Anxiety is one of the most common reason I see clients in my practice, and it is important to remember that anxiety itself is a normal human emotion. Anxiety is what we all experience when faced with a stressful or dangerous situation, it is often referred to as our ‘flight or fight response’.
Anxiety only becomes an issue when we start to experience it excessively and at times that shouldn’t be overly stressful or in non-dangerous situations. These could include – but aren’t limited to – meeting new people; going to work (although if your a fireman or fighter pilot you might feel more anxiety than say an office worker or hairdresser); leaving the house; making mistakes; your health; your family or friends safety; the dark; travelling to new places; the future or not making it to the toilet in time.
Most of us are familiar with the symptoms of anxiety:
- Racing heart rate
- Dry mouth
- Sweating – in particular sweaty palms
- Tight chest
- Nausea
- Butterflies in the stomach
- Pins and needles
- Urgent need to use the toilet
- Shaking
If you are experiencing excessive anxiety then these symptoms can become extremely distressing not to mention exhausting and its at this point that most people will seek further help and support.
The options for support vary but counselling and also hypnotherapy can be effective in finding the route cause of the anxiety as well as alleviating the symptoms. Actually talking about your anxiety and saying aloud you fears is one of the easiest and most effective ways to start regaining control. Anxiety feeds on silence, which is why most people can identify with the feeling of waking up in the middle of the night and being overcome with anxiety. Once you start to share those feelings you will realise that you are not alone and in fact at any one time up to 25% of the population are experiencing some form of excessive anxiety.
Hypnotherapy can help to change the negative thinking patterns that cause the anxiety and once changed most people notice an almost immediate improvement in their symptoms.
