Zita Stanley

Without stress man would not be here today. The stress response is the body’s way of shutting down function in the body in order to pump up the muscles for fight or for flight when threatened. A “perceived” threat is enough to start the fight or flight response in the body! When the threat abates, the body returns to normal function, or so the theory goes. 21^st century living for most people results in a quasi-stressed state all the time. This is not healthy. Do you suffer from backache or tension headaches? Is your mood up and down? Being stressed affects your eating habits. Perhaps you have ulcers or some digestive problems. Did you know that stress is repressed anger? Who are you angry with? Knowing how to express anger in an appropriate way has to be and can be learned. Anger is a valid emotion – it is how it is expressed is the problem. It is important to recognize your rise in stress levels – what are your triggers? Perhaps it starts with an upset tummy or a knot in the pit of your stomach. Feeling stressed triggers specific thought patterns. In hypnosis, these thought patterns can be interrupted and new suggestions are made so that you relearn how to think, behave and act to your benefit. These changes need to consist of assertive thoughts and behaviours which in turn lead to a decrease in stress.

It is not enough just to know how to be physically assertive. Your words and tone must be congruent with your body language. You need to feel you have the right to be assertive, know how to keep yourself calm and voice your irritation in a calm and controlled way. Have you ever noticed that when you are stressed how you may turn “everything” into a catastrophe. How easy is it for you to get into an argument? Is this the way you want to live? I don’t think so. Learning hypnosis can help the sufferer enormously. All hypnosis is self hypnosis. A hypnotherapist can help you reprogramme your subconscious mind to change your thoughts in a way that works for you. You practice you new assertive behaviours in hypnosis in role play. Learning to handle stress will have a huge knock-on effect in your life.

Do you ever find yourself having a couple of drinks after a day’s work? Has this increased from one drink to a couple to a bottle? Do you take recreational drugs? Then at least you know you have a problem and are self medicating. However, these do not help and only exacerbate the problem. Pick up the phone and ask for help. A hypnotherapist is non-judgemental, is not going to make you do anything or indeed will not give you a prescription for a stress free life. So why go? You need to rediscover your hidden strengths and an ethically trained hypnotherapist will help find these strengths as you discover a new way to harness the power of your own mind. Empowerment is the greatest gift you can give yourself. The number of stress management sessions will vary depending upon your stress levels. This can only be determined in consultation. However, visiting a solution focused hypnotherapist will ensure that the maximum length of time spent in therapy should not run longer than 10 sessions. It is important to ensure that you are open and honest with the hypnotherapist, after all, he/she is not a mind reader and the more information you give the better equipped the therapist in designing your stress management programme.

In summary, hypnosis can help you rewrite your internal programming with regard to stress. Work stress can be a particular problem, after all we spend most of your day in the office. Stress in small amounts is good – you know you are alive, it gives you motivation to make a change, pumps you up before a presentation. But it can also lead to unwanted physical symptoms. Is work particularly stressful – are you overloaded with work, can you ask for help? Maybe you have been promoted and you are having difficulty in your new position – is it through lack of confidence or lack of training. Do you hate what you do? Well, what do you really want to do? Make a plan and start working on it so that one day your vocation can become your real work.

Hypnosis is a concentrated relaxation and wouldn’t it feel good just to relax. Life should be enjoyed not endured.

Tags: Stress //