Anxiety

The dictionary definition of anxiety is ‘a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome’.  People call anxiety all sorts of things: feeling stressed out, overwhelmed, agitated, worried, upset, overwrought.

It doesn’t really matter what we call it, what we do know is that those anxious feelings we can suffer from really don’t care who you are and what you do.  The feelings can ruin our day, interfere with everyday life, and trip us up when we least expect it. 

Sometimes, we can actually wake up in the morning with a sinking feeling – like a weight on our chest, feeling as if we have to be on guard or watch out for something that might go wrong. Those feelings at the beginning of the day can ruin it before we have even started, they are often extremely exhausting too.

Sometimes the feelings can happen out of the blue, completely sidelining us. We might receive a message which is a bit odd from a friend, or not receive a reply to a message we sent, someone might make a comment and work or at school, maybe someone gives you a strange look, then it hits you like a tonne of bricks – something is not quite right and you start to imagine all of the things which could go wrong, all the things people may be saying about you, all of the things we have done in the past that have gone wrong, or all of the things which might go wrong in the future. Sometimes the feelings just creep up on us over time.

We can often be busy doing lots of things, actually achieving very little, like a dog chasing its tail. In this anxious state, our brains are on high alert producing lots of brain-altering chemicals such as adrenaline and cortisol, looking out for potential threats and hazards which might kill us. We have done this for millennia – it is what has ensured our survival. Unfortunately, we have adapted this primitive system to all modern-day symptoms of anxiety, anger, and depression. 

So, as we busily search for what could and probably will go wrong in our minds – we need to be aware that the mind doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality, and it has to rely on our previous patterns of behaviour. That is why we are so likely to repeat our negative anxious behaviours. Sometimes we can genuinely believe unhelpful habits are providing temporary relief – however, they are exacerbating the situation.

Clients are often surprised by how quickly their patterns can shift and they can get back in control of their lives, producing great chemicals which make them feel energised, motivated and happier.

The good news is that there are many things we can do to alleviate this negative cycle of behaviour. With psychotherapy and solution-focused hypnotherapy, we make significant changes to these well-trodden pathways, which can help decrease anxiety, and increase self-esteem and confidence to be able to take a solution-focused approach to stressful times in our lives.

Clients are often surprised by how quickly their patterns can shift and they can get back in control of their lives, producing great chemicals which make them feel energised, motivated and happier.

If you'd like to try hypnotherapy to manage your levels of anxiety, reach out to me via my profile.