Stress and anxiety in today's society can be caused by many different things, including financial worry, work demands, child-care and self-esteem. It is estimated that one in seven people at any one time in the UK will be suffering from stress and anxiety, causing significant harm to their health and well being.
If you suffer from anxiety, you will know how it can regularly sabotage any positive thoughts you may have and often predict the outcome of situations to be negative, well before they have even occurred.
For many people anxiety can be so overwhelming that it prevents them from socialising, makes every day tasks seem impossible and causes relationship difficulties in all areas of their life.
People who are suffering from anxiety often experience fatigue and low energy levels. They can wake up feeling tired despite having a good night's sleep. They are also more likely to catch common illnesses such as colds, more easily.
Other symptoms of anxiety include:
Muscle aches and pains
An increased heart rate
Excessive sweating
Dizziness
Inability to concentrate
Nausea
Insomnia
Irrational thinking
Irritability
Nail biting and other repetitive habits
Excessive worrying
Panic attacks
Bladder or bowel problems
Memory issues
Negativity
These symptoms occur because when we experience stress our body releases stress hormones such as Adrenaline, Cortisol and Noradrenaline, as the ‘fight or flight’ response is activated. The ‘fight or flight’ response derives from prehistoric times and was the human body’s instinctive safety mechanism to keep man safe when he had to decide whether to make a quick exit or to stay and fight the wooly mammoth. The increased adrenaline ensured a state of high alert and boosted the ability either to stay and fight or to run away at increased speed. Once the danger had passed the body returned to normal. In our fast-paced modern world we are constantly on high alert and the ‘fight or flight’ response is regularly activated when both real or imagined danger is present. Although this can be a good thing if the danger is genuine, if it is only a perceived danger, it is bad for us.
In some cases, the anxiety experienced doesn’t disappear once the threat and stress caused has passed but instead continues to increase over a prolonged period of time. This could potentially cause panic attacks which can occur as a continuous cycle, simply because we panic about having another panic attack.
If left unmanaged and untreated, the symptoms of stress can lead to conditions such as Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), skin complaints, high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes.
Hypnotherapy for anxiety and stress can help to develop the ability to access the relaxed state of mind, which is needed to overcome the overwhelming emotions experienced. It gives clarity to your feelings, helps stress to be perceived differently and enables more positive responses to be created - giving you the ability to control your anxiety levels and have a calmer, more confident approach to any situation you find yourself in. The deep physical and mental relaxation which is experienced during hypnosis can help to prevent damage to our bodies and promote healing for both the body and mind.
Generally, we cannot control the external forces which influence what happens to us in life but with the help of hypnotherapy we can change our thoughts and responses to these, enabling us to lead happier and more fulfilled lives.
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