Stress is something that we experience when we feel under too much pressure and we are unable to cope. We all experience stress from time to time and we all experience it in different ways. Certain situations can be stressful for one person yet fun for another i.e bungee jumping.

Different events and situations can cause stress and often it’s a build-up of small, subtle stressors like work-related stress or financial worries that lead to ongoing (or chronic) stress. Feeling stressed for long periods of time takes its toll on both our mental and our physical health. We can’t always control the stressful events and situations we experience, but we can control our reactions to them.

Why do we get stressed?

Our brains evolved to help us survive back in the stone age when we were facing daily threats to our life. When a threat revealed itself, our brains would then fire off hormones like adrenaline and cortisol which caused our hearts to beat faster, our breath to quicken and our muscles to tense. This is called our ‘fight or flight’ response which gave our bodies the physical edge they needed to either run away from the threat or fight it off.

Over the decades times have certainly changed and the level of threats to our lives has decreased - yet our brains have retained this survival feature. Now, different things are perceived as threats to our brains - for example when your manager emails you with a tight deadline. Your brain still goes through the motions to prepare you to ‘fight or flight’, but instead of fighting your manager or running away from your desk, it’s more likely that you’ll stay sat at your desk.
This leaves stress hormones coursibg through your veins, making you feel stressed. Usually, this sensation will pass, but when we’re coming face to face with multiple stressors regularly, we can feel in a constant state of stress and start to develop symptoms.

Stress symptoms

Stress can affect us in various different ways, often manifesting in emotional, mental and physical symptoms. One of the best tools for stress management is understanding what your particular symptoms are. Getting to know these will help you become more aware of when you are stressed, so you can take action to reduce it.
You may feel a variety of emotions related to stress, you may feel:

Anxious
Overwhelmed and as if you can’t cope
Easily irritated and angry
Low in self-esteem and self-worth
These feelings may change the way you behave and interact with those around you.
You can also experience a variety of emotions mentally which may include:
Fast thinking
Difficulty making decisions
Difficulty focusing
Constant worrying
These feelings may have a massive impact on your day-to-day life and over time, stress can lead to mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
Some of the ways you may feel physically include:
Tense muscles
Headaches
Feeling dizzy
Problems sleeping
Fatigue
Change in appetite

These feelings can make you feel very unwell and may require you to take time off work to recover.
Stress symptoms can cause you to behave in different ways. You might find that you’re getting angry at people and snapping more often. You may feel the desire to turn to alcohol or even drugs to help you cope.
 

What can I do to help me reduce my stress?
 

The first step to managing your stress is by becoming aware of what triggers it for you and what stress symptoms you experience. We are all different and will respond and react to stress in
different ways.

It is always useful to make a list of the different things in your life that makes you feel stressed and then note down how stress shows up for you. Do you notice symptoms physically, mentally or emotionally? What causes you to feel stressed? Understanding your triggers is key and means you can anticipate when you might struggle in the future and come up with ways to cope.

Tools and techniques to help you manage stress better include:

Increasing your communication skills and being more assertive (learn to say no when your plate is already full).
Using relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation or having a bath can help to ease tension mentally and physically. Exercising frequently helps to decrease stress and promotes relaxation. If you’re not a fan of the gym, try going for a walk in nature, swimming or a pilates/yoga class. Making time for your own self-care, it is a good reminder that you matter and will help you develop emotional resilience.  Connecting with friends and loved ones. Talking problems out and spending time in other people’s company can help you feel less alone and more able to cope.

Make time in your life for hobbies and fun, this can encourage a sense of playfulness and help to alleviate stress.
Working on your sleep routine to ensure you’re getting enough restful sleep can help you feel more energetic and resilient. Assessing your diet and reducing the amount of sugar and caffeine you’re consuming can help ease some physical stress symptoms.

 

How does hypnotherapy help for stress

Hypnotherapy aims to break negative thought patterns and responses to stress and instead provide you with a more healthy reaction. This is done via the subconscious - the part of our mind that works automatically and without us realising.  

I will help you enter a state of deep relaxation (hypnosis). When you’re in this state, your subconscious is more open to suggestion. I will create new ideas and  ‘suggest’ different ways of responding to stress, to your subconscious.
Hypnosis for stress is fantastic for short term stress, like if you have an exam coming up or a public speaking engagement, hypnotherapy can help you respond in a more relaxed way.
Regular hypnotherapy can then help you reduce tension and ease stress on a more long-term basis. The very act of going into a hypnotic state will ease stress as you need to be very relaxed. For this reason alone many people find hypnotherapy a fantastic tool for managing stress.
 

Hypnotherapy can also be used to help increase your confidence and self-esteem, making you feel more comfortable setting boundaries and saying no to people. These are essential tools for managing stress.
 

The number of sessions required vary, it all depends on the individual and the root cause of your stress.  We do a full consultation to determine your treatment plan in your first hypnotherapy session. 

The cost per therapy therapy is £60.00.