Stress - Is It Killing You?

We have always know that long-term stress is bad for you - the constant and prolonged release of the stress hormone cortisol is associated with a number of serious effects including high blood pressure, suppressed immunity, decreased bone density, impaired cognitive performance and many others. However, have you noticed the amount of recent research on exactly how bad it is for you there has been lately?

A recent study for the Lancet by Prof Andrew Steptoe indicates work related stress causes a 23% increase in the risk of heart attacks

Researchers in the US have now analysed the brain tissue from depressed & stressed individuals and discovered a brain shrinkage. It is believed the stress blocks the formation of new nerve connections disrupting the circuits associated with mental and emotional function, how stress and depression shrink the brain.

More recently, Professor Sarah Berga of Emory University of Atlanta has released her research on the link between stress and infertility.

SO - WHAT CAN YOU DO?

You have got to work. You can't give your teenagers away (nice thought maybe) and the house/garden etc is not going to do itself. (Roll on the invention of the self-cleaning house we say!)

It is all about finding something you can do, for yourself, to reduce your personal stress levels and increase your levels of relaxation. What you do is going to be down to personal choice, but you have to find it, schedule it in and commit to it. After all, how hard would it really be to schedule in a 20min walk in the park? ANSWER - Not very hard, unless your stress levels are already becoming chronic and impacting on your mental well-being - then what? We would always recommend you visit your GP to get a correct diagnosis and then, any good GP will recommend a talking/counselling therapy. Again, who you choose for your therapy should be your decision; you really need to feel you could trust and feel comfortable with your therapist to get the best results.

We believe prolonged and/or chronic stress is a silent killer of our age. Do not ignore it. Have a look at some of the symptoms listed below:

• Difficulty with sleeping
• Palpitations
• Constant tiredness
• Aching/tense muscles
• Deminished Libido
• Weight gain or loss (not due to dieting)
• Increased alcohol or drug intake

Do more than one of these apply to you?

Yes? GET SOME HELP

We always provide a free consultation either in person or by telephone before we would even allow a client to make an appointment for our hypnotherapy or NLP