Anxiety
What is anxiety
Anxiety is a normal and healthy emotion. We all have emotions; they are perfectly normal and everybody has them.
Your emotions act as a guide. They let you know what is going on in your life. These emotions let you know if something needs to be addressed.
Anxiety is an emotion that makes sure that you don’t forget to do something you need to do. It reminds you to take your keys with you when you leave the house to make sure you don’t get locked out, for example. Once you have taken your keys – addressed the anxiety – the emotion goes away again.
Every single one of us will feel anxiety from time to time. This is what makes us human.
We can feel anxious about all sorts of things, about anything and that’s okay. When the anxiety is addressed, it goes away again.
The struggle is real
Does it feel as if you’re always anxious about something, as if the anxiety never really goes away and it just lingers in the back of your mind?
You are not alone. In 2013, there were 8.2 million reported cases of anxiety in the UK (nopanic.org.uk).
It becomes a problem when the feeling of anxiety doesn’t go away when the original trigger has been addressed. This is where hypnotherapy will give you a helping hand. Let’s start with a bit more information.
What are the symptoms?
These are the most common symptoms:
Restlessness, and a feeling of being “on-edge”
Uncontrollable feelings of worry
Increased irritability
Concentration difficulties
Sleep difficulties, such as problems in falling or staying asleep
We might experience some or all these symptoms in our normal everyday life to a certain extent.
Sometimes, the duration and the severity of the anxious feeling can be out of proportion to the original trigger. When this feeling starts to interfere with your everyday life, it becomes a problem.
Types of anxiety
There are several types:
Generalised anxiety disorder:
This is the most common anxiety disorder. People with the disorder are not always able to identify the cause of their anxiety. It involves excessive, long-lasting anxiety, and worries about nonspecific life events, objects, and situations
Specific phobia:
An irrational fear and avoidance of a particular object or situation
Selective mutism:
Is a form of anxiety that some children experience. They are not able to speak in certain places or contexts, such as school, even though they may have excellent verbal communication skills around familiar people
Social anxiety:
This is a fear of negative judgment from others in social situations or of public embarrassment. Social anxiety includes a range of feelings, such as stage fright, a fear of intimacy, and anxiety around humiliation and rejection. It can cause people to avoid public situations and human contact to the point that everyday life becomes extremely difficult
Panic attacks:
Panic attacks are brief or sudden attacks of intense terror and apprehension. It could even feel as if you are having a heart attack. Panic Attacks can come on quickly and usually only last a few minutes. Although, some panic attacks might last for hours
Agoraphobia:
A fear and avoidance of places or situations from which it may be difficult to escape or in which help would not be available if a person becomes trapped. People often misunderstand this condition as a phobia of open spaces and the outdoors, but it is not so simple. A person with agoraphobia may have a fear of leaving home or using elevators and public transport
Separation anxiety:
High levels of anxiety after separation from a person or place that provides feelings of security or safety. Separation can sometimes result in panic symptoms
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What can cause anxiety?
The causes are complicated. Some might happen at once, some may lead to others, and some might not lead to feelings of anxiety unless another is present.
Possible causes include:
Environmental stressors, such as difficulties at work, relationship problems, or family issues
Genetics, as people who have family members that suffer from anxiety are more likely to experience one themselves
Medical factors, such as the symptoms of a different disease, the effects of a medication, or the stress of an intensive surgery or prolonged recovery
Withdrawal from alcohol or drugs, the effects of which might intensify the impact of other possible causes
How can hypnotherapy help me?
There are many ways hypnotherapy can have a positive impact on issues with anxiety, depending on the cause.
Some ways hypnotherapy can help:
Stress management: learning to manage stress can help limit potential triggers
Relaxation techniques: these can help soothe the mental and physical signs of anxiety
Replacing negative thoughts with positive ones: changing your thought patterns can help in reducing anxiety triggers
Creating a mental image of successfully facing and conquering a specific fear: this can provide benefits of anxiety symptoms relating to a specific cause, such as in a phobia
You are in control
Understanding what anxiety is and how it works is an important first step to regain control over your anxious emotions.
There are many ways to deal with it, but you might have already noticed that what works for some people, might not work for you.
My focus is on your situation and on your needs, so that we can work on the best outcome for you.
Contact me for your complimentary 30-minute phone consultation.
