The challenges we face in our modern world
The human race has evolved we are told. However physiologically we are still cave men and whilst the world around
us may have evolved in a lot of ways we haven't. We have a powerful subconscious mind - which initiates the fight or flight
response - and has, over the last 10,000 years, ensured our survival. Today we don't have to fight sabre toothed tigers but
we still face situations that make us anxious, and we still react as if we are about to do battle or run for our lives. Not
really appropriate in the local supermarket!
These days whilst
actual danger is less commonplace but we still have this crisis response mechanism. If we are constantly anxious the primitive
mind believes we are in danger and reacts accordingly, keeping us anxious (vigilant), angry (ready to fight) or depressed
(out of harms way), all response mechanisms that will ‘keep us safe’. Unfortunately at the same time the brain
shuts down systems that it considers temporarily superfluous, such as the immune or digestive systems hence the cause of a
lot of the physical manifestations of stress and why anxiety can make an existing condition worse.
While under the control of the primitive mind we are effectively not in
control, and hypnotherapy uses hypnosis as a tool alongside behavioural
and cognitive therapies to bring long term relief to symptoms – mental or physical – brought on by events, past programming and stress.
