Almost everyone alive will tell you that they suffer or suffered some form of stress in their lives. But can they give you a definition of stress, past the standard dictionary definition? It’s important that, as your life coach, I help you define stress, so that we can measure its effects on you.
Stress is a word with many meanings. It was first used in 17th century British physicist Robert Hooke’s law (expectedly, Hooke’s Law) that states that an external force produces an equivalent amount of deformation (or strain) in metals. In this instance, stress was viewed as a stimulus, not a reaction.
Three centuries later, pathologist Hans Selye noticed that lab animals exposed to blaring light, extreme temperatures, and perpetual frustration had similar physical changes of stomach ulcerations, shrinkage of lymphoid tissue, and enlargement of the adrenals. He called the external stimulus, as Hooke did, “stress.” After this confusion, Selye created a distinction between stimulus and response, between stressors and stress. This is not just a footnote in science history; this is an important lesson for all my clients suffering from stressors and stress.
There are the things that cause stress: jobs, relationships, etc., and then there is your response to it. For a hypnotist and life coach, it is important for me to split those two down the middle, and change the way you think about the stressors.
You don’t necessarily have to equate an overbearing boss with stress. One does not need to equal the other. I can reprogram your brain through hypnosis to change the emotional reaction you have to your boss’ behavior thus eliminating your stress.
Give me a call today at (212) 599-3195.