2.3. Deep Breathing and Muscle Relaxation
muscle contraction, depression, anxiety
MUSCLE RELAXATION
The strategy consists of controlled breathing and exhalation, as a strategy for managing anxiety. The patients were taught muscle relaxation exercises for opposing muscle pairs (short periods of 5–7 s of sustained muscle contraction). The aim is to increase the level of well-being in the patient via muscle relaxation to physically reduce anxiety symptoms [The experimental group (CBI + R) used the same content to decrease depression and anxiety symptoms. Additionally, the CBI + R group had two sessions of the resilience model with the following content: