Articles

Managing Stress

It is estimated that 80% of modern diseases have their origins in stress and that stress-related illness accounts for up to 75% of GP consultations.

A manageable and small degree of stress in our lives is an advantage for our survival. For example, if you were standing in the middle of the road and a bus started heading towards you, then your ability to respond to this stressful situation by jumping of out the way would perhaps help to save your life.

It is when stress becomes overpowering and we are not able to cope with it that it leads to all sorts of problems in health, relationships, social situations, education etc.

Some of the symptoms of stress include: an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, an increase in sweat gland activity and breathing rate, tiredness and muscle tension, especially around the neck and shoulders, which can lead to pain. Stress can also contribute to: indigestion, constipation, headaches, difficulty in concentrating, tendency to worry, impatience, irritability and you are more likely to overeat, take drugs or alcohol, smoke and have a loss of sexual appetite. Stress also leads to depression, it weakens your immune system making you more vulnerable to infections, it stuns your creativity and productivity at work and increases your risk of heart disease and cancer.

These are some pretty good reasons why you should aim to eliminate or learn to manage your stress.

There are many approaches to stress management. One of the newest is based around teaching you how to use the fact that your mind and your body are connected. It is now known that every cell in your body knows what you are thinking. Your nervous system works both chemically and electrically. The chemicals that carry messages through the nervous system are called neurotransmitters.

In the 1980s an American medical doctor called Deepak Chopra, an expert in the field of cancer, demonstrated that every cell in the body is bathed in these neurotransmitters, so every cell in your body is capable of knowing what you are thinking and feeling.

To highlight this point I would like, whilst you are sitting here reading this article, to make your heart beat faster.
Think now of an event where you felt anxious or frightened. Remember exactly what happened and how all your senses responded. What did you hear, see, feel?

If you are now remembering that event in full detail, your heartbeat has increased through stimulation via the subconscious. This occurs even though the event is not happening in reality, but your conscious mind does not know that. It is your thoughts that have created it as reality in your mind. Just thinking about a stressful situation can have your body respond as if it were really happening. Your mind creates the neurotransmitters which react with the heart muscle and the heart rate increases. This is the mind:body connection.

BEFORE YOU FEEL STRESS IN YOUR BODY IT HAS TO START IN THE MIND

Some programs for stress relief address stress from a physical aspect but I prefer the mind:body approach which looks at the power of the thoughts you create and your subsequent behaviour, the use of NLP, the use of guided imagery and the powerful use of breathing techniques.

I can offer group or individual stress management programmes. Call or e-mail for more details.