July, 2015

Dealing with stress

I am focusing on stress treatments at the moment and cannot emphasise enough the importance of monitoring your own stress levels and taking steps to reduce prolonged stress.

It’s so easy to ignore physical symptoms – tiredness, headaches, digestive upsets and racing heart – and also the impact on our mental health – compulsive worrying, inability to concentrate, ‘no room in our heads’ for interaction with others.

So do please set aside time to take stock of how you’re feeling and to make plans to take care of yourself. Identify what you personally need to help you relax, be it exercise, settling down with a book, turning off phones and tablets so you have the evening or weekend to yourself.

If you find it hard to relax by yourself, maybe you would benefit from a massage or other physical treatment or a session of calming hypnotherapy to help you zone out once in a while.

Remember the maxim, ‘Self-care is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation.’

A walk on the wild side can be beneficial for your mental wellbeing.

A recent study by Stanford University has shown that taking a walk in the countryside can help reduce anxiety and depression. Previous studies have indicated that living in an urban environment can increase rumination, or the compulsive need to dwell on feelings of distress, worry and negative emotions, whilst walking in the fresh air can help to focus the mind on finding solutions.

There are many wonderful places to walk even very close to London and other big cities. You can find your own way (or go out and about with friends) choosing your own pace and distance with the help of Fancy Free Walks – www.fancyfreewalks.org – very clear directions for a variety of different lengths of walk.

Or you may prefer to walk in the company or others, being guided in a small group for a day, a weekend or overseas. In this case check out www.country-walks.com, a small company run by a delightful couple, June and Aubrey Zaft, who include interesting snippets of information on geology and history as well as the odd atmospheric poem as you enjoy the health benefits of walking in the fresh air.

Unhelpful behaviours and limiting beliefs

Sometimes we are held back by our past – trapped by unhelpful behaviours, intrusive memories: experiences buried deep in our physical bodies as well as our unconscious minds – limiting beliefs about ourselves, which prevent us living fulfilling and enjoyable lives today.

We may know exactly what these are or we may just have a small sense of unease or recurring symptoms such as extreme nervousness or anxiety, panic attacks, overeating, insomnia, compulsive behaviours – the list is long.

The deep relaxation of even just one hypnotherapy session can help to alleviate these symptoms and eventually banish them once and for all.

So if you would like to feel calm and relaxed and live life to the full, then do get in touch with an experienced hypnotherapist near you.