How hypnosis helps with stress management

Everyday thousands of people in Australia take time off work because of stress. Reported cases of stress-related illness have almost doubled in the Australian Public Service since 1989-90 and are growing at a rate of 20% a year.

While stress ­ and the effects inflicted on individuals by prolonged or excessive amounts of pressure ­ is nothing new, it is emerging slowly from the shadows of ignorance and prejudice. Stress comes from the Latin word “stringere” which means to draw tight or to compress. Many people suffering from stress describe their feelings in this way. They feel under tremendous pressure, as if they have somehow mysteriously lost the ability to cope with the demands of life.

Stress can be work-related or come from self improvement, such as marriage difficulties, family conflicts or financial worries. Most likely, it results from a combination of pressures which are difficult to separate. The most common causes of stress are: life events, such as divorce; an increased workload due to the downsizing of companies; job insecurity; rapid change (which disrupts our comfort zone); long working hours; and difficulty balancing home and work. Many of these are recent phenomena.

What Causes Stress?

It is also important to realise that stress isn’t all bad. A certain amount of stress in our lives is not only essential for survival but also keeps up alert, inspired, creative and active.

• Loss – this covers a wide range of life events both physical and abstract, including loss of a loved one, loss of health or even loss of confidence or self-esteem.
  

• Change – in which new life circumstances such as marriage, divorce or a change of job or finances lead to difficulties which threaten our physical or psychological well-being.
  

• Interpersonal relationships – where difficulties either in the family or beyond cause substantial stress.
  

• Conflict – where we are immobilized by a dilemma and unable to choose between options for any number of reasons. This conflict may operate beyond our immediate awareness.
  

• Unresolved past issues – these can have a significant effect on our present reality.

simple strategies for dealing with stress