for Veterans and the Public

You can develop specific relaxation skills, such as:

• deep breathing--breathing from the abdomen
• progressive muscle relaxation--tensing and relaxing muscles in a coordinated way, which helps reduce muscle tension
• guided imagery--using visualization techniques to change your focus from pain to something else
• self-hypnosis--a way of teaching your body to relax
• biofeedback--using a machine to measure how much certain muscles are tensed, and teaching your body to relax those muscles