Stress at Work - Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy

Few people who work for a living today will disagree that stress in the workplace is one of life’s major problems. However, whilst ‘stress at work’ is an almost universal complaint amongst today’s workforce, it is worth bearing in mind that the exact nature of workplace stress can vary from person to person.

For many, stress comes arises from trying to meet seemingly impossible deadlines and targets. For others, it may be routed in self doubt and lack of confidence in one’s abilities. Yet another root cause may be fear of failure.

Symptoms of work-related stress may include
• headaches
• muscular tension
• backache / neck ache
• sleep problems
• tiredness
• digestive problems
• raised heart rate
• skin rashes
• sweating.
Psychological symptoms may include
• feeling unable to cope
• irritability
• mood swings
• finding it hard to concentrate
• feeling less motivated
• lower libido.
• chronic stress may increase you risk of heart attacks and strokes.

As part of my ‘Effectiveness at Work’ program, I am often called on to help clients devise an effective strategy to help alleviate their experiences of stress. Solutions for alleviating workplace stress will vary for individuals.

The first step is always to talk at length to the client to identify the exact triggers and nature of the stress.
For example, a recent client came to me for help in dealing with feeling of being ‘overwhelmed’ at work. As he related various difficult work experiences, it became apparent that he worked in an environment where he had to constantly monitor and manage many important issues and problems simultaneously. New information and data about each issue could arrive at any time. Some new developments would require immediate action – others could be put ‘on hold’ until a clearer picture emerged.

The client spoke of feeling that he was constantly ‘juggling a dozen balls in the air’ – that his ‘head was bursting’ from trying to keep track of so many changing scenarios. He realised that in his working day he would jump from subject to subject, from issue to issue in an almost uncontrolled manner as new information arrived or new ideas occurred to him.

My first suggestions were a few basic work management techniques, such as keeping notes on each issue, keeping a ‘to do’ list of outstanding problems etc, and prioritising work. We discussed how stimulants such as caffeine, smoking can increase stress levels and excessive alcohol consumption does not help. He enjoyed using self-hypnosis and learning relaxation techniques. He accepted the need for these, but felt that they alone were not the answer to coping effectively with stress at work.

After further discussion, it emerged that the clients underlying fear was that, if he didn’t react immediately to each new development on each issue as it came in, he would somehow ‘lose the plot’, and never be able to be fully in control of all the information needed to make an effective decision.

We looked at his ‘cognitive distortions’ (unhelpful, unrealistic and irrational thinking errors which worsen one’s mood, confirm negative beliefs about oneself and which prevent one from moving forward).

We then used cognitive techniques to look at the evidence for his beliefs. He realised there was little or no evidence for them and he learned how to identify much more realistic, helpful ways of viewing his work.

In our hypnotherapy sessions, we were then able to develop a strategy which my client christened, ironically, ‘Thinking Inside the Box’. Under hypnosis, my client visualised a set of boxes. Each box contained all the information pertaining to one of the problems or issues with which he had to deal. As part of the hypnotic session, he rehearsed his new behaviour and saw himself storing each new piece of information in the relevant box as it arrived. As each piece of information was stored safely in the relevant box, his mind was then freed up to concentrate on the issue in hand. Similarly, if a new idea concerning a particular problem occurred to him, he could also store that idea away safely in the correct box. He then imagined that, when the time came to address a particular problem, he could go to the relevant box, and all the information he needed, all the ideas he had on the subject, would be there waiting for him. He could then retrieve the contents of the box, refresh his memory on all the intricacies of the issue and make an effective decision.

Further sessions with the client revealed that he was delighted with the results. He reported that he now felt confident in putting less urgent work problems ‘on hold’ until a more suitable time. He felt much more confident in his ability to retrieve all the information regarding the problem when the appropriate time arose, and using it to make the required decisions. He no longer jumped from problem to problem as new data arrived.

Rather than being driven by events, he now drove them. A combination of cognitive techniques, relaxation exercises and hypnotherapy helped him achieve his goals and change his perspective about stress at work. Alleviating workplace stress is an important skill for every worker in today’s hectic society.