Anxiety
Anxiety is the state of being anxious about something, not feeling comfortable about some situation, nervous about not being in control of that situation. This, in itself, is not a bad thing. It could well be our subconscious warning us about a dangerous situation. If you were walking along a cliff path, then having no anxiety about it could possibly make you careless with your footing. If you were about to make a speech, then having no anxiety about it could well make you say the wrong things. This sort of anxiety or nerves is absolutely necessary for us to live effectively. Even the greatest of experienced actors still have nerves before a performance. I always regard nerves as a sort of gee-up. “Come on. Let’s rise to the occasion and give the performance of our lives.”.
When the anxiety seems to be happening far too regularly in situations that do not seem threatening or dangerous, or when there is no reason for an internal ‘gee-up’ then the anxiety may be out of control. If thoughts are turning more to what horrible things might happen, rather than what is most likely to happen, then hypnotherapy can help to calm down these thoughts.
The subconscious part of the brain, which controls emotions like fear, cannot tell the difference between something we are perceiving through our five senses, and something we are imagining, or thinking about. The result is that these thoughts produce some of the same tension or fear response in the body that would occur if those events were really happening. So, we can very easily create unnecessary feelings.
Such thoughts may occupy a sufferer’s attention progressively more of the time. The person may say they “can’t stop worrying” about the problem – even though they know that it is achieving nothing, as he or she has already done everything reasonably possible. To make matters worse, when a person is feeling fearful or uneasy, he or she is likely to notice the physical feelings, which can act as a cue to think again the thoughts that caused the problem in the first place – or even to begin worrying about the symptoms.
So the cause of anxiety is two-fold. A certain way of thinking leads to a fear response in the body, and that physical response or feeling can then generate thoughts that lead to more fear or unease.
Addressing the physical symptoms is usually comparatively straightforward, using stress management techniques and self hypnosis techniques. As a person learns to take control of the level of physical symptoms, so some of the thinking behind them may change as a result. Further work, using hypnosis or other psychotherapy techniques will then enable the client to make permanent changes in the thinking that was the cause.
A person can then become entirely free from excessive anxiety – and clients have frequently commented that the sense of freedom which results has allowed them to get on with enjoying life again and achieving what they choose to achieve.
Panic Disorder is a serious condition that around 1 out of every 75 people might experience. It usually appears during the teens or early adulthood, and while the exact causes are unclear, there does seem to be a connection with major life transitions that are potentially stressful: graduating from college, getting married, having a first child, and so on. There is also some evidence for a genetic predisposition; if a family member has suffered from panic disorder, you have an increased risk of suffering from it yourself, especially during a time in your life that is particularly stressful.
