Are you looking after yourself?

What is causing your anxiety or stress? Do you know?

If you do, then maybe you would like help to explore how you can change your life in certain ways,

or benefit from a technique that can help you to relax and cope better with the stress.

If you are not sure why you feel stressed, or why you exhibit certain stressful behaviour,

it maybe that you are 'carrying baggage' from the past.

Or maybe your inter-personal relationships are not the best they could be for you.

Your life may not be going in the direction you had hoped.

Working to discover what is happening for you and introducing new techniques

for life and relationships can lead to renewed energy and fulfilment.

Emotional stress can manifest in the physical body

Here is an example of the mind/body connection:

Joan who was in her 40s, had been to the doctors for many years with a 'lost voice'.

Hospital tests had produced nothing wrong.

Joan was referred to Sunshine Project for psychological help.

A communication problem was discovered with her mother.

A victim since childhood, of a controlling and very often abusive relationship,

Joan did not have a voice where her mother was concerned.

By recognizing what had happened to her and what was still happening,

Joan was able to understand her situation and make empowering changes to her life and relationships.

Once she was able to 'have a voice' and make sure she was listened to, her physical voice returned.

Thankyou Joan, for sharing your story.

Balance of energies within the body is important for good physical and mental health.

It is a well documented fact that many illnesses and physical complaints are caused by stress -

both from the present and from the past. Stress weakens the immune system leaving the body open to disease.

Prolonged stress can result in severe illness

Stress and how it affects the heart and the mind :-

This following is from one study done by psychologist Segerstrom at the University of Kentucky, and is one example of many studies.

1st group of people in the study could eat what they wanted from plates of radishes, biscuits and chocolate. 2nd group in the study had to try to resist the biscuits and chocolate, and just eat the radishes. Later they could choose what to eat. Both groups were then given some anagram puzzles Afterwards the 2nd group tested much higher HRVs (Heart Rate Variability) and they didn’t cope so well with the anagrams either (Segerstrom et al 2007) There are many studies like this, that have shown that denial of your feelings, listening to shoulds and should nots without listening to yourself, stopping your needs being met, all take a lot of energy But not only does it take energy, it causes physical and mental stress as well, which has a bearing on your future potential for heart disease.

Working to take control of your own life and relaxation techniques learned in the therapy room, are tools that can be used throughout life

These are some of things that happen to the body when true relaxation is achieved:

brain waves become slower and deeper

adrenal glands no longer produce stress hormones

breathing slows as less oxygen is needed

sweating decreases

decrease in muscle tension

blood pressure lowers

immune system is strengthened

If you would like an appointment please contact Linda at Sunshine Project.