Manage Stress with Hypnosis & Awareness

Stress. It's the body's natural response to pressure and change. It's a part of life. You can't hide from stress or avoid experiencing it, but you can learn to manage your reactions and efficiently deal with the effects of stress.

In today's fast-pace world, many people are so accustomed to experiencing stress, they often don't realize their stressed out! It takes a bit of self-reflection to accept and understand how much stress might be lurking in your mind and body. Once you recognize the signs of stress, you can become more aware when you need to decompress, relax or practice an effective mind-body technique to cope.

Common side effects of stress are:
*Anxiety/Fear
*Memory loss/forgetful
*Delayed reaction time
*Stomach/Intestinal issues
*Reoccurring illness/colds
*Irritability/easily annoyed
*Difficulty concentrating
*Lack of energy/drive
*Overeating or forgetting to eat
*Hopeless/Helpless
*Feeling powerless
*Sleeping too much or too little
*New or increased use of alcohol or drugs
*Lack of interest
*Headaches or other physical pain

If you have one of more of these symptoms and are clear of any medical conditions, you are probably experiencing frequent or chronic stress. Unchecked, stress can eventually wear down your body and leave you susceptible to disease and/or injury. It's important to learn to manage stress if you want to lead a truly healthy life.

In recent years, many experts have warned about the hidden stress epidemic causing numerous problems in the workplace, at home, and throughout life in general.

Dr. Andrew Shatté, Chief Science Officer at meQuilibrium states, " supposed to work in an acute emergency for a few seconds or so. But that's not the nature of our modern stressors. Today we're plagued by imminent deadlines, juggling work projects, doing more with less, rumors of downsizing, work-home imbalance, aging parents, and financial difficulties -- in short, perpetual, chronic problems."

Without real-world tools to address chronic stress, it will continue to negatively affect untold millions around the world.

But, there's good news. There are many tools for stress reduction available today that require little effort to learn and are a cost effective option for most people. In fact, you can find dozens of free self-hypnosis and meditation articles online which show you the step-by-step process of putting yourself into a more relaxed state of body and mind. That way you are managing your stress instead of it managing you.

Hypnosis works by calming the conscious mind (the analytical, logical part of your brain), and allowing you to access and influence your subconscious mind (the part of your mind that holds all your memories, habits, experiences, creative centers, etc). It's the subconscious mind where you can create true and lasting change, including how you deal with stress.

Right now, how you experience stress is "programmed" into your mind, just like a computer hard drive. In order to change how you experience stress, you need to update the programming. Your subconscious mind can't do this on its own, it relies on your conscious mind for cues and direction. The sad part is, most people don't know this dual mind system even exists, let alone how to use it for greater success and peace of mind!

It also helps to address and change anything that might be causing you difficulty or added stress/pressure. For instance, if you're eating unhealthy and not active at all, those choices will contribute to your overall stress levels. Here's some changes that can help with stress reduction, in addition to learning self hypnosis:

*Eating a healthy and balanced diet
*Full night's sleep each day
*Exercise or movement of some kind
*Make time for you--to relax, unwind and just BE
*Set appropriate boundaries with others. Say no when needed.
*Avoid smoking, drinking and other forms of self medication
*Surround yourself with positive, uplifting people
*Practice relaxation exercises (hypnosis, meditation, yoga) and/or deep breathing for 5-10 minutes each day
*Let go and trust yourself
*Prioritize and delegate when needed
*Talk to a close friend on a regular basis
*Accept challenges and setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow
*Simplify your life--get rid of old, outdated clothes, items and belongings. Start fresh.
*Laugh, cry, dance and sing
*Remember that stress only makes things worse. Be calm.

Once you apply and utilize a new way of living, stress becomes something much more manageable and loses all its power over you. Your awareness is key. Your willingness to change what's not working is essential. And practicing relaxation techniques, such as hypnosis, on a regular basis will help you create a new and lasting foundation of peace, calm and success.

You're worth it.