Reducing Stress with Self Hypnosis

Reducing Stress with Self Hypnosis
By Alan Crossley, C.Ht, NLP

We are constantly bombarded through the media with advertisements that are designed to make us feel unacceptable, unhappy, unfulfilled, over weight and in need of a quick fix.  Of course the quick fix is always the product or service being offered.  

Do you suffer from indigestion due to over eating…then drink this pink liquid and feel better…then do it again later so we can sell you some more pink liquid!  The last thing the people who make pink liquid want you to do is to learn to eat slowly, appreciate your food and stop when you begin to feel full!

The same is true with the economy, we have been conditioned to buy..buy..buy and never feel satisfied or fulfilled.  We always FEEL like we need the next best cell phone, or that cool pair of $150.00 running shoes because we have been programmed to respond that way through a constant stream of advertisements that tell us we are not good enough the way we are or with what we have. 

It’s no wonder that so many people are over stressed. Where are the positive, uplifting messages and images that tell us we are ok, that we can be happy, that we did a good job and that there is hope. 

Within each of us is a part of us known as the sub-conscious or unconscious mind. This part of our minds has the ability to process millions of bits of information every second and has access to everything we have ever learned or experienced in our lives, even if we can’t remember it consciously.  

Making friends with your unconscious mind can provide you with access to unlimited resources to make the changes you desire in your life. This includes finding new ways to help you reduce stress and increasing a sense of balance and calmness.

Here are 5 tips to help you begin to reduce the amount of stress in your life.

1) Reduce the amount of advertising and negative media that you allow in your life.  It always take effort to change the habit of listening to the radio or sitting in front of the tv. Don’t eliminate the entertainment, just the news and commercials! Switch to an MP3 player for your music source, watch DVDs or Video Tapes instead of sitcoms, or get yourself a Personal Video Recorder and fast forward through commercials!

2) Listen to your internal voice and notice whether the things you say to yourself are positive or negative.  When you make a mistake do you say to yourself "that was stupid" or worse "I’m so stupid" when faced with a challenge do you say "I can’t do that"?  Begin to re-state you internal dialog in a positive way when you catch yourself saying something negative, such as "I can’t do that…yet..but it’s going to be fun learning how" or ‘how can I learn to do this…and enjoy the process". 

3) Make a list of things you are proud of, people you love, fun times you have had in the past.  When you are feeling stressed, go through the list and take the time to visualize those people, places and things and notice how it changes the way you feel.

4) Change your physiology!  When you are feeling stressed, change the way you breath, hold your shoulders back, stand or sit up straight and image what it would feel like to have just won the lottery…. How does that change the way you feel?  Change your physiology, then change your breathing and you will change the way you feel!  You can learn to control your state instead of allowing your state to control you!

5) Use self hypnosis recordings to empower yourself and tap the resources of your unconscious mind.  Hypnosis is deeply relaxing and allows your body to rest and repair while providing a positive experience.