I have in my office a rather funky postcard with a quote from Lou Whitaker, "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space." While I love this quote, I've been ruminating on what it means. In our world of duality - light and dark, positive and negative, what is the duality of "living on the edge"? Could it be that we are either living on the edge of hysteria or living on the edge of greatness?
Let's start with the idea of hysteria. When did America become a culture of hysteria? I can't pinpoint the exact date but it seems to be sometime before the year 2000. In the year 1999, we had the Y2K scare (remember that?). Since then we have had the avian flu pandemic; red, orange and amber alerts; elections depicting candidates as the anti-Christ; the collapse of our economic and financial systems; and the Denver boy off in the hot air balloon. Some of our fears have been for naught, since the actual event never occurred. Other fears, although real enough, have been expanded beyond the current reality. Our news media has moved from a fact-finding, truth mode into a editorial, divisive, confrontational mode that seeks ratings over accuracy. We have allowed those fringe thinkers with money to have the center stage. What does this type of media blitz do to us? I contend that it leads us to "living on the edge" of hysteria.
Andrew Weil recommends a media news fast in his book "Eight Weeks to Optimum Health." He states that research shows that the emotional content of news can affect mood and aggravate sadness and depression. "I'm not asking people to become uninformed. I want them to discover they have a choice as to how much they let in so they don't fall into this unconscious, habitual pattern of letting it in all the time," Weil has said. When I raise this idea to my friends I usually get some resistance. Many express concern that they will not be a "good citizen" if they aren't informed. My question is how does watching or not watching news change your behavior? Do you join activist groups, march on the capital, contribute funds to lobbyist arguing your cause? For most of us, the answer is no. If that's the case, I challenge you to a 2 week news and media fast. See if your life is calmer, with less hysteria, and more emotionally centered without news. Should you wish to expand your civic duties, contact a local nonprofit group and volunteer your time and talents to feeding the hungry, reducing illiteracy or visiting the ill or dying. If we take even a portion of the time we spend in media "hysteria," and spend it instead on helping others; our lives, the lives of others, and our world will actually improve. Fear then will become productivity.
Let's end this entry with the idea of greatness. We can chose to "live on the edge" of our greatness, of our personal growth, and of our service to others. Living on this edge is euphoric rather than hysteric. It takes us to a place of expansion where in Star Trek terms "no one has gone before." If you're not living on THIS edge, you're truly taking up too much space. Move over.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Hypnosis for Stress Management? How Not to Burn Your Candle Out at Both Ends
How have you been feeling lately? Out of sorts? Anxious? Irritable? Fatigued? Do you have restless sleep? A recent CNN survey found that 80% of all Americans are experiencing stress over the economy and personal finances. Of those, 30% identified themselves as experiencing extreme stress. Living through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression is enough to set most of us on edge. Add to that two wars and our individual concerns about our families, careers, or health and we are over the top. Stress appears to be a natural and unavoidable consequence of the life we live today.
By definition, stress is the mismatch of the demands we face in life and the resources we have to meet those demands. Some stress is external– the economy, accidents, crime… Other stress is internal. It is our intolerance to our own mistakes, our overly high self-expectations, feelings of worry, guilt and fear. Obviously, stress is unique to each individual. We all know people who face adversity calmly and with equanimity. Stress is not inherent in our circumstances but rather in our perception of these events. Stress is the gap between how the world is and how we want it to be. For most of us, our perception of the “gap” may be quite large.
Researchers have identified two kinds of stress: acute and chronic. Acute stress is what we experience during times of danger. It is our prehistoric response to a life or death event and is known as the “fight or flight” response. Chronic stress is what we experience when there is no imminent danger, yet the stress continues even after the initial stressful event is over. We all know that some stress is good. It allows us to meet deadlines and keeps us alert, motivated and observant so we can avoid danger. But chronic stress can lead to serious health issues. A negative stress reaction may occur when our hormones fail to shut down after a stressful event - resulting in a feedback loop of distress. For some, chronic stress may become permanent.
Stress effects us both physically and psychologically. Physical symptoms include aches, pains, muscle tension, fatigue, exhaustion, shortness of breath, insomnia, constipation, ulcers, asthma or elevated blood pressure. Studies have also found that many chronic conditions, genetic conditions, and major diseases are either brought on or worsened by stress. The most sobering finding is that 80-90% of all disease is stress related! The psychological symptoms are equally disruptive and include anxiety, depression, mental confusion, irritability, anger, panic attacks, worry, fear, indecision, negativity, feeling overwhelmed and addictive behavior patterns. Obviously stress has a major impact on our lives, our productivity and our relationships with others.
