above your normal line of sight while blinking as little as possible. Keep your head and eyebrows steady. Breathe normally. After about 30 seconds, you may start feeling like closing your eyes. Use a suggestion to assist–I am entering a trance, My eyes are getting tired, etc.

Keep looking up. It should gradually get harder to keep your eyes open. Let your eyes close when you feel like they want to close on their own. That usually happens within two minutes. When that happens, say another affirmation, e.g., As my eyes close, I get more relaxed.

Slow breathing: This technique adds suggestions to the slow diaphragmic breathing described earlier. While breathing in, affirm I am breathing in serenity. While breathing out, affirm I am breathing out stress. You should begin to feel your mind settling around 4 breaths and complete the induction around 8 breaths.

Losing the numbers: With your eyes closed, mentally tell yourself that the muscles around your eyes are relaxed, heavy, and want to stop working. Then open and close your eyes quickly 5 times. Each time you close them, say deeper.

Next, with eyes closed, take a minute to imagine a wave of warmth originating in your eyes and flowing down to your feet. Finally, count backwards from 100, saying deeper or a similar word between each number. You will probably only get down to about 95 or 96 when you are already in the meditative state and can stop counting.

3-2-1: This method uses the senses to silence the mind. With eyes open, state the purpose for the session (e.g., I am going to enter my happy, relaxed state). Look around and identify 3 random objects. One at a time, look at the object (e.g., a painting on your wall) and state what you are looking at: I am aware of the painting.

After identifying 3 physical objects, identify 3 sounds that you hear. For each one, state I am aware of the (TV playing, furnace running, etc.). Subsequently, identify 3 things that you feel — I am aware of the shirt I am wearing, for example. This completes the first cycle. Now do another cycle to identify 2 things you see, hear, and feel. Then do a third cycle identifying one thing that you see, one that you hear, and one that you feel.

After completing 3-2-1 in the physical environment, do the same process with eyes closed using your imagination rather than your senses. For example, you could imagine that you see a hippo, hear jazz music playing, or feel a cowboy hat on your head. The 3-2-1 technique is particularly useful for those who have trouble reining in their thoughts.

Deepening

You should feel reasonably centered after the induction. But before you jump into affirmations, use one of these deepening methods to get more into the trance.

Walking down stairs: Imagine yourself standing at the top of a staircase, looking down the stairs. Use your imagination to make a detailed image of the staircase. Take 10 steps down, counting down from ten to one, with a suggestion between each number. I.e., 10, getting deeper, 9, relaxing, 8, I am feeling more peaceful…

Once you get to the bottom of the 10 stairs (or 20 stairs, if you need more time), imagine walking through a door and entering your personal sanctuary. This place can be anything you want. It can be inside or outside. It can be a beach, palace, garden–some place where you feel safe and secure for you to return when feeling stressed.

Fractionation: After induction, count to three, then open your eyes for two or three seconds. When you re-close your eyes, tell yourself that you will go twice as deep into the trance. Keep your eyes closed for around 30 seconds. That is one cycle. After around four cycles, you should be in a deeply calm state.

Suggestions

After the deepening stage, you enter the core of hypnosis: the suggestion stage. Have a specific goal for each session. In this case, it is to relax. Spend a few minutes repeating an affirmation conducive to that goal, such as I am relaxed, I’ve never felt better, or Every day I become a better me.

Suggestions should be short, positive-oriented, and believable. Don’t frame it in the negative or use negative words because your subconscious could latch on to the negative aspect only. For instance, if you want to relax, you would not include the words stress or tension in the affirmation (i.e., I am letting go of tension) because your mind might just hear tension and consequently increase your tension. You also want the suggestion to be plausible. If you tell yourself I am going to become CEO, your subconscious mind may reject it because it knows it is not realistic.

You can use a second or third affirmation in a session, but make sure they are all closely related. You want a single focus for a session. Additionally, you can make a post-hypnotic suggestion to help you when you are not doing self-hypnosis. For example, Any problems I come across this week, I will face with joy.

Spend a few minutes repeating the suggestions. Visualizing can help during this stage but is not necessary. Repeating the affirmations with emotion and conviction can also help considerably.

Emergence

Ending a self-hypnosis session is easy. Tell yourself that you are going to count to five, feeling more alert with every number, and being totally refreshed on 5. Then slowly count to five and open your eyes. Ending the session abruptly could leave you feeling drowsy.

Emotional Freedom Technique (aka EFT or tapping) is a thorn in the side of the mental health complex. The method, developed by Gary Craig in the early 1990s, involves tapping the head, face, sternum, hand, and ribs, in order to quickly lessen any negative emotion.

Despite the industry’s continual attempt to discredit this method, it is empirically validated with dozens of clinical trials showing large improvements over control groups for anxiety, depression, and PTSD.^19,20

For an outlandishly simple exercise, a 60% rate of full recovery for PTSD and a 41% average reduction in depressive symptoms is absolutely remarkable.^19,21

Begin by identifying the negative emotion or trauma that you want to lessen. Rate its intensity on a scale of 0 to 10. Plug it into this sentence: “Even though I have this ______, I deeply and completely accept myself.” For instance, if you have anxiety, you would say “Even though I have this anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself.” Next, come up with a word or phrase to express the problem. For instance, “this work-related anxiety” or “bad memories from my youth.”

EFT acupoints

Karate Chop acupoint

Say your “Even though I have…” sentence thrice while tapping the Karate Chop point (pictured) on your hand. With 2 or more fingers, proceed to tap each of the remaining 8 acupoints in order of top (top of head) to bottom (lateral ribs).

Tap each point 3 to 7 times before moving to the next point. While tapping each point, repeat the descriptive word or phrase (e.g., “this work-related anxiety). You can say the “Even though…” sentence and descriptive words internally, although out loud is better. It doesn’t matter on which side of your body or face you tap yourself. You can use both sides during the same round if you want.

Repeat the tapping sequence until the emotion is at zero or has plateaued at a lower level of intensity. If you are mildly distressed, a few rounds may be enough. If you have very strong emotions, 10-15 minutes could be optimal.

EFT is unique among mental health exercises in that one concentrates exclusively on the negative emotion. That makes tapping an excellent last resort technique. Sometimes, your negative emotion won’t budge despite trying your most effective distancing methods. When other methods fail is often when using this unconventional technique works the best. Make it a rule to do EFT before you consider doing something that could hurt yourself.

Three clinical trials have compared the emotional freedom technique to pressing random points in an attempt to gauge the placebo effect. All trials showed better efficacy using EFT acupoints rather than the sham points. Research shows that EFT lowers cortisol and increases heart rate variability–both signs of relaxation.²²

The mechanism of action is under ongoing investigation. The most promising theory appears to center on mechanosensory transduction. When acupoints are stimulated, mechanosensory receptors produce electrochemical signals that travel to the brain via afferent sensory nerves and connective tissue. In the brain, the signals deactivate the limbic system (responsible for emotional distress) and activate the prefrontal cortex (responsible for lowering emotional distress).²²