Stress

What is stress?

Stress and anxiety are a normal part of life. They are our body's way of protecting and defending ourselves from the danger of an outside threat. This physiological response is an essential and helpful primitive bodily response that has been with us since the beginning of our species - it is what has enabled us all to survive.

What happens when we are stressed?

When we are threatened or feel afraid our body responds by producing hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) which trigger physical changes inside our bodies: our heart rate increases, we start to breathe more rapidly, blood is diverted to our outer muscles, our skin goes pale, we start to perspire. All these changes have a positive function: they are signs of our body marshalling its resources to protect and defend us. Taking in more oxygen, by breathing faster, helps the heart pump our blood faster around our body and that blood is diverted from non-essential bodily functions (like digestion) to our skeletal muscles which need energy to either fight off the threat or run away from it: this is the famous "fight or flight" response.

Some stress can be positive. The sensations we feel when we are stressed are similar to those we experience when we are happy, excited or motivated: we feel nervous or have 'butterflies' in our stomach when we are attracted to someone of the opposite sex, our heart races when we fall in love, we experience feelings of elation when we 'win' or perform well.

We also feel stress or anxiety when we are faced with a challenge - hence the phrase 'stage fright'. The stress response becomes a problem when we perceive ourselves as being unable to cope or deal successfully and effectively with the 'threat' or demand or our stress response is being regularly and continuously triggered.

When stress becomes a problem

This positive, primitive survival response can also therefore have negative effects in our lives today leading to emotional, physical and psychological distress. Whilst in our modern life we are less subject to the life-threatening events which this response was designed to protect us from (running away from a tiger, for example), we have not 'evolved' an alternative, more appropriate, bodily response to deal with the kind of situations and demands we are now faced with.

We respond to different types of threat (challenge, pressure, regular daily demands) with this same bodily response and that response unfortunately does not adequately or appropriately deal with the threat:

• We cannot run away or fight with our boss if we feel angry at an unreasonable workload, are afraid of being dismissed, or of not being promoted.
• We cannot fight a room full of strangers if we have hidden fears, doubts or beliefs that we may not be "good enough".
• We cannot fight or run away when we are stuck in traffic and late for an important meeting.
• We cannot fight or run away when we are stuck in the supermarket queue with a trolley full of groceries or caught in a traffic jam whilst driving to pick our young children up from school.

What determines how we respond to stress?

Whilst the physiological stress response is universal researchers have found however that there are differences in when and how that stress response is triggered: our physical stress response is triggered by our thoughts and perceptions.

All our brains are 'hardwired' to respond to certain intense 'stimuli' likely to threaten our survival - like when we jump instinctively when we hear a loud noise, or our universal fears of spiders, snakes etc which movie makers prey on. In these instances the brain is wired to trigger the stress response instantly, and instinctively, without 'processing' the event or assessing its threat to us.

In other less dangerous circumstances however when we see or perceive an event or 'stimulus' in the outside world our brain assesses it quickly. If our brain interprets the situation as being a threat it immediately responds by sending messages to other parts of our brain which instantly release hormones which trigger chemical reactions. The release of these chemicals causes the changes in heart rate, breathing etc making up the stress response with all its accompanying uncomfortable sensations.

This is why people react differently to stress. One person thrives on working under pressure, displaying increased motivation and the 'will to win' whereas another becomes overwhelmed and starts to suffer the ill-effects of stress. Our response depends on two factors:

1. How we perceive and interpret the external situation and the demands that are made on us

2. Our judgement of our own resources and ability to cope with those demands

The difference between our interpretation of our resources/ perceived coping abilities and the level of demands that we feel we are under defines how much stress we feel.

See also Work-life balance

Effects of stress

Continued long-term stress which remains untreated , maybe due to a lack of awareness, can suppress the immune system, making you more susceptible to cold and flu germs, and can cause long-term health problems and lead to depression, anxiety, headaches, muscle pain, digestive problems (IBS), allergies, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease and menstrual problems. The onset or upsurge of stress symptoms we suffer is thought to be related to the level of control we feel we have over our lives.

Solutions

Hypnosis can improve health and well-being by boosting your immune system!

By understanding how your body works under stress and what triggers your stress response you can start to consciously take back control of this response and make changes in your life. Working with relaxation, hypnotherapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) I can help you improve your health by boosting your immune response, increase your ability to relax reducing both your stress response and the negative physical and mental  effects of stress, and help you learn to deal more effectively with any ongoing or unavoidable "stressors" in your life.

