Find New Ways to Cope
Stress results from a psychological and biological reaction to a perceived threat. A stress response includes increases in blood pressure, pulse rate, energy levels, mental activity and muscle strength. The body is ready for action as it goes into 'fight or flight' mode.
A natural part of life, stress motivates you to get on with things; to eat, work, have relationships or get out of bed in the morning. When the amount of stress builds past the point of being comfortable, most people start suffering from the symptoms of excess stress. If stress is not dealt with while it is at a low level, the symptoms can escalate to cause other problems such as anxiety and depression.
Everyone reacts to stress in different ways and to different degrees. Some people have more stress than others. Some people handle stressful situations better than others. What bothers you may not affect another person. This does not negate your stress, it merely points out what situations you react to in a stressful manner.
Hypnosis and Stress Management
All stress is triggered by an event or episode. Once you learn to recognise your stress triggers, then you can change how you deal with them and stop the cycle. Hypnosis helps you to do this and enables you to explore alternative thoughts and actions while in a trance state.
By experiencing the deep relaxation of a hypnotic state, your body learns to relax. You will feel more rested and energetic and you will find your sleep becoming deeper and more peaceful. As you begin to feel better physically, your thinking will become clearer and you will react to stressful situations more calmly.
As you learn to control your response to stress triggers, your emotions will become more controlled and you will begin to experience a greater sense of peace and serenity no matter what your circumstances.
Life is full of change. It never stays the same. Learning to cope, change and adapt to whatever situation may arise in your life is the key to successful stress management.
The Symptoms
- Body tension
- Unable to relax
- Sleeplessness
- Poor appetite
- Digestive problems
- Excessive eating
- Excessive drinking
- Excessive smoking
- Loss of sex drive
- Overspending
- Aggressive behaviour
- Road rage
- Snapping at people you love
- Agitation at small things
- Always being rushed, in a hurry, or late for appointments
- Unable to sit still and focus on a television programme, conversation or book
Positive Change
If you have several of the above symptoms, it is possible that you are suffering from being over-stressed. Stress is one of the biggest threats to people's health, happiness, and well being. It causes confused thinking, depression, over eating, excessive drinking, reckless driving, high blood pressure, heart problems, and a myriad of other health problems. The symptoms of stress are sometimes insidious and undetectable, until one day you feel overwhelmed with life. Everything bothers you, from your work to your favourite pet at home. You may even start doubting your sanity. All of this results in a feeling of being out of control.
The first step in handling over-stress is evaluating each separate stressful situation in your life and deciding what kind of action to take. Sometimes we have no control over a situation and we must learn to simply let go of what is bothering us and redirect our attention elsewhere. Other times we simply need to change our attitude or behaviour to effect a positive change.
Since stress affects every area of your life, a variety of coping techniques seem to work better than just one technique. Coping strategies include: deep breathing, relaxation, deep and restful sleep, taking breaks, removing yourself from the stressful situation, exercise, changing diet and keeping a journal. These measures help you to recognise how your own inner dialogue and thoughts contribute to stress and teach you to see and experience things differently.