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Stress and Anxiety – Use Hypnotherapy to Overcome Them and Find Peace

Now more than ever, scientific surveys are attesting the primary role played by stress in triggering or aggravating different physical and emotional afflictions. In the June 6, 1983 issue of Time Magazine, the cover story labeled stress “The Epidemic of the Eighties.” It also said that stress is our leading health problem. Indeed one has to recognize that our world has become a lot more complicated and stressful in the last two decades since that article was written.

Numerous surveys indicate that almost everybody is under the impression of being subject to a lot of stress. Authorities in the field estimate that between 75 and 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians somehow have to do with stress.

Most people report their stress is primarily due to their job. And stress levels have also grown in children and the elderly population because of several reasons including: Peer pressures that often push people to everything from smoking to alcoholism and drug abuse; the wearing away of religion and family values; increased crime rates; threats to personal safety; and last but not least social isolation and loneliness.

Stress can cause and aggravate conditions such as diabetes, ulcers, low back and neck pain, high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks. This is due to the ever growing sympathetic nervous system activity along with a high level of cortisol, adrenaline, and other hormones. Chronic stress is often associated with lower immune system resistance. Stress can contribute to anxiety, depression, and its various effects on the body’s organs.

The following definition for “stress” can be found in the American Heritage Dictionary:

“To subject to physical or mental pressure, tension, or strain”

The following is the definition of “tension” from the same dictionary:

“Mental, emotional, or nervous strain”

The following definition is given for “anxiety”:

“A state of uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties”

And the following is the definition of “depression”:

“The condition of feeling sad or despondent”

The following is the definition of “clinical depression”:

“A psychiatric disorder characterized by an inability to concentrate, insomnia, loss of appetite, anhedonia, feelings of extreme sadness, guilt, helplessness and hopelessness, and thoughts of death.”

One thing is for sure, our mind is the first source of our feelings of stress, anxiety and depression. Put differently, what we think about, and our attitudes and points of view about our experiences create our feelings. That way, if we can learn how to change our thoughts, attitudes, and points of view, we can get rid of our feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression and change them for a more positive state of being.

Since the beginning of time, people have tried to find methods that would allow them to eliminate stress. With the pharmaceutical industry there seems to be a drug for everything. And to that end the industry has created a large line of sedatives from Valium to Xanax. If you choose to utilize drugs for relief, please be sure to pay attention to the fine print and learn about the side effects, which commonly include addiction and dependency. Unfortunately, these types of drugs aim at treating the symptoms, but not the cause. So as soon as one stops ingesting them, the symptoms can come back.

A finer method to get rid of tension, stress, anxiety, and depression is to work on the root cause, which as I said previously, is generally our thought processes. There is the good news. Hypnosis is all about relaxation. The AMA accepted hypnosis in 1958 as an effective way to cure stress or stress related symptoms. Moreover unlike anxiolytics, there are totally no negative side effects.

When you are in hypnosis, you are in the Alpha level of consciousness. It’s the daydream like temporary psychological state that we experience as we’re just about to fall asleep at night. And we experience it once again when we awaken again. There are several different ways that will help us guide ourselves into this state of tranquility, from progressive relaxation to visual imagery to listening to hypnosis CD’s.

Once we access a hypnotic state, we can communicate with our unconscious mind, which is the seat of our feelings. And it becomes easier to acknowledge new points of view and ideas that will help us to dissipate anxiety, or even avoid it completely.

NLP, which is a recent sort of hypnotherapy, offers numerous excellent methods for getting rid of stress. Perhaps the technique that works best is called the “swish” pattern – or the “flash” pattern. When you use this method, your unconscious will automatically use negative, stress producing mental images, as triggers for tranquilizing mental images. Otherwise stated, your stressors will automatically cause relaxation!

TO SUM THINGS UP

Tension, stress, anxiety, and depression can be caused by our thoughts. So by changing our attitude and the way we feel about our situation and what we’ve experienced, we can dissipate these feelings at the source. Hypnosis and NLP are natural tools that we can use to help us change our attitude and point of view to swiftly dissipate the root cause of our negative feelings.

