By C. Devin Hastings

An enormous, devastating wave has destroyed massive amounts of land, property and lives. Now think of this wave having an emotional counter-part that is reaching a far larger area than the 90,000 square miles that Katrina ravaged.

This E.T. or Emotional Tsunami  (you thought I was referring to skinny, short, grey geeks with big heads?) is rolling across America and its harmful effects may well last for many years…..unless appropriate responses are taken.

There are two specific E.T. effects that I hope you'll find interesting to read about. But, before we get to them I want to point out something we all know but is important to this conversation: Katrina is demonstrating how huge events can cause humans to be at their best and at their worst.

And this brings me to my first point: Just as there were snipers in New Orleans shooting at innocent people so there are unscrupulous snipers taking aim at your wallets. Please be very careful when you try to help those in need.

NEVER accept solicitations over the phone and never give any personal information that is requested by unsolicited mail or email. Some time ago I spoke to our bank representative who told me that approximately 15-20% of their customers respond to bogus emails such as "Your Account Is Being Suspended" that are 'phishing' for very personal information.

The amount of loss is staggering and I'm sure that amount is going to climb because of well-meaning people who want to help but aren't aware of the dangers. (For more information on how to protect yourself against fraud, please click here.)

The answer? Donate only to very well known organizations such as the Red Cross, Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army or to those you absolutely know and trust like local churches. Also, check with your company to see if they do matching donations. It's a great way to increase the value of your help.

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This brings me to the second effect I wanted to talk about. The above named organizations and others like them do a brilliant job at helping direct victims to recover physically and to some extent, emotionally, from tragedy.

But what about the indirect victims? These are the people not directly impacted by Hurricane Katrina. These affected people are those Americans who are experiencing the heart and mind numbing effects of secondary PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). By the way, when you can, please take a moment to send a prayer or healing intention to the relief, police, fire and rescue workers who may well experience a form of PTSD from the courageous work they are doing.

Let's get back to the indirect victims. Let's say a person is somewhat stressed to begin with and then Katrina drops by and rattles their emotional world in a big way. Now their stress levels sharply escalate. Let's say they go to work and some co-worker, who doesn't have great coping skills, is really disturbed by Katrina.

Now, let's add these dangerously elevated stress levels together. What does this give us? Hmmm….nothing good. Now multiply that effect by a nation.

And consider this: What about the people who are depressed as well as stressed because of Katrina? These people include but are not limited to children and those who may have survivor guilt.

The point is that this adds up to a huge, long lasting emotional effect on many different types of people with repercussions that can only be guessed at.

Now that I've painted a really depressing scenario, I'd better have an answer, right? Well, I do.

Please remember that I am a person who has had unique educational opportunities (such as recovering from severe depression and all the fun stuff that goes with that) so, the information I'm sharing is based not only on comprehensive academic research but in depth personal experience as well.

First of all, if you or someone you know is experiencing debilitating or increased symptoms of stress and/or depression because of Katrina, please seek qualified help immediately. Pain, both physical and emotional, has a way of establishing roads in our neurology and, the more these roads are used (untreated), the more difficult it may be to re-establish normal, healthy patterns.

Second, if you are doing alright but just feeling sad, anxious, jumpy, jittery, lethargic or just plain not-your-usual-self because of recent events, then you are probably in a position to greatly benefit from solutions other than psychiatric help and/or medications. If you are unsure, your best bet is to see a doctor.

Please bear in mind that my warning about chronic emotional and/or physical pain becoming more established and therefore worsening over time also applies even to some types of emotional minor discomforts that you think you can "tough out".

A broken bone requires drastic attention. A sprain, if ignored, can result in damage that is much worse than the original injury. A truly broken heart/mind/spirit requires immediate professional help. A sprained heart/mind/spirit requires help even though the situation is not potentially debilitating unless ignored.

Now, assuming you're not in need of immediate, professional help what can you do? Believe it or not, there is one answer is one that is very powerful and effective yet often overlooked.
 

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This answer? Hypnosis for stress relief. Now, before you think I'm pushing a product, I'm not because shortly I will give you step-by-step instructions on a stress relief method that has profoundly helped hundreds of my clients and students.

However, before I give you this great technique, the point I'm trying to get across is this: Our minds create our feelings. As a formerly very depressed person it was easy for all sorts of other depressing stuff to get through the door of mind into my heart. The end result was that I became more disempowered and helpless. This is the kind of insidious damage that prolonged, sub-clinical sadness/stress can eventually create.

Look, you have two choices. One is that you can inadvertently let emotional wolves into your heart and mind or, you can stand guard at the gate of your mind (and heart) so that you do not become a 'bloodless' victim.

Some people think it is noble to suffer along with others but, no matter how much you suffer, it will never help anyone else. Your suffering for someone else's pain will not reduce their misery by one iota.

Again, don't get me wrong; my heart is heavy for the victims of Hurricane Katrina but neither I nor you can be ruled by grief. This must be so because if we allow ourselves to feel helpless, depressed, powerless or impotently angry at those who didn't help in time, then we too will be victimized. And, victimization is exactly what we wish didn't happen to others!

So, again, I strongly recommend hypnosis for stress relief for the following 4 reasons:

(1) It is a medically documented, highly effective answer to bearing the emotional responsibilities that face us in trying times.
(2) It is very inexpensive. All it costs is a bit of your time to practice the instructions I'll give you shortly.
(3) It is easy to use.
(4) There are no adverse side effects.

It is our right and our responsibility as Americans to remain unvictimized for those who need whatever help we can offer. It is also better for our loved ones.

Now, if you're serious about feeling better, then please give the following self-hypnosis stress reduction method a try for at least 30 days, 2-3 times per day. It can be as short as 30 seconds or as long as you want. Instead of just watching the news and stressing out, why not do this as well?

Bear in mind that the below may look simple but remember, a lever is an amazingly simple tool that can move great weights and the following self-hypnosis exercise is a very helpful lever for the mind.

Finally, it may be easier and more effective for you to simply record the below so you can just listen to yourself coaching yourself to a relaxed and empowered state of mind and body.
 

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Simple Self-Hypnosis For Stress Relief
Your Coach: C. Devin Hastings
 

Get comfortable. Take a few belly (not chest) breaths. Tell yourself you give yourself permission to go into a relaxing state of mind. Take a few moments and let your mind drift to a safe, calm place. Then, when you are ready, repeat in your mind the following:

"5, I give myself permission to feel sensations of relaxation in my eyelid muscles now."

Then close your eyes for about 10 seconds (count 1-10) and then open them to read next sentence.

"4, Somehow, I am becoming aware of relaxation in my eye lid muscles."

Then close your eyes for about 10 seconds (count 1-10) and then open them to read next sentence.

"3, Somehow, the relaxation in my eyelid muscles is increasing and feels good."

Then close your eyes for about 10 seconds (count 1-10) and then open them to read next sentence.
Please notice any growing sensations of eyelid sleepiness.

"2, My eyelid muscles are almost as relaxed as they can be right now."

Then close your eyes for about 10 seconds (count 1-10) and then open them to read next sentence.
Please notice more growing sensations of eyelid sleepiness.

"1, My eyelid muscles are feeling as relaxed as they can be in about 30 seconds."

Then close your eyes and open them noticing the relaxation and read next sentence.

Repeat the previous 5 steps a total of 3 times and then do the following:

(Tell yourself in your mind) "I now allow myself to enter a calm state of mind and body."
Close eyes letting them relax completely and imagine the door to your subconscious opening only to good influences as suggested below.
 

Excellent Self-Hypnosis Suggestions:

ONLY use one self-hypnosis suggestion per session.

1) Somehow, in some way, I am letting go of stress now.

2) I am learning to make better choices that make me happier and healthier.

3) With every breath, I am going deeper into healing trance.

4) In some healthy way, I am releasing pain from the past.

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