3 steps to learn confidence to cope with stress.

Whenever I travel to busy places, for example London, I find it fascinating to watch people and how they live through everyday stresses in different ways. As everyone is driven by their own beliefs that crystallised themselves over time through the person’s life experiences, it is amazing to see how people react differently to what is happening to them. Consider for example taking a journey on the ever busy underground transport system. Some people show calm and confidence, some would appear tense in their body language and some are obviously highly anxious.

It is good to know that it is possible to learn confidence to cope with stresses, and in order to do this, it is necessary to go through a certain order of steps. I am sharing these because even though they seem like common sense, the steps are often not known. I have, however, worked with many people who were showing signs of anxiety, and it was amazing to watch them transform into confident and significantly calmer people.

The steps are as follows:

1. Awareness. You cannot change anything until you become aware of what it is that you want to change. Sometimes people find it useful to also understand why they behave in the way that they behave, but that realisation is not always necessary. It can be possible to move forward without actually looking back too much…So become aware how you behave. Where in your body do you feel tension, pain perhaps, inability to move or move freely. What are you scared of?
2. Stay with it and breathe, and see if you can release the tension to some extent, or at least stop being scared of it. People sometimes just don’t want to know, and so they ‘run away’ from awareness and consciously refuse to acknowledge the anxiety. But there is something liberating and empowering in facing your fears, and becoming curious what you are experiencing. It is sometimes called mindfulness as you are staying with the discomfort in the present moment, and then your mind can be less likely to worry about what might happen, at the same time.
3. Ask yourself what if, what if I can relax a little. Be curious about how to relax, and how it could influence your feelings. It takes some confidence and courage, and as you allow yourself to do this in little steps, it can become more achievable and so encouraging to carry on growing that confidence.

This can be an exciting process, one that in time can result in amazing confidence and calm.

However, if you need a helping hand in following the steps, why not try Hypnosis, which has a long and successful track record of increasing confidence and reducing anxiety in every area of many people’s lives.

For an informal chat call Anna on 07966151680 or email annafinn@leics-hypnotherapy.co.uk.