Anxiety
What is anxiety and what are the symptoms of anxiety?
Anxiety is a perfectly normal and natural emotional state that we all experience from time to time. We often have feelings of tension, worried thoughts or physical changes like increased blood pressure at certain situations. Normal levels of anxiety is what drives us through more stressful situations, for example - nerves about a job interview, attending meetings or sitting exams. These examples are of relatively short lived anxiety which subsides when the situation ends.
The feelings of anxiety are caused by the body releasing adrenaline which triggers the anxious reactions which is also known as the flight or fight response - a survival mechanism from our early ancestors which allows us to fend off or run away from predators. Anxiety can be caused by past events, or environmental factors.
For some people, their anxiety becomes a bit problematic - they may be in a heightened or prolonged state of anxiety, usually recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns that preoccupy their mind. They may avoid certain situations out of worry. They may also have physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness or a rapid heartbeat.
[Adapted from the Encyclopedia of Psychology]
Here are some of the common signs of anxiety. There are may types of anxiety but these are just common symptoms.
1- Feeling nervous, restless or tense
Often you may not know why exactly you feel like this. You may not