The Stress Quiz

Answer the following questions. Then follow the self-scoring instructions to find out how stressed you are.

Do you tire more easily these days?
Are you easily irritated when driving?
Are you generally easily irritated?
Are you working harder and accomplishing less?
Do you feel fatigued and less energetic?
Cynical and disenchanted?
Are you sad but can't pinpoint why?
Having trouble sleeping?
Forgetting appointments, promises, deadlines?
Do you feel tired upon awakening?
Do you have less and less time for friends and family?
Too busy to do routine things like phoning, reading reports?
Are aches and pains bothering you?
Are you unable to listen to others without interrupting?
When the workday is over, do you feel disoriented?
Do you rarely laugh at a joke?
Do you need medication, drugs or alcohol to feel calm?
Do you worry over trivial things?
Is it hard for you to concentrate at work?
Does sex seem more trouble than it's worth?
Do you find yourself eating just to take the edge off?
Do you often find people difficult to deal with?

Self-Scoring

Give yourself five (5) points for each "Yes" and subtract 1/2 point for each "No."

If you score:

Less than 10: Congratulations! You are managing stress very well.
11 - 20: Pretty good. You could, however, learn to relax a little more.
21 - 30: There is much in your life that needs to be adjusted.
31 - 40: Serious but salvagable, if you stress-proof now.
41 - 50: Very serious, consider major changes in your attitudes.
51+ Critical. You are in imminent danger of burnout and/or collapse. 

Stress and stress management

To understand what stress is and how stress develops it is first necessary to understand how the mind functions. The human mind consists of two equally important parts, namely the 'conscious' and the 'subconscious' and although these two parts complement each other completely they have quite different functions. The 'conscious' mind deals with reason, logic, understanding, comprehension, calculus, language etc., basically, this is the 'thinking' part of your mind and this part is directly under your control. The 'subconscious' part of your mind deals with imagination, recognition, creativity, intuition, rhythm, dreams etc. and where the 'conscious' part deals with reason and logic, the 'subconscious' part is known as the 'irrational' mind and deals only with emotion and emotive forces and this part of your mind you 'do not' control.  All activity in the subconscious mind is 'emotional' and if there is an internal conflict between reason and logic and emotive force, 'emotion' will always win, this is because, within the structure of the mind, 'emotion' is a much stronger force than reason and logic. A very good analogy to illustrate the comparison between the conscious and subconscious minds is the 'Iceberg'. If you can imagine an iceberg, where only the tip is visible above the surface of the water, with the much greater part beneath the surface, the tip represents the conscious part of the mind and the much greater part submerged the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is the seat of all instincts, emotions and desires and actually drives the personality. This part of the mind is also in direct control of a regulatory mechanism known as the Autonomic Nervous System. 

The Autonomic Nervous System has within its structure two counterbalancing mechanism’s, namely, the 'Sympathetic' and 'Parasympathetic' nervous systems. The Sympathetic nervous system has the function of putting the body into 'fight or flight' mode, this is a completely automatic response that is triggered by the subconscious mind when exposed to danger or 'perceived' danger. It is a built in survival response that enables you to defend yourself or escape from threat or danger.

When this response is triggered, the endocrine system is immediately activated, stimulating the Adrenal glands to secrete a number of chemical messengers collectively known as hormones, directly into the bloodstream, these particular hormones which are in fact, Adrenaline, Noradrenalin and Cortisol, put the body almost immediately into a state of 'readiness', ready to fight for your life or run for your life.  Your heart starts to beat almost like a drum as it oxygenates all the major organs, your breathing becomes heavy, your body trembles, your mouth becomes dry, your skin drains of colour as the blood is diverted to major organs, your palms start to perspire, you get butterflies in your stomach, the whole of your body tenses up, you may get a lump in your throat or you may even start to feel dizzy or sick.  This survival mechanism throughout the ages has served the human race very well, being exposed constantly as they were to the threat of either wild animals, war, or natural disaster. But modern man is very rarely exposed to this type of danger anymore, we live in much more sophisticated societies, so our exposure to perceived danger is much more indirect, the 'fight or flight' response is more likely to be triggered for instance by the perceived threat of being under pressure to meet targets or deadlines in the job that you do, or being in financial difficulties, or finding yourself in a difficult situation or with relationship problems.  The intensity of the symptoms associated with this response can range from low level background anxiety to a full blown panic attack and if the stress is not addressed and managed properly it can be quite debilitating.

Chronic prolonged periods of stress can cause quite a number of physical problems to develop, such as Heart disease, High blood pressure, Gastro-intestinal disturbance, Migraine, Skin problems etc., and because the fight or flight mechanism draws Adrenaline and Cortisol away from their primary function as part of the immune system the body is left vulnerable to infection and disease.  The most effective way by far to manage and alleviate stress is through the deep physical and mental relaxation that Hypnotherapy brings. Stress levels can be reduced quite significantly very quickly and efficiently and managed quite successfully thereafter, allowing emotional equilibrium and well-being to develop and become firmly established once again. If you would like some Professional help or advice with this particular problem please e-mail: Lothian.hypno@virgin.net  or stop.smoking@virgin.net  Telephone 01506-462385. or if you would prefer you can order the" Stress Relief " hypnotic CD.

Eating disorders

If you have one or more of the following behaviours then you may have a pattern of disordered eating, if you need any help or advice then please e-mail... A morbid fear of becoming "Overweight" Cutting your food into small strips or pieces. An obsession with counting calories. Hiding or hoarding food. Eating in secret. A driving compulsion to over-exercise. Binge-eating and then vomiting. Misusing..."Laxatives" "Diuretics" "Appetite suppressants".

Phobias

A phobia is an intense irrational fear of either an object, animal, creature, situation or scenario. The phobia will usually originate through having been exposed to a very traumatic experience, usually in childhood (but not in all cases) which is then typically repressed. When the fear is at its maximum intensity ' imprinting ' takes place, whereby the person experiencing the intense fear ' learns ' very quickly to feel afraid (conditioned response) when exposed to that particular stimulus. Avoidance of the stimulus reinforces the fear even further.  There are three categories of phobias i.e. Specific - Social - Agoraphobia  Specific Phobias are characterised by the presence of a very specific stimulus as the trigger e.g. - cats, dogs, birds, feathers, blood, spiders, flying, vomiting, lifts, enclosed spaces etc.  Social Phobia is typified by an inability to function 'normally' in a social situation i.e. unable to eat or drink in public e.g. restaurants etc, fear of drawing attention to oneself in public, of being exposed in some way.  Agoraphobia is translated literally from the Greek language as 'fear of the market place' and is by far the most complex and involved of all the phobias. There is growing evidence to suggest that the secondary psychological component of 'imprinting' is caused by an underlying physiological dysfunction in the sensory processing apparatus of the brain whereby the panic is triggered initially by an overload of visual and auditory sensory stimuli e.g. crowds, bright lights, loud noise. 

Typically, agoraphobics will suffer with vestibular apparatus problems (inner ear - balance) and may also suffer with coordination problems which can be perceived as 'clumsiness'. Agoraphobics will generally feel threatened or exposed when travelling away from what they consider to be a place of safety (e.g. home).  Phobias respond very well to Hypnotherapy and treatment consists of decommissioning the conditioned response (the intense 'fight or flight' symptoms). If you suffer with a phobia and would like some Professional help or advice please e-mail Lothian.hypno@virgin.net

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Roderick Smith

Lothian Hypnotherapy Clinic
33 Bankton Way, Murieston, Livingston, Edinburgh. EH54 9EG
TEL 01506 462 385

email: Lothian.hypno@virgin.net