For more information about Persephone's Stress Management Programme, Contact Persephone now for your free consultation.

For more information about ways to manage your stress see Resources

See also Psychosomatic and Stress-related conditions

Insomnia

Most people have a sleepless night from time to time, maybe caused by stress, anticipation for a 'big day' ; an interview or meeting, or perhaps from drinking too much  alcohol or caffeine.

Insomnia becomes a problem when lack of sleep or sleeplessness is a regular or frequent occurrence, seemingly happening for no reason. The amount of sleep needed varies from person to person. Whilst the suggested average is 7-8 hours sleep, some people exist well on much less and others need 9 hours to function adequately - it's a very personal thing. The inability to get a good night's sleep affects our mood, our functioning during the day, our energy level and our health as sleep boosts the immune system, enabling it to carry out its functions of growth and repair in our body.

Insomnia can be a temporary problem or can become chronic. Those who suffer from stress, worry and anxiety tend also to experience problems with sleeplessness or lack of adequate, refreshing sleep.

Hypno-psychotherapy at Persephone can help you relax and normalise your sleep patterns, enabling you to reclaim your ability to fall asleep easily and quickly, sleep soundly and wake refreshed, energized and alert ready to face the new day.

Read the effectiveness of Hypnosis and CBT for insomnia.

For more information on how you can break the cycle of insomnia and exhaustion Contact Persephone now for your free consultation.

Psychosomatic and Stress-related conditions

Stress-related or Psychosomatic disorders are those conditions, involving or including physical symptoms, which are considered to have multiple causes and are not caused purely by "pathology": tissue damage, infection or bacterial/ viral invasion. These conditions are thought to be caused by a complex interaction of  physical, psychological, social and environmental factors all interacting with each other to affect health. The terms Stress-related and Psychosomatic, have most relevance for orthodox western medicine, which separates us into two aspects; our body and our mind, and tries therefore to treat the body in isolation. However these terms are  less useful to other alternative or complementary approaches which instead offer a "holistic" approach - that is, they consider the "whole person" and his/her overall health and functioning, acknowledging our state of happiness and well-being and our life circumstances or situation have profound effects on our health. In addition there is some disagreement over which disorders can be termed psychosomatic as it is accepted that 'psychological factors' are important in all illness, including "physical" conditions such as heart attacks and high blood pressure, being known to influence the development and course of an illness or disease. Whilst the term "psychosomatic" was considered almost derogatory in the past , leading to assumptions or suggestions that symptoms were 'all in your head', scientific research now acknowledges the effect of mind-body interactions and a new term "psycho-physiological" is increasingly used. This new term  recognises that the mind and body interact with measurable physiological effects. ( Read more about Psychosomatic)

This holistic view of illness or disease has existed in eastern medicine for thousands of years and western science increasingly finds scientific evidence which supports this holistic view: Studies clearly show the effect of "stress" in depressing the immune system - the body system which protects us from developing infection or illness - and a famous study also shows how the mind can trigger chemical and physical changes in the body. This approach accepts the inter-connectedness of mind and body - that is, the mind affects the body and vice versa- and is therefore called mind-body medicine.

This evidence supports the basis and the effectiveness of hypnosis in affecting bodily states and disorders. Hypnosis has been used successfully for IBS and many other mind-body illnesses (See Effectiveness of Hypnosis for IBS , Hypnosis strengthens immune system)

Some Psychosomatic/Stress-related conditions:

NB: If you think you may have a psychosomatic or stress-related disorder you should see your GP. Hypnosis should not be used as an alternative to medical assessment but can be successfully combined with it.

IBS

Irritable Bowel Syndrome  is described as a functional disorder, that is the way it is functioning alters somehow causing problems or pain. It is also considered a psychosomatic disorder- that is, a condition where the mind affects the optimal functioning of the body. This connection can then therefore be used in treatment to improve or even eradicate the problem. In addition emotions affect IBS. Hypnosis has been used to treat IBS effectively and  due to its success is now being used within some NHS hospital settings.

Symptoms of IBS can include:

• Abdominal pain, discomfort or cramps
• Bloating or gas
• Diarrhoea or constipation - often alternating
• Mucus in stools

To find out how hypnosis can help you effectively manage or reduce IBS symptoms Contact Persephone now for your free consultation.

NB: If you think you may have IBS you should see your GP. Hypnosis should not be used as an alternative to medical assessment but can be successfully combined with it.

See more about IBS

Denise Marleyn DHP(NC) MRNHP HBCE   Tel: 01525 850334   e-mail: contact@persephone-therapy.co.uk