Stress & Burn-out prevention
Stress is something we feel when we're under too much pressure and unable to cope. We all experience stressful situations from time to time, and we all experience them differently. A certain situation, for example, bungee jumping, can be incredibly stressful for one person, but for another, it's their idea of fun.
Stress can arise from a variety of events and situations, and is often the result of an accumulation of small, subtle stressors, such as work-related stress or financial worries, which lead to permanent stress, known as chronic stress. Feeling stressed for long periods of time is detrimental to our mental and physical health.
Although we can't always control the stressful events and situations we experience, we can control our reactions to them. Here we'll look at the most common stress symptoms, and explore how hypnosis for stress can help you modify your reaction and manage it better.
Table of contents
Why are we stressed?
Our brains evolved to help us survive the Stone Age, when we faced daily threats to our lives. When a threat was revealed, our brains began to produce hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol, which made our hearts beat faster, our breathing quicker, and our muscles tense. We were then in "fight or flight" mode, giving our bodies the physical advantage they needed to flee or fight the threat.
While times have certainly changed, and the level of threats to our lives has diminished, our brains have retained this survival characteristic. Today, different situations are perceived as threats to our brains, for example when your manager sends you an e-mail with a tight deadline. Your brain continues to make movements to prepare you to "fight or flight", but instead of fighting your manager or fleeing your office, you're more likely to end up sitting at your desk.
Stress hormones then circulate in your veins, making you feel even more stressed. This feeling usually passes, but when we are regularly confronted with multiple stressors, we can feel ourselves in a constant state of stress, and start to develop symptoms.
Stress symptoms
Stress can affect you in many different ways, often manifesting itself in emotional, mental and physical symptoms. One of the best tools for managing stress is to understand what your specific symptoms are. By getting to know them, you'll be more aware of when you're stressed, enabling you to take steps to reduce them.
Here are some of the symptoms you may experience emotionally:
anxious
overwhelmed and as if you couldn't cope
easily irritated and angry
low self-esteem and self-worth
These feelings can alter your behavior and your interactions with those around you.
Some of the ways you can feel mentally include:
turbulent thinking
difficulty making decisions
difficulty concentrating
a constant concern
These feelings can have an impact on daily life and, over time, stress can lead to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.
Among the feelings you may experience physically are :
tense muscles
headaches
feeling of dizziness
sleep problems
fatigue
changes in appetite
These feelings can make you feel terrible, and force you to take time off to recover.
Stress symptoms can cause you to behave in different ways. You may get angry with people, and snap more often. You may feel the urge to turn to alcohol, or even drugs, to help you cope.
It's essential to learn how to manage your stress in a healthy and useful way, which sometimes means getting professional support.
Hypnosis to manage and reduce the effects of stress
Hypnosis aims to break negative thought patterns and stress reactions, and enable you to react more healthily. This is done via the subconscious mind. This is the part of our mind that functions automatically and without our realizing it.
Your hypnotherapist will help you enter a state of deep relaxation, hypnosis. When you're in this state, your subconscious is more open to suggestion. The idea is that the hypnotherapist "suggests" different ways for your subconscious to react to stress.
How many sessions are required?
Some people will see results after just one session, while others will need several. This will depend on your personal situation and the depth of the work required. Often, hypnotherapists will also teach you self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques, which you can use after the sessions.
Hypnosis for stress can be particularly useful when you're under short-term stress. For example, if you have to take an exam or speak in public, hypnosis can help you act more relaxed.
Regular self-hypnosis can then help you to reduce tension and relieve stress in the longer term. Simply entering a hypnotic state will alleviate stress, as you'll feel very relaxed. For this reason alone, many people find hypnosis an effective tool for managing stress.
Hypnosis can also be used to help boost your confidence and self-esteem, making you feel more at ease, to set limits, and to know how to say no to people. These are all essential tools for managing stress.
