Imagination and visualisation exercises serve to manage stress and consist of visualising or imagining in our mind events, stories or images that are pleasant or beneficial for us and thus reduce stress.

Of all the techniques of relaxation and emotional self-control, the main one is breathing. Relaxation is focused on the way we breathe.

The aim of deep breathing is to ensure that oxygen is properly distributed to all cells and that carbon dioxide does not drop into the blood. This technique also moderates bodily processes and helps us with negative emotions and stress.

To perform the breathing technique, it is important to find a quiet place to start, but if you can’t, you can try to do it anywhere.

First, push the chest forward and relax the shoulders, then place one hand on the abdomen and the other on the chest. Breathe in deeply for 4 seconds, feeling your hands rise. Hold your breath for 5 seconds and then exhale for 7 seconds. The aim is to try to achieve 10 breaths per minute.

Stress is closely linked to lack of time, as our routine consists of filling our time with activities and sometimes we give up our rest time, so time management to reduce stress and have time for ourselves is important.

Our time has to be organised in such a way that we only target the things we can really do and finish and the things that are really important, so that at the end of the day, the proposed tasks are completed and there is a sense of self-fulfilment and no stress appears. Improving our routine makes us feel more content with our existence.