Choosing a Relaxation Practice When You Have Symptoms: A Scope-and-Safety Question List

By CenterForHealthAndHealing.org Research Team. Sources checked October 6, 2026.

The Short Answer

A relaxation practice is a skill you do. It is not a test, a diagnosis, or a treatment plan. If you have symptoms, the safest way to choose a practice is to ask a few plain questions first: What is this practice meant to do? What is it not meant to do? Could my symptoms need a clinician before I start? What will I do if it makes things worse? The list below walks through those questions in order.

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) describes relaxation techniques as practices meant to trigger the body's relaxation response, which it characterizes by slower breathing, lower blood pressure, and a reduced heart rate. NCCIH also says that if you have severe or long-lasting symptoms of any kind, you should see your health care provider, and it encourages you to talk with your providers about any complementary health approach you use.

Relaxation Practice vs. Medical Care: Two Different Jobs

It helps to keep the two jobs apart in your head.

A relaxation practice is something you learn and repeat, such as slow breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, or meditation. Its goal is to help you settle your body and attention.
Medical care is how a clinician finds out why a symptom is happening and decides what, if anything, to do about it.

A practice can feel calming and still tell you nothing about what is causing a symptom. That is why NCCIH's guidance on meditation and mindfulness says not to use them to replace conventional care or as a reason to postpone seeing a health care provider about a medical problem. The same caution makes sense for any relaxation practice.

The Scope-and-Safety Question List

Work through these before you pick a practice, and again if your symptoms change. You do not need perfect answers. Where the answer is “I don't know,” that is a good question to bring to a clinician.

Part 1: What are my symptoms, and have they been checked?

Is this symptom new, getting worse, or lasting longer than usual? NCCIH's relaxation guidance points readers with severe or long-lasting symptoms of any kind to a health care provider. A practice should not stand in for that visit.
Has a clinician looked at this symptom? If not, consider making that your first step, or at least tell a clinician what you plan to try.
Is this symptom sudden, severe, or frightening? Chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, or thoughts of harming yourself call for urgent help right away, not a relaxation exercise. (This is an editorial safety note, not a claim attributed to NCCIH. In the U.S., call 911 or your local emergency number, or call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.)

Part 2: Does my health history change the picture?

Do I have epilepsy, a psychiatric condition, or a history of abuse or trauma? NCCIH says relaxation techniques are generally considered safe for healthy people, but it also reports rare cases where certain techniques might cause or worsen symptoms in people with epilepsy, certain psychiatric conditions, or a history of abuse or trauma. If any of these apply, talk with your provider before you start.
Do I have high blood pressure or another condition I'm already treating? NCCIH says that if you have high blood pressure, it is important to follow the treatment plan your provider prescribed. Treat a practice as something to mention to your care team, not something that replaces their plan.
Have I told the clinicians I see what I'm planning to try? NCCIH's advice is to talk with your health care providers about any complementary health approach you use. One short sentence at your next visit is enough to start.

Part 3: What is this practice actually claiming?

Does the description stay with relaxation, stress, or coping skills, or does it promise to treat or cure a named condition? The first is a modest scope. The second is a claim that needs evidence you can check. Our related guide, Mind-Body Practice Claims: What a Session May Involve and What Evidence Can Show, explains how to read those claims.
Is the evidence described for people like me, or only for a different condition or group? NCCIH's summaries show that the evidence differs by condition: promising for some uses, mixed or unclear for others. A result for one symptom does not automatically carry over to another.
Who is teaching it, and what is their training? NCCIH suggests asking about the training and experience of the instructor of any meditation or mindfulness practice you are considering. Vague answers are worth noticing.

Part 4: What is my plan if it doesn't go well?

Do I know the possible downsides? For meditation, NCCIH describes a 2020 review of 83 studies in which about 8 percent of participants had a negative effect, similar to the percentage reported for psychological therapies, and the most commonly reported were anxiety and depression. NCCIH also says meditation and mindfulness are usually considered to have few risks. Knowing this ahead of time makes a problem easier to recognize.
What will make me stop? Decide before you begin. For example: “If this practice makes my anxiety or symptoms worse, I will stop and call my provider.” You can write your stop signs down using the symptom-and-function tracker on this site.
How will I know whether it's helping? Pick one symptom and one daily activity to watch. A log shows what you noticed. It cannot prove the practice caused a change.

How to Use the List

If a Part 1 or Part 2 question raises a concern, or you cannot answer it, talk with a clinician before or while you try a practice. If Part 3 shows a practice promising to treat a disease, slow down and look for the evidence behind that promise. If you can answer Part 4, you have a plan, which makes trying something new less of a gamble.

You can also bring the list to an appointment as a conversation starter.

The Main Relaxation Techniques NCCIH Lists

This article does not recommend one practice over another. The right choice depends on your health history and preferences. For reference, NCCIH lists these main relaxation techniques:

Progressive relaxation: tensing different muscles and then releasing the tension.
Autogenic training: mental exercises that combine relaxation with self-suggestion.
Guided imagery: picturing calming scenes.
Biofeedback-assisted relaxation: using devices that monitor body responses such as heart rate.
Self-hypnosis: learning to bring on relaxation with a phrase or cue.
Breathing exercises: slow, deep breaths, also called diaphragmatic breathing.

For a closer look at one of these, see Breathing Practice Claims: Stress Skills, Symptom Limits, and When to Seek Care.

Who Should Get Professional Advice First

Anyone with severe or long-lasting symptoms of any kind.
Anyone with epilepsy, a psychiatric condition, or a history of abuse or trauma.
Anyone managing high blood pressure or another diagnosed condition with a treatment plan.
Anyone whose anxiety, low mood, or intrusive thoughts get worse after starting a practice.
Anyone unsure whether a symptom is serious. When in doubt, ask.

What You Can Do Next

Write down the one symptom you most want to understand and when it started.
Answer the questions above, marking the ones you cannot answer.
Bring the unanswered questions to your clinician or pharmacist.
If you start a practice, begin with one and decide your stop signs first.
Tell your care team what you are doing.

Sources

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Relaxation Techniques: What You Need To Know. Page shows “Last Updated: June 2021.” Opened and checked October 6, 2026. Supports: the relaxation-response description, the list of techniques, “generally considered safe for healthy people,” the rare reports for epilepsy, certain psychiatric conditions, and history of abuse or trauma, the advice to see a provider for severe or long-lasting symptoms, the high blood pressure treatment-plan statement, and the advice to talk with providers about complementary approaches.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and Safety. Page shows “Last Updated: June 2022.” Opened and checked October 6, 2026. Supports: the 2020 review figure of about 8 percent with a negative effect, the “few risks” statement, the advice not to replace conventional care or postpone seeing a provider, and the advice to ask about instructor training and experience.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988lifeline.org. Opened October 6, 2026. Supports only the service name and the call-or-text-988 contact options.

About This Page

This article is general educational information from the CenterForHealthAndHealing.org Research Team. It is not medical advice, and it does not diagnose, treat, or replace care from a licensed clinician. It was not written or reviewed by a named clinician, and it does not describe care from any clinic. It does not recommend or sell any product. You can read more about how we work on our editorial standards page.