The effects of stress on our health

THE effects of stress on the mind are well documented such as sadness, depression, anxiety, lack of motivation or focus and anger, but there are some surprising physical symptoms that may be affecting your health without you even realising it.

Stress can have an impact on us whether we are stressed about small things, like losing the keys or whether it’s big things like suffering bereavement. While small amounts of stress can actually be helpful; providing motivation and focus, but prolonged periods of stress can become more of a problem.

Local hypnotherapist, Sallie Horner explained: "I am often asked why we get stressed at all?

"My answer is that it is a form of self-preservation that is designed to help us survive danger by preparing the body to fight, be still or run away. Our body will produce stress hormones which raise blood pressure and blood sugars; exactly what we need for the extra energy to tense muscles ready for attack.

"In the long term too much stress can be damaging and can exacerbate pain.

"If you take appetite and weight for example, too much stress can mean that it is not uncommon to start craving sugar and fat. This is also more common in the evenings when we are more likely to turn into ’late night pickers.’

"Once we are done gorging then the body is more likely to store what we eat as fat, particularly around the belly region.

"It is less likely to burn it off in case we need those extra reserves needed for defence and our fat cells will also increase in size. Our body then gets used to this increase in size and treats this as the new norm making it harder to get rid of the excess weight.

"Some people find it harder to sleep; either to get to sleep or to stay asleep. The mind becomes over stimulated through overthinking and we cannot switch off. When we do eventually get to sleep we find ourselves waking up at three or four times in the night feeling wide-awake and miserable. We then get into unhelpful sleeping habits and we do not get the rest and repair that the body needs.

"Developments in brain imaging show that too much stress can reduce the amount of tissue in regions of the brain that help us to regulate our emotions and our self-control. "When we are then faces with stressful events in the future it can be even more difficult to deal with these.

"Too much stress can make us less attractive to the opposite sex. It can also diminish the sex drive. When we are stressed our primitive mind has already assessed that the world is not a safe place and so therefore there is no desire to bring offspring into the world. So physically we might find it hard to perform.

"Excessive stress can affect out immune system. When we are exposed to germs they are more likely to take hold leaving us susceptible to colds and coughs which hang around for a long time. They can be hard to get rid of because we are less likely to fight the germs off. Stressed immune cells do not respond to the hormone that turns off inflammation either so we are more at the mercy of disease.

"If you have noticed that you may be suffering the effect of increased stress then why not try hypnotherapy? It is a safe and powerful tool for stress reversal, leaving you feeling calm, relaxed and in control of your life. What is more, once the techniques have been learned they can be used for life."

Sallie can help with stress related physical conditions as well as other stress related conditions such as OCD, phobias, panic attacks, nerves, children’s issues, fertility and much more.

If you would like a free initial consultation give Sallie a call on 07989 944053, or email: [email protected] .

Alternatively, visit the website: librahypnotherapies.co.uk .