Tailored sessions
I will help you to reduce stress through a tailored approach to suit your needs. Together we can work out the best approach for you, e.g. Hypnotherapy, CBT, NLP, Coaching or a combination, depending on your needs or preferences.
I use the information you provide to tailor each session more precisely; the more personalised sessions are (especially in hypnotherapy) the more effective they will be.
When does stress become a problem?
Stress is a normal part of life, it is only when it becomes too much for the individual to cope with that it becomes an issue. Stress can become a problem and affect our quality of life and the way we perform at work, if it is left unresolved.
The Health and Safety Executive defines stress as "the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them". This can result in a number of issues including impotence, tension, hypochondria, psychosomatic symptoms, illness, pain, avoidance of responsibility, etc.
Dr Hans Selye proposed a pioneering theory of stress and the mind-body connection. He suggested that illness can result from the body's failure to deal with emotional, mental or physical stress. In 1946 Dr. Selye published his theory of "General Adaptation Syndrome".
This stated that stress contributes to every disease and that inability to adapt to or cope with stressors can produce “diseases of adaptation”. For example, following a significant stressor or prolonged exposure to continuous stress, a stomach ulcer may develop or blood pressure may increase resulting in a heart attack.
The ‘fight or flight response’
As part of our natural survival instinct, which is stored in our subconscious minds, our bodies change when presented with any real or imagined threat. This is known as the ‘fight or flight response’, which assists the animal (ape or man) to deal with a threatening situation.
So naturally, when under stress/ pressure, your body will prepare for ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ by very quickly producing changes in the muscles and organs. This physically prepares you to run from the threat or to deal with it, after which the body returns to normal.
Even though the ‘fight or flight response’ is inappropriate for coping with much of our daily stress/ pressure the body continues to react in this way. So although work pressure or family arguments are not life threatening and it is not helpful to fight with your family or to run from work pressure, the body still goes through the physiological motions, so that we are tense and ready to fight or take flight.
What happens when tension builds up and isn't released?
Quite naturally if no action is taken we will suffer from a build up of unreleased tension. For example, if you experience a period of ongoing stress/ pressure your body will be in an almost permanent state of arousal. This means that physiological changes which can be useful in the short term, to maintain motivation, may be damaging in the long term.
Dr. Selye's theory explains the conditions in which more serious damage can happen in the long term. In the resistance stage, the body remains on the alert for signs of danger and the immune system fails to function effectively.
Following this, during the 'exhaustion stage', hormones continue to be released into the body and suppress the immune system so that it is further prevented from fighting off disease. At this stage of course the body is vulnerable to illness, hence Dr Selye's proposal that stress plays a role in every disease.
Some other stress symptoms – what to look out for...
If you are experiencing any of these stress symptoms please get in touch by email, text or phone to find out how I can help.
