DEALING WITH STRESS - STRESS BUSTING TIPS

STRESS AWARENESS MONTH - APRIL 2021

Most people experience stress at some point in their lives. Stress is a perfectly normal response of the body to some type of threat. It is the body’s response designed to energise you, to help you take action and ensure your survival. The combination of both physical and/or psychological reactions to stress is known as the fight /flight/ freeze response because it evolved as a survival mechanism, enabling people to react quickly to life threatening situations. Stress usually goes away once you solve the problem stressing you out. Unfortunately, the body can also overreact to stresses that are not life threatening such as traffic jams, work pressure and family difficulties.
Stress can be both good and bad. Good stress motivates you to accomplish tasks to do them well and to concentrate on activities. However, overwhelming, and chronic stress is not good for psychological or physical health. The drip-drip effect of lots of seemingly small stresses can begin to snowball resulting in chronic stress.

So, what can we do to help ourselves when feeling overwhelmed and stressed out?

Here are some stress-busting tips for you:

• Get a good night’s sleep
• Take part in regular enjoyable exercise
• Spend some time in nature
• Spend time with people whose company you enjoy
• Try some relaxation techniques e.g., calming breathing techniques, guided visualisation, meditation, yoga and Tai Chi
• Write a gratitude journal
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle e.g., eat a healthy diet, cut down on caffeine and alcohol

​….and of course, Solution Focused Hypnotherapy!

I have a special interest in helping people to manage their anxiety and stress so that they can live a life that they enjoy and have a positive, helpful way of dealing with life’s ups and downs. Through my hypnotherapy training and practice; my pharmacist training and practice; my psychology degree studies; and my training as an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist I have a vast amount of knowledge and experience in helping people to manage their stress.