National Stress Awareness Day 2nd November 2011

The Observatory Practice is urging local employers to show how much they value their staff by marking National Stress Awareness Day on Wednesday 2nd November 2011. The awareness day is organised by the International Stress Management Association (ISMA) and their theme is “Wellbeing and Resilience at Work”. The association’s aim is to promote sound knowledge and best practice in the prevention and reduction of human stress, and this is the 13th year the event has been organised. According to Mind (June 2011) “British businesses lose an estimated £26 billion each year in sickness absence and lost productivity”. With greater awareness and mental health support, they said businesses could save one third of these costs – “a mammoth £8 billion a year”. The Health and Safety Executive defines stress as “The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them.” There is a wide range of symptoms of stress, including psychological, emotional, physical or behavioural. For example, worrying, negative thinking, anxiety, tearfulness, lack of confidence, rashes or skin irritations, tiredness, becoming a workaholic, sleep problems could all be the result of stress. The Observatory Practice is a Solution Focused Hypnotherapy practice in devon and regularly sees clients exhibiting anxiety and other stress-related symptoms. In fact, recent research carried out by the Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy (AfSFH) has shown that anxiety is the most common reason people seek the services of its members. Matthew Cahill explains “Anxiety, like many stress-related conditions, tends to creep up on people. Busy lives, pressures of work, relationship issues or financial worries all take their toll. It’s not unusual for clients to be caught in a cycle of negative thinking – negative thoughts heighten anxiety levels, anxiety leads to negative thoughts and so on.” “Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is a modern research-based combination of psychotherapy and hypnosis, aimed at encouraging clients to focus on how they want things to be. We avoid problem-talk and instead help our clients to visualise their preferred future. By encouraging clients to think and express themselves positively, we can help to reduce their anxiety. By reducing anxiety, other related symptoms often improve and clients feel better able to cope with life’s stresses.”