Using Relaxation: Coping with Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders

HOW CAN RELAXATION HELP? Research has shown that relaxation provides several health benefits including: decreasing excess arousal produced by worry or anxiety, managing insomnia, buffering the adverse physiological responses to stress, and increasing pain tolerance while decreasing some of the symptoms associated with chronic pain. Relaxation training is also a vital part of any stress management program and is a component of many cognitive-behavioral treatment programs for problems such as headache, depression, anxiety, and phobias. Many researchers and health professionals believe that relaxation provides two important functions: (1) as a coping skill that can be used immediately when a person is stressed, overly aroused, or in pain, and (2) by preventing some of the damaging effects of stress. Daily practice of relaxation lowers arousal that is associated with wear and tear on the body. Regular use of relaxation enables one to calm the body before beginning stressful activities and has been associated with improvements in the immune system as well as improved survival of cancer patients. Thus, daily practice of relaxation makes a person generally more relaxed, better prepared to manage daily demands, and better able to buffer the long-term effects of stress, while also providing a tool to use when things get out of hand. For individuals with functional GI disorders, relaxation appears to help by dampening the pain, managing the arousal naturally associated with physical distress, empowering the patient with self-help skills, and managing irritability which is a very common consequence of chronic pain.