The Use of Biofeedback Devices in Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy

Biofeedback devices measure a range of physiological variables including brain waves (Electroencephalography), muscle tension (Electromyography) and the electrical conductivity of the skin (galvanic skin response). All of these variables indicate continuums of emotional arousal. It is precisely these measurements that are used in lie-detector machines as they pick up the most subtle of physiological changes – many outside of conscious awareness. Many biofeedback devices exist and create a feedback loop for the user. Having the ability to see these readings, the user can learn to gain control over these physiological measurements by relaxing and seeing (or hearing) measurements rise and fall in response to meditation, self-hypnosis or breathing techniques.
In my private hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and NLP practice, I sometimes elect to use a Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) meter with clients. Galvanic Skin Response (also called electro-dermal response) is a measure of the electrical conductivity of the skin. If I am using a GSR meter within a session, I first connect my clients to device by placing electrodes on two fingers on the same hand. After several minutes, I take an initial baseline reading. During the session, the meter readings will rise and fall in line with the emotional arousal of the client. In essence, the greater the presence of water and salt on the skin, the more conductive of electricity the skin is. Changes in sweat production in the fingertips can occur for a number of physiological reasons; however, there is a correlation between electrical conductivity of the skin and emotional arousal. A higher GSR reading tends to reflect an increase in emotional arousal (whether that emotion be anger, stress, anxiety, and startle response).
Whilst therapists develop great sensory acuity though many client hours experience, the GSR meter provides another tool to provide a clue that something is happening for the client. It is of particular use in hypnoanalysis or regression when the client has accessed an emotional memory and is experiencing it vividly. Whilst abreactions are easily spotted by a therapist, the GSR meter provides an early sign of emotional arousal that may assist the exploration of the traumatic material. The GSR reading can also be useful for testing the change in the client’s emotional arousal regarding phobias before and after the change work has been completed. The client’s responsiveness to hypnotic induction is clearly demonstrated by a falling reading on the GSR meter. The device can, therefore, be used to indicate when the client is deep enough into trance to make suggestions more direct. I recently conducted a hypnotherapy session and during a section about learning new skills, I mentioned being back at school to access and utilise that regressed learning state that children possess (this is a popular approach popularised by the late renowned hypnotherapist Milton Erickson). The meter rose rapidly at this moment although there were no visible changes to skin tone, breathing rate etc. At the end of the session, my client explained that she had enjoyed the experience but mention of the school had reminded her of a time when she had been bullied. Whilst not a significant event, it was nevertheless a demonstration of the usefulness of GSR meters within a therapeutic setting.
Biofeedback devices will never replace the skill of a therapist nor the importance of watching and listening but they can be a useful adjunct to the therapists toolkit in certain situations.

Hypnotherapy For Childbirth

Hypnosis for child birth is used as a technique as much throughout the pregnancy as it is used during the labour itself. The benefits include a sense of calm and relaxation- and of course the calmer mum can be, the calmer the baby will be during the normally quite stressful experience of being born. This can later influence the ease at which they feed and sleep as a result of a less traumatic birthing experience.
During the pregnancy, hypnotherapy in Hemel Hempstead can be used as a means of mentally preparing the mother for the forthcoming events, offering her suggestions of a calm pain-free experience to come, and a reassurance that she will be able to manage her own levels of pain. The hypnotic experience aided by a hypnotherapist or a hypnotic recording, can help to maintain blood pressure at a safe level during the gestation periods and induce positive beliefs and feelings about the imminent experience as well as offering positive suggestions for things like diet and lifestyle throughout the pregnancy.
During the labour, the trance experience may be used, though not in a deep sleep kind of a way. Instead, the mother will be able to experience the event fully and fell in control during the process. The pain control method reduces the need for medication throughout the experience and ensure that any physical “healing” needs to take place after the labour happens quickly.
In short, anxiety creates tension which can create more pain. Hypnotherapy in Hertfordshire is able to break this cycle with the injection of relation and positive thoughts and attitude. It is well documented that childbirth is a very different experience in other cultures because the expectation of pain does not exist. If you are interested in how hypnotherapy can be helpful for you, please contact our hypnotherapist in Hertfordshire.