These days it seems there are more things than ever that are stressing us out. According to the American Psychological Association, 2019 saw an increase in reported stress levels in just about every area of daily life.
From elections and politics to climate change and mass shootings, we are being force fed a steady media diet of crisis-level news stories that keep us on high alert.
On top of all of that we experience the normal stresses of performing at work, raising families, and meeting all of our financial needs and goals.
The result is that many of us may feel like we're always teetering on the edge of falling apart.
Some stress in life is good. It's a normal response to situations that require our focused attention. If we need to meet a deadline at work or are facing some life-threatening emergency, stress can be very helpful. It gives us the adrenaline surge we need to handle the crisis. Once the crisis is over, we go back to our normal baseline, which should be a state of relative ease and well-being.
Chronic stress on the other hand-stress that lasts for days, months, or even years-is not only unnecessary, it can be detrimental to our health and well being. If left untreated, chronic stress can lead to anxiety, depression, digestive problems, headaches, heart disease, sleep problems and more.
Hypnosis is one very effective way of treating chronic stress. At the very basis of the hypnotic process we learn how to deeply relax our bodies and minds. As we get better and better at entering this relaxed state, we give our mind-body system the time and space it needs to tune in with its natural healing capacities.
While in this state of relaxation and ease, we can then begin to look at some of the outmoded patterns and ways we have been relating to the stimuli in our lives that we have perceived as the cause of our stress. We can begin to see these stimuli in new ways that are less threatening and open ourselves to the possibility that there are healthier and more beneficial ways of being with stress.
In a relatively short period of time we may even find ourselves in situations that used to be stressful feeling relaxed, open, and curious.