Stress Reduction Through Hypnosis

by Cindy Locher, CHT


It's holiday time again and as I am writing this I have a list of to-do's as long as my arm. Add to that, my employer decided to send me out of the country for a week, with two weeks' notice, two weeks before Christmas. I have cause for a little stress, but I have coping secrets, which I will share with you! Hypnosis for stress reduction is extremely effective, and if you don't have access to a certified hypnotherapist, self-hypnosis is a great option as well.

First of all, what causes stress? Stress is an overload of messages on our system. It is the state anxiety that happens to us when events and responsibilities exceed what we feel our abilities are. Basically, the body and mind go into the fight or flight response, because of this overload situation. If the stresses that we are reacting to are pervasive, that is if they go on day after day and week after week (like a job that is too demanding, or is a bad fit for us), then we can become stuck in the stress response, because our body and mind never get a chance to "stand down" from the reaction.

When stress continues over weeks and months like this, it takes a toll on us physically, spiritually, emotionally and psychologically. Our body can develop mal-adaptations, like ulcers. We catch colds more frequently. We can begin having anxiety attacks. The more the situation persists, the less spiritual and emotional reserves we have left to battle back to a state of equilibrium. At this point, we need intervention. Something must be done, and that something is learning 1.) how to manage the stress we have in our lives, and 2.) learning how to reduce the events or issues causing us stress.

Reducing the causes of stress in our life is often difficult, because doing so asks us to make sometimes significant changes in our lives. Listen to your body and the small still voice within. If you are not saying "no" often enough, or if you need to change a job or relationship situation, take steps toward positive change. Feeling helpless in a situation is a major cause of stress. Know that you are the author of your life, and everything in life is a choice.

Learning how to manage stress is a matter of educating yourself, taking advantages of resources, and making yourself a priority-take the time to do it! Hypnosis, and the use of self hypnosis recordings, is an excellent method of managing stress, because of the nature of the hypnotic state. During sleep, our minds "vent out" the stresses of the day in dreams. The hypnotic state is actually a powerful state that causes the mind to vent out those excess inputs, that build up of too many messages that cause the overload. So, simply experiencing the hypnotic state relieves some of the stress reaction. In addition, during hypnosis, a hypnotherapist will provide suggestions to your mind to train you to release anxieties, let go of guilt, and develop and assimilate new coping mechanisms and ways of reacting to the causes of stress in your life.

If you don't have access to a hypnotherapist, self-hypnosis is also a viable option. While you may not achieve as deep of a hypnotic state in self-hypnosis, you can perform it more often and therefore you can ingrain the new behaviors quickly. If possible, find a hypnotherapist who will treat you as well as teaching you the skill of self-hypnosis.

Stress reduction, even during the holidays, is possible. Managing your stress with hypnosis is a coping mechanism not only for the holidays, but for life! May your life be full and blessed, may you be the author of your life, and find happiness!