Stress

What is stress?

“…stress refers to experiencing events that are perceived as endangering one’s physical or psychological well-being.  These events are usually referred to as stressors and people’s reactions to them are termed stress responses.”  Taken from Hilgard’s Introduction to Psychology, 2000.

The boundaries surrounding stress are blurred.  We can feel “stressed out” when our jobs become too demanding or for others stress may mean depression or anxiety.  It is an individual response that determines what triggers a stress reaction, so what one person finds stressful, another may not.

According to Dr Hans Selye, a notable Canadian physician who conducted extensive research into stress, it is not stress itself which harms us but distress, and unlike fear or phobias, stress does not have to be linked to anything specific.  It affects virtually all of us and we need to learn how to cope with managing it to our advantage.

It is healthy to have a positive amount of stress in our lives as this keeps us alert, aids concentration and is motivational.  It helps us to perform effectively and can improve memory by bringing just the right amount of stimulation.  It is when we either don’t have enough of this stimulation or too much of this stimulation that it becomes difficult to manage.

Stress responses typically originate from individual reactions to external stressors which are, for example, divorce, job pressures or insecurity, poor communication, bullying, low self-esteem, insomnia, sexual problems, holidays, studying, bereavement, getting married, moving, drinking/smoking/drug-taking, drinking too much caffeine, illness, etc.

Symptoms of negative stress

The typical physiological signs of negative stress are muscle tension, migraines, headaches, palpitations, indigestion, breathing problems, pallor, nausea, heartburn, change of appetite, constipation, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, shaking, teeth grinding, dizziness, back pain, frequent colds and flu’s, foot tapping, nail biting, nervousness, sweating, menstrual irregularity, weight changes, itching, tiredness, low energy, muscle spasms, and so on.

The typical psychological and behavioural signs of negative stress are: depression; crying; loss of humour; onset of fears and phobias; inability or difficulty in relaxing; obsessive thinking; over or under activity; mood swings; aggression; loss of focus or concentration; forgetfulness; indecisiveness; impotence; decrease in sex drive; over sensitivity; feeling unable to cope; low self-esteem; compulsive worrying; loss of interest; social withdrawal; increase in the need to smoke, drink, drug-take, drink more caffeine; eating disorders, craving for junk foods; denial, irritability, and so on.

Why do we experience these symptoms?

Stress reactions tend to stem from the ‘fight or flight’ response.  This originated from our ancestors as a method of survival in prehistoric times and it is something which we haven’t, as yet, evolved out of but we can control it. 

The fight or flight response is actually composed of three responses: fight, flight and freeze, and these are all reactions within our autonomic nervous system.  It is a way of preparing our body to run away, fight or become very still to avoid being seen by predators.

The autonomic nervous system regulates emotional responses and releases hormones, which are governed by the endocrine system.  It is the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system which prepares us for action and leads us to physical symptoms of stress.  It stimulates the adrenal glands to secrete hormones such as adrenaline and cortisone which prepare the body for action.  As a result of the release of these hormones, the typical reactions are listed above.

Because these hormones are constantly being released in the body, it can weaken the body’s defences and suppress the activity of macrophages (heal and repair tissue within the blood) and white blood cells (T-cells and Natural Killer cells).  Both the macrophages and Natural Killer cells get rid of foreign matter and damage in our systems without asking for other resources in the body, so a depleted source of these puts additional pressure on the rest of the body through an impaired immune system.

Some stress-related conditions

The following conditions are those that are recognised as being caused or aggravated by stress.  They may also be as a result of an underlying medical condition and should always be checked with a medically qualified practitioner first:  hypertension, angina, circulatory problems, migraine, IBS, peptic ulcers, headaches, back pain, asthma, hay fever, allergies, alopecia, menstrual irregularities, anxiety, eczema, psoriasis, anorexia nervosa/bulimia, insomnia, chronic fatigue, ME, etc.

What happens when I go for treatment?

Negative stress can be addressed through the combination of transpersonal hypnotherapy, NLP and psychotherapeutic techniques.  There are many ways to approach these feelings effectively and Caroline will be able to guide you through the best course of treatment to enable you to regain control of your life and bring some fun back into it again!

Caroline will also show you how to lower your stress response using hypnotherapeutic and other stress busting techniques and guide you to make some real changes to the way you respond to stimuli.

"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”  - Andy Warhol