Stress is an inevitable part of daily life, perhaps more so now than at any other time in human history. Daily we are exposed to stressors from and the world in general is an increasingly more stressful place to live in for many. The American Medical Association has reported that over 75% of ALL modern medical illnesses have stress as a primary causative factor! Our hypnotherapists understand the relationship between stress and so many of the symptoms that you may have and can help give you tools to deal with stress more effectively.
What is stress?
Stress is a psychological and physiological reaction in our mind and body to an external or internal stimulus. Some stressful reactions to stimuli include rapid heart beat, blood flow being diverted to the arms and legs, dryness of mouth and an overall feeling of panic. This is a genetic response that was very necessary millions of years ago when a saber-toothed tiger started chasing us across the plains, hungry for his next meal. We developed this response to speed up the heart and send blood to the arms and legs in anticipation of a fight or a flight (to run away).
At home, school or work, when stress kicks in we receive the same physiological reactions in our bodies even though we are not faced with a true life or death situation. Isn’t that amazing?
Stress is cumulative in nature. Every stressful situation you confront compounds and it builds over time, much like an investment in a tax-free security or pension plan. Many times the event that pushes us over the edge, the event that triggers a fight or altercation, is the last or most recent event. Several other episodes of stress were handled in a way where we ignored the warning signs in our bodies until we could take the pressure no more. Stressful events compound over time until we can’t handle them. We may even react sometimes in a violent or hurtful way.
How can Hypnosis help?
Using hypnosis to manage stress capitalizes on the same principles, the compounding of our reactions, only in the reverse. Our hypnotherapists can teach you self-hypnosis so you can learn to relax.
William James, a philosopher at the turn of the 20th Century, stated that a person “cannot experience stress and be totally relaxed at the same time.” It takes time when you are experiencing stress to bring yourself down to relaxation. It takes time when you are totally relaxed to bring you into a stressful state of mind and body.
Ten Commandments for Reducing Stress.
- Thou shalt not be perfect or even try to be.
- Thou shalt not try to be all things to all people.
- Thou shalt leave some things undone that ought to be done.
- Thou shalt not spread thyself too thin.
- Thou shalt learn to say ‘no’.
- Thou shalt schedule time for thyself and a supportive network.
- Thou shalt switch off and do nothing regularly.
- Thou shalt be boring, untidy, inelegant and inattentive at times.
- Thou shalt not ever feel guilty.
- Especially, thou shalt not be thine own worst enemy but thy best friend
