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According to WebMD, a poll taken by the American Psychological Association, there is more stress today than five years ago. Over 54% of people feel anxiety over financial issues such as rent, credit cards and paychecks. Stress and anxiety are both a state of mind. How you deal with stress and anxiety are completely up to you. Some manage anxiety well while others do not know how to manage their feelings. Learning to manage anxiety and stress can be done, but can also be difficult without help.

First you must identify what your stress and anxiety triggers are. The holidays are a good example of a stress that is not immediately thought of. One person might look at the holidays as a nice fun experience and enjoy making a large dinner for a big family. Another person might look at this same situation and have a panic attack. Other causes of stress and anxiety are obvious such as losing a job, having no money or moving.

Next you must identify what reaction you have to these triggers. Some people eat when they are stressed or nervous, while others drink or smoke. Maybe you get irritable or cry often. Whatever your reactions to high levels of anxiety are, it is important to identify them and understand why you react this way.

It is critical to learn both your triggers and lean how you respond in order to be successful. Without identifying them or learning to manage your anxiety levels, you can have serious problems. Not only does anxiety and stress cause heart attacks, high blood pressure and ulcers it can also cause other things you may not think of. For example, chronic headaches, acne, teeth grinding, and make you more prone to illness such as a cold or flu. Your personal life can be affected as well. Your abilities to manage a family crisis, reach goals and perform well are work are also diminished all because of anxiety or stress.

There are different ways of managing anxiety levels, medications, counseling and support groups are the most common. However, there is a new treatment being used on many with great success, hypnosis. Hypnosis works with the subconscious mind which will allow you to uncover hidden triggers that are not obvious or often thought of. You will also learn to manage your response to certain stresses through deep levels of relaxation.

Some people feel other more traditional approaches to anxiety treatment should be consulted first. However, medications only deal with the chemical reactions in the brain at the time of high stress levels. Counseling and support groups can be a challenge for most people and their busy lives. It is difficult to make every support group meeting and also difficult to open yourself up to a complete stranger when you are conscious. Since hypnosis does not use chemicals and works with the subconscious mind, you are able to get the full benefits of the treatment and work through your issues privately.

Those who suffer from anxiety know how difficult situations can be and how frustrating it is to suffer from this condition. You have taken then first step in your treatment, you are acknowledged you have a problem and want to fix it, now here is the most difficult part, deciding what treatment is right for you. Now it is time to get going on your research. While you are doing so, think about what is important and most nurturing for you. You want to make sure whatever treatment you go with, you are getting all you can out of it, hypnosis will allow for all of that and more.

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According to Obesitysurgicalcenter.org, 127 million adults in America are over weight. Of those 60 million are obese and 9 million severely obese. Gastric bypass and other similar surgeries are among the fastest growing elective surgeries in the country, next to breast augmentation. Gastric bypass is reserved for those who are morbidly obese, and for them, the benefits are endless. According to Obesehelp.net, a web site which explains the surgery, 75% of patients can expect to lose up to 80% of their body weight, 80% will be off hypertension medications and 90% with type two diabetes will be off medication as well, just to name a few.

It is important to understand, not everyone who has this surgery is successful in weight loss for many reasons and it can be dangerous. During the surgery, a section of stomach is sealed off to reduce the amount of food which can be eaten, if the seal is broken by over eating, the results can be serious. This is why many patients have follow up care which usually includes an overview of a healthy lifestyle. It touches on food choices, diet and exercise plans. Unfortunately many clinics neglect long term post care, however there are other ways of maintaining your healthy lifestyle.

Often people become obese because they do not understand what a healthy lifestyle is and why they eat so poorly. A healthy lifestyle is easy to learn all a patient has to do is visit with a dietitian and understand better choices. The hardest part is to put the tools into action and begin making a better choice. Learning why you eat so poorly is a whole other ball game. Some people eat when they are upset or depressed and some might simply be bored. Maybe there is a happy memory associated with food which makes you crave certain foods. Many have Gastric bypass surgery and are unsuccessful because they have not addressed all their issues with food, which requires help.

