Stress And Anxiety - What We Do To Cause It And How To Overcome It
Even though many people use the terms stress and anxiety interchangeably, they are in fact two distinct conditions. Stress is a response to a stimulus, either internal or external. You may experience stress when you feel frustrated with something (like waiting in line behind a slow person) or when you are worried that you won't meet expectations (such as missing a deadline).
Anxiety, on the other hand, is a sense of nervousness and fear or even dread. It can be caused by negative expectations and thoughts, or as a response to stress. You may feel anxious virtually all of the time and not know why, or your worry may be a response to something you are nervous about, like an upcoming journey.
Abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain may cause generalized anxiety. Some research indicates that anxiety can be brought on genetically. Anxiety may also stem from environmental conditions, as when the child of a parent who is often anxious becomes an anxious person by observing the parent. But very often the root cause of anxiety is simply the thoughts that a person is thinking!
Anxiety and stress are subjective conditions. Different people may experience stress during different situations, and different people may respond to their anxiousness in extremely different ways. Symptoms of anxiety can range from the mild, such as tense muscles and sweaty hands, to the severe, such as vomiting, irregular heartbeat, and anxiety attacks.
Everyone feels some amount of anxiety once in awhile. We have all felt the dry mouth and "butterflies in the stomach" before a public speaking engagement or an exam. But when does it become damaging to your health? Studies have revealed that chronic anxiety can lead to sleep disorders, depression, high blood pressure, and relationship problems
For sufferers of chronic untreated anxiety, there can be negative health consequences that have yet to be fully explored. Many studies have found a link between chronic anxiety and a variety of serious health conditions including cancer, respiratory illness, thyroid disease, arthritis, and heart disease. Chronically anxious people may even be more likely to suffer a fatal heart attack.
If you experience what seems like an inappropriately high amount of anxiety relative to the circumstances, or if you feel anxious nearly every day, you may actually have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are chronic conditions characterized by one's inability to function normally because of constant anxiety. Anxiety disorders are serious conditions that should be treated to reduce the risk of long-term negative health effects.
Anxiety treatment has long been the subject of much discussion in the medical community. Some medical professionals feel that medication is the best method to treat chronic anxiety. Unfortunately, anti-anxiety medications often have undesirable side effects that are just as bad as or even worse than the initial affliction.
There are many natural ways to control negative emotional reactions. Exercise is one that is often overlooked by anxious people, but it is extremely effective in managing stress and anxiety. Exercise causes your body to release endorphins, which are natural pain-killing and mood-boosting chemicals. With regular exercise, you may begin to feel a dramatic decrease in negative emotional responses to situations that would have previously made you very anxious.
The best way to cope with tension and worry is to control it from the inside out. Stress management and stress relief techniques are extremely useful in handling day-to-day stress. These techniques can teach you to calm yourself and let the tension leave your body. You make a conscious effort to slow your rate of breathing, release the worry, and maintain a peaceful state of mind. Meditation is a form of tension relief in which you practice mindful relaxation and deep, calm breathing.
However, if you are looking for a proactive way to relieve yourself of anxiety, hypnotherapy is by far the best treatment option. When an individual undergoes hypnotherapy, their emotional responses and reactions to events are changed at the core. This gives them the opportunity to deal with anxiety-inducing triggers without the typical feelings of nervousness and fear.
Hypnosis can be performed by a licensed hypnotist in a series of regular treatments. More commonly today, hypnotherapy can be learned from self hypnosis programs which are available in the form of MP3s, CDs, or DVDs for personal home usage. No special skills are required to perform self hypnosis. All that you need is a way to play the hypnotherapy program and a quiet space where you can relax and listen.
Another very successful method of anxiety treatment is Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. NLP is a form of therapy that can help you condition yourself to naturally respond to situations in a more positive manner. You can consciously decide to remain calm rather than anxious, meaning that you are always in control of your own feelings.
In summary, you can see that it is very important to be able to manage our negative emotional responses in order to remain healthy. Learning to deal with nervousness and fear can even extend your life. To treat long term anxiety, the best course of action is to participate in hypnotherapy to change your attitudes and reactions at the core. Then, use stress management techniques as necessary to keep calm in everyday situations.
Alan B. Densky, CH has been in practice over 30 years. His Neuro-VISION self hypnosis website carries a broad spectrum of stress reduction hypnotherapy CDs, and advanced anxiety management CDs Visit his site for the Free self hypnosis blog, and download a free MP3.
Published May 12th, 2008
Filed in Psychology
