Do you look good in loin cloths? Apparently your subconscious mind thinks so. It has held on to the fight-or-flight response since the time of cavemen. This response is our built in safety net which has enabled us to stay off of the endangered species list. Although this response is a mechanism to keep us alive, it can have negative effects on our health.
STRESSES
These days we do not have the stress related to the fear of an attack by a saber-tooth tiger in the back of our minds. But, we still rely upon and trigger the fight-or-flight response as a reaction to stress in our daily lives. These stresses come in many flavors. They can be environmental or psychological, real or perceived. They can come from being engrossed in a scary movie or even as mundane as watching the nightly news. Some of our minds over emphasize threats such as traffic jams, work pressure or family difficulties. Yet whatever the stresses are, they all have the same effect.
FIGHT-OR-FLIGHT
Stress triggers our fight-or-flight response. The initial step in the process begins in the area of the brain which contributes to our emotional processing. Therefore, our bodies do not require a specific stress, only a related feeling or emotion to trigger the response. Once the specific stress, feeling or emotion is present an alert is sent through the nervous system to trigger the fight-or-flight response. Instantaneously your body’s sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is activated and in doing so, the body is taken out of its restful/healing state.
These changes happen so quickly that people aren’t aware of them. In fact, the progression is so efficient that the process has started before the brain’s visual centers have had a chance to fully process what is happening. That’s why people are able to react to a threat even before they think about what they are doing. This high state of alert causes your heart to beat faster – pushing blood to the muscles, heart, and other vital organs. Your pulse rate and blood pressure also increase. Sight, hearing, and other senses become sharper. Meanwhile, your body releases blood sugar (glucose) and fats from temporary storage sites – supplying energy to all parts of the body. You also start to breathe more rapidly – small airways in the lungs open wide. This extra oxygen is used to breakdown the released glucose into ATP (fuel for your muscles) and it is also sent to the brain which increases alertness.
Being in this high state of alert also curbs functions that would be nonessential or detrimental in a fight-or-flight situation. Your immune system responses are altered and your digestive system, reproductive system and growth processes are suppressed. This complex natural alarm system also communicates with regions of your brain that control mood, motivation and fear. Once your SNS is activated, it is responsible for deciding when the threat/stress has passed and ultimately, when you can return to the restful/healing state.
THE STRESS CYCLE
Some people rebound from stressful events quicker than others. Therefore each individuals risk for stress related illness is different. But if you have chronic stress or if your mind consistently over reacts to stresses which are not life threatening, your number of responses and/or the length of response will increase. The additional number and extended lengths of responses can create a vicious stress cycle. The functions which are detrimental to the fight-or-flight response will continue to be suppressed and your body will be kept from its restful/healing state. The stress cycle depletes the body’s immune system, has harsh effects on your organs and your body’s overall constitution. This, in turn, increases the number of fight-or-flight responses due to the fact that your body is compromised. Ultimately your body succumbs to illness – physical, emotional, or both because it no can no longer ward off bacteria, viruses or negative thoughts.
ILLNESSES
Each person is different as to what diseases manifest when their immune system is compromised. The Mayo Clinic in their website article Stress symptoms: Effects on your body and behavior list the following common effects of stress:
TREATMENT VERSUS RESOLUTION
Normally, our initial thought process for treating these effects of stress is to medicate. Whether it is self medicating by using something we have found at the drug store or by going to the physician for a prescription, we subject ourselves to substances which are not beneficial to our wellness. By doing so, we are only treating the symptom and not resolving the issue. This will only lead to unresolved or masked symptoms. Your symptoms could also intensified or multiply from the side effects of the medication. Medicating stress related disorders will only lead to further acute discomfort or chronic effects mixed in with acute flair ups throughout your life.
A HOLISTIC APPROACH
You can forego the agony of acute and chronic discomforts of stress related disorders by using a natural, holistic approach to resolving them. Hypnotherapy can put an end to stress related disorders given that it deals directly with the cause of the stress and consequently resolves the reason for the stress. The thoughts are not removed from memory, but the emotional charge which was previously associated with it is reduced to a level which no longer has a negative effect on your life.
IT WORKS!
Countless studies have been performed on the effectiveness of hypnotherapy for stress related disorders. A study released by the National Institute of Health by the name of Hypnosis in the treatment of anxiety and stress related disorders states that the use of hypnosis is a “rapid, cost-effective, nonaddictive and safe alternative to medication for the treatment of anxiety related conditions”. The British Psychological Society, have officially declared hypnotherapy as a proven therapeutic protocol to resolve stress, anxiety, pain, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome and migraines and other issues as well. If you were to search the internet for studies relating to hypnotherapy and its effect on stress related disorders, you would be inundated with results producing formidable and compelling documentation supporting its effectiveness.
There are additional benefits to resolving your stress related disorders with hypnotherapy. Not only will you rid yourself of the recurring symptoms; but, you will leave my office with a peaceful, centered feeling. You will have a renewed and energetic outlook on life. People in your life will also notice a positive change in you as well. So, if you are dealing with your own personal “saber toothed tiger”…