Some may choose to continue following up with a physician or counselor while other choose to go a different route such as using hypnosis. Hypnosis works with the mind in many different ways. One way it works is by addressing problems or emotions attached to food. Rarely does post care touch on the emotional bond a patient might have with food. Hypnosis researches and finds out why food has taken such a hold. Another way is by combating cravings for favorite foods and replacing those cravings with better healthier options such as exercise and health foods.

Some may feel a counselor, dietitian or physician would be a better choice for post surgical care instead. A post surgical patient should by all means take these measures as part of their post operative care. However hypnosis is equally ideal for long term goals of weight loss and helping to work through food emotions. You will gain a better understanding as to why you feel the way you do towards food and how you can regain control of your life and help make your Gastric bypass surgery the best it can be in a non threatening way.

Losing weight is difficult enough without all the fad diets, gimmicks and infomercials telling you to buy their new super diet product. However, it is important to research all the new methods and diets out there before making a final decision for something extreme like surgery. If you do elect surgery, consider using hypnosis as a tool in addition to your arsenal again your battle with the bulge.

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There are many forms of drug and alcohol abuse. Some people binge drink while others drink just to get though the day or to cure their hang over from the previous night. Same with drugs, some abuse street drugs while others take excessive amounts of prescription pills but yet feel it is ok to take the prescription pills since they were prescribed. Whatever your choice of addiction is, they have one thing in common, low self esteem.

Drugs and alcohol are usually just a mask to hide the real problem, low self esteem. According to Selfesteeminternational.org, recovering addicts and alcoholics indicate that low self esteem is the biggest problem in their lives. They feel alcohol is only a symptom to the alcoholic’s real disease. Low self esteem causes and contributes to anxiety, neurosis, defensiveness and ultimately drug and alcohol abuse according to Selfesteeminternational.org.

Drug and alcohol abuse can start early on, earlier than some parents and society would like to admit. In a study done by Selfesteeminternational.org, 18 year olds who already use drugs and alcohol heavily started using when they were as young as seven. They reported feeling alienated by their families, not good enough, anxious, unhappy and overly impulsive. 66% of high school seniors surveyed reported using drugs or alcohol heavily in order to fit in and fill a personal void.

Low self esteem is painful and difficult to deal with, so many people start self medicating through drugs and alcohol but it soon turns destructive. By drinking or using drugs a vicious cycle of more self hatred starts and before you know it, your life is completely out of control. One drink turns into two, two turns in to three and before you know it your life is all about drinking. You family doesn’t want you around, you have spent all your money and lost your job. Your actions only lead to more self hate and disappointment in yourself.

People have low self esteem for many reasons. However, low self esteem is not caused from one isolated incident but by repetitive criticism over many years. The criticism can come from anyone, a parent, a sibling, teacher or society in general. It is difficult to estimate how many people are experiencing low self esteem, but it is safe to say many people suffer from at least one of the symptoms. Maybe you are happy to see someone fail, overly aggressive, do not recognize your own good qualities, or try to please others because you do not know how to say no.

One of the most important factors in recovery is acceptance of the disease and being able to identify why you choose to be an addict in the first place. Often it is difficult to address years of low self esteem in a twelve week program. That is why follow up counseling and treatment is recommended. One new treatment that is being recommended is hypnosis. Hypnosis works with the subconscious mind to identify painful memories causing the low self esteem and help the patient work through the memory and develop new self confidence. Hypnosis is done in a safe environment and is chemical free which appeals to many recovering addicts.

Some people feel therapy and counseling is the best and only treatment needed to help recovering addicts. Unfortunately, if this were true all rehab facilities would offer a 100% cure rate. Most can not even offer a 70% cure rate. It is important to have a treatment plan that will help to identify why you started abusing drugs or alcohol in the first place, and this is difficult to do with a counselor. Often addicts have little trust in anyone let alone counselors and are more censored when talking until they get to know the counselor. Since hypnosis works with the subconscious mind, it allows the addict to think and speak openly about low self esteem issues.

Drug and alcohol abuse is a very serious problem, but what is more concerning is the underlying behavior of self hate. Until that issue is dealt with, the thought of alcohol and drug abuse is always there for the addict. There are many ways to help improve self esteem but why not do it in a safe environment and start dealing with the real problem today.

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