We all have situations and events in our lives which we would like to face in a calm and confident state.

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However, when it's something we really care about or a situation which we have had a negative experience of in the past, tension, fear and nerves often get the better of us.

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Rapid Relaxation (also known as Applied Relaxation and Cue-Controlled Relaxation) is an evidence based CBT technique which was initially developed to help treat conditions such as Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and panic disorders. However, it has now become a more widely spread tool for helping people effectively face everyday stressors and optimise performance in a number of settings.

 

In Rapid Relaxation sessions you are taught how to shift your physiological state out of a stress response, and back into homeostasis. This is a natural function of your nervous system which helps you to stay calm, focussed and feel more confident in the face of challenges.

 

How does relaxation effect our behaviour?

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Although we often associate relaxation with feeling more drowsy or lethargic, a physiological state of relaxation is actually an optimised state of calm and mental resourcefulness.

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When you are in this natural state of homeostasis you not only feel more calm and contented, but you also have access to the most important creative centres in the brain. These are the regions of the brain which govern problem solving, reasoning, motivation and emotional regulation.

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Your alternative mode of operation is what’s called a ‘survival’ response. It’s your body and mind perceiving something that could be in any way threatening, and revving you up in order to hide, protect yourself or to flee from the situation. This is a state which is often triggered by the natural fact of doing something where the outcome feels very important to you, facing a challenge or facing anything new or unknown.

 

Being in a survival response will feel familiar to you because it’s all the standard symptoms of stress - things like a raised heart rate, shortened breath, muscular tension, and erratic thinking.

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What's involved?

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In these sessions we employ relaxation skills training to teach your body and mind how to enter into a state of calm, centred homeostasis. We then use a systematic combination of physical, verbal or visual cues, along with heightened focus and repetition to create a conditioned association in the brain between this physiological state of calm and a 'trigger'. This means that, where appropriate, you can shift yourself into this state of calm on command.

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This truly is a superpower. Because knowing that you can approach situations and events that would usually rattle you, in a calm, focused and mentally resourceful state can make for a very different life experience indeed.