Various Articles

More than ever, scientific research is attesting the primary role of stress in triggering or aggravating different psychological and physical afflictions. In the June 6, 1983 issue of Time Magazine, the cover story labeled stress "The Epidemic of the Eighties." The journalist also said that stress is a prominent health problem. Indeed there is very little doubt that the world has become a lot more complex and stressful in the last 25 years since that article was written.

Several surveys indicate that almost everybody perceives themselves as being under a great deal of stress. Authorities in this domain estimate that around 75 to 90 percent of all visits to PCPs (Primary Care Physicians) somehow have to do with stress.

Most adults report their stress is mainly due to their job. Stress levels have also soared in children as well as the elderly population because of several reasons including: Peer pressures that often push people to everything from cigarette smoking to alcoholism and drug abuse; the loss of religion and family values; increased crime rates; threats to personal security; as well as social isolation and loneliness.

Stress can cause and aggravate problems such as diabetes, ulcers, low back and neck pain, hypertension, strokes and heart attacks. This is due to the ever growing sympathetic nervous system activity and the release of cortisol, adrenaline, and other hormones. Chronic stress is co-morbid with impaired immune system resistance. Stress can contribute to anxiety, depression, and its varied impacts on the body's organs.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines "stress" as follows: "To subject to physical or mental pressure, tension, or strain"

The following definition is given for "tension": "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."

What we can be sure of is that our thoughts are the first cause of our experience of stress, anxiety and depression. We could also say that, what we think about, and our attitudes and points of view about our experiences strongly influence our feelings. So if we can learn to alter our thoughts, attitudes, and points of view, we can eliminate our stress, anxiety, and depression and attain a more positive state of being.

People have always sought out methods that would allow them to dissipate stress. The pharmaceutical industry seems to have a pill for everything. And to that end the industry has produced a wide line of tranquilizers from Valium to Xanax. If you choose to utilize drugs for relief, please be sure to be aware of the side-effects by reading the fine print, which commonly include addiction and dependency. Unfortunately, these types of drugs aim at treating the symptoms, instead of the cause. So as soon as one stops taking them, the symptoms can come back.

A more appropriate method to release tension, stress, anxiety, and depression is to try to cure the root cause, which as I wrote previously, is most often our thought processes. There is some good news. Hypnosis is all about relaxation. The AMA accepted hypnosis in 1958 as an effective method of treating stress and stress related symptoms. However unlike drugs, there are absolutely no undesirable side effects.

Hypnosis is the Alpha level of consciousness. It's the daydream like temporary psychological frame of mind which we feel as we are just about to fall asleep in the evening. And we feel it once more when we awaken again. There are a lot of different ways that will help us guide ourselves into this state of tranquility, from step-by-step relaxation to visual imagery to listening to hypnosis CD's.

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

NLP, which is a modern type of hypnosis, has many outstanding methods for dissipating stress. Maybe the most effective technique is called the "swish" pattern - or the "flash" pattern. After using this method, your unconscious will automatically use negative, stress producing mental images, to create relaxation producing mental images. Put differently, your stressors will now trigger relaxation!

TO SUM UP Tension, stress, anxiety, and depression can be activated by our thoughts. So if we change our attitude and point of view towards our situation and what we have been through, we can dissipate these feelings at the root. Hypnosis and NLP are natural tools that make it possible to change our attitude and point of view to swiftly dissipate the root cause of these negative feelings.