Systematic Desensitization: An Effective Technique To End Stress

Perhaps  on many occasions we have experienced unpleasant feelings or emotions associated with stress,  anguish or panic, which in some cases diminish or disappear over time. This depends on how we handle the situation.

However, situations may arise that we find impossible to manage and that produce states of mental and emotional imbalance, causing suffering. These feelings of insecurity and limitation can paralyze, hamper and impede the normal functioning of daily activities.

No one escapes the impact of stress due to the fast pace of life in the contemporary world. Daily demands and high levels of violence, among others, cause a significant deterioration in our quality of life as a whole. However, the Systematic Desensitization technique can be an alternative to help solve this problem.

Systematic desensitization is a helping technique  that consists of evoking or repeating the actual experience of situations that we consider threatening. Simultaneously, a deep relaxation therapy is carried out to reduce states of discomfort.

Systematic desensitization: an effective technique  

The systematic desensitization process is aimed at consciously facing a stressful situation,  reliving and expressing step by step what you think and feel when exposed to what stresses you. Relaxation will have a calming effect and time will provide tools for you to acquire new learning, which will reduce the state of anxiety.

Systematic desensitization seeks to reinforce learned behavior of self-restraint, through repetition, at the pace you feel is appropriate and respecting your emotions. In other words, if a lot of anguish is produced during the session, the journey must be interrupted. Later, it is important to resume the process to prevent it from producing the opposite effect: greater rejection or aversion.

It is about unlearning negative responses to a stressful situation  and transforming the experience. To achieve this, the development of skills and resources to consciously control situations that turn out to be distressing is promoted. In this case, memory fulfills the role of recalling the new learning when necessary.

Main benefits of systematic desensitization

With systematic desensitization you can acquire resources to be able to face any situation you experience as a source of anguish. In addition,  you also learn to work on mastering your body and mind through breathing and relaxation.

Thanks to learning the relaxation technique used in systematic desensitization, it is possible to obtain benefits and very favorable results for your health. This is a technique that allows you to achieve complete well-being, which reflects on the mind-body unity, and allows you to achieve general well-being.

Breathing and consciously relaxing the body make it possible to implement mastery and self-control on the physical, mental and emotional levels. As a result,  illnesses and physical symptoms become less frequent and progressively milder,  until many of them disappear.

It is very important that you have great motivation when starting a systematic desensitization process. For the technique to work, it is essential that you put everything aside, as it is not easy, but it generates great benefits. You must be willing to exercise and get your mind and emotions in order.

The main steps to follow

Applying the technique of systematic desensitization implies having sufficient space and time. Comfort and tranquility are important, as is having the time you need, without worrying about other commitments that disturb your mind.

You should start with a moderate stretching workout ,  exercising tension and muscle tension throughout your entire body. It is necessary that you do this slowly, without fatigue and maintaining a deep and calm breathing rhythm.

Beforehand, or during the session,  you should write down all the situations that cause the most stress or distress, preferably listing the fears from the smallest to the largest. Then begin to imagine what each situation is like, step by step, expressing everything you feel and breathing deeply. It is necessary to repeat the technique as many times as necessary and not jump to the other situation until you feel that you have complete control over the one you are dealing with right now.

The most important thing is that you are constant. Once you start the process, don’t complete it until you feel the stress level has been reduced. Practice this at least twice a week and you’ll see the effects in no time.

Some recommendations you should keep in mind

In order to properly apply the systematic desensitization technique, it  is important to take into account some fundamental recommendations when putting theory into practice. The most important are:

• It is necessary to humbly admit that you have a situation that is possibly limiting your life. But, in turn, you must understand that this situation can be dealt with and improved with willingness, constancy, commitment, and optimism.
• It is necessary to seek help. Seeking professional help will always be an option when the situation has become extremely problematic and threatens to spiral out of control. Asking for help is a sign of wisdom and mental health. Resistance to doing this indicates a certain neglect of self-care and false independence.
• Systematic desensitization was recommended as it  is a technique that triggers processes with immediate effects or, in any case, in the short term. However, the duration depends on each person’s commitment and progress.