Time to Lighten the Load?

Stress Relief NJ

A helpful term to understand in regards to stress management is allostatic load as it can explain why your stress response may be out of proportion to what you are actually experiencing in life right now.

Stress occurs when we have to make adaptations to changing circumstances. For example, when you climb a flight of stairs your heart rate has to increase and should go back down once you get to rest.

When faced with financial adversity, your brain dedicates more of it's resources towards finding a solution to your dilemma until its solved.

If you were suddenly chased by a wild dog, your body would rapidly prepare to flee or engage in self defense. This is what is known as the fight or flight response to help you deal with the threat- a state marked by the release of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.

The fight or flight response can be triggered by both physical and emotional threats.

Without this ability to adapt you wouldn't survive the adverse circumstances and challenges that we all encounter. However nature intended to fight or flight to be a short term response and if it goes on too long there can be serious physical, emotional and behavioral consequences.

In a perfect world the heightened stress response would always release once the problem had been solved or the threat had passed by a process known as allostasis, where the mind and body return to it's natural and more relaxed state.

The allostatic load refers to the strain on the mind and body which increases over time if you are exposed to repeated or chronic stress.

For many individuals the allostatic process breaks down and the stress response remains activated even when there is no need to for it do so. Not unlike a rusted water valve or a broken light switch that gets stuck in the on position.

This inability to rebalance from a stressful state is linked to numerous problems including addictions, chronic pain, anxiety, IBS, tinnitus and other ongoing challenges.

Everyone has different stress thresholds, but it seems that exposure to trauma, especially in childhood, seems to be a major factor of whether a person can shift back to rest and digest or remains in stuck in fight or flight.

Mind/body healing practices such as mindfulness meditation, self-hypnosis, qigong and yoga can enable you to reduce your allostatic load. An overall healthy lifestyle that includes good nutrition, proper hydration, exercise and avoidance of toxins such as tobacco also help.

If you have any questions, I am here to help! Please feel free to call (732) 714-7040 for a free, confidential phone consultation.

P.S. The book linked below Conquer Chronic Pain by Dr. Peter Przekop,  is a treasure trove of info on the link between stress, chronic pain and addictions.

Preparing for Your First Hypnosis Session: 7 Helpful Tips

It's been my observation that people coming in for their first hypnosis session are experiencing a wide variety of expectations as to what it will or will not be like.  Below are some ideas that can help you get the most out of your first hypnosis session and the ones that follow.

1. When you have the want, you will find the how. How important is reaching your goal to you? I often have clients assess their desire for change on a 1-10 scale, 1=little or no desire, 10= highest level. Unless you are rating a 7 or better, you will probably have weak commitment and a diminished chance for success. If your score is low, what would have to happen in order to raise it? You have to bring personal commitment to the table in order for this process to work.
2. Relax, nothing crazy is going to happen. The hypnotic demonstrations you may have seen in a comedic show or the movies bear little or no resemblance to what goes on in a private or group session for personal transformation. There would be no reason on earth for me to try and make you do anything silly or embarrassing in this setting. You will be awake and in control the entire time we work together.
3. Realize there are different ways people feel when hypnotized. While some people go into a profound state of deep relaxation during hypnosis, others experience it more subtly where it feels more like daydreaming.  Numerous studies have shown "trance depth" has little or no bearing on how effective the session will be. If you have concerns that you can't be hypnotized, here is a hint. Act as if you were the best candidate for hypnosis on the planet and you will become that person.
4. Decide to go with the flow. Many potential clients have a fear that somehow they will mess up the process. This can in fact happen is by being overly analytical and not following the instructions given during the session.  Doing so prevents the positive suggestions and images being offered by the hypnotist from being accepted  and acted upon by the subconscious mind, which is what you are there for, right? If your analytical mind could solve the problem you are facing, it would have done so by now.  The hypnosis session involves a totally different approach. You will bump up your chances of success greatly by deciding to adopt an easygoing attitude and by being as cooperative as possible: a decision only you can make. Keep in mind this decision is for your benefit, not the hypnotist's. Follow his or her lead in order to get the most out of your investment of time and money.
5. Doing your homework is absolutely essential. You want to know a main difference that sets successful clients apart from others who are less successful? Virtually every hypnosis session concludes with some sort of homework assignment involving self-hypnosis, listening to an audio mp3 or doing some kind of coaching exercise. On average suggestions last 3 to 5 days unless they are reinforced and it takes 21 to 30 days to establish a new habit pattern. 20+ years of professional experience has shown me that the clients who do their homework assignments do well, the others have less consistent, hit or miss results. Be ready to do your homework.
6. Its often not 'one and done'- although amazing results can be experienced in a single session(especially if you do your post-session homework) a multiple session program will usually yield a better outcome. 3 or 4 visits is the norm, with some clients opting for more.
7. Decide to do your best and make this work. Hypnosis is something done with you, not to you. It's not up to a hypnotist to make you do anything, rather he or she is a coach that is there to assist and guide you. Its similar to how star basketball players expect their coach to provide expert guidance and encouragement, but don't expect the coach to actually play the game for them.

Follow these tips and chances are you will do just fine.

If you have any questions, please feel free to connect by either calling me at (732) 714-7040 or using one of the contact forms at my website http://www.njhypno.com