If there is one common presentation with 95% of clients we see, it would have to be chronic stress. Society is set up to feed into the stress picture, and many are suffering the consequences.
As we know by now, stress is a massive cause of countless health issues. There isn’t a single health condition that can’t be made worse by piling on chronic stress. And of course, it depletes vital nutrients that are needed to keep the body and mind in optimal health.
But stress can also be tricky for a health practitioner to tackle if they don’t have the right tools. After all, stress-supportive nutrients, adaptogens and flower essences can ease some of the effects. But they don’t truly tackle the root cause – so this becomes a missing piece of the treatment plan for many.
That’s where NER comes into the picture. I’ve used NER as a tool to support my chronically stressed clients for years now with fantastic results. Let’s look at how NER works to tackle the underlying problem.
The role of NER in stress
Processing and releasing stress in the nervous system
Firstly, NER works directly with the nervous system itself to address the stress. So many people experience stressful experiences, but then suppress it, ignore it, or downplay it when asked if they are ok.
This means that the nervous system doesn’t get a chance to complete the cycle from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest. Instead, they will develop sympathetic dominance, which reduces their stress tolerance.
How NER can help here is by allowing the nervous system to process the stress and then let it go. This calms the sympathetic nervous system and allows the parasympathetic a fighting chance again!
Now of course, NER is not designed to replace the many psychological modalities out there. But given the lack of access to psychological support in Australia right now, it can make a huge difference to your client’s mental and physical wellbeing.
Identifying underlying drivers of stress
Sometimes, stress goes deeper than a massive workload, arguments with a partner or chaotic kids. In many cases, there are underlying drivers that feed into the experience of stress.
The most common? Underlying beliefs that are unhelpful. These may be from childhood, so your client isn’t even consciously aware of their effects. But they could have thoughts such as:
- It’s my job to keep everyone happy
- It’s not safe for me to ask for help
- As a woman/man, I should…
- I’m a failure/I always mess things up
As you can see, all of these types of beliefs can lead to your client not asking for help from others, doing everything, taking on too much responsibility, and feeling anxious or depressed when they can’t cope.
In some cases, trauma may even be a contributor to the stress. NER can be a particularly useful tool for processing trauma, as it doesn’t require the person to discuss the details or even say anything at all about it!
Clients feel better before they even leave the appointment!
One of my favourite benefits of NER is that your client will notice the difference within the session itself. They will report things like sighing, yawning, taking deep shuddering breaths, and then feeling lighter, calmer, more optimistic and better able to cope.
So if you’re looking for a modality that allows your clients to feel immediate benefits (which often leads to higher compliance!), then NER is one to consider.
Want to add Naturopathic Emotional Release to your clinical toolbox?
The place to start is with my NER Training Course, which is run online and in-person. To learn more about the training and check out the upcoming workshops, click here.