Am I the librarian?

Late yesterday afternoon I was working with a client. As they sat talking, I was listening intently, but also "thinking sideways" about their particular issues. They suffer with general stress, a most common ailment of our modern society. This stress is not the physical form, but the type which builds up quietly in the background of your mind, and eventually can cause you to cease functioning as you once did. Every aspect of your life may be coloured by this affliction. Your sleep patterns, appetite, energy levels, immune system, sexual performance and appetite along with your general well-being.

I was "thinking sideways" because I've often wondered if our forebears suffered with "stress" in the same way, or to the same degree. Obviously, the world of my great great great grandfather was not the same as our world, but I imagine that life certainly had it's trials and tribulations which were created by their particular circumstance. I cannot help but think though that many of the people back then were made "of different mettle". For instance, one of my past relatives was David Livingstone, the explorer and missionary (I've been told that his religious zeal faded very quickly, and he only ever converted on native to Christianity!). Some of the physical and mental mountains he surmounted were little short of superhuman. Maybe people were just a tougher breed back then, created by the hardships they simply accepted as part of life? To quote my dear grandfather, Alf, "tha dunt know tha't born lad!"

What is stress anyway? What created it, and can it harm us? Chronic stress, that which is lengthy and all pervasive, can have many negative affects upon us. It also appears that the body doesn’t distinguish between physical and psychological threats. When you’re stressed over a busy schedule, an argument with a friend, a traffic jam, or a mountain of bills, your body reacts just as strongly as if you were facing a life-or-death situation. If you have a lot of responsibilities and worries, your emergency stress response may be “on” most of the time. The more your body’s stress system is activated, the easier it is to trip and the harder it is to shut off.

As I pointed out too, long-term exposure to stress can lead to serious health problems. Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in your body. It can raise blood pressure, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, contribute to infertility, and speed up the aging process. Long-term stress can even "rewire" the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety and depression. Certainly not a healthy prospect!

Because of the potential for widespread damage stress can cause, it’s vitally important to know your own limit. But just how much stress is “too much” differs from person to person. Some people "roll with the punches", while others crumble at the slightest obstacle or frustration. Some people even seem to thrive on the excitement and challenge of a high-stress lifestyle. I say "seem" as I'm not certain that this is actually so. I've witnessed too many of these high fliers fizzle out like a snubbed candle to be totally certain of that one.

My belief is that your ability to tolerate stress depends on many factors, including the quality of your relationships, your general outlook on life, your emotional intelligence, and genetics.

When working with some clients, I endeavor to explain the catacombs of the mind in a metaphorical way; I believe it can help to generate a deeper level of understanding of their own issues. I will often describe their minds as an old fashioned library, great oak shelves with leather bound books by the thousand. Due to life's turmoils, it's inevitable that some, or many of the books are in the wrong position, and some of them have even fallen off the shelf. In the case of some people, their shelves have even fallen down! The deeply relaxed state of hypnosis can allow the librarian of the mind time to place the books back correctly, or even organise a refit for those shelves.

There's something calming and soothing about being in a library ...........