Do you long for something to change so you can relax? Perhaps you have a chaotic job where the phone won’t stop ringing or you continually get interruptions.
Do you dream of a holiday? Maybe you are thinking of relaxing on the beach on a warm sunny day. Imagine it now; the sand between your toes and the feeling of dipping your toes into the cool water or drinking an ice-cold drink on the beach. Picture your body relaxing. Bliss!
Or are you someone who loves the earthy smell of walking out in nature where you can see all the beauty of plants, animals and birds, and that wonderful scenery that being outdoors offers? Some people who walk outside in nature get that feeling of freedom. They get that sense of freedom to breathe in that fresh air and rid themselves of the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Freedom from phones, and the demands of a busy lifestyle.
Stress and anxiety are reduced through a change of routine and relaxation.
Yet for some people, even a day off would be a nice way to relax!
If you lead a busy life, always thinking that you are on a conveyor belt and feeling pressurised, you need to relax because continuous stress and anxiety can cause poor health, a breakdown in relationships and cost you money.
Benefits of relaxation
Relaxation improves physical health and wellbeing. When you relax you reduce aches and pains and improve your blood flow around your body. You can sleep better when you learn to relax and get the balance back in life. Also, relaxation boosts your immune system so you get fewer coughs and colds.
Relaxation improves mental wellbeing. You will be able to think clearer and make better decisions. You feel happier when you are relaxed.
But I know what you are thinking now; I can’t relax, and where would I get the time to relax anyway? I’m too busy!
Previously you may have tried to exercise more and go to the gym but fitting that into a busy schedule has been difficult. In fact, you may have lost a lot of money through gym membership that wasn’t used.
In the past, you may have considered so relaxing techniques such as yoga or having a massage. These things are great but if you still are struggling to relax you need an easier way that is effective and doesn’t cost you lots of additional time and effort.
You may have even resorted to recreational drugs, drinking alcohol or smoking to help you relax but these things can bring many more problems and really are only a temporary fix.
You need to reduce the stress and relax, but how?
There is a solution. Hypnosis could be your answer.
Hypnosis can help you with mental and physical relaxation.
Hypnosis a process that has been endorsed by the British Medical Association and the American Medical Association since the 1950s. There is research to show that it helps with relaxation and reduces stress and anxiety. For example, Vickers and Zollman 1999, Hammond 2010, and Alizarmar et al 2018. Furthermore, hypnosis is practised throughout the world by doctors, psychologists, psychotherapists, dentists and lay hypnotists.
Hypnosis is
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Easy. (You can even learn to do it yourself)
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Fast. (You could do just 10-15 mins a day of self-hypnosis)
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Pleasant
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Effective at helping you relax and reduce stress and anxiety related to a busy lifestyle
Not convinced yet, oh dear!
Some people shy away from hypnosis simply because they believe the myths or think that it won’t help, but it can.
Hypnosis doesn’t make you
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Go unconscious
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Lose control
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Make you reveal all your secrets
Hypnosis is considered a safe complementary therapy when delivered by a qualified and insured practitioner who is a member of a professional organisation. However, there are some precautions, so you shouldn’t use hypnosis if you have any mental health problems or psychosis without consulting with your doctor first. If your stressful life is causing you any health-related problems a check-up with your doctor is a good idea anyway.
Stage hypnosis and hypnotherapy
One of the reasons that many people are not sure about hypnosis because they think about stage hypnosis. But hypnotherapy and stage hypnosis are different.
Stage hypnotists use hypnotic techniques along with mentalism and comedy to entertain you.
Hypnotherapy involves a hypnotist working with you and using hypnosis to help you relax, make changes that you want to make to feel better.
Therefore it’s about intention and how hypnotic techniques are used.
Furthermore, hypnosis for relaxation and stress reduction can be easy to access and less money than you might think because there are options.
Ways to access hypnosis to relax
Hypnosis audio recordings
One way is by using a relaxation hypnosis audio recording. Many hypnotherapists provide audio recordings on their websites so you can listen to hypnosis at home. Audio recordings can help you to relax at any time in the day but many people find them good to listen to at night to help them sleep.
One big advantage of a relaxation audio recording is that it is a very cost-effective way of learning to relax. The recording usually comes as an MP3 download so can be kept and used anywhere (But not in a car while driving, using machinery or anything that required your full attention).
Self-hypnosis
You can also learn self-hypnosis to manage stress and help you relax. Most people learn hypnosis after visiting a hypnotherapist for a few sessions although it is possible to learn it yourself from a book.
Once you have learnt this technique, again there are so many benefits because you can use it anywhere, anytime to relax and feel better. However, there are lots of different self-hypnosis techniques and they do require regular practice.
The benefits of self-hypnosis are that you can fit it into your lunch break or allocate just 15 minutes a day at the time that suits you.
Face to face hypnosis
Most people go and see a qualified hypnotherapist for a one to one consultation. Although this will mean that you do need to take time out of your busy schedule the number of sessions is less than you would expect from talking therapists such as a counsellor.
The benefits of face to face hypnotherapy is that the sessions will be designed for your particular issues so will be more effective. It’s also a time when you commit to taking time out, which is an important step forward in reducing stress and anxiety caused by the pressures of work. Most sessions are around one hour.
Another bonus is that you can join hypnosis group sessions and they are at a lower cost.
Online hypnosis
Maybe an easier method of access for you is online hypnosis with videoconferencing. These days many hypnotherapists use Zoom or Skype.
For some people, remote access is better because you can choose the expert wherever they live in the world and you don’t need to think about travelling time. Furthermore, you can access a hypnotherapist day or night at your convenience.
Finally, although this blog has been about hypnosis and relaxation to reduce stress and anxiety, hypnosis can help you in many other ways. Hypnosis can help you to set goals, motivate you to change the stressful lifestyle that you are in, help with some physical conditions that are made worse through stress such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and some skin conditions made worse with stress. It can help with the emotional fallout of stress such as worry, relationship problems and low confidence and low self-esteem.
Awaken the Change has been providing a hypnotherapy and counselling service since 2007. Contact Linda for a free initial consultation.
