AMERICAN STRESS IS SPIKING

According to a new survey from the American Psychological Association, Americans are feeling more and more anxious. “Over 80% of Americans said inflation and issues related to invasion of Ukraine are significant sources of stress”, revealed Vaile Wright, senior director of health care innovation at the association. She went on to say that “Typically, our highest levels of stress have been in the mid 60s, so hitting, for example 87(%) for inflation as a source of stress is truly astounding.”

This survey was reported on NPR’s ALL THINGS CONSIDERED on March 10., 2022. After two years of the pandemic, a volatile stock market affected by the war in Ukraine, continued increases at the gas pump due to high oil prices, it is little surprise that Americans are anxious. Wright explained that, “This is the highest number of people who have ever reported feeling stressed about any issue in the 15 years this survey has been conducted.”

The survey also found that almost two-thirds of the respondents felt their lives had been permanently changed by the pandemic. Wright reflected that, “The survey revealed widespread grief, sense of loss, continual hardships for vulnerable populations, including communities of color.” Besides the fear of contracting or a family member contracting the latest variant of Covid 19, concern about the economy and personal finances was also high. Stress from this issue was reported by 65% of respondents.

Unfortunately, people are making unhealthy choices to cope with the stress. Two of the most common coping techniques reported in the survey were an increase in the consumption of alcohol and overeating. Nearly 25% of those responding reported drinking more alcohol while almost 60% said they experienced undesired weight gain. Since stress can impact how people eat in different ways there was dramatic change whether they ate less due to stress with the loss of an average of 27 pounds or they ate more with an average gain of 26 pounds.

Relationships were also affected by the stress being experienced at this time. Relationships under strain or ending were reported by 58% of respondents in the survey. Different views of the pandemic including mask-wearing, cancelling events or gatherings over worry about spreading Covid, vaccines, have affected social relationships at the personal and civic levels.

“We know stress can lead to physical consequences, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertensions, “ noted Wright. “Emotionally, it can lead to things like depression, anxiety disorders, difficulty sleeping, which we’ve seen in the survey as well.”

If you need help to deal with the stresses in your life, go to the home page of this blog and click on Anxiety in the categories offered in the right hand corner of the page. It will take you to several articles on what you can do to relieve stress.. Or check out my book THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX available on Amazon in eBook or paperback.

HYPNOSIS CAN HELP YOUR SHYNESS OR SOCIAL PHOBIA

   Do you struggle with making friends?  Do you have a hard time in maintaining friendships? Do you identify yourself as being shy?  Do you work from home and rarely interact with other people in person?  How isolated are you?  Hypnosis can help you to come out of the house and out of your shell.

    There are a number of reasons people struggle with shyness.  People perceive their world and place in it in different ways.  Researchers have found that even babies have different temperaments.  Some infants reach out to be held while others cry or crawl away.  Some preschoolers race into the school and never look back.  While others have great difficulty leaving their parents.

    Your basic temperament will determine your need for social contact.  Our lifestyles also can make it difficult to make and maintain friendships.  Some jobs require constant moves with demands for learning new skills and setting up a new home.  There is little time or energy for making new friends.  As people move and old friends also move, even close friendships may be hard to maintain. Isolation can become so familiar, people may no longer even make the effort to try to meet new people.  

     For many people, the combination of natural shyness and particular circumstance can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness.  Studies have shown that this isolation from others can lead to a predisposition to illness.

       Social phobia is an anxiety disorder which may be described as extreme shyness. Psychologist Richard Heimberg defined social phobia s "shyness gone wild.  It cuts people off from the good things of life - social interaction, love."

  If you recognize yourself in this description, know that hypnosis can be a valuable tool to help you overcome the fears and anxieties that keep you from developing and maintaining friendships and enjoying social interaction with others. You can also learn self-hypnosis in my book, THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX. You can even make your own-self-hypnosis recordings on your cell phone which you can listen to while relaxing. THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX is available on AMAZON on eBook or paperback.

HYPNOSIS CAN HELP YOUR SHYNESS OR SOCIAL PHOBIA

   Do you struggle with making friends?  Do you have a hard time in maintaining friendships? Do you identify yourself as being shy?  Do you work from home and rarely interact with other people in person?  How isolated are you?  Hypnosis can help you to come out of the house and out of your shell.

    There are a number of reasons people struggle with shyness.  People perceive their world and place in it in different ways.  Researchers have found that even babies have different temperaments.  Some infants reach out to be held while others cry or crawl away.  Some preschoolers race into the school and never look back.  While others have great difficulty leaving their parents.

    Your basic temperament will determine your need for social contact.  Our lifestyles also can make it difficult to make and maintain friendships.  Some jobs require constant moves with demands for learning new skills and setting up a new home.  There is little time or energy for making new friends.  As people move and old friends also move, even close friendships may be hard to maintain. Isolation can become so familiar, people may no longer even make the effort to try to meet new people.  

     For many people, the combination of natural shyness and particular circumstance can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness.  Studies have shown that this isolation from others can lead to a predisposition to illness.

       Social phobia is an anxiety disorder which may be described as extreme shyness. Psychologist Richard Heimberg defined social phobia s "shyness gone wild.  It cuts people off from the good things of life - social interaction, love."

  If you recognize yourself in this description, know that hypnosis can be a valuable tool to help you overcome the fears and anxieties that keep you from developing and maintaining friendships and enjoying social interaction with others. You can also learn self-hypnosis in my book, THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX. You can even make your own-self-hypnosis recordings on your cell phone which you can listen to while relaxing. THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX is available on AMAZON on eBook or paperback.

