Relaxation

Many deaf people said they have found it useful to use relaxation techniques to help them in everyday life.  They said it can be useful in helping to make a difficult situation less stressful.

Relaxation can also help people with their Tinnitus.

1. People have found it helpful in difficult situations to try to stay calm. Regular relaxation and breathing exercises can help to do this.

2. Some people find that doing gentle exercise helps them to relax. Some mentioned Tai Chi, others mentioned sports.  Others say going for a short walk can help them to relax.

3. Reading helps many people to relax.

4. A massage can help some people to relax.

5. Many people find that if they relax they can lipread better.

6. One person said, “If I relax I can hear better.”

7. Some people said that taking up a hobby gave them “time out” from having to concentrate on lipreading/listening and helped them to feel more relaxed afterwards.  Hobbies that people said they’d taken up included:

  • knitting
  • fishing
  • card-making
  • painting
  • gardening

You might like to try this two-minute relaxation exercise.

Find 2 minutes, 3 times a day to practice this exercise.

Sit in a comfortable chair, preferably with a high back so that head and neck are supported. Or you can lie down if you prefer.

Now tell your muscles to relax, to let go and become soft. Mentally run through the body from head to foot. If you find any tension in the muscles, try to relax, and then continue to check the next area of the body. 

Pay particular attention to the head, neck and shoulders, as these are areas where many of us hold our tension and stress.

Spend no more than 2 minutes doing this exercise, then carry on with your day. If you don’t feel any great sense of relaxation, don’t worry. Relaxation is a skill that has to be practiced. Over time you will become more aware of your stress as it builds up in your body and be able to release it more easily. The key is to practice regularly. For that reason you should spend no more than 2 minutes doing this exercise, then carry on with your day.

This exercise was from the old RNID website.

Click here to see other relaxation exercises.