Hypnotherapy and Emotional Intelligence : One of my favourite quotations focuses on the fact we believe ourselves to be ‘thinking creatures that feel, whereas in fact we are actually feeling creatures that think’ ( Jill Bolte-Taylor – My Stroke of Insight ) and once we understand this we realise that we cannot trust our instinctive response ( not all the time anyway ). If we can just pause and think rationally for a few seconds at least then we could slow down or even prevent the effects of the sudden release of adrenalin which our instinctive responses trigger to ‘ protect us.’ Jill Bolte-Taylor adds that ‘ responsibility ’ should be written ‘ response-ability .’ Human beings have conscious awareness and therefore we have a choice/ ability to respond ( or not ) to situations rather than instinctively running away / fighting / freezing ( the primitive flight or flight response ).
The Stress Response :
The body releases adrenalin as a direct response to perceived danger which causes muscles to tense however if the body then tenses up again as a response to the ‘felt’ tension then more adrenaline will be released causing even more tension – so tensing up because we have tensed up makes things much worse. The key is to not tense up or at least to understand what is going on and stop the cycle / to relax and let the tension subside. When adrenaline is released into the bloodstream it immediately affects the muscles of our heart making it to pump faster to get blood to the parts of the body that will help us ‘ fight or flight.’
The faster beating of your heart / hearing that pounding in your ear can make you fearful maybe because of the fear a stroke or heart attack which in turn can trigger the release of more adrenaline.
Sometimes the chest muscles tighten and breathing is constricted because of the adrenaline – which causes more fear which releases more adrenalin. Uneven breathing upsets the balance required between carbon dioxide and oxygen gaseous exchange which can have obvious worrying effects for the individual who is now having trouble breathing properly.
They can feel dizzy and experience blurred vision as the body pumps blood into the major muscle groups in preparation for the perceived necessity to ‘ flight ( run ) or flight ’ and as a result of the tiny muscles behind their eyes relaxing and contracting because of the effect of adrenaline on their system. Again – a worrying symptom if you do not understand what it is.
Headaches and tension are caused by the release of adrenaline which constricts the scalp muscles
Adrenaline is released into the stomach which can cause the knotting sensation associated with stress as the stomach muscles also relax and contract.
An individuals mouth can seem to dry out as adrenaline shuts down the digestive system – you do not need to eat whilst fighting or ‘ flighting’ and they can experience sweating as the body pre-cools before the burst of energy it perceives it is going to require.
The body releases noradrenaline which stimulates the liver to release sugars and fats into the system in preparation for the flight or fight which can lead to cravings afterwards as the body tries to replenish its stocks of energy giving reserves.
The body also releases Cortizol which thickens the blood ‘ in case of injury.’ Which is fine if indeed we are injured however thickening of the blood can lead to blood clots / stroke / heart attacks.
So whilst our instinctive knee jerk most primitive Flight or Fight response is vital in an emergency it is not as useful or healthy in dealing with more daily stressors for example being late for work, burning the toast, preparing for a meeting, sitting an examination and so on.
Hypnosis and hypnotherapy can give the control back to you over your emotions. It will give you with the ability to respond in a more helpful and healthy way – Response- ability.
If you would like to have a chat about how hypnosis and hypnotherapy may work for you please give me a call and we can give you back control over your emotions and help you respond in a more helpful and healthy way. I look forward to speaking to you. Contact : Fiona 07968 106113.
