Now more than ever, scientific surveys are proving the essential role played by stress in triggering or aggravating several psychological and physical afflictions. An article from a 1983 Time Magazine called stress "The Epidemic of the Eighties." The journalist also said that stress is a leading health problem. And there is no doubt whatsoever that our world has become more and more complex and stressful in the last twenty-five years since that article was published.

Several surveys show that almost everybody has the impression of being under a great deal of stress. Authorities in the field estimate that 75 - 90 percent of all visits to primary care doctors are for stress related problems.

Most people report that their job is the major cause of their stress. The levels of stress have also soared in children and the elderly population for reasons including: Peer pressures that often lead to everything from smoking to alcoholism and drug abuse; the dissolution of family and religious values and ties; growing crime rates; fear for personal safety; and last but not least social isolation and loneliness.

Stress is a factor of problems such as diabetes, ulcers, low back and neck pain, high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks. This is because of the increased sympathetic nervous system activity along with a high level of cortisol, adrenaline, and other hormones. Chronic stress has been associated with lower immune system resistance. Stress can cause anxiety, depression, and its numerous effects on one's organs.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines "stress" as follows: "To subject to physical or mental pressure, tension, or strain"

"Tension" is defined as follows: "Mental, emotional, or nervous strain"

The following is the definition of "anxiety": "A state of uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties"

And the following is the definition of "depression": "The condition of feeling sad or despondent"

"Clinical depression" is defined as follows: "A psychiatric disorder characterized by an inability to concentrate, insomnia, loss of appetite, anhedonia, feelings of extreme sadness, guilt, helplessness and hopelessness, and thoughts of death."

We can nonetheless be sure that our mind is the first source of our feelings of stress, anxiety and depression. Put differently, what we think about, and our attitudes and the way we view our experiences dictate what we feel. That way, if we can learn how to change our thoughts, attitudes, and points of view, we can release our stress, anxiety, and depression and replace them with a more positive state of being.

People have always tried to find methods that would allow them to release stress. With the pharmaceutical industry there seems to be a pill for everything. And to that end the industry has developed a large array of anxiolytics from Valium to Xanax. If you choose to use drugs for relief, please make sure that you are aware of the side-effects by reading the fine print, which most of the time are, among others, addiction and dependency. Indeed these sorts of drugs aim at treating the symptoms, but not the cause. So when one stops ingesting them, the symptoms can return.

A finer method to get rid of tension, stress, anxiety, and depression is to work on the root cause, which as I said previously, is usually our thought processes. Now, here is good news. The very essence of hypnosis is relaxing. The AMA recognized hypnosis in 1958 as an effective way to cure stress or stress related symptoms. Moreover unlike drugs, there are absolutely no undesirable side effects.

Hypnosis is the Alpha level of consciousness. It is the daydream like temporary psychological state that we go through as we are just about to fall asleep in the evening. And we go through it another time when we awaken in the morning. There are several different ways we can guide ourselves into this relaxed mood, from step-by-step relaxation to visual imagery to listening to hypnosis CD's.

When we access the hypnotic state, we can communicate with our unconscious mind, which is the seat of our feelings. And it becomes easier to acknowledge new ideas and points of view which will help us to reduce anxiety, or even avoid it completely.

NLP, which is a new form of hypnotherapy, has different wonderful methods for dissipating stress. Maybe the most effective technique is called the "swish" pattern - or the "flash" pattern. After using this technique, your unconscious will automatically use bad, stress producing mental pictures, to create relaxing mental pictures. Otherwise stated, what usually makes you feel stress will now make you feel more relaxed!

TO SUM THINGS UP Our thoughts can cause depression, anxiety and tension. So if we change our attitude and the way we resent our situation and our experiences, we can reduce these feelings at the source. Hypnosis and NLP are natural tools that allow us to change our attitude and point of view to rapidly reduce the root cause of these negative feelings.

Alan B. Densky is an NGH certified hypnotherapist. He offers a complete line of anxiety elimination hypnotherapy CDs, and advanced anxiety reduction CDs through his Neuro-VISION self hypnosis website. You can visit his video hypnosis blog, and download a free MP3.