Relaxation. We all need it. And we all try to find time for it. But what is relaxation really, and what needs to be done to figure out how to relax in a way that genuinely benefits our mind, body and soul?
True relaxation, or finding a state of ease so deep and powerful that it can physically affect us, is elusive. Discovering and entering this deeply desired state – especially in a time when the society we live in is more stressed, anxious and tense than ever before – means learning about the techniques for relaxation that can help you achieve a level of calm and peace that brings many lasting benefits.
With an ever-increasing pace of life, mounting responsibilities, higher levels of stress, more things to worry about and that never-ending, constant mind chatter, learning how to relax properly has fallen down the priority lists of many.
This article discusses an important relaxation therapy that bases its outcomes on achieving a pure state of relaxation. Hypnotherapy is centred around achieving relaxation through the body and the mind, from the conscious to the subconscious. We check out how hypnotherapy can help us relax, enriching our lives in pursuit of health and confidence
Why Relaxing Has Become So Difficult
Many things in today’s world are making it nearly impossible for us to just drop everything, stop and smell the roses and learn how to relax. Not only can a ‘time out’ be difficult to achieve, but with so much going on in our day-to-day lives, we must also:
- Harbour and nurture critical ambitions, which demand more and more effort and attention
- Find time to take care of ourselves on a regular and sustainable basis
- Focus on achieving goals for ourselves and our families while trying to find the right balance
- Work to overcome the increasing amount of daily challenges thrown into our paths without letting them obstruct us
Can you see why discovering an effective relaxation therapy may help boost your wellbeing? Beyond these everyday struggles, here are three more significant reasons for why relaxing has become so difficult.
Holidays and Weekends Just Aren’t Enough
It comes as no surprise for many that true relaxation has become a distant ideal, a pipedream that is getting harder and harder to cling to. From emails and messages ruining holiday getaways to work stress and pressures turning Sunday afternoons into “mini-Mondays”, relaxing for a sufficient period can be tough.
Lives That Are Always On The Go
Whether it’s the kids, our partners or the neighbours disturbing that desperately needed bubble bath or long-overdue “book time”, many feel that they can never seem to get a break. Anything from a pesky colleague triggering another intrusive thought right before we nod off to sleep to a yapping dog and constant reminders chirping on your Google Home or Alexa, finding the time to sit back and actually put your own techniques for relaxation to work can feel impossible.
The World Is A Noisier, More Stressed-Out Place
This ever-increasing disquiet invading our 21st-century lives inevitably results in us becoming distracted from our major goals, including setting aside some personal “me time”. Lifetime strategies, goal-setting and daily routines can be interrupted by the incidental issues in our lives, along with the major ones. But it is the minor worries, the negative influences and those pervasive doubts about our own abilities that can easily take over and obliterate our ability to focus on our well-being and self-confidence.
How Failing To Relax Impacts Our Lives
Not allowing our body and mind to properly rest and recuperate can have serious consequences on our physical and mental condition. Most of us struggle to nail down six hours of good sleep every night, never mind the recommended seven or eight. Combine this with everyday stresses, anxiety, fatigue and worry, and we’re left with a potent cocktail that can result in concerning implications in many aspects of our lives. Understanding how to relax has never been more important.
Relaxing and Building Self Esteem
We are always lowering our aspirations and expectations to avoid disappointment and limit the risk of failure. It’s not our fault. But with more competition, toxic culture, and record-level exposure to negativity, who can blame people for giving up?
By employing effective techniques for relaxation to help us achieve that desired rested, calm state, we can apply our mind to the things that matter. This allows us to reflect, to review and to contemplate our goals and ambitions, mapping out the healthiest, most efficient paths going forward. With a calm, rested mind, rediscovering our self-worth and confidence is easier and far more likely.
Physical Effects of Not Relaxing
Not only is our demeanour affected by our inability to relax, but also our health. Time constraints affect our motivation and ability to lead a healthy lifestyle, and the obvious result is lethargy and loss of fitness. This, coupled with not finding the time to sit back and take five minutes to relax, can adversely impact the physical condition.
Higher blood pressure – increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke, weight gain, sleep deprivation-induced fatigue, and immune system issues are all linked directly to stress. And the number one recommended treatment for reducing stress? Relaxation therapy.
