Why be Stressed?
Dr. Cynthia Sholes, PhD, MdH

Did you know that stress is a habit that you can do without your being aware of it? We usually think of habits as things that we do such as brushing our teeth or smoking or twirling our hair, but habits are much more encompassing than behavior patterns. They also include patterns of thinking – habits of mind. Many of us have common thought patterns that get triggered by certain events. For example, for many of us waiting in line often evokes thoughts about being in a hurry, things you would rather be doing, or problems with how slow the other people in line are, etc. You might also have particular habits of mind when you’re driving – complaints about the way other people drive, for example, or the way the road is designed. Or maybe the trigger is that particular way your boss calls you into a meeting or your husband (or wife) looks at you when you do something that he or she disapproves of. You just can’t help thinking about what it means. Or maybe you know what it means and can’t stop thinking about that. These are all habits of mind. Listen to your own thoughts during the day and begin to learn what your habits of mind are.

Habits of Mind can lead to Stress
Not all thoughts are harmless, many cause physical stress within the body. Each thought comes with its own particular physiological reaction – your body responds to the every thought that you have. Chronic complaints about traffic or worries about having time will cause your body to go into a stress response – otherwise known as a “fight or flight” response. When your “fight of flight” response is triggered, no matter what the cause, your body thinks you need to fight or run from a tiger (or some such life threatening monster). So your physiology shifts to the optimal state for fighting that “tiger”. Your heart beat and your breathing become more rapid. Your blood pressure increases. Blood flows away from your internal organs and out toward your skeletal muscles, making you stronger, quicker and more alert. However, this physiological state shuts down all of the functions of your body that are not necessary for the momentary survival from the “tiger”. This includes your digestive system, your reproductive system, your immune system and other systems for healing and repairing your body.

Effects of Chronic Stress
When you are in the flight or fight response all of the time then your organs become dysfunctional and often diseased, exacerbating such chronic conditions as:
• High Blood Pressure – Hypertension
• Heart Disease and Stroke
• Ulcers
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Infertility
• Night Grinding - Bruxism
• Chronic Pain
• Pain in Childbirth
• Sleep Disturbance
• Weight gain
Therefore negative thought patterns such as hostility, worrying, or obsessively planning for the future or analyzing the past can be harmful to the body if they become habits.

Over Coming the Negative Effects of Stress
There are many techniques to help you overcome the negative effects of chronic stress. Our Medical Hypnotherapist, Dr. Cynthia Sholes, looks at the underlying cause of your stress and addresses that first. Many times stressful thought patterns are triggered and, before you know it, you are stressed. By talking with you at length and employing a biofeedback mechanism called muscle testing we can identify the triggering emotion that generates the thoughts and, using Hypnotherapy, Guided Imagery, or Neuro Emotional Technique, we clear the negative emotional state from your body and mind. With the result that the negative thought patterns do not get triggered and so you don’t feel stress. No problem, no worries.

You can also learn how to decrease stress in the moment with self-hypnosis and meditation techniques. This will allow you to easily deal with any new or unforeseen stressful events, leaving you feeling easy going, taking everything that life throws at you in stride.

To bring that stress-free, easy-going feeling in to all areas of your life, give Dr. Cynthia Sholes a call at (650) 704-1252. You can also visit her website at www.mindwaveinstitute.com.