Does anxiety hold you back at work or cause problems at home?
Do you feel anxious when socialising or speaking in public?
Would you like to try a natural treatment for anxiety?
This article explains the difference between stress and anxiety, and why hypnosis for anxiety can restore calm and peace in your life.

Introduction

If you suffer from anxiety you’re not alone.

Anxiety is a very common problem.

More than 8 million people in the UK suffer from anxiety.

Emotional problems such as anxiety and depression are so common that they affect around one in four people every year.

The truth is, that anxiety is the symptom, not the cause. Most drugs tend to treat the symptom but not the cause. Hypnotherapy, which uses hypnosis, can help you identify the triggers of your anxiety.

Hypnosis for anxiety pinpoints the root of your anxiety and helps you respond to your triggers more positively.

What’s the difference between stress and anxiety?

Everyone needs some stress in their lives.

When stress comes in and out of your life it has a positive effect. Your body is designed to handle low to moderate levels of stress.

In fact, stress can be good for you.

When you experience a stressful event, neurons in the brain activate the pituitary gland, which releases corticotropin, which activates the sympathetic nervous system.

The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for action by stimulating the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol.

Adrenaline increases your breathing and heart rates and gets you ready for action. Cortisol increases the release of blood glucose and dopamine and gets you mentally focussed.

So as you can see, stress raises your game. Stress hormones sharpen your aim and help you deliver on time.

But it is when the intensity and frequency of stress becomes too much for your body to handle, that’s when stress harms you. This is when stress becomes anxiety.

One of the primary roles of the unconscious mind is to keep you safe from danger by controlling your stress or ‘fight or flight’ response.

The stress of modern life puts more and more pressure on your ‘fight or flight’ response. Your body is not designed to deal with the 24/7 constant bombardment of work deadlines, emails from your boss, and the relentless social media and instant messages.

The pressures at work and home have replaced the natural predators our ancestors once had to deal with.

Our ancestors might have been able to run away from a tiger but that is not an effective way for you to handle your angry boss or demanding partner. And it’s certainly not appropriate to ‘fight’ them either!

Not only that, our ancestors were cave dwellers who were relaxed most of the time and only felt stress in very specific situations. The stresses they experienced were real and could potentially kill them, unlike the ping of an email or message from your boss!

Furthermore, our ancestors had high levels of stress hormones infrequently, whereas modern life has led to low levels of stress hormones constantly flowing through our bodies which leads to an array of health problems like heart disease, stroke and chronic fatigue.

How chronic stress affects your brain

Chronic stress can have a negative effect on your brain and increases your risk of developing a number of physical and mental problems.

Chronic stress is a major cause of inflammation in the body.
Inflammation can lead to a range of health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease.
The brain is normally protected from hormones and molecules in the blood by a blood-brain barrier.
Chronic stress can cause this blood-brain barrier to leak which lets the inflammation molecules into the brain.
When the inflammation molecules get into the brain they can cause damage.

The brain’s hippocampus is an important brain region for learning and memory.
It is particularly vulnerable to inflammatory chemicals, which can have a damaging effect on this part of the brain.

The body releases a hormone called cortisol during times of stress.
High cortisol can have a serious impact on the function of the brain.
It can shrink the hippocampus and has been linked with mood disorders.
High levels of cortisol can also affect your sleep.

Chronic stress also lowers the levels of the brain hormone called serotonin.
Serotonin is important for mood regulation and well-being.

As you can see chronic stress can have a negative effect on the brain and body.
Hypnosis for anxiety allows you to change your response to stressful events so you feel calm and relaxed.
When you feel calm and relaxed inflammatory chemicals and cortisol levels reduce and serotonin increases so you are more positive and happy.
Here is an interesting video on how stress affects the body:

What’s your stress mindset?

Your “stress mindset” decides how you respond to stressful events in your life.

If you believe that stressful events can sharpen your focus, strengthen your motivation, and offer learning and achievement opportunities, then you have a “positive” stress mindset.

If you have a positive stress mindset you think of coping strategies which boost your performance and you end your day feeling more energised.

However, if you view stress as unpleasant, threatening and negative, then you have a “negative” stress mindset, which some evidence suggests can be harmful and lead to anxiety.

In fact, as humans, we are hardwired to focus on the negative rather than the positive. If someone is critical of you, this can have a greater impact than when someone pays you a compliment.

This is called the negativity bias. The negativity bias can have a serious impact on your behaviour, thoughts, decisions and relationships. The reason is you think for longer about the negative for longer than the positive.

The good news is, that hypnosis for anxiety can help you fight your negativity bias and develop a more positive mindset. Hypnosis for anxiety can help you stop negative self-talk which is the basis of most low self-esteem and confidence.

With the use of visualisation techniques and positive imagery, it is possible to reframe your negative stress mindset into a new more positive mindset so you believe in yourself and learn to ignore the upsetting critical comments.

Learn to listen to your body

Anxiety and panic are actually your body’s natural defence mechanisms.

They actually evolved to help you survive danger, but like any tool, they can sometimes get a little overused.

Think of it like appetite: it’s normal to feel hungry, but it becomes a problem when you’re constantly overeating.

Anxiety is similar – it’s not a disorder in itself, but it can be problematic when it’s excessive.

Hypnosis for anxiety can help re-calibrate your anxiety response, just like resetting a car alarm that’s too sensitive.

It doesn’t eliminate anxiety entirely, but it helps you manage it so it only triggers when it’s truly needed.

So, if you’re feeling anxious or have experienced panic attacks, remember that you’re not alone and there are ways to regain control.

