1. The client/caregiver can demonstrate a quiet breathing technique.
   1. Assume a comfortable sitting position.
   2. Take a deep, slow breath.
   3. As you exhale, envision all your tensions and anxieties flowing outward with each breath.
   4. Repeat as needed.
2. The client/caregiver can demonstrate progressive relaxation.
   1. Assume a comfortable sitting position; close your eyes.
   2. Take slow deep breaths, with the exhalation taking longer than the inhalation.
   3. Continue slow breathing, feeling the tension leaving your body and it’s becoming heavy.
   4. Perform progressive relaxation of muscles by tightening muscles during inspiration and relaxing muscles during expiration.
   5. Begin with muscles in the feet and progress upward through the body muscles through every muscle group.
3. The client/caregiver can demonstrate the use of mental imagery.
   1. Assume a comfortable sitting position.
   2. Use your imagination to experience a pleasant place or event.
   3. Using all your senses, smell the pleasant smells. Feel the warmth or softness. Taste something pleasant. See the pleasant surroundings, and hear the pleasant sounds.
4. The client/caregiver can demonstrate autogenic training.
   1. Assume a comfortable sitting position.
   2. Take several slow, deep breaths.
   3. Have someone say these phrases in a slow monotonous tone three times, and then you say them silently and begin to relax.
      1. My right arm is heavy and warm.
      2. My left arm is heavy and warm.
      3. My forehead is cool and my face is relaxed.
      4. My neck and shoulders are warm and heavy.
      5. My breathing is slow and steady.
      6. My heartbeat is slow and steady.
      7. My entire body is warm and relaxed.
5. The client/caregiver can describe the thought-stopping technique.
   1. Identify a few very pleasant experiences.
   2. Whenever an unpleasant thought enters your mind, say “stop.”
   3. Begin thinking about a pleasant experience.
   4. As this process is repeated, it will become habit-forming.
6. The client/caregiver can demonstrate massage therapy.
   1. Use a warm lotion with massage to relax muscles.
   2. Use a gliding light stroke to relax muscles.
   3. Use strong, circular movements to loosen tight muscles and improve circulation.
   4. Use a kneading-type motion to relax tight muscles.

References

Canobbio, M. M. (2006). Mosby’s handbook of patient teaching . St. Louis: Mosby Inc.
Dossey, B. M., Keegan, L., Guzzetta, C. E., & Kolmeier, L. G. (1995). Holistic nursing: A handbook for
practice. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publishers.
Perry, A., & Potter, P. (2006). Clinical nursing skills & technique. St. Louis: Mosby Inc.
Timby, B. K. (2005). Fundamental nursing skills and concepts. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins.