Stress is something many of us obsess over but we may be unconscious of it most of the time. Being aware of stress is one thing but stressing out subconsciously is the silent killer and can do the most damage. Some of us are good at covering stress at the conscious level, we’ve been doing it all our life; we see stress, recognize it, and try to immediately let go of it. These are great practices but when done over a long period of time, without dealing with the actual issue, can build up in the subconscious.
We all know stress can come from negative obsessions but what about positive stress? Yes, it’s true. Think about this scenario, your next long awaited and overdue holiday is fast approaching, your excited and happy, but you also know you have many things to take care of before you leave. Will your friend be able to take care of your dog? Is little Johnny going to be ok at your aunts? Are your email replies set correctly? This can also happen at a Spurs game and we all know how exciting those can be. Am I saying we should not attended a San Antonio Spurs even for the rest of our life? God forbid! But we do need balance, or more appropriately, bring ourselves into balance.
Here are some signs you might be experiencing stress on a subconscious level:
Forgetfulness
Restless sleep
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Tension headaches
Constant sickness
High blood pressure
Exhaustion
Loss of focus
It’s very important to “unravel” subconscious stressors from time to time.
How powerful is the subconscious mind? Extremely. Think about babies and children before the age of 6, they have the ability to learn basic multiple languages and they mostly operate in the delta frame of mind. Delta brain waves are the lowest form of relaxative brain waves but have the greatest effect on the immune system, natural healing and restorative sleep when in balance. The other higher forms of brain waves that must be in balance as well (in order from lowest to highest) are theta, alpha, beta and gamma.
How do you bring subconscious stressors and brain waves into balance?
There are many ways to help bring yourself into balance, i.e. spiritual, Yoga, exercise, etc, but my personal favorite which has withstood many of my life’s trials and tribulations is meditation. However, not just traditional meditation but also massage. Yes, massage is also a form of meditation but only with another’s assistance. Massage, when done routinely, properly and when in the right frame of mind, will pull your subconscious down through the layers of gamma, beta, alpha and sometimes right down into theta and delta waves and bring about healthy balance. A personal favorite is Thai/Swedish massage mix which incorporates Yoga like breathing and stretching and blends it with the relaxation of Swedish massage. This unique style of massage does a great job of balancing massage with meditation.
How is the actual meditation done?
There are two major recognized ways to perform meditation. One is to let all your issues, stressors or even joyful thoughts come into being on their own during your session and focus on each one until resolved or brought into proper perspective, then think about nothing at all. The other school of thought is to think about nothing at all, even from the beginning of your session, and when your mind starts to wonder off to things, bring it back to nothing again. I am a personal fan of the latter as I find I enjoy my session even more, however, it’s up to you. How can your mind organize your thoughts without consciously thinking? That’s the magic of the subconscious, it will sort itself out if you give it the proper time and ability to do so.
In closing, pull subconscious stressors out of your mind through repeated various techniques; you’ll soon see that the things your mind stressed over will now be put in order of importance and with a healthy amount of consideration versus unhealthy obsession. In fact, some unnecessary items may be blasted from your mind completely.
Disclaimer: if you are in serious mental pain please seek out a licensed mental health practitioner.