Hypnosis for anxiety can be a powerful tool to help you live a calmer, more balanced life.

Some people cope with anxiety by sweeping the causes under the carpet, hoping that the causes will just go away. Others turn to alcohol or drugs to numb their feelings.

This might help in the short term but it just suppresses your negative emotions, which eventually surface again.

But you cannot silence your emotions. Suppressed emotions will be expressed in a variety of unwanted ways.

Eventually, your unconscious mind will get your attention. You might have migraines or a panic attack. These stop you in your tracks and give your body a rest.

The trouble is you haven’t given your unconscious mind a rest or dealt with the negative feelings and emotions.

What are the symptoms of anxiety?

The symptoms of anxiety are a result of the “fight or flight” mode?

It’s how your body reacts to danger – you either face it head-on or run away.

But did you know there’s actually a whole chain reaction happening in your body to prepare you for those actions?

Imagine this: you’re walking alone at night and hear a sudden noise.

Your brain instantly goes on high alert, sending signals to your body that something’s wrong.

Your nervous system kicks in, releasing hormones like adrenaline and cortisol.

These hormones are like superchargers, giving you a burst of energy and focus.  

Your heart starts pounding, pumping blood faster to your muscles.

Your breathing quickens, taking in more oxygen.

Your senses sharpen, making you more aware of your surroundings.

You might even start to sweat as your body prepares for action.

All of this happens in the blink of an eye!  

This is the fight-or-flight response in action.

It’s designed to help you survive a threat, whether that means fighting it off or running away to safety.

But there’s actually another response that often comes first: freeze.  

Think of a squirrel on a fence.

If it spots you, it might freeze for a moment before deciding whether to run.

That’s because many predators rely on movement to detect prey, so freezing can help you stay hidden.  

We humans do this too!

Before we fight or flee, we often freeze for a split second to assess the situation.

But sometimes, if we feel trapped or helpless, we can get stuck in freeze mode.

This can happen even when we’re not actually in danger.  

So, the next time you feel stuck or frozen in a situation, remember that it’s a natural response.

It’s your body’s way of trying to protect you.

But it’s important to recognise when this response is holding you back and find ways to move forward.

People who suffer from anxiety often say that the physical and emotional feelings are so overwhelming, they feel they are ‘going mad’.

Anxiety can manifest itself, both physically and emotionally, in a wide range of symptoms such as:

Physical symptoms

• racing heartbeat
• shaking
• shortage of breath
• feeling sick
• dizziness
• headaches
• insomnia
• fatigue
• IBS
• dry mouth
• sweaty palms

Emotional symptoms

• excessive worry
• irrational negative thoughts
• dreading the worst
• constantly feeling on edge
• irritable
• feeling detached
• avoiding situations

Not everyone who suffers from anxiety will have all of these symptoms.

So, even though these symptoms can be unpleasant, they’re actually your body’s way of trying to protect you.

It’s like a built-in alarm system that sometimes goes off when it doesn’t need to.

The good news is that there are ways to manage these symptoms and calm your body down.

Some people find that exercise, such as swimming, can help to reduce the symptoms of anxiety or even depression.

Some may have only a few of them but the impact on their life can be just as devastating.

What are the different types of anxiety disorders?

There are six different types of anxiety disorders, where anxiety is the core symptom:

• phobias – fear of heights, spiders, flying etc.
• post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – extreme fear in response to abuse, assault, military conflict etc.
• social anxiety disorder (S.A.D) – excessively self-conscious and fearful of being judged by others.
• general anxiety disorder – overwhelming fear without a definable source.
• panic disorder – recurring panic attacks with extreme chest pains and palpation, sometimes mistaken for a heart attack.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder – need to carry out obsessive routines and rituals.

These six anxiety disorders can overlap, for example, someone with social anxiety can also have an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

How hypnosis for anxiety can help you

Hypnosis for anxiety is a natural and holistic treatment that can help you view and respond to the triggers of your anxiety positively and help you live your life to the full.

Hypnosis for anxiety helps you find your happy place and discover what calm means to you.

Research has shown that about 95% of our behaviour is determined by our unconscious mind.

Most of our decisions are made by our unconscious mind and are served up to our conscious mind for it to take credit for the decision-making process.

You think you are making a conscious decision but you are not aware that your unconscious mind has already played a major part in your decision-making process.

Your anxiety is caused when your unconscious mind works too hard to keep you safe by responding inappropriately to everyday normal situations in a negative way.

Retrain your unconscious mind

Hypnosis for anxiety helps retrain your unconscious mind to respond appropriately to normal events and not perceive them as a threat.

There are no drugs or chemicals whatsoever. Hypnosis for anxiety helps you find the cause of your anxiety so you can find a better way to handle your fears.

So if you would like to help with your anxiety, please get in touch to book your free consultation and find out if hypnosis for anxiety can help you.

Hypnosis for Anxiety Audio Downloads

Would you prefer to listen to a hypnosis for anxiety audio download to help you overcome your anxiety, from the comfort of your own home?

This exclusive five-session hypnosis for anxiety audio download pack is expertly crafted to guide you on a transformative journey towards inner peace and confidence.

Each session is designed with your well-being in mind, harnessing the power of hypnotherapy to gently lead you into a state of deep relaxation and heightened focus.

As you listen, you’ll find yourself effortlessly releasing the bonds of fear and anxiety, paving the way for a calmer, more confident you.

Click here to embark on your journey of transformation. Your path to overcoming anxiety starts today. Say yes to a calmer and more confident you!

Note

Individual results can vary. There are no guarantees that hypnosis for anxiety will be effective in every case. For therapy to be successful you need to be open to change and fully committed.