Relaxation and The Mind
Finally, and possibly most importantly, the mind is arguably the biggest casualty of a lifestyle that lacks relaxation. When we relax, the brain can take a break from working overtime. Our minds can suspend intense thought processes, stop focussing on our to-do lists, financial concerns and future fears, and take a moment just to rest.
Depression, insomnia, chronic stress and anxiety – all of these are symptoms of a mind that doesn’t know how to relax properly. While there are many other causes and triggers that can lead to mental health issues and anxiety, a lack of real relaxation is often one of the front-running issues.
The “Car Mind”
Think of the need for learning how to relax like this: Imagine you buy a new car. You drive it around for some time, and it gradually collects dirt, grime, a bit of grease and some grit. Over time, you will take different routes. If you regularly drive over rough roads and through polluted areas, the dirt and grime will become concentrated and ingrained in the paintwork. It may even start to corrode to bodywork. One day, you realise your car needs attention, so you wash it and polish it and voila! Your car comes up like new.
Without even realising it, your car was clean all along. But, you hadn’t even noticed, either assuming that the wear and tear was unavoidable or you simply couldn’t tell the difference. With hypnotherapy and relaxation, it’s much the same – all you need to do is give the mind a good “washing”.
Like your car, your subconscious mind picks up dust and grime in the form of negativity and stress and holds them as harmful patterns, often without you even noticing. If your life has its own “rough roads and polluted areas”, then the negative patterns are reinforced, and negative self-belief becomes a daily reality. The consequence is a less-than-healthy lifestyle and a body that reflects this.
Hypnotherapy as a relaxation therapy will give your subconscious the clean and polish it requires. The techniques for relaxation used through hypnosis will help to keep that mental dirt and grime from building up.
The Process To Real Relaxation Through Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy can help to address and even alleviate many of the issues and causes behind an inability of how to relax properly. Through hypnotherapy it may be possible to experience the deepest level of relaxation you will potentially ever have known.
Through various relaxation techniques, experienced therapists are able to guide their clients through a process that induces a state of deep relaxation. Here’s how it typically works:
- An experienced and well-trained hypnotherapist guides their client to a depth of relaxation through various techniques and methods designed to place you both mentally and physically into a relaxed state.
- Once in this rested, calm state, ingrained negative patterns are identified and addressed. These can range from triggers and trauma to memories, stresses and even health problems.
- Next, through carefully working with the client by applying techniques for relaxation, the therapist can address these problems and find ways to cleanse and implant positive and beneficial beliefs in the mind.
- Over time, relaxation can be achieved and sustained for longer and longer periods, with clients eventually able to apply these relaxation techniques on their own.
The Need For A Good Hypnotherapy Provider
Sufficient training and experience are necessary for an effective hypnotherapist to administer relaxation therapy because all clients are different, and many have varying levels of anxiety or tension, which can be addressed once in the hypnotic state. It is very common for an anxious client to reaffirm: “I can’t relax”, or “I don’t know how to relax”, rooting these beliefs in their experience and making it difficult for a therapist to help them overcome the conviction.
With specific techniques and empathy for the client, a confident hypnotherapist can guide even the most highly-strung subject into deep hypnosis quickly and comfortably using breathing methods and affirming suggestions.
At Hypnocare, therapists boast many years of experience and are trained in the methodologies and techniques used to effectively induce a sufficient state of relaxation before getting to work.
Discover The Relaxation You Need With Hypnotherapy That Works
Hypnotherapy as a relaxation therapy is no miracle. It’s not the answer to all of life’s ills, and it certainly won’t tell you how to go from not being able to relax to a permanent state of Zen overnight! You may, at times, struggle with the process and even need to consciously defy the temptation to avoid relaxing, but over time, you will see results.
While you might see a significant change in relaxation in one session, it is more commonly noticed by clients between three and five sessions.
So get in touch, reach out and discover how we can help you on your journey to a more relaxed life with techniques for relaxation that really do work.
Hypnotherapy, combined with responsible advice about nutrition and exercise, means you can find the degrees of relaxation your lifestyle requires to change very much for the better. With that change comes self-belief and optimism for the future.
But by far the best thing about hypnotherapy is it makes you feel so damn good!
All by just allowing yourself to relax…