What can you do to managed your stress? Start by taking a personal inventory. Seek to discover the stressors in your life. Look for ways to reduce your stress by learning healthy ways to relieve stress or reduce its harmful effects. Remember 90% of all stress is self-inflicted. There are many ways to manage stress from active pursuits such as exercise or yoga, creative activities or hobbies, watching funny movies, spending time with family, friends and pets; to more reflective activities such as massage, deep breathing, mediation, spirituality, journaling and relaxation. Adding one or more of the activities into your life may help you keep your stress at a manageable level.
Although any of these methods will provide some relief, there are times when our stress is so high that we find it exhausting to even think of adding a new activity. Any behavioral change requires "will power," and when you are depleted, "will power" may not exist. Hypnosis provides you with just the push you need to alleviate the stress surrounding you. Hypnosis is not based on will power. It instead works with the power of the subconscious mind. This is the part of your mind that speaks in symbols, stores all your knowledge, learning, and memories, and works with the power of suggestion.
Hypnosis is a safe and easy way to bring about a behavioral change (such as adding more exercise or meditation to your daily routine) or changing how you perceive stressful situations. A hypnotherapist can work with your subconscious mind to provide suggestions leading to a more relaxed state, when in a stressful situation. You experience the desired change naturally and easily. A hypnotherapist can also teach you self-hypnosis and other techniques such as progressive relaxation or working with affirmations. Hypnosis will teach you the hidden power you have within your subconscious mind. It is a highly successful means for dealing with anxiety and stress. Physician Andrew Weil has said, "In general, I believe that no condition is out of bounds for trying hypnotherapy on."
By definition, stress is the mismatch of the demands we face in life and the resources we have to meet those demands. Some stress is external– the economy, accidents, crime… Other stress is internal. It is our intolerance to our own mistakes, our overly high self-expectations, feelings of worry, guilt and fear. Obviously, stress is unique to each individual. We all know people who face adversity calmly and with equanimity. Stress is not inherent in our circumstances but rather in our perception of these events. Stress is the gap between how the world is and how we want it to be. For most of us, our perception of the “gap” may be quite large.
Researchers have identified two kinds of stress: acute and chronic. Acute stress is what we experience during times of danger. It is our prehistoric response to a life or death event and is known as the “fight or flight” response. Chronic stress is what we experience when there is no imminent danger, yet the stress continues even after the initial stressful event is over. We all know that some stress is good. It allows us to meet deadlines and keeps us alert, motivated and observant so we can avoid danger. But chronic stress can lead to serious health issues. A negative stress reaction may occur when our hormones fail to shut down after a stressful event - resulting in a feedback loop of distress. For some, chronic stress may become permanent.
Stress effects us both physically and psychologically. Physical symptoms include aches, pains, muscle tension, fatigue, exhaustion, shortness of breath, insomnia, constipation, ulcers, asthma or elevated blood pressure. Studies have also found that many chronic conditions, genetic conditions, and major diseases are either brought on or worsened by stress. The most sobering finding is that 80-90% of all disease is stress related! The psychological symptoms are equally disruptive and include anxiety, depression, mental confusion, irritability, anger, panic attacks, worry, fear, indecision, negativity, feeling overwhelmed and addictive behavior patterns. Obviously stress has a major impact on our lives, our productivity and our relationships with others.
What can you do to managed your stress? Start by taking a personal inventory. Seek to discover the stressors in your life. Look for ways to reduce your stress by learning healthy ways to relieve stress or reduce its harmful effects. Remember 90% of all stress is self-inflicted. There are many ways to manage stress from active pursuits such as exercise or yoga, creative activities or hobbies, watching funny movies, spending time with family, friends and pets; to more reflective activities such as massage, deep breathing, mediation, spirituality, journaling and relaxation. Adding one or more of the activities into your life may help you keep your stress at a manageable level.
Although any of these methods will provide some relief, there are times when our stress is so high that we find it exhausting to even think of adding a new activity. Any behavioral change requires "will power," and when you are depleted, "will power" may not exist. Hypnosis provides you with just the push you need to alleviate the stress surrounding you. Hypnosis is not based on will power. It instead works with the power of the subconscious mind. This is the part of your mind that speaks in symbols, stores all your knowledge, learning, and memories, and works with the power of suggestion.
Hypnosis is a safe and easy way to bring about a behavioral change (such as adding more exercise or meditation to your daily routine) or changing how you perceive stressful situations. A hypnotherapist can work with your subconscious mind to provide suggestions leading to a more relaxed state, when in a stressful situation. You experience the desired change naturally and easily. A hypnotherapist can also teach you self-hypnosis and other techniques such as progressive relaxation or working with affirmations. Hypnosis will teach you the hidden power you have within your subconscious mind. It is a highly successful means for dealing with anxiety and stress. Physician Andrew Weil has said, "In general, I believe that no condition is out of bounds for trying hypnotherapy on."
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