Health: Relaxation; an important health practice

Hypnotherapy is the therapeutic use of hypnosis that in most cases is linked to psychological behaviour of treating some illness malformations. Hypnosis is a state of profound relaxation that you allow yourself to enter. One can remain completely in control and you can choose to come out of hypnosis at any time. It is a technique well developed and commonly used by psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists within a clinical environment. The method can often help to promote change in clients where other methods of therapy have been unsuccessful or very slow. Many decades of formal clinical research exist about hypnosis for many types of disorders and anxieties. Hypnosis is similar to meditation, except that you have an experienced therapist to guide you. This relaxation is completely refreshing, and for some, the first experience of such calmness for several years. Its applied in many health issues such as stress, crisis management, grief, depression, lack of confidence, and low self esteem. Doctor Stephanie Exum an American medical specialist in psychiatry, previously worked at the medical school of the National University of Rwanda. She says that the major aspect of hypnotherapy is relaxation. In order to achieve positive change, the therapist or physician works with a person to achieve a state of relaxation. Simple relaxation tools can create major positive change to the levels of stress and health. Stress affects hundreds of thousands of people every day. Regular therapeutic relaxation helps one to cope more successfully with today’s burdens. The simple act of becoming relaxed can have surprising health benefits. In addition to the obvious psychological effects of relieving stress and mental tension, the new findings indicate that deep relaxation, if practiced regularly can strengthen the immune system and produce a host of other medically valuable physiological changes. As a natural method, relaxation positively interacts with medication or other treatment and is suitable for everyone, regardless of level of fitness or health. People who practice regular relaxation report feeling calmer, more confident and feel more able to cope with problems. Habits such as overeating and smoking are easier to break and sleep patterns improve. Doctor Exum reveals that recent scientific research has shown more exciting effects of relaxation training. For example, in asthmatics, relaxation training has been found to widen restricted respiratory passages. Diabetics can benefit from relaxation, reducing the need for insulin, and it is found that relaxation improves the body’s ability to regulate glucose in patients with the most common type of diabetes. Relaxation is important for patients suffering from cardiovascular problems. Patients who relax significantly can lower their blood pressure and this can be maintained for several years and months. Also relaxation lowers cholesterol levels and lessens the severity of angina attacks. One of the major importances of relaxation is to reduce chronic or severe pain. Such pain can arise from many causes, including backache and chronic migraine or tension headaches. One can not avoid all stress, but can counteract it by learning how to evoke the relaxation, a state of deep rest that is the polar opposite of the stress response. The relaxation response brings the body system back into balance, reducing stress hormones, slowing down the muscles and organs, and increasing blood flow to the brain. The heart rate decreases, breathing becomes slower and deeper and blood pressure stabilizes. Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation and yoga, can help a person activate this relaxation response. Repeated activation of the relaxation response can reverse sustained problems in the body and mend the internal wear and tear brought on by stress. What’s more, the techniques also serve a protective quality by teaching you how to stay calm and collected in the face of life’s challenges. The best way to start and maintain a daily relaxation practice is by incorporating it into the daily routine. One can either stick to this straightforward relaxation exercise, or branch out into other relaxation techniques. Keep in mind that traditional relaxation techniques are not the only effective stress reducers. Spending time in nature, listening to music, curling up with a good book, writing a journal can relieve stress. Doctor Exum further points out those times of crisis are when we can need more support than our friends and family can provide. The opportunity to feel emotionally supported as we explore what is happening and ways to move forward can make a real positive difference. Hypnotherapy techniques can be helpful in any number of ways, including the benefits of stress and anxiety reduction, and helping focus on ways to effectively deal with ongoing issues. Hypnotherapy enables us to listen to our own inner helper, the wise self or the subconscious mind where we can listen to our own answers and uncover our own solutions in ways that feels right for us. Additionally, grief is a process that we naturally work through when encountering loss in our lives. Most of us find the space we need and give ourselves the time we need to be with our emotions. Our support system, of friends, family and colleagues is important at this time, but additionally many people gain great benefit from counseling or therapy at this time. Often a lack of confidence or feelings of low self esteem is the result of a negative belief system that we hold subconsciously about ourselves. This has an effect on the language we use to describe ourselves, and we commonly find ourselves telling ourselves that we cannot do things. Building confidence involves checking that inner voice, re-discovering our inner confidence and matching this good feeling to current and future situations. Hypnotherapy is a very powerful method of improving confidence and self esteem Contact: josephmunich06@yahoo.co.uk