Developed from courses taught at the following medical schools under the Tomorrow’s Doctors Programme

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HypnoSOS episode 5 – Stress Management

And now I would like you to start focusing on your breathing… with your eyes comfortably closed… notice your chest rising and falling… and as you do… you can begin to notice that your breathing can change… You can breathe more deeply and slowly… no need to try to make this happen… it is a natural process… just notice it for now… and as you sit there or lie there… you can move your focus onto the sound of my voice… simply the sound of my voice… which can and will start to relax you… first, helping you to relax all the muscles of your body… next to clear your mind… so you can let go of disturbing thoughts… then help you notice your feelings and connect them to your breath… allowing you to breathe out any negative feelings… and breathe in the positives from around you… and all this can happen without you having to do anything at all… for there is a part of your mind… sometimes called the unconscious mind… which is awake even when you are asleep… which protects you… and will help you relax your body… let go of any disturbing thoughts… and release any negative feelings… so that when you open your eyes at the end of this process… you will wake feeling better than you did before…

 And it is now time for you to take control of the process… it is quite simple… all you need to do is focus again on your breath… and as you exhale… just imagine you’re breathing out an unpleasant colour… this is the colour of your stress… and at the start, it may be intense… but as you continue to focus on your breathing… you notice the colour becoming paler… lighter… as you breathe out your stress… and the most important thing for you to notice right now is that it doesn’t really matter if you can think of a colour… what matters is that you focus on your breathing… and allow it to let your stress move away from you… take a little time now… continue while I’m talking… and the next step is even simpler… focus on your in breath… and as you inhale… you can now connect to a positive bright colour… This colour can represent control… you being in control of your stress… in control of the situations which in the past, stressed or disturbed you… and you can choose this colour now… and when you have… connect it to your in breath and allow that colour to fill your body… from the tips of your toes to the top of your head… breathe it in… take time now to let your in breath bring the feelings of control to every part of you… you can do that now… and from now on… when you find yourself thinking about or in a situation which in the past would cause you stress… you can and you will focus on your breathing… and without being even aware of it, your out breath will carry away the stress… and your in breath will bring you a feeling of control… and this will happen naturally… without you even thinking… as you breathe deeply… letting go of your stress… bringing in control… and from this moment in time… at night when you sleep… when you dream… the part of your mind which already pre-plans your responses to the next day… will start to plan a better response… to show you how you can be in the situations which used to bother you… the situations which caused you stress… and you can… and you will… find that when you wake from sleep… you will feel more positive… less stressed about the situation which you have to deal with… but for now you can do more… if you wish… You can put the things which stressed or disturbed you into a box in your mind… somewhere filed safely away… not gone… but put into the place it should be… allowing you to deal with future situations more appropriately… helping you relax when you need to… forget about your concerns just for long enough to help you grow stronger… and remember all the good things which are in your life right now… and you can and you will… be once again able to remember all the things you enjoy doing… things that contribute to your health and well-being… things which make you stronger… whatever these things are, you can connect with them now… and if nothing comes directly to mind right now… I want you to know that you will soon remember what it is that makes you feel better… so you can and you will… plan your day around doing these things… accessing these things… incorporating moments into your day which strengthen you… helping you to take back control and feel more like yourself again.

 And you can focus back on your breathing again… and notice that your breathing has really changed… it’s become deeper and more relaxed… and as you allow your breath to continue to carry away any stress or unnecessary nervous tension without you having to think about it… you can let your mind focus on your in breath… and spend a moment deciding what feeling is right now the one that you need to breathe in… and if you wish, you can allow a positive word to come to your mind… it might be ‘calm’… ‘relaxed’… ‘peace’… you will find it… and decide which word it is that you need right now… just choose a positive feeling… pick a word and connect that to your in breath… and you will soon find that the word will repeat itself… as you breathe in… as you need it in future… and this word is now yours… and it will come to you when you need it most… you may not even be aware of it happening… as the days go on.

 And in a few moments in time I’m going to wake you… you will hear me count from 1 to 10, you will slowly come awake with each number and at the count of 8 you will open your eyes… and by the count of 10 you will be fully wide awake… you will wake up feeling fine with a feeling of well-being all over… a feeling of well-being… every healthy and normal part of you will be back here in the present… and all normal and appropriate sensations will have returned to your limbs… and you’ll be fully wide awake at the count of 10… feeling better and more optimistic than you have in a while… so as I count from 1 to 10 you come more and more awake with each number… at the count of 8 you open your eyes and at the count of 10 you will be fully wide awake… so ready… 1… 2… 3… waking up… 4… 5… 6… waking up… 7… 8… eyes wide open… 9… 10… wide awake… wide awake… fully wide awake.

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