Table 5.

Ost’s applied relaxation technique

In this technique, the patients keep a detailed record of their anxious feelings, especially physical sensations, so that they become aware of them. Then they learn to practice the following steps:

1. Tension-release progressive relaxation: the patient is asked to tense a group of muscles for approximately 20 seconds and then release the tension.

2. Release-only relaxation: the patient is asked to only relax a group of muscles.

3. Cue-controlled relaxation: in this step, the patient is asked to link release-only relaxation to breathing. As they breathe in, they are told to think “in”, and as they breathe out to think “relax” and release tension at the same time, and to practice this daily and achieve a relaxed state in 2–3 minutes.

4. Differential relaxation-practice relaxation in different situations.

5. Rapid relaxation-practice relaxation in a more natural surrounding and attempt to quicken the pace of the relaxation process.

6. In the final step the patient is made to practice relaxation under the stress of clinic situation.

Note: Data taken from Ost.62