We are coming towards that time of year when allergies are rife and all of a sudden we see the pollen count shown on television weather bulletins and we begin to stock up on anti-histamines ready for the onset of the dreaded hay fever season. At the time of writing, this week is allergy week, so it is all the more relevant.
So what has this got to do with hypnotherapy for stress?
Well, a recent article has shown that people with allergies are more likely to suffer if they are stressed.
A group of researchers followed 179 hay fever sufferers for 12 weeks. What they found was that 39 of them had more than one ‘flare-up’, the significant thing is that those 39 had higher stress levels (measured by cortisone) than those who didn’t have allergy symptoms during the study period.
It was also found that 64% of the participants who had higher stress levels had more than four flare-ups over two weeks.*
While there were no significant flare-ups of hay fever on the same day as the stress increased the flare-ups were within a few days of the stressful event.
Dr Clifford Bassett, who is the medical director at Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in Ohio USA, stated that:
“Stress can cause several negative effects on the body, including causing more symptoms for allergy sufferers,”
Dr Amber Patterson has also suggested that those with more frequent flare-ups have a greater sense of negativity and a more significant negative mood in general.
Hypnotherapy can be helpful to reduce stress. Hypnotherapy for stress is something that I deal with an awful lot; consultations are free and with no obligations.
Naturally, if you are concerned about any allergies that you may have then pop along for an allergy test.
However, if you are an allergy sufferer, it may well be worth looking at different stress management techniques, such as hypnotherapy for stress relief before rushing off to get some more tablets.
*April issue of the Annuals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.