WEIGHT-LOSS
STOP
SMOKING
STRESS
ANXIETY
&
PHOBIAS
MOTIVATION
PERFORMANCE
PAST
LIVES?
HYPNOSIS
&
PHILOSOPHY
PHILOSOPHICAL
COUNSELING
DISCUSSIONS
&
GROUP SESSIONS
SESSIONS
BY PHONE
ARTICLES
RADIO SHOW
ARTHUR'S BIO
TESTIMONIALS
CONTACT
GIFT
CERTIFICATES
JOIN EMAIL LIST
LINKS
HOME PAGE
TWITTER
FACEBOOK
|
|
|
Greater Boston Hypnosis
For an appointment call 617-964-4800
|
|
|
Stress
is a part of life. It is actually a part of the nature of all
things, not just people, but for all things both living and
inanimate. Your automobile undergoes stress every time its engine is
turned on (or even when it is simply sitting in the driveway), but
responsible maintenance of the vehicle minimizes the effects of
stress and results in its longer serviceability and smoother
running. It might seem a little crass to compare a human being to an
automobile, but the fact is that all things undergo stress and the
secret to effectively handling it is good management. Yes, all of us
need to be good managers if we are minimize the negative impact of
stress on both our body and mind. In many cases, the result of good
stress management is not merely the reduction of the negative impact
of stress but its conversion or transformation into positive stimuli
for personal growth, achievement, happiness, and well-being.
Anything can be a source of stress: the anticipation of meeting a
new acquaintance or an old one that you haven't seen in a long time,
job or business related pressures, the stress of marriage, the
stress of being single, the self-inflicted pressure of performing
well at sports or at achieving some personal goal, the stress of
trying to remain healthy, the stress of fighting off a disease.
These are only a few of the many stresses of life. Stress tends to
create disorder. As we pressure ourselves to feel or react in the
way that we believe that we should the result can be imbalance in
our lives. Disproportionate energy is devoted to mitigating the
stress and this may only set in motion a snowball effect by adding
still additional stress. Two fundamental approaches are necessary to
the management of stress. The first is achieving a kind of
psychological or emotional balance or centering that enables us to
better handle the stresses of life with greater equanimity. The
second is learning practical skills at dealing with the particular
things or issues in our lives which are causing the excessive stress
reaction.
In his best-selling book, The Relaxation Response, Herbert
Benson, MD showed how many of the traditional practices such as yoga
and meditation have a significant and measurable impact on all
indicators of physiologic relaxation including respiratory and heart
rate, oxygen consumption, muscle tension, and blood pressure. By the
daily practice of a very simple technique that he derived from
observing the traditional relaxation and meditative methods Dr.
Benson showed how anyone can easily introduce the benefits of the
relaxation response into their lives. The progressive relaxation
technique that is often utilized in hypnotic induction
also very effectively produces a profound relaxation. However, the
goal in the application of hypnotherapy for stress reduction is to
reduce stress in the midst of the stress causing stimuli that are
generated from the particular types troublesome situations dealt
with in the hypnotherapy session. While the techniques which
activate the relaxation response are highly recommended, in
hypnotherapy the goal is to intervene directly in the activity of
the stressful situation by short-circuiting certain factors that
trigger the stress. All of the skills of the hypnotherapist,
including creative visualization, metaphor, life reframing, and
direct suggestion, to mention a few, are used to help reach the
balanced state of calm that is essential for the effective
management of stress.
The other part of stress reduction and stress management is very
practical but no less important to the successful application of
hypnotherapy. If a student is experiencing stress in relation to his
school work or with testing, and it happens that this same student
posses very poor study skills, then getting him only to relax would
be a shortsighted approach. While a more relaxed attitude may well
help the student's performance in school to some degree it is highly
unlikely that the improvement would be significant because the
underlying issue of poor study habits would not have been addressed.
In this case, is would be appropriate to determine the deficiencies
in the student's study habits and reach a clear understanding of
which skills need improving. During the hypnosis session, the
positive patterns of study behavior to replace the negative habits
would be reinforced. Hence, performance
is closely allied with stress reduction: stress can both interfere
with good performance as well as be the result of bad performance.
Sometimes it is difficult to discern which cause of stress came
first: the fear of not performing well or simply not performing
well. However, in some cases, as in the case of our student, it is
clear that the skill and habits associated with the performance
itself need to be a top priority.
Surrounding
Communities
Integral Hypnosis is conveniently located in Newton, MA near the Mass Pike and Route 128 and is within a 1/2 hour drive of the following Greater Boston, MetroWest, North Shore and South Shore communities:
MAP
& DIRECTIONS
| Arlington |
Bedford |
Belmont |
Boston |
| Brookline |
Burlington |
Cambridge |
Chelsea |
| Concord |
Dedham |
Everett |
Framingham |
| Lexington |
Lincoln |
Lynnfield |
Malden |
| Medford |
Melrose |
Natick |
Needham |
| Newton |
Norwood |
Quincy |
Saugus |
| Somerville |
Stoneham |
Sudbury |
Wakefield |
| Waltham |
Watertown |
Wayland |
Wellesley |
Weston |
Westwood |
Winchester |
Woburn |
|
