Stress can be defined as a state we experience whenever there is a mismatch between perceived requirements and our coping ability. Stress can also be defined as an adaptational response by a body to changes in the environment.
Stress response evolved to enable humankind to contend with life-threatening dangers or stressors such as being confronted with a hostile human or even a wild animal.
Situations like this required action – the energizing of the stress response to either stay and fight back or to run away.
Nowadays, we hopefully wont have to confront the same perils as our ancestors, however the stress response to demanding situations we encounter is still with us and our mind and body still prepare for fight or flight whenever confronted with this equivalent of the wild animal.
This is where the trouble may start as activation of the fight or flight response with no physical outlet, such as if we are stuck in a traffic jam and can’t fight it or flee from it, or perhaps an unfair face-off in the workplace where once more the call for action may be triggered but we cant vent it by fighting or running away without consequences we would instead avoid.
Perhaps several of these events or more are endured on the same day, possibly every day, and the stress level builds within us until it can damage our health because of the perpetual pressure placed upon our immune system.
The resulting reduction in efficiency of our immune system might then open us up to many unwanted symptoms such as yeast overgrowth, rashes, indigestion, IBS, headaches and migraines, diminished memory efficiency and a tendency to become negative and depressed unless a solution is found and healing is facilitated.
Stress isn’t always damaging – the stress response was designed to assist and protect us and some individuals even position themselves in stressful places they know they can manage for excitement and ‘the rush’ as it is frequently called.
We all experience stress in different means depending upon our personality type, conditioning and possible training also.
Whenever we face a stressor but perceive we have the ability to contend with it successfully, a feeling of success and achievement can be gained. Finding the balance right between good stress to motivate us and encourage us to develop, and our ability to deal with the stress is perhaps the key to remaining healthy, positive and active in whatever arena of life we find ourselves.
Our ability to contend with stress can be affected by our diet and the intake of good substances that out body requires to stay strong and flexible and to repair itself when necessary. Also we should avoid anything that could cause us to be more upset or weaker, such as drugs, alcohol, smoking, lack of sleep, poor diet, etc.
Finally, our stressor can be more often than not external, some issue or situation that is creating stress, or internal attitudes or emotions that lead to stress (anxiety, guilt, low self esteem, fear, etc).
Hypnosis allows someone to enter a state of deep relaxation which in itself is a very useful therapy for battling stress. It also allows one to become calm and focused, as all the components of the mind work together and centralise on solving the issue at hand.
Hypnotherapy thus provides relaxation (and clients of good therapists learn self-hypnosis so they can find this deep relaxation for themselves) and is therefore functional at even this basic level, as a form of first aid.
The skilled therapist will help the client to dissolve any suppressed emotions, triggers and false instincts from the past that are a kind of out-of-date misconception, or perhaps just no longer required or needed programming, that loops around once activated to cause us much anxiety and feelings of panic, but we often don’t even consciously know why.
Following this, the wonderful power of hypnotic suggestion and therapy will be employed to allow new and effective programming to support moves forward into a much greater positive life with an improved mindset on everything.
For more information, contact us today.
