Managing Stress

It is not the events in life that cause stress. It is only our response to them. It's easy to say. But it's important to accept. And the good news is, we can do something about stress. There are things we can control.
"I can't believe what a difference it's made, and in such a short time."

What is Stress?

Stress is a natural response to perceived or imagined risk. It's part of our natural "Fight or Flight" response. Sometimes it's entirely appropriate and helps to focus our attention. However it can gradually increase, sometimes without us noticing, until it gets to a level which doesn't match what's actually happening.
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​The fight or flight response is only ever trying to help, but part of its job is to assume the worst - so it can be really negative, and unhealthy, physically and mentally. The good news is there are really good things we can do about it. With the right approach, managing stress can be really successful, and life-changing.

What are the symptoms of Stress?

Stress can affect our thoughts, our feelings, our behaviours and our physical health. The emotions include worry, dread and fear. The feelings include sensations such as tightness in the chest, dizziness or nausea. There are often physiological changes too, like reduced immune-system functioning, shallow breathing and increased heart-rate. Our thinking can become clouded, it gets really hard to think straight, and the impact on our behaviour is usually to avoid things or lose interest and energy. The good news is, it doesn't need to be this way.

How does hypnotherapy help with stress?

Hypnotherapy helps by calming down the natural stress responses. We do this partly by talking - we generally start off by talking about the brain, how it does anxiety and what we can do about it. Conversations then move on to positive things, like things you enjoy, times when the anxiety wasn't there, and imagining what it will be like in the future, when it's gone.

Then we have Hypnosis, which is also enormously helpful. Hypnosis helps us to relax our stress responses and to activate instead our natural states of calm relaxation. These are also known as 'rest and digest' and 'tend and befriend'. We all know how to do these. There are a number of techniques we can use, but generally it's more natural and straightforward than people might imagine. Overall it's a really easy and enjoyable process.
​"I haven't felt like this for a very long time. If ever.”

Meet Adam Pearson, your hypnotherapist
I'm Adam Pearson. I trained with the Clifton Practice Hypnotherapy College in Bristol and I am accredited by the National Council for Hypnotherapy and the Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy. My background is in management and youth development.
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​I also volunteer with The Wave Project, a brilliant charity helping young people to reduce anxiety and develop confidence through surfing. And I run various local community health groups. You can see more on linkedin.