THE MEDICAL RISK OF LONELINESS

    People suffering from loneliness often recognize that it affects their overall emotional well-being.  They may not be aware that it can also influence their physical well-being.  Carla Perissinotto, MD, assistant clinical professor of geriatrics at the University of California, San Francisco.  reported on a study which tracked 1,604 people over a six year period who reported feeling lonely at least some of the time.  The average age of the subjects was 71.  

    Those who reported feeling lonely at least some of the time were 59% more likely to experience functional decline, such as finding climbing stairs more difficult.  And, even more concerning, those who reported feeling lonely at least some of the time were 45% more likely to die within six years than those who did not report feeling lonely.  This indicates that loneliness is a medical risk factor similar to having diabetes or high blood pressure.

    What can you do to cut that risk?  First of all, your medical doctor may not ask about loneliness so be sure to report those feelings at your physicals.  As people age, old friends may not be available due to moving, ill health or even having passed away.  Find ways to add new people into your life through activities such as service to your community, joining a club, taking a class at the community college, attending a religious service.  Hypnosis can be a valuable tool to motivate you to make the changes necessary to alleviate loneliness that can hurt your health.  

ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION LINKED TO MEDIA MULTITASKING

          If you are a person who takes pride in all you get done by multitasking, you may not have realized that some kinds of multitasking can lead to emotional issues like depression and anxiety.  An article published in CYBERPSYCHOLOGY, BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL NETWORKING reported on a study on media multitasking by the its leader, Mark Becker, PhD, professor of psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing.  The findings of the study indicate that people who immerse themselves in multiple feeds of information are up to 70% more likely to have symptoms of depression and anxiety than people who do not media multitask.  Examples of media multitasking including browsing web sites on your computer while talking on the phone or or sending text messages while watching television.  

        If you are suffering from either anxiety or depression, see your family physician who may prescribe a medication or refer you to a mental health professional.  If you are a media multitasker suffering from depression or anxiety, cut back on all your media technology and use one feed of information at a time.  If you need help to cut back on your use of media technology or media multitasking, hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool.  

HYPNOSIS FOR SOCIAL ISOLATION

    Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, and associate professor of psychology at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, reported on the findings of researchers who reviewed 148 studies that compared the frequency of social interaction and health over a period of 7.5 years.  They found that strong relationships with the people in their lives including family, friends and coworkers increased the likelihood of survival by 50%.  

    Holt-Lunstad suggested that to live longer open your life to more social interactions like volunteer work, joining a club or hosting events in your home.  If you feel you are naturally shy or anti-social and want to get motivated to make those changes, hypnotherapy can help you no longer be socially isolated and BE WELL.

CONTROLLING ANGER

      Almost every evening on the news there is a report about uncontrolled anger ruining lives.  Road rage incidents, school bullying, workplace' school shootings and other violent crimes are common place.  Though some of these are organized by criminal organizations, many of them are caused because of people who cannot control their anger.

     Very few people can completely eliminate anger in their life.  Sometimes it can be helpful in signaling to others that important needs are not being met.  So in small amounts, anger can actually be a helpful emotion to express those needs and to solve problems.

     But this emotion can be very destructive when it is not controlled.  It can cause a great deal of misery not only for the recipient of a person's anger but for the angry person as well.  It can damage relationships both personally and in a working environment. It also can cause or contribute to many illnesses.

    If a person cannot control anger, the fight-or-flight response kicks in with a release of adrenalin and an increase in muscle tension.  Muscles tighten when you are angry to help you fight or run.  In other words, you get "up tight". When the muscles in your neck, jaw, shoulders and back tighten up, it can cause soreness or pain in the muscles and skeletal system.

     When the fight-or-flight response activates, your heart beats faster and your blood pressure elevates.  This increases the risk for developing coronary heart disease.  In addition, your liver releases more fat into your blood and your blood cells become "sticky".  These are normal reactions to protect you - the stickiness in the blood cells is to protect you from bleeding out in case of an injury.  The fat is released to give more energy for the muscles to burn.  But all of these reactions increase the risk of your having a stroke or heart attack.

     Digestive and breathing problems can also occur. Stomach and gastrointestinal problems such as IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), acid reflux,and nausea can occur when long held anger turns inward.  Throat constriction, shallow breathing and the feeling of having heaviness in the chest can happen as respiration speeds up in order to send blood to the muscles and brain.

      Besides these negative health issues, anger can cause you to just not feel good.  You may feel edgy and have very little energy.  Many of my clients complain that they just "can't relax" or "don't know how to relax".  So what can you do to manage your anger?  If you  feel like you are angry more often or all the time, it's time to seek professional help.  Ask your medical doctor or find an anger-management expert through the American Psychological Association.  

    If you do not think you are at that level of need but would like some tools to control your anger, there are some simple techniques you might try.  Step outside yourself and try to view a situation that makes you angry from a distance.   Evaluate how high your anger is by picturing a yardstick and imagining an arrow pointing at the number you are at then consciously begin to drop the number.  Deep breathing down into the abdominal cavity and exhaling slowly can help you to feel more calm and safe.  As you breathe in think "I am", and as you exhale, think "relaxed".    Imagine blowing the anger out as you exhale.  Muscle relaxation will help you relax.  Practicing deep breathing and muscle relaxation strengthens your control.

   Clinical hypnotherapy can be a great tool to control anger by working to deal with the underlying issues and helping to work with the techniques described above.  Control your anger and BE WELL.