by Marifran Cooper
We all have stress. Positive stress occurs from buying a home, planning a wedding, or a promotion at work. Negative stress can result from the death of a family member or close friend, getting laid off of work, or even being put on hold. The only thing we ever can be sure of is that things will change.
Circumstances and change are challenging to the human system. Stress by itself is not inherently bad. It’s a part of life. To deal effectively with stress in life means to identify the part that is problematic and learn how to manage it in a healthy way. We know that stress affects our mind by disrupting our self-confidence and making us feel inadequate. Physically, stress robs us of our “beauty” rest, changes out eating patterns and makes our body more susceptible to illness.
A close friend is counting the days until her Florida vacation and is able to “fly off into the sunset.” She believes that if she can physically remove herself from the stressful environment, all her stress will be gone! True, there will be a reprieve from certain people, places and situations. And true, this will help her renew her energies and be ready to start anew upon her return. But the truth is those people, places and situations will be waiting for her. They will whine to her on the telephone when she “calls to say hello.” Knowing her as I do, she will even be worrying about the work that has piled up on her desk while she’s on the beach!
Stress can make us feel overwhelmed and out of control. It can make us fearful that we can’t get everything done or even that when we do it, we can’t do it well enough!
How can we help clients? Have them do a reality check. Help your client answer these questions. Is this perception accurate? Can she identify the situation’s priorities? What can be done by someone else? What can be done less often? What are the resources available to support her? What are the limits she needs to spell out to others? Can she say No and stick to it?
None of us will be free of stress as long as we live. We can expect to experience many types of stress, both negative and positive, during our lifetimes. Interestingly, the same exact event or experience can cause differing reactions in individuals. This is good news-it means we can learn a more healthy reaction to a situation that has caused us trouble in the past.
Enter the hypnotist! Stress is one of the most frequent reasons for coming into hypnosis. Once the complete pre-talk is done and she’s agreed to do hypnosis with her, the client sits in the hypnosis chair. She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and exhales all the negative energy from her tense body. We watch the client as we induce and deepen hypnosis. We observe as her body becomes more and more relaxed. We have her relax her mind as her body is relaxed. Each breath is a gentle step down the stairway of relaxation… The 5-PATH® is initiated. We are always amazed at the client’s transformation. Using a good direct suggestion script with an ego strengthening script can do wonders! Age regression gives her the reasons why. The forgiveness gives you the opportunity to reframe her stress and identify a strategy for change… And the system goes on…
Staff Note: To Learn more about responding to feelings and emotions in a positive way, such as doing a reality check, see Cal Banyan’s book, The Secret Language of Feelings.
