Consider these three different scenarios.

A sales rep is having a difficult time during the recession. His recent records show poor sales. He is about to meet an important, big new client who could be his saviour. Success will decide whether he still has a job or not.

 

A man is desperately and madly in love with this attractive and popular woman. To him there is no future without her but she is popular an other men are attracted to her. The table is set for two, the ring is in his hand and the red roses lie near by. She is due any minute and he will go down on his knees and and he does not know what her answer will be.

 

Late at night a woman is walking home. The streets are poorly lit. Suddenly she hears footsteps ahead of her. She can see a group of people wearing hoodies coming towards her. She now hears footsteps behind her. Turning around, she sees some young people walking towards her.

 

In all three situations a person becomes very alert and focussed even though potential danger is only in one of these scenarios. This is the fight and fright reaction.

 

This is a reaction in humans and animals that developed a long time ago to protect us from life threatening dangers. In this reaction, the brain triggers the release of the hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisone.These hormones cause a remarkable change in the body.

 

The heart rate speeds up, the breathing become faster and deeper, the mouth becomes dry, the pupils dilate, skin becomes cold and clammy and hairs on the back of the neck stand up.

 

You may even want to vomit, open your bowels or urinate. This is the brain trying to make you lighter and move faster during ‘flight’.

 

These changes are preparing the body for action. You are in a state of heightened awareness. All your senses are sharpened. Your sense of smell, sight and hearing are all sharpened. Your body is primed and ready to go.

 

Your rapidly beating heart pumps more blood to the brain and the muscles. By breathing faster and deeper, more oxygen is transported by the blood to the muscles and brain. In addition blood is shunted away temporarily from other vital organs such as the gut, the kidneys and the immune system to make more blood available to supply the muscles.

 

The fight and fright reaction is primeval, developed in early humans to survive amongst dangerous reptiles and mammals. Unfortunately the brain cannot differentiate between real and percieved dangers or threats. The reaction is the same.

In all three scenarios above, the fight or fright reaction is triggered.

 

Panic attacks are severe episodes of the fight or fright reaction and, during an attack, to the individual the threat or danger is very real. Rational thoughts go out the window and there is nothing to fight and no where to run to.

 

In stress, the fight or flight reaction is triggered even thought there is no threat to our lives and can harm the body. Persistent stress caqn cause disease.

 

Knowing the effects of the fight or fright reaction on stress will help you make some sense about the symptoms of stress you experience with stress.

 

 

There is no doubt that hypnosis is a very effective stress treatment of stress. Stress develops when an individual feel he does not have the required resources to cope with a task he is confronted with. Hypnosis works by changing belief, preception and capability so the subject no longer feels he is unable to cope.

Dr. Lipton said that up to 90% of diseases are directly due to stress. Vital organs are straved of nutrients and oxygen by persistent stress. This is fine on occasions but when it becomes persistent, diseases are likely.

It is not the situation you confront that is the cause of stress but by the way you perceive this situation and whether you feel you have the coping mechanisms to deal with it. hypnotherapyis a very effective treatment for stress because it changes your perception, expectation and belief.

Following hypnosis treatment, extremely stressful tasks are transformed into tasks you can easily do because, you now know that you have the resources to handle what you are faced with little effort on your part.

Hypnosis takes you down to a deep relaxed state and to brainwave level theta. At theta brainwave level, the filters that block unwanted messages to enter the Subconscious Mind,ease their tight grip and the hypnotist is then able to embed positive changes in belief, attitude and expectation.

The power and safety of hypnosis as a stress and anxiety is undeniable. Another recommended stress treatment is meditation. Meditation, however, is difficult in a stressed person because it is not easy to relax and carry out the disciplines. It is better to have hypnosis as an immediate treatment and use meditation for the long term stress control and overall life enhancement.

Anyone who has experienced stress will tell you stress is an unpleasant thing. The fun goes out of your life and your libido goes away. Anger, rage, anxiety and depression are symptoms you can develop. During stress you become less creative and makes unnecessary mistakes.

Worse of all, by triggering the fight or flight reaction, it shuts off important nutrients to some organs of the body and stimulating the heart. Researchers believe this is the reason it is the underlying cause for 90% of diseases. Annually millions of days are lost in industry through stress and the cost to healthy services is enormous.

Hypnosis can change your attitude to stress and provides not just short term stress control but coping skills for the long term.

In a hypnotic session, powerful post hypnotic suggestions are given not just on how to cope with your current situation but generally on all aspects of your life. He is likely to say, “You are calm and relaxed. You will have no fear when confronting any situation and know that if it can be done, you are very capable and competent to do it.” Effective post hypnotic suggestion enables you to approach your next task with the attitude, “What is fast and best way of doing this?” rather than, “This task is beyond me.”

So have hypnotherapy rather than drugs, counselling, CBT or psychotherapy for safe and better control of all your stress problems. Remember hypnosis is nothing more than a state of heightened awareness and your brain becomes alert and receptive. It does not analyse or filters like the left brain. The Subconscious Mind simply accepts positive suggestions by the hypnotist while you remain in a calm relaxed altered sleep.