Hypnotherapy to reduce and manage stress
About the author
Alan Crisp has been involved in people development, training, and counselling for over 20 years. His own ongoing personal development is very important to him as a qualified and responsible practitioner in the fields of hypnotherapy and psychotherapy.
Alan uses many techniques and different styles of working including: Hypnotic Suggestion, Hypnoanalysis, Cognitive Psychotherapy, Counselling, Neuro Linguistic Programming, Personality Profiling and Balancing, and Kinesiology techniques when these will assist in an effective treatment plan.
+44 (0)20 8658 4290
www.yourtruth.co.uk
What is stress?
Looking at stress from a psychological perspective, stress can be defined as a state we experience when there is a mismatch between perceived demands and our perceived ability to cope. Stress can come from external sources (some event or situation that is causing stress) or internal sources (attitudes or emotions that lead to stress, such as anxiety, guilt, low self esteem, fear, and so on).
On a physiological level, stress is defined as an adaptive response by the body to a change in the environment. The stress response evolved to enable our ancestors to deal with life-threatening dangers or stressors, such as being confronted with a wild animal, or perhaps a hostile human. Situations like this required action – the stress response is also known as the flight or fight response because it allowed us to stay and fight the enemy or to run away.
Today we hopefully won't have to face the same dangers as our ancestors, but the mind and body still prepare for fight or flight when confronted by stress. Problems can occur when the fight or flight response is activated with no physical outlet. For instance, we are stuck in a traffic jam and can’t fight it or flee it, or maybe an unfair confrontation in the workplace where once again the response for action may be triggered but we can't vent it by fighting or running away without consequences we would rather avoid. Perhaps both of these events and more are experienced on the same day, perhaps every day, and the stress builds within us until it can damage our health if a solution is not found.
Stress isn't always bad - the stress response was designed to help and protect us, and some people even place themselves in stressful situations they know they can handle for excitement (or "the rush", as it is often called).
We all experience stress in different ways depending upon our personality type, and conditioning, but we can also utilise any techniques we have learnt for handling stress.
When we face a stressor and believe that we can deal with it successfully, a feeling of success and achievement can be gained. Getting the balance right between stress that motivates us and encourages us to grow, and our ability to cope with stress that might overwhelm us, may be the key to remaining healthy, positive and active in whatever arena of life we find ourselves in.
Our ability to cope with stress can be affected by our diet and the intake of good substances that our body needs to remain strong and flexible and to repair itself when needed. We should also avoid anything that could cause us more stress or that might weaken us, such as drugs, alcohol, smoking and so on.
How does the fight/flight response work?
The fight or flight response is the body's physiological response to a stressor. Changes in hormones prepare a person to either stay and deal with a stressor or to take flight (or run away). During this immediate state of alarm a person will be extremely alert to their surroundings but also very anxious and possibly unable to concentrate.
The body will slow down systems which are not vital for responding to the stressor (for example, the digestive system), which is why a person in a fight or flight situation may have a dry mouth and a nervous or upset stomach. The body will activate other mechanisms such as the need to cool the body as more energy is used, which is why we can perspire when the fight or flight response is activated.
The response is triggered when a message of alarm is sent to a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. This area of the brain will then send a signal to the glands to release adrenaline, cortisol and endorphin into the blood stream. Increased levels of adrenaline increase heart rate and blood flow, which in turn brings extra oxygen and glucose to the muscles. Cortisol causes an increase in amino-acids and sugars in the blood. Amino-acids are crucial for the repair and recovery of damaged tissues (which may occur under stress) and the increased blood sugar adds to the availability of glucose (fuel) for the body.
The release of endorphin, which is a morphine like substance, provides the body with a natural tranquilizing system. Pain is blocked and a feeling of euphoria may be experienced. Both help the body to get through the situation it finds itself in due to stress.
Why do we have this response to stress?
The fight or flight response is a very old and very basic response and has been with us for a very long time. It was originally a response to danger that would prepare our ancestors to fight the wild beast or the enemy who might suddenly threaten or confront them, or to take flight and literally run away from the danger.
We still have this response as it remains necessary to prepare and protect us in times of alarm, such as being involved in an emergency situation or being confronted with any form of potentially life threatening danger.
Once the initial stages of the fight or flight response are over, a person will have a psychological reaction to the stressor which will be based upon many variables including, personality type, conditioning, age, physical and mental ability, and knowledge relevant to the situation to be dealt with.
What happens in a panic attack?
It is very often this fight or flight response kicking in that we tend to call a panic attack. What actually happens is that we may be in a situation where we can’t fight or flee, such as a meeting or on a train, and so we become more and more anxious and may feel as though we will pass out, or be sick, or any one of a number of responses. What often happens then, is we find we have a desperate need to urinate, and that is another way the subconscious mind will sometimes attempt to gain our attention and force us to leave the arena in which we find ourselves at the time. It is normally the feeling of not being able to escape, and knowing that we might have this strong feeling to flee or fight that causes much of the anxiety and expectation of problems for most people who find they need help to overcome their problem.
Why is hypnotherapy different to other forms of therapy?
Hypnotherapy is a very effective combination of hypnosis, or deep relaxation, and the chosen therapy, which might be for example; suggestion therapy or analysis.
Hypnosis allows an individual to enter a state of deep relaxation which in itself is a very useful therapy for combating stress. Hypnosis also allows one to become calm and focused, as all parts of the mind work together and concentrate on solving the problem at hand. In this situation, the chosen therapy can be more successfully applied.
Why is hypnosis so helpful in cases of stress, anxiety and panic attacks?
Hypnosis is a state in which the conscious critical faculty is temporarily suspended or distracted and in which all parts of the mind work in harmony for the good of the whole being.
When in hypnosis an individual can become very relaxed and at the same time very aware and 'sharp', or mentally focused.
For the computer literate, I would liken hypnosis to the 'safe mode' on a computer, where if a part of the system is malfunctioning, placing the system in safe mode allows for investigation and repair to be carried out safely while minimising the risk to the normal operating systems. In some sports it would be like a 'time-out', where all parts of the team come together briefly to review the current state of play, to identify where poor choices may have affected the outcomes and to choose a new strategy to move forward with.
In the normal hurly burly of life we seldom have time to take time out, to pull together our resources and to calmly take stock and plan our best way forward. Hypnosis is a safe, relaxing state in which we can let go the tensions in and around us for a short period, and in which, if we desire it, a skilled therapist can guide us through the stages of investigation, discovery, planning and repair we may need.
Hypnotherapy provides relaxation (and clients of good therapists learn self-hypnosis so they can find this deep relaxation for themselves) and is therefore useful at even this basic level, as a kind of first aid. A good therapist will help the client to find any repressed emotions, triggers and false instincts from the past that are a kind of out-of-date, erroneous, or maybe just no longer wanted or needed programming, that loops around once triggered to cause us much anxiety and feelings of panic, but we often don’t know why. Following this, the wonderful power of hypnotic suggestion, and possibly Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) will be used to provide new and efficient programming to support the client in moving to a much more positive life with a better outlook on everything.
Choose your therapist carefully. They should be well qualified and experienced in helping people with the condition you have. They should also be a full member of one of the major organisations supporting such therapists. UK readers can look for the letters DHP GQHP and MASC after the therapist's name, and choose a therapist that is a member of one of the organisations covered by the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council.
