How to reduce your stress levels in an instant!

I always meet a certain amount of skepticism when I tell my students that they can relax almost instantaneously!

I, then ask them to think of a person they hate.  As they think of that person,  their mind runs through an image of that person, their body tenses up and, in many cases, there is a visible increase in their stress levels.  In some cases, they confide, all they have to hear the voice or see that person's car - and they feel angry.


The mind is very powerful - it can take just a negative image or voice of a person, event or even an imagined action and trigger stress in your body.  As you have "negative" experiences with this person, your mind records all the details of this "heightened emotional" state", your breathing, your posture and other physical and mental parts of the event.  As you encounter this person or negative event again, the mind "remembers" the past experiences and builds upon it.  Suddenly, all you need is a little cue, like the person's face or voice and trigger the stress in your body.

 In my meditation classes, I teach the opposite process  - the art of "anchoring" the relaxation response.  As you reach a state of complete relaxation, you can use multiple anchors (such as snapping your finger and whispering the word "peace") or you can use a photo of a loved one in your key chain. As you repeat this anchor, your mind records all the details of your breathing, posture and your mental state. If you do this often, all you need is to use the anchor in a situation where you are stressed out and your body will  relax instantaneously.

This technique is well-know and illustrated well by Steven G. Jones - a clinical hypnotherapist. In this video he teaches how you can "trigger" self-confidence using anchors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzHyjubejwQ

Uses of NLP Anchors by Steve G. Jones, M.Ed.
8 min - Jun 6, 2007
http://www.stevegjones.com/index.htm