Challenging Situations: Maintain Calm & Control
Manage Stress, Avoid Burnout
GRAND CENTRAL PROCESSING STATION
At every moment, the human brain receives a constant stream of messages from several sources, each dealing with separate types of information. Input having to do with everyday matters comes from the external environment, such as relationships, weather, music, jobs, traffic, news & media, etc. Simultaneously, our own bodies are providing additional data through our five senses concerning the immediate surroundings as well as internal environment: tactile sensations, movement, temperature, digestion, thirst and hunger, muscular tension, discomfort and pain, etc. All in the form of messages, sent to the brain for processing.
Whereas the conscious mind deals with reasoning and logic, decisions, goals planning and conscious activity, it is the unconscious mind, which includes both the subconscious and the superconscious, that wields the greatest influence. It receives all the messages from our social, spiritual and genetic backgrounds and all the conflicts and disturbances which enter our consciousness each day. The unconscious mind receives and holds all of this information, neither accepting nor rejecting the messages. It does not evaluate. That procedure is reserved for the conscious mind.
RED ALERT! ? ENTER STRESS & WORRY
From primitive times the human animal has possessed an escape mechanism that, even today, under severely threatening conditions, can cause regression to primitive behavior. The fight/flight response, always a means of dealing with fears, threats, attacks and other disturbances, has gained tolerance through evolution with the addition of reaction vs. action and repression vs. sadness. Without these, when the message input volume reached overload conditions, the escape would be toward the denial of reality. However, the desire for social acceptance provides motivation to cope with and adapt to reality.
Nevertheless, when the conscious mind can no longer handle the message units that are overloading the brain, the subconscious prepares us for fight or flight: the heart pumps harder, blood pressure rises, super-strength can be generated. But sometimes there is nothing to fight. We can?t fight the environment. We can?t fight a job, an accident, a bad decision. What now?
Unable to fight back, the reaction turns to the alternative reaction of flight, which in present day life can also prove just as impossible. Often a state of apathy, sadness and/or hyper-vigilance ensues. Negative input finds acceptance. Futility and melancholy develop, and an overreaction to the senses arise together with a loss of tolerance. The road turns downhill.
Imagine a group of musicians playing together. Imagine the trumpet player getting a measure or two ahead of the rest. Imagine the saxophone player, trying to figure out what the trumpeter is doing, dropping a measure behind. Imagine the drummer, becoming confused, missing his beats so that the whole group gets off beat. Imagine the conductor waving his arms desperately trying to orient the players. Imagine the cacophony as the musicians collapse, give up and quit playing.
WHAT?S BEHIND IT ALL
?Why me?? Stress victims quite often ask this question. Stress may be a reaction to people, places, events, or things. The threats may be real or imagined. Remember, the subconscious mind does not analyze ? and usually by the time anger and sadness appear, the conscious mind has lost its ability to apply logic and reason to the situation. However, there are several common basic causes of stress which can be recognized, defined and often eliminated.
Many factors enter into the picture of possibilities. Overachievers, typical ?Type A? personalities, are hyper-competitive. They can be addicted to stress.
They can enjoy it, until it gets out of control. Victims can learn stress early in life from parents, teachers, relatives and others. Through early experience they simply consider stress a normal part of life; they see it all the time. Fears, valid or otherwise, can lead to the development of symptoms of stress.
Specific incidents are frequently involved, such as the necessity to speak to a group in the course of job performance when such activity is uncomfortable. Unrelenting pain or worries over health situations are factors, as are repressed emotions such as hurt, anger, grief, etc. Left unaddressed, they can expand into full grown fears and psychiatric disorders.
LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF STRESS
While certain types of stress are even desirable (romantic stress, job promotions, becoming a new parent, moving into a new home), a person experiencing ongoing continued stress may well become subject to such overwhelm, and in the process develop any or several forms of stress-related illness.
Every individual is different in tolerance levels, coping abilities, reactions and personal needs depending on personality and upbringing. External factors, such as intermittent or continuous bothersome noise levels, light or temperature can create or add to stress levels. Medical conditions, including dietary deficiencies and sleep disturbances, can also lead to or exasperate stress responses.
Stresses that produce debilitation, excessive behavior (smoking, overeating, drinking, etc), persistent sadness, anger, grief, and other similar reactions need attention and often require professional help. Sheer willpower is not the remedy in such cases.
Whether dealing with a particularly stressful situation or simply trying to juggle a variety of life?s ongoing daily demands, managing stress is best accomplished through the guidance of a trained, experienced and sensitive professional who can determine causes and evaluate reactions. It is important to analyze the stress stimuli and the physical and/or emotional responses which they bring about.
HYPNOSIS FOR A HEALTHIER RESPONSE
Effective and permanent relief can be brought about through hypnotism, resulting in desensitization to the underlying stress trigger and developing better coping strategies. Again, causal factors need to be investigated, and not infrequently, regression can be helpful in this process. Through hypnosis, positive new responses can be created that replace the devastating reactions of the past.
The first recognition when dealing with stress through hypnosis is likely to be that, while the world (or the past, if it is a factor in the condition) cannot be changed, it is possible to alter one?s perception of and reaction to these things. Buried feelings can be brought to the surface and released. Outside pressures can be relieved. And finally, new responses to old disturbances can be induced with major changes in attitudes and reactions.
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