Stress

Stress results from a psychological and biological reaction to a perceived threat. A stress response includes an increase 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.

Stress is a natural part of life.

For instance, without stress, you would not be motivated to eat, work, have relationships, or get out of bed in the morning. It is when the amount of stress builds past the point of being comfortable, that most people start suffering from the symptoms of too much stress.

If stress is not dealt with while adequately while it is at a low level, the symptoms of stress 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. Each person is triggered by different stressful situations, depending on their own make-up. What may bother one person immensely may not affect another person at all. This does not negate your stress, it merely points out which situations you react to in a stressful manner.

Symptoms of Over Stress

	Body tension
	Unable to relax
	Sleeplessness
	Poor appetite
	Digestive problems
	Excessive eating
	Excessive drinking
	Excessive smoking
	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 TV show, a conversation, or read

If you have several of the above symptoms, it is possible that you are suffering from stress. Stress is one of the biggest threats to people's health, happiness, and well-being. 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. This can result in the feeling of being out of control.

Coping with Stress

The first step in handling stress is evaluating each separate stressful situation in your life and deciding what kind of action to take. Sometimes we have no control in a situation, and we must learn to simply let go of what is bothering us and redirect our attention elsewhere. Other times we have much control, and simply need to change our attitude and/or behaviours to effect a positive change.

If stress affects many areas of your life, a variety of coping techniques seem to work better than just one. Some of these coping strategies include:

	Deep breathing
	Relaxation
	Restful sleep
	Taking breaks
	Removing yourself from the stressful situation
	Exercise
	Change in diet
	Dealing with negative thoughts and emotions

Hypnosis & Stress Management
All stress is triggered by an event or episode. Once you learn to recognise your stress triggers, then you can learn to introduce new, alternate behaviour as soon as you experience a stress trigger, thereby stopping the cycle of building triggers that contribute to high stress.

Hypnosis not only helps you to recognize your stress triggers, but while in the hypnotic state you are better able to see alternate perspectives and behaviours in stressful situations. You can learn to reprogram your thoughts and actions while in a trance state to help you develop new behaviour in the waking conscious state.

By experiencing the deep relaxation of a hypnotic state, your body learns to relax.  You will feel more rested, energetic, and you will find your sleep becoming deeper and more peaceful, and as you begin to feel better physically, your thinking will become clearer, and you will react to stressful situations in a much more calm manner.

As you learn to control your response to stress triggers, your emotions will be more controlled as well, and you will begin to experience a greater sense of peace and serenity regardless of the circumstances in which you may find yourself.

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.