The Coping with Stress and Anxiety System

By Dr. Randy Gilchrist

The Coping with Stress System© contains 30 stress and anxiety management tools without all of the hundreds of extras pages of words and fluff like most books/workbooks. Who wants to read all of that? Simply review the table of contents, go the whichever tools seem helpful and interesting to you, and then practice the simple instructions that follow. Use the ideas you like and ignore the rest! Powerful, easy, professional, simple. A great, effective one of a kind product.

The goal of The Coping with Stress System© is promote actual, effective psychotherapy level tips, tools, techniques, and a simple, basic, user friendly ebook format. Now, recently available by Dr. Gilchrist to the public at large, now is your opportunity to own some truly effective methods to conquer stress and anxiety in an affordable, convenient self-help format. Download The Coping with Stress System© today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dr. Randy Gilchrist
• Release date: Feb 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370795680

Dr. Randy Gilchrist

Dr. Randy Gilchrist is a licensed clinical psychologist, a licensed marriage & family therapist, and a certified hypnotherapist. He graduated with a doctorate in clinical psychology with an added specialty in marriage & family therapy from the California School of Professional Psychology in San Diego in 2002. He has been practicing psychotherapy since 1997, hypnosis since 2001, and currently has a private practice in Roseville, CA, USA. After adding hypnosis to his practice in 2001, Dr. Gilchrist has created several high quality hypnosis self help audio programs including The Non Smoker's Edge (2005) and Managing Stress and Anxiety (2006) with the world famous Hypnosis Network, a collection of self help hypnosis products from the world's top hypnosis experts (www.hypnosisnetwork.com). He has also created The Weight Loss Mindset hypnosis program as well in 2007 (www.theweightlossmindset.com). Dr. Gilchrist originally comes from Clayton in the San Francisco Bay Area and has been married (1st wife) since 1996 and has 4 boys (13, 12, 9, and 6). His interests include basketball, swimming, the gym, and of course, psychology

Book preview

Abdominal breathing consists of breathing fully from the bottom of your lungs near your abdomen. This is exactly the reverse of how you breathe when you’re anxious or tense, which is typically shallow and high in your chest. Relaxing effects of abdominal breathing include drooping eyes and shoulders, lower heart rate, and increased oxygen into your system.

To practice abdominal breathing, observe the following steps:

1) Place one hand on your abdomen right beneath your rib cage.

2) Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose into the bottom of your lungs to the lowest point you can reach for 4 slow counts. Your chest should move only slightly, while your stomach area rises and pushes your hand upward like an expanding balloon.

3) When you’ve inhaled fully, pause comfortably (1-3 seconds) and then exhale fully through your mouth (or nose, if you prefer) for 8 regular counts. As you exhale, let yourself go and imagine your entire body going loose and limp. Pause again (1-3 seconds) before continuing.

4) In order to fully relax, take and release ten or so of these breaths. Try to keep your breathing smooth and regular throughout, without gulping in a big breath or exhaling suddenly. You might count each breath as follows:

Slowly inhale for 4 counts—Pause—Exhale for 8 counts—Pause (count 1)

Slowly inhale for 4 counts—Pause—Exhale for 8 counts—Pause (count 2)—and so on (until you reach 10 series of breaths)

*If you start to feel light-headed while practicing abdominal breathing, stop for 30 seconds and then start again. If you still feel light headed, stop and resume at a later time.

*If the breathing counts or pauses suggested here are uncomfortable, adjust them to your personal preference. The counts offered here are just suggestions.

You’ll find that abdominal breathing will help to slow down or eliminate feelings of anxiety or panic. In fact, two or more minutes of abdominal breathing can abort a panic attack if you initiate it before the panic has gained momentum. Abdominal breathing also counteracts hyperventilation symptoms, which can be mistaken for symptoms of panic. In general, abdominal breathing exercises will help change your breathing from a stressful, anxious process into a more relaxed, soothing rhythm. This will help calm your body and provide more oxygen into your system.

(Adapted from Bourne, 1992)

© Copyright 2004, Randy A. Gilchrist, Psy.D. All Rights Reserved. www.dr-rg.com

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation is a time-honored relaxation technique that effectively reduces skeletal muscle tension, a principle contributor to anxiety and stress. This exercise tends to work best when it is done for at least 20 minutes, at a regular time, before or at least 1 hour after a meal, in a quiet setting, and with your head supported. Note: skip tensing any of the muscle groups below that are excessively sore, painful, or at risk to aggravate a preexisting physical condition.

To engage in progressive muscle relaxation, follow these steps:

1) Clench your fists tightly, holding them 7-10 slowly counted seconds.

2) Feel the buildup of tension in your hands and visualize your muscles tightening.

3) After 7-10 seconds, relax the muscles in your hands abruptly, imagining them going loose and limp. Allow 10-20 seconds to pass before proceeding. Use this same tense, count, and relax while visualizing process for all of the remaining exercises.

4) Tighten your biceps by drawing your forearms up towards your shoulders and make a muscle with both arms.

5) Tighten your triceps (the muscles opposite the undersides of your biceps). Do this by extending your arms straight and locking your elbows while tightening your muscles.

6) Tense up the muscles in your forehead by raising your eyebrows up as far as you can.

7) Tense up the muscles around your eyes by clenching them tightly shut.

8) Tighten your jaw by opening your mouth so wide that you stretch the muscles around the hinges of your jaw.

9) Tighten the muscles in the back of your neck by pulling your head back as if you were going to touch your head to your back.

10) Tighten your shoulders by raising them up as if you were going to touch your ears.

11) Tighten your muscles by pushing your shoulder blades back as if you were going to touch them together.

12) Tighten the muscles of your chest