The human brain receives messages from several sources, each dealing with
separate types of information. Input dealing with everyday matters such as news, music, jobs, relationships, weather,
etc., comes from the external environment. Our own bodies provide data concerning movement, digestion, tension, pain,
etc., all in the form of messages, sent to the brain.
The conscious mind deals with reasoning and logic, decisions, goals planning
and conscious activity. The unconscious mind, which includes both the subconscious and the superconscious, 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 its information, neither
accepting nor rejecting the messages. It does not evaluate. That procedure is reserved for the conscious mind.
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 syndrome,
always a means of dealing with fears, threats, attacks and other disturbances, has gained tolerance through evolution with
the addition or reaction vs. action and repression vs. depression. 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
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?
Enter Stress/Anxiety
Unable to fight, the reaction turns to the alternative of flight, which in
present day life can prove impossible. Often a state of apathy, depression and/or hypersuggestiblity ensues. Negative
input finds acceptance. Futility and melancholy develop and an overreaction to the senses develops 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.
A person experiencing continuing stress may well become subject to such a frenzy,
in the process developing any or several forms of stress-related illness. While certain types of stress are even desirable
(romantic stress, job promotions, winning a lottery), stresses that produce debilitation, depression, excessive smoking, overeating,
anger, grief, and similar reactions need attention and usually professional help.
The first recognition of a therapist dealing with stress 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 the client's perception
of and reaction to them.
Again, causal factors need to be investigated. And not infrequently regression
can be helpful in this process. 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 depression appears the
conscious mind had lost its ability to do so. However, there are several common basic causes of stress which can be
recognized, defined and often eliminated.
What's Behind It All
Why me? Stress victims ask the question quite often. 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.
They can expand into full grown phobias and psychiatric disorders. Unrelenting pain or worries over health situations
are factors, as are repressed emotions such as hurt, anger, grief, etc. 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.
Medical conditions, including dietary deficiencies, can lead to stress, as
can such female experiences as PMS. External factors, such as continuous or intermittent bothersome noise levels, can
create or add to stress level.
Every individual is different in tolerance levels, coping abilities, reaction
and therapeutic needs. Dealing with stress is best accomplished through a trained, experienced and sensitive professional
who can determine causes and evaluate reactions. Sheer willpower is not the remedy in stress cases. Effective
and permanent relief responds to desensitization, which can be brought about through hypnotherapy.
It is important to analyze the stress stimuli and the physical and/or emotional
responses which they bring about. Through hypnosis positive new responses can be created to replace the devastating
reactions of the past. 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.
