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Counseling and Hypnotherapy
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Holiday Stress
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You Can Feel Good Again
Handling Holiday Stress
The demands of the holiday
season can easily increase our stress levels, with added financial and time pressures. We also, tend to have an expectation
or idealized idea of what our holidays “should” be, and when the reality does not measure up, as it often does
not, we can be left feeling inadequate, sad and very stressed. This year may be especially challenging with the issues
of the economy being a concern.
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Help With Change
Utilizing hypnotherapy in your stress management plan can make it much
easier to change your unhealthy thought patterns into healthy thoughts and behavior patterns, and improve your health and
emotional well-being.
Dramatic results can often be achieved with hypnotic techniques including visualization
and guided imagery. The key to guided imagery is to learn to deeply relax. Relaxation for stress management is
not achieved by watching TV, leisure reading, or sleeping. Visualization and guided imagery therapy can teach you how
to deeply relax, and give your subconscious mind suggestions that empower you to alleviate unhealthy stress.
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Many of us are feeling financial stress this year. All we need
to do is turn to the media for constant reminders of economic strife, and even tips on where and how to do holiday shopping
on a tight budget. If watching the television news adds to creating fear for you turn it off and start reading the paper.
Skip over any headlines that sensationalize negative news stories.
We have helped many people through all kinds
of issues and we have seen just how resilient people can be, and how creative problem solving is possible once the limitations
of fear and self-doubt are removed.
Emotional stress is something we perceive and
what is stressful for one individual may not be stressful for another. Much of what we call stress from the holidays
comes from our own expectations of how things should be. So I invite you to ask yourself a few questions:
-What is the meaning of the holiday I’m observing?
-Is
what I traditionally do in-step with the meaning of the holiday?
-Are there other
ways to celebrate the meaning of the holiday?
Stress often accompanies the feeling of being out of control.
An unwelcome change in employment or rising costs can trigger feelings of stress. It is important to recognize that
many things in life are beyond our control, but what we can take charge of is how we handle the changes.
Stress
is a natural part of living. Without some stress we would lose our energy for a productive life. We thrive on certain
amounts; but too much or too little stress will limit our effectiveness. Ideally, we find our optimal level of stress
to be the balance at which we are most motivated. Participating in psychotherapy can help us to find that
balance, and learn skills and strategies for handling the times of added pressure.
 
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