How To Soothe and Relax Yourself When You Are Having Heartburn or GERD

Cure GERD, Soothe a Heartburn, Coping With Hearburn Strike

Aside from taking your medication and making some dietary and lifestyle changes, you can also try some relaxation methods to relax yourself.

It has been proven that while the problem may be physical, the effects of the emotions and psychological well-being of a person can make a huge difference in dealing with the pain and stress of heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. One example is loose bowel movement is more prevalent in people who are stressed, and this could be because one outlet for stress is eating or not eating, and this can lead to irritable bowel syndrome.

While you can consider listening to music or doing simple exercises as a form of relaxation, there are other techniques you can try. These are the autogenic training, guided imagery, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation.

Autogenic training is deep breathing exercise while focusing on different parts of your body. The guiding principle behind autogenic training is if you can relax your body, you can relax your body functions such as blood pressure, heartbeat, and digestion. This relaxation method does not involve tensing you muscles, rather using your imagination to make a part of your body heavy and warm.

Guided imagery also uses the imagination and your five senses. With the use of pictures and images of places that can promote a sense of peace like a beach, sunset, or snow-peaked alps, you can relax your brain, and stop stress from causing heartburn.

Meditation is another relaxation method used by so many people to de-stress. It is a way of bringing your mind to a different level. There are several kinds of meditation, and most of them come from India. Some of the more common types are the breath meditation, transcendental meditation, and the mindfulness meditation. These three kinds of meditation require one to focus on one thing only such as a sound, your breath, or a thought.

The last kind of relaxation method is progressive muscle. This is unlike autogenic because with progressive muscle, you tighten then relax each muscle group while slowly breathing deeply. Usually you start from the face and work your way down to your feet. It teaches one how to recognize a tense muscle from a relaxed muscle, and how to shift gears when you need to relax.

Although these relaxation methods seem a little unorthodox as a treatment method, many patients who suffer from chronic heartburn attest to its effectiveness. They use it daily or even three times a week. Basically, it is training the body to handle the pain, and to avoid stress which can promote acid build-up in the stomach.

Finally, relaxation methods should never be used as an alternate treatment, rather as a complimentary or supplemental treatment method.