Researchers and physicians agree – chronic stress is probably the key factor in almost every major disease. Why? Because stress puts undue strain on the immune system. We’ve all experienced the stress response: adrenaline pumps into the blood stream, along with an abundance of sugar and fatty acids, and suddenly you have a surge of energy. Your heart pounds, pupils dilate, muscles tense and breathing accelerates – you are now in the throes of a “fight or flight reaction.”
While we are all veterans of these occasional extreme stress responses, most people don’t know that up to fifty times a day we have emotional stress that trigger the fight or flight reaction in our bodies. Other factors that contribute to stress on the body include toxic food additives, high-sugar and low-fiber foods, stimulants such as coffee, tea, and soft drinks, and insufficient sleep.
Imagine the affect on the body when, on a daily basis, and up to fifty times a day, the adrenal glands are stimulated to secrete stress hormones and excessive sugar and fatty acids are dumped into the bloodstream.  Even when the stressful situation is weeks or months behind you, the physical consequences of that stress response remain.

Consequences of Chronic Stress are Many and Varied

For years stress was known as a major contributor to heart disease and diabetes. What most people don’t know is that stress forces the body to quickly use up its supply of nutrients through increased cellular activity. The stress response also makes the body acidic, which depletes calcium from the bones, increasing the risk of osteoporosis. In addition to calcium, other mineral stores are depleted, including magnesium, a cofactor for hundreds of enzymes.
The acidic state created by stress can affect your digestion as well. Some experience a decrease in appetite, but others may feel hunger pangs. Unfortunately, people will often turn to stimulants such as coffee and soft drinks, or chemical-laden junk foods or sweets, adding more stress to an already overtaxed system.
When we are going through stressful periods in our lives, we are usually even less likely to take time out for ourselves. We make food choices based on convenience, opting for fast and processed foods over well-balanced meals. Just when our bodies need rest and rejuvenation the most, we push ourselves to the maximum.
So how do you combat the dreaded stress monster? Here is the top stress-busting tip that can help keep your body in balance, even when life seems to be at its craziest.

Stress Buster Tip of the Day:
Take regular periods for rest and rejuvenation with self hypnosis

We now know that twenty to thirty minutes in a state of self hypnosis can be equivalent to three or four hours of restful sleep. When you self hypnotize, you achieve a state of deep relaxation and your body has the chance to eliminate excess adrenaline, return cellular activity to normal, and go back to a more balanced Ph.  Hypnosis can also give your brain necessary downtime to sort and store information. You arise from your self-hypnosis session with clearer thinking, improved short and long-term memory, and better concentration. And, because you feel rested and refreshed, you are likely to enjoy a more optimistic attitude and cheerful disposition.
Best of all, people who regularly practice self help hypnosis report that it adds hours to their day. And improved concentration and increased energy lets you accomplish more with less time.

Author Information:

Michael J. Porter, Jr. is a certified hypnotherapist. He has worked with the renowned Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers franchise since its inception. Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers are located in cities across the US. For information on their services or to purchase self-hypnosis audio recordings visit www.positivechanges.com

When people choose to do weight loss hypnosis, there are many myths and misconceptions that must be overcome right from the beginning. One of the most important is a concept that roller coaster dieting creates; it is the belief that there are “bad” or “forbidden” foods that should be avoided at all costs. During hypnosis weight loss, clients relearn an appropriate way to view food. The reality is that food is food. If eaten in a balanced way with fat, fiber and protein, your body will regulate its weight and give you plenty of energy.

When you label food as “bad” or “forbidden” or as “cheat foods,” you are setting yourself up for feelings of guilt and deprivation, feelings that later drop you to the low point of the roller coaster where cravings and food bingeing happen. Several of the Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers weight loss self hypnosis programs are designed to help you make peace with food so that it no longer controls you.

Another important issue that comes up in the hypnotic weight loss process is improper motivation. This is especially true for women who want to lose weight in the hope of looking good for their other half. They believe that if their partner is happier, they will, in turn, be happier as well. It is unfortunate that so many riders on the weight loss roller coaster are trying to lose weight to look good for someone else. This is a no-win situation. If you are not successful, it creates negative feelings toward the person you were trying to please. If you succeed, it will probably be temporary because you didn’t do it for yourself and, chances are, you will resent the other person for not appreciating your success. This is the reason that a hypnosis weight loss program works to heal the self-image.

Your self-image is the blueprint your mind uses to build your body. Without the proper blueprint, even a master builder will struggle. At Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers, the nation’s only hypnosis franchise, a weight loss hypnotist strives to help his or her client change the inner blueprint from a fat mind to a naturally thin mind with hypnosis. If you try to change this from the outside in, you are fighting an uphill battle. On the weight loss roller coaster, when you become thin outside and still posses a fat mind, you live in fear every day that the weight is going to come back. Then, as Job once said, “What I have feared greatly has come upon me.” With hypnosis weight loss, you can focus on the solution and then all of the unseen forces of the mind will go to work solving the problems of the past by producing results in the present and future.

When riding the weight loss roller coaster, most people start to have moments of fantasy believing that once the weight is shed, they will be a different person—one who is happier, luckier, or sought after by others. The truth is that you already are a different person! There is no one else like you in all creation. Abe Lincoln said it best, “People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Hypnotic weight loss puts you back in control of your own mind. It has been said that all unhappiness stems from unfavorable comparisons.  It is time to get off the roller coaster and stop looking outside yourself for the person you wish to be. Tune your subconscious with the help of hypnosis for weight loss, and you can become the best you possible!

Author Information:

Michael J. Porter, Jr. is a certified hypnotherapist. He has worked with the renowned Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers franchise since its inception. Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers are located in cities across the US. For information on their services or to purchase hypnotic weight loss audio recordings visit www.positivechanges.com

The study found that the risk of dying from lung cancer decreases the earlier one stops smoking. The highest decrease occurs for those who give up smoking at age 35; their risk of dying decreases by a whopping 90 percent.  But professionals say to stop smoking at any age will lead to better health.

The research also provides the first prediction of the number of tobacco deaths that will occur worldwide in the next 100 years if smoking patterns persist—1 billion, compared to 100 million in the last century.

The rate chart is good news for those choosing hypnosis for quitting smoking. This is because hypnosis stop smoking programs offer not only a tobacco-free lifestyle, but also a reduction in stress, which gives the immune system a boost.

According to Carolyn Daniel, who quit smoking with the Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers smoking cessation program, hypnosis was just the ticket for kicking her lifelong smoking habit. “Hypnosis feels so good. There is no stress. After my sessions, I feel like accomplishing things I normally would have put off. I feel so good and have energy to burn.”

Carolyn’s experience is not uncommon. When hypnosis to quit smoking is practiced correctly, it can mean that the brain and body get bathed in neurochemicals that cause you to relax and feel good. One study shows that a twenty minute hypnotherapy session can increase serotonin levels by as much as 21 percent and endorphin levels by up to 25 percent. These are the brain chemicals that make us feel relaxed, happy and calm.

With this clear evidence on how beneficial stopping smoking can be to your health, and now that you know how easy it can be to quit smoking with hypnosis, there is no good reason for anyone to continue with this deadly habit.

Who or what, you may ask, is NED?

NED is an acronym for anything that is New, Emotional, and Difficult. As an example, let’s say that you trained your body to consume junk food and lie around on the sofa, and that you did it so well, that even when you try to change it, you can’t. Rather, trying to change your habits makes you feel stressed out, frustrated, or angry.
Why, you ask, is that so?  Because when you try something new, it feels awkward, it knocks your emotional state out of whack, and that feels downright difficult.  That’s NED for you.

Stress Management is a Mind Game

Do you know people who allow stress to consume their lives? Stress management is hard, they say. Yet for the human body, achieving stress relief isn’t difficult at all. Our bodies know exactly how to release just the right hormones to calm us down and make us feel good. The intelligence of your body knows exactly how to manage stress. The difficult part is changing your thoughts and beliefs so that your body can do what it does best. This is where the magic of self hypnosis comes into play.

In the state of hypnosis, thoughts and behaviors that are new or difficult can be rehearsed at the subjective level of the mind. At this inner level, time is suspended and your body doesn’t know the difference between real or imagined.
Once you have practiced new behaviors at this level, you will have them when and where you need them. New behaviors will seem like old behaviors—as comfortable as a favorite old pair of shoes. Stress reduction is one of the main benefits of hypnosis. You can practice in the laboratory of the mind what you don’t have time for in real life. There’s not much you can do that’s more stress reducing than that.

How to Get NED Out of Your Life…

There are three simple steps to ridding yourself of NED’s influence:

Step One.  Pretend that you know what is going to happen in the future. If you were trying to lose weight, for example, you would simply pretend that you enjoy healthy, natural foods more than junk food. You would pretend that the long-term effect of what you eat is more important than immediate gratification. Most importantly, you would practice pretending at the subjective level—in hypnosis. At the national hypnosis franchise, Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers, clients are given the opportunity to attend self hypnosis classes as a part of their program. During each class, they are trained on how to get to that inner level of thinking where you are unaware of your body, but very aware of your creative, capable mind.  Problem solving is a snap in this state of mind. Physician and philosopher Deepak Chopra tells us that 95 percent of what will happen tomorrow we already know about today. What if you were to pretend that this is true? You would already have eliminated 33 percent of NED! You see, managing stress really isn’t difficult at all, when you become honest with yourself.

Step Two.  During your mental rehearsals, imagine a smile on your face and positive emotions flowing through you.
Have you ever noticed how when you are stressed or angry, you stop breathing? Something chemical occurs in your body when you breathe. When you breathe deeply, your brain creates neuro-chemicals of relaxation and calm. When you hold your breath, your brain creates neuro-chemicals of fear. One time-tested stress reduction technique involves imagining joyful and loving feelings flowing through you with every breath you take. Make sure that each breath is an even and complete cycle. This means that stress release can be as simple as taking a deep breath in open air. So you can eliminate another 33 percent of NED by regaining control of your emotions. With practice you will learn to breathe your way through even the most difficult situations.

Step Three: Eliminate or minimize your NEDs by breaking down any job into its smallest pieces. Let me give you an example. Pretend you need to lose 40 pounds. What would you do? If you truly want success, you would drink 8 glasses of water a day. Do you have this ability? You would eat sparingly and slowly and only at mealtime. Do you have this ability? You would stop eating after your dinner meal. Do you have this ability? If you answered yes to these three questions, then you have the ability to return to your natural and ideal weight. If you have the ability, then what we need to help you uncover is your response to these abilities. You know what this means, right? You simply need to build respons-ability for lasting success.

Take a few moments to contemplate where your NEDs need changing. How can you change your thinking about New, Emotional and Difficult situations so that you can life a stress free lifestyle? When you plan and prepare for life, you can expect wonderful things to happen!

Author Information:

Cynthia J. Porter is a certified hypnotherapist. She has worked with the renowned Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers franchise since its inception. Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers are located in cities across the US. For information on their services or to purchase self hypnosis audio recordings visit www.positivechanges.com

Overweight people often withhold love from themselves until they attain a certain weight or size. They feel that this tactic will motivate them to stay on their diet or exercise program. This “I’ll love you when…” approach is a prime example of conditional love, which is not true love because it is based on what we do and not on who we are. True love is unconditional; I love you for everything you are and for everything you’re not. Self-love starts with your self-image because it shapes your thoughts, feelings and actions. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then your body image is worth millions.

Because the body image is so powerful, it can be the source of mental blocks, untapped potential, deep pain and fear. At Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers, the nation’s only hypnosis weight loss franchise, clients are taught simple ways to say, “Yes!” to a healthier body image. Here are just a few of the recommendations that Positive Changes weight loss hypnotists teach their clients in their weight loss hypnosis programs.

Stop weighing yourself.
Many people step on the scale and allow the numbers to dictate how they will feel that day. Learn to wean yourself off the scale by judging your weight based on how you feel in your clothing or how you look in a mirror.

Focus on your health, not your weight.
The more energy you give something, the more power it exerts over you. Instead of obsessing about your weight, focus on improving your overall health. Imagine the possibilities if you were to invest the same energy into improving your heath as you’ve invested in worrying about your weight.

Dwell on the positive.
Change negative feelings or thoughts about yourself into positive ones. Identify one aspect of yourself that you really like and allow yourself the pleasure of fully experiencing it. Look at your body and choose one aspect that you like. Tell yourself each day how much you like and appreciate your eyes, hair, smile or legs. Add a new body part every week or two.

Stop worrying about what others think of you.
How many times have you refused an invitation to a social event because you were afraid of what others might think of your appearance? Now is the time to take back the control that you’ve given to other people. Remember, nobody has power over you unless you allow it. Besides, those people are probably so busy worrying about what you think of them, they don’t have time to concern themselves with how you look.

Discover the source of your hunger and free it.
We all have a variety of hunger zones. We hunger not just for food, but for relationships, love, laughter, music, connection, relaxation, creative expression, movement, or being part of a whole. The key is to find your other hungers and fill up on them!

Learn to enjoy physical activity.
Find a variety of activities that you enjoy doing for fun. Make time in your life to enjoy these activities regularly. Rediscover the simple joy of moving your body.

Enjoy the luxury of a good laugh!
Remember the old saying, “It takes thirty seven muscles to frown and only two to smile.” Smiling not only changes your appearance; it changes your mental state as well. The next time you get the urge to snack – laugh at it. Chances are you’ll forget your unwelcome desire and feel better about yourself.

Take time for yourself.
Allow yourself the pleasure of getting to know “you” by becoming aware of your body, mind and spirit. Talk to yourself with love and compassion. Do something you’ve always wanted to do. Taking twenty minutes a day to listen to a hypnotic weight loss session like those offered at Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers is a great way to start!

Create your own definition of beauty.
Take a vacation from fashion magazines, television and other forms of media. Start asking yourself how you define beauty. Consider whether beauty is something someone puts on, or if its something that radiates from within.

Be kind to yourself.
Let go, relax, and be kind to yourself. Learn to release judgment and guilt. Remember that it’s just food, not the entire definition of who you are or who you have the potential to be.

Author Information:

Michael J. Porter, Jr. is a certified hypnotherapist. He has worked with the renowned Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers franchise since its inception. Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers are located in cities across the US. For information on their services or to purchase hypnotic weight loss audio recordings visit www.positivechanges.com

How these women responded to events in their lives had a serious impact on their ability to manage stress. This is because most people consider stress a part of life that happens to them, and believe there is nothing they can do about it.

Whether we like it or not, stress is natural to the human condition.  Yet stress can be either a motivator or a killer, depending upon how we respond to it.

Most folks do not recognize that having stress is a choice.  Stress is not what happens to us. Stress is created by how we respond to our experiences.  Even positive, exciting encounters can be experienced as stressful.  The holidays are a perfect example.  Some folks dread the holidays and will tell say it’s the most stressful time of the year. Others will get misty eyed while speaking of holiday peace, joy, and togetherness.  Who’s right and who’s wrong?  Obviously neither. The holiday season became what they each chose it to be.

Most events occur like this:

Outside Action—>Inside Reaction—>Response

Which of these portions of the event do you have control over? Which are likely to cause you stress? And which can help you in coping with stress? That place between the inside reaction and the response is your opportunity to creatively choose a different, stress reducing response.

After a stressful situation people often say, “I had no choice.”  These folks see others as responsible for their feelings, actions, and behaviors. By doing this, they abdicate responsibility for themselves. It diminishes personal power, confidence, and self-esteem. It creates a life of feeling controlled by others—all stress inducing emotions. A sense of helplessness follows. This behavior can rarely have a happy ending because other people can’t run our lives, as we sometimes wish they could.

It is interesting how weight and smoking have a direct connection to how well someone can cope with stress.  When the body learns from the mind that things are going badly, the body goes into a protective mode called fight or flight.  The body then holds onto or accelerates storage of food to protect against danger or destruction of the body.  This is one of the reasons many people gain weight when they don’t manage stress. In addition, many folks choose to eat more when under stress, which has a very predictable outcome.

Similarly, when the choice to smoke is a reaction to stress, an addictive cycle is established. Choosing a more creative response such as exercise, self hypnosis, meditation, or talking about the situation or feelings, are all healthy, creative responses.

Here are some specific suggestions for you to try when you are consciously deciding to manage stress and create positive daily experiences:

1.    Think of stress as the generation of energy. Its purpose is to inspire a creative choice about what to do next.
2.    Practice belly breathing. Ask a hypnotist to show you how. Learn yoga or meditation. Make stress management a part of our daily routine.
3.    Learn self hypnosis for profound relaxation.
4.    Exercise joyfully, knowing that every movement you make is a form of stress relief.
5.    Break free from your old routines, and then expect a different outcome. Dream up new ways for controlling stress.
6.    Remember attempting to control other people is frustrating and futile. Letting other people be who there can be an integral part of your stress reduction routine.
7.    Catch yourself (and others) doing something right. You will not only decrease stress, but also will develop a more optimistic attitude.
8.    Redefine either negative or positive life events as opportunities.
9.    Be quick to smile about life’s feedback.
10.    Be even quicker to learn from life’s feedback.
11.    Remember that life is not necessarily one thing after another.  It may be one thing over and over until the lesson is learned.
12.    Remember that life is about learning, loving, laughing, and living in the moment. Suffering is optional.
13.    If you don’t like or enjoy what is happening, take self-responsibility for changing things. When you do, you’ll be coping with stress without even trying.
14.    Be creative in generating options in any situation. You are only limited by your self-imposed limitations. Being in a place of choice is the best stress relief technique you can have.

Author Information:

Cynthia J. Porter is a certified hypnotherapist. She has worked with the renowned Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers franchise since its inception. Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers are located in cities across the US. For information on their services or to purchase self hypnosis audio recordings visit www.positivechanges.com

Self help hypnosis can help you achieve your goals because it involves mental practice. There is no faster or easier method for eliminating habits or changing behaviors than mental practice through self hypnosis.

An excellent example of how mental practice becomes new habits involves learning to drive a car. The first time you got behind the wheel you were probably nervous and hesitant. You had to consciously think about every step. Yet it was your motivation to learn the skill of driving that kept you going. If you were a teen, you may have even begged your parents to let you drive at every opportunity.  Every time you drove you became more comfortable and confident. In a matter of weeks you were maneuvering through heavy traffic and merging onto the highway with ease.

With self-hypnosis, almost anything can be accomplished. One may wish to think and act just like naturally thin people do… or live and breathe like a non-smoker… or become a model salesperson… whatever one wishes to accomplish can happen easily and effortlessly with the power of self-hypnosis.

To do self-hypnosis, you can simply relax and mentally rehearse who you want, or you can listen to audio processes designed for you to practice self-hypnosis at home. Listening to these processes for 21 days will give your mind the mental rehearsal and consistency that can make behavior changes seem effortless and automatic.

Each time you listen to a self-hypnosis process, the following benefits occur.

1.    Blood flow to the brain increases, which results in clearer thinking, better concentration, improved memory and enhanced creativity.
2.    Serotonin levels increase by 21%, which calms the mind and body and creates an overall sense of well-being.
3.    100% of excess adrenaline is eliminated – excess adrenaline could otherwise be toxic to the body.
4.    Endorphin levels increase by 25% — these are the hormones that flow through the body when we feel happy.
5.    Your mind is filled with positive images and affirmations.
6.    Your mind learns to conceive of, and believe, new thoughts that are, in turn, easily achieved.
7.    20 minutes of self-hypnotic relaxation can be equivalent to 3-4 hours of sleep.  Consequently, you may find yourself sleeping less, feeling more rested, accomplishing more during your day, and basically enjoying life more fully.

Most folks would pay thousands of dollars for a magic pill that offers these kinds of benefits, but you can get these same results in just a few easy, relaxing minutes.

Author Information:

Michael J. Porter, Jr. is a certified hypnotherapist. He has worked with the renowned Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers franchise since its inception. Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers are located in cities across the US. For information on their services or to purchase self-hypnosis audio recordings visit www.positivechanges.com