Using mind body medicine to deal with stress
A common enemy most of us recognise in our lives today is stress. As a therapist I have found that for many people there is a connection between the presenting issue and a physical problem. In recognising the mind body connection I’ve found that by healing the root of the emotional and mental problem the physical condition improves. This is where the use of psychotherapy and hypnotherapy also become key to mind body medicine.
This will come as no surprise to those of you who are familiar with hypnotherapy and NLP. Indeed if you are a practitioner you will know that the mind and body are integrated. Mind body medicine uses the power of thoughts and emotions to influence physical health. Hippocrates wrote, “The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well.”
Just as your mind naturally communicates with your body to heal itself when you are sick or suffering an injury. Consider the signals your mind sends your body to heal a broken leg or a cut on your hand. Your mind can also negatively communicate to your body, through worry, fear and stress. This can lead to serious physical problems if this happens over a long period of time.
The impact of mental stress on the body
Stress is the biggest killer that stalks us today. Research studies show that too much stress over a long period causes heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, obesity, diabetes, cancers, Alzheimers, headaches, migraines, depression, anxiety, digestion problems, accelerated aging, and premature death.
Years ago people suffered and died from what generally was known as ‘dirt’ diseases caused by poor sanitation and bad germs. Nowadays medical science has enabled us to be virtually free of these diseases. Why is then that so many people suffer from ill health? One answer is that we suffer from stress related illnesses. If we want to be free of these illnessness we must tackle how we handle stress.
Our body’s stress response…
When we are stressed our breathing quickens. This causes our heart rate to increase and a chemical reaction within our body. We release cortisol, adrenalin and insulin into our bloodstream which enables us to cope under pressure. This chain of events is commonly known as the ‘flight or fight’ response. It is vital and is necessary for us if we are dealing with life-threatening situations where we need additional physical energy to deal with the problem.
However, most of the stress we experience in our modern society is not from a need to run or fight. Internal thoughts and feelings such as worry, working too hard, fear, anxiety, and feeling overwhelmed are often the cause of modern day stress. This type of stress is unhealthy for us as the chemicals (which are steroids in nature) we produce when stressed convert to sugar as we do not expend the energy they provide.
Triggering the relaxation response…
The great news is that we can make a conscious effort to stop this from happening by tricking the mind to send a different message to the body. How do we do it? Just by deliberately slowing down our breathing! Taking deep slow breaths trigger the vagus nerve which runs from the brain stem to an area in the abdomen. Just by deep breathing we can switch on the ‘relaxation’ response.
It is absolutely impossible to have a physical stress response if you are deep breathing. This action buys you time to assess and rethink the situation. You can then ask yourself – “what can I do to deal with this situation”. Instead of responding to situations or people in the same way as you have always done, why not take a few deep breaths. This will enable you to re-think your behaviour. In doing so you are exercising self-control instead of always being at the mercy of your old reactive behaviour.
It’s simple, easy and anyone can do it! So when you become aware of feeling stressed get in the habit of taking 10 deep breaths and notice the difference it can make.
Success and Happiness
PS – if you find it difficult to relax and de-stress visit my shop where you will discover a range of self help products to help you. Click here for more about mind body medicine products.
PSS For further reading you may find this article helpful Are You Suffering from Spotlight Syndrome
