TRANSFORMING STRESS, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION

I define stress as the effect of psychological and mental processes that we react to without awareness. Through awareness one can transform such processes. Bilateral stimulation techniques, relaxation techniques and cognitive mental techniques are tools that I use in my work with clients to effect such a change.

Bilateral stimulation techniques are part of an arsenal of physiological input given to the body to facilitate access to the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. These techniques allow for greater awareness without flooding the body with negative stress hormones. Relaxation techniques are an essential tool in the management of fear that the harness the body's natural ability to transform anxiety. Dr. Herbert Benson, author of the The Relaxation Response, has given us a detailed understanding of how to elicit the relaxation response.

I incorporate and intimate understanding through training and experience of the relaxation response in reducing anxiety. Cognitive distortions play a crucial role in heightening stress responses. Disputation and awareness of these negative cognitive distortions are the technique used in cognitive behavioral therapy to transform depression. I supplement such techniques by interweaving EMDR techniques to understand the origin of such cognitive distortions.