Stress
How
hypnotherapy can help with stress
Hypnotherapy
is a highly effective treatment for dealing with stress. During a course
of hypnotherapy you will descover the root cause of why you are not coping
and the hypnotherapist will help with relaxation.
Why
is stress harmful?
Stress
is something we all encounter and a certain level of stress may be necessary
and enjoyable in order to spark us into action. Life changes, such as
moving house, getting married or coping with a bereavement, can all cause
it, while negative social conditions, such as unemployment, poor housing,
noisy neighbours, relationship problems and difficulties at work, can
also contribute.
Stress
means different things to different people.
A situation
that is intolerable to one person may be stimulating to another. What
you feel is determined not just by events and changes in the outside world,
but how you perceive and respond
to them.
The important
point is that you can learn to recognise your own responses to stress
and, if necessary, develop skills to deal with it. In the animal world,
the response to danger is to run away or to turn and fight. People respond
to emotional stress as if it were a physical threat; rapid changes in
the muscles and organs of the body are involved. Your muscles tense, ready
for action and your heart beats faster to carry blood to where it's most
needed - the muscles and the brain. You breathe faster, sweat more and
your mouth becomes dry. These physical reactions are due to hormones that
the body produces, including one called adrenalin. This automatic reaction
to a threatening situation is known as the 'fight or flight' reaction.
It equips us to fight or escape from an enemy. You may merely be having
an argument with a colleague, but your body may react as though you were
gripped in a life-or-death struggle with a lion.Unfortunately,
many people turn to cigarettes, alcohol or tranquillisers as a way of
coping with stress. These may seem to help in the short term but, in the
longer term, may further undermine your wellbeing.
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How
you can tell if you are under too much stress?
As stress
begins to take its toll physically, emotionally and on your behaviour,
a variety of symptoms can result. Check off the symptoms you recognise
in the following lists. If you identify a large number of signs in yourself,
don't panic! You're among those who can benefit from applying the principles
and techniques outlined in this booklet.
How
your body may react
- breathlessness
- headaches
- fainting spells
- chest pains
- tendency to sweat
- nervous twitches
- cramps or muscle
spasms ·
- pins and needles
- high blood pressure
- feeling sick or
dizzy
- constant tiredness
- restlessness
- sleeping problems
- constipation or
diarrhoea
- craving for food
- indigestion or
heartburn
- lack of appetite
- sexual difficulties
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How stress may make you may feel
- aggressive
- a loss of interest
in others
- irritable
- taking no interest
in life
- depressed
- neglected
- bad or ugly
- that there's no-one
to confide in
- fearing diseases
- fearing failure
- a loss of sense
of humour
- dreading the future
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How you may behave when suffering with stress
- have difficulty
making decisions
- avoiding difficult
situations
- frequently crying
- have difficulty
concentrating
- biting your nails
- denying there's
a problem
- unable to show
true feelings
Some
facts and figure about stress
In a
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report on work related stress, 20 per
cent of respondents suffered from stress at levels described as "very"
or "extremely stressful".1
Workplace
stress is estimated to be the biggest occupational health problem in the
UK after musculoskeletal disorders.
The most
common stress related complaints presented to GPs are depression and anxiety
and are reported to affect 20 per cent of the UK working population.
Mental
health problems, such as depression and anxiety, now account for more
Incapacity Benefit (IB) claims than back pain.2
It has
been estimated that nearly 10 per cent of the UK's gross national product
(GNP) is lost each year due to job generated stress.
Stress
is the highest cause of absence among non-manual employees, with an estimated
12.8 million working days lost in Britain in 2003/04 due to stress, and
depression or anxiety ascribed to work related stress.3
Nearly
three in every ten employees will have a mental health problem in any
one year, the great majority of which will be anxiety and depressive disorders.
The Confederation
of British Industry (CBI) estimates that 30 times as many working days
are lost due to mental ill health as from industrial disputes.
Mental
health problems account for the loss of over 91 million working days each
year.
Half
of all days lost through mental ill health are due to anxiety and stress
conditions.4
In a
CBI survey of over 800 companies, 98 per cent of respondents said mental
health should be a company concern, with 81 per cent of those saying that
the mental health of employees should be a company priority.5
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SOURCES:
1 "The Scale of Occupational Stress: The Bristol Stress and Health at
Work Study", HSE Contract Research Report 265, HSE Books (2000).
2 "Long term sickness absence", British Medical Journal, 330, pp 802-3.
3 Health and Safety Executive (2004) Health and Safety Statistics Highlights
2003/04. Available at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overpic.htm ?
4 Gray, P. (2000) Mental Health in the Workplace: Tackling the Effects
of Stress, London, Mental Health
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