STRESS REDUCTION THROUGH HYPNOSSIS

There is no "cure" for stress. In fact, you don’t really want one anyway. The stress response is vital for our survival in life–threatening situations, like accidents or war. Like eating, you can’t live without it, you can only learn to manage it. In life threatening situations the stress response, a complex response of our autonomic nervous system that prepares the body for "fight–or–flight," takes over. Chemicals are released into the blood’ muscles tense; perspiration increases; the heart speeds up; breathing gets faster, and digestion slows down.

In today’s world, however, very few situations require this maximum physical effort for which the body is preparing. Bosses, examinations, deadlines or the twice daily traffic rush are seldom life threatening. Although, at the time, we may perceive them as such. It is this repeated, low–level reaction, like sitting all day on the edge of your chair, that wears down and exhausts a person’s physical and mental resources.

Long term exposure to this stress state can cause a variety of costly problems, One study shows that over the last 15 years, even with our giant strides in medical technology, physical illnesses are up 22%. Other studies indicate that from 50% to 80% of all illnesses either caused, or contributed significantly to, long term stress. Stress is known to contribute to migraines, asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, ulcers, alcoholism, and drug abuse. This situation impacts the economy in medical costs, lower productivity, increased absenteeism, and job turnovers. Some estimates range as high as several hundred billion dollars lost each year to job related stress problems. The enormity of this problem has led to a great increase in the number of programs, publications, and books dealing with stress management. It has even changed our daily vocabulary, adding terms like "stressed out," "type A behavior," and "burn–out."

All of the approaches to stress management involve either helping a person control their response to a stressful event, or help with a person’s perception and identification of a stressful situation. Progressive relaxation, yoga, meditation, and bio–feedback are techniques for controlling one’s response to stress. Assertiveness training, imagery training, and autogenic suggestions address one’s perception of stress situations. All of these techniques are effective to a degree, depending on each individual’s needs and situation.

How can hypnosis help with stress? Many people still think of hypnosis as in Hollywood movies or nightclub acts. Today, however, much of the mystery of this type of altered state of consciousness has disappeared. Hypnosis, as defined at MIND, is a state of deep physical relaxation, accompanied by a specifically directed conscious awareness. Self–hypnosis is teaching the individual how to achieve this state by themselves. This gives a person an effective, and efficient, tool for their own stress management program. Self–hypnosis is effective because it addresses both aspects of stress, the response and perception. Since the 1840’s hypnotists have used relaxation suggestions as a standard part of hypnosis induction. These suggestive techniques can be more effective than other relaxation approaches and are often incorporated in them.

Many people believe that suggestions are just telling someone what to do, "OK, now relax!" Let’s experiment for a moment. Think about a nice, juicy, ripe, yellow LEMON. Cut a slice of that lemon. now smell the slice as you bring it to your mouth and suck on it. Is that experience any different than, "OK, now salivate?" Suggestions do affect people. In fact, since you are reading this suggestion it is a SELF–SUGGESTION. One can just as easily be taught to relax through self–suggestion. If one knows how to relax, then one now has a choice of responses. In a low level stress situation, you now can either choose "fight or flight" responses or choose to "stay and play" and relax. The choices of responses, however, depends on how one perceives a situation.

Perception of stressful situations is the most important aspect of stress management. Perception is often influenced by one’s values and beliefs about the world. As an example, let’s take a person who has an irrational fear of snakes, a "phobic" response. This person takes a walk in a park and sees a thin, twisted, brown something on the trail ahead. Is it a snake, or just a stick of wood? The beliefs this person has about snakes will probably influences his response. If a snake is "seen" the body will produce a stress response. The world could be full of snakes to this person, even to the point of never being able to leave the house. In our every day lives, how many little stressors are just "sticks" and not real "snakes?" If you see situations realistically you will not have to control your responses to stress if there is no stress perceived. Beliefs and values are not usually part of our conscious awareness. They exist in, and influence behavior from, the subconscious parts of our minds. A widely held opinion states that 90% of our beliefs and values are formed by the time one reaches the age of twelve! It is not difficult to understand that a twelve–year–old’s view of the world is different than that of a mature adult. The state of hypnosis allows one to talk directly to subconscious parts. Beliefs and values can be changed at this level by specifically directed imagery and suggestions. The effect is to provide the subconscious with new, updated, specific, and accurate information.

Let’s take an example of a man in his late twenties who is afraid of dogs. This fellow is healthy, athletic, and six feet tall yet afraid of even small dogs. He was not aware of why he didn’t like dogs. Through the process of hypnosis, he discovered that at the age of three he was bitten on the face by a neighbor’s dog. This was later confirmed by his mother. At the age of three he learned to believe that all dogs are dangerous! Hypnosis helped update his belief so that he now realizes that not all dogs are dangerous. He now has a choice as to his response to dogs. His ability to "see" this type of situation realistically will make future encounters with dogs less stressful. By learning self–hypnosis he has acquired skills that will enable him to address other stressful situations in his life more successfully. Stress must be managed, we can't eliminate it. Self–hypnosis, dealing with both the response and the perception of stress, is an effective and efficient tool for your own stress management program.

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