e-mail: barbara.burgess@rocketmail.com or call 01626 210330 for an appointment
Stress Management
Stress is a psychological and biological reaction to a perceived threat. The body releases chemicals, including cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline and becomes ready for action as it goes into "fight or flight" mode. If these chemicals that are released during stressful situations build up from not being used, their effects are felt by the body. An accumulation of adrenaline and noradrenaline increases blood pressure, heart rate, and the amount that you sweat. Cortisol prevents your immune system from functioning properly, as well as releasing fat and sugar into your blood stream.
Everyone reacts to stress differently. A little bit of pressure can motivate you and help you to perform tasks better, it is a natural part of life. Some people handle stressful situations better than others, some have more stress than others, some have a higher threshold. Each person’s stress is triggered by different stressful situations, depending on their personality. What may bother one person may not affect another. But when the level of pressure builds beyond the point where it is comfortable, most people start suffering from stress-related symptoms. These symptoms are usually insidious and undetectable, until one day they become completely overwhelming leaving you feeling out of control.
Symptoms of excessive stress include:
Mental symptoms
· anger
· depression
· anxiety
· changes in behaviour
· food cravings
· lack of appetite
· frequent crying
· difficulty sleeping (mental)
· feeling tired
· difficulty concentrating
Physical symptoms
· chest pains
· constipation or diarrhoea
· cramps or muscle spasms
· dizziness
· fainting spells
· nail biting
· nervous twitches
· pins and needles
· restlessness
· a tendency to sweat
· sexual difficulties such as erectile dysfunction or a loss of sexual desire
· breathlessness
· muscular aches
· difficulty sleeping (physical).
If you have several of these symptoms, you may well suffer from excessive stress and may be at risk of developing high blood pressure which can lead to heart attacks and stroke. In the UK anxiety and depression are the most common mental illnesses, and it is caused mostly by stress. Stress is one of the greatest threats to health, happiness and well-being.
Coping with Stress
While many of us don’t like to admit to suffering from stress, feeling we should be able to cope with it on our own, the first step to overcoming stress-related conditions is to talk to someone who can help you evaluate each separate stressful situation and determine what action is required.
Since stress affects many areas of our lives, combining coping techniques seems to work better than using one single technique. These strategies include deep breathing, relaxation, deep and restful sleep, taking breaks, removing oneself from the stressful situation, exercise, change in diet, writing a diary, and learning to recognize inner dialogue and thoughts which contribute to stress and then controlling disturbing thoughts and emotions.
Where we have control over a situation we can learn to change our attitude or behaviour, where we have no control must learn to let go of what is bothering us so that we can direct our attention elsewhere.
Hypnosis and Stress Management
All stress is triggered by an event or episode. Hypnosis not only helps one recognize personal triggers, but while in the hypnotic state clients are better able to see alternate perspectives and behaviours to address stressful situations and the mind learns to reprogram negative thoughts and actions to induce new behaviour during the conscious waking state. These new behaviours will then prevent the cycle of building triggers which contribute to high levels of stress.
Experiencing the deep relaxation of a hypnotic state, the body learns to relax, clients’ thinking becomes clearer and they react to stressful situations in a calmer manner. And, by learning to control responses to stress triggers, emotions become more controlled, and a greater sense of peace and serenity develops, no matter what events may arise.
Life is full of change, it is not static. Learning to cope, change and adapt to any situation that may arise is the key to successful stress management.
Regression Therapy & Stress
Often when we look at the triggers that are causing us stress we find that they are brought about by thoughts of ‘should’ and ‘ought’ – ‘I should be a better…’, repressed feelings or emotions, or thoughts that are not really connected to the supposed cause.
Perhaps, when you have an argument with your partner you think they will leave you, so you repress anything that may cause an argument but still worry that they will leave – is this connected to this relationship or one from your past?
Perhaps you feel that your house should be perfect, but you’ve got kids, a job and 101 other pulls on your time – where did this idea come from?
Regression Therapy can take you to the source of those thoughts and feelings and transform them. You are able to re-access positive states from times when you have felt calm, relaxed, confident and in control. These positive states can then be associated with the stressful event, which allows you to react more positively to it in future.
Don’t let Stress rule your life!
Tension is who you think you should be.
Relaxation is who you are.
Chinese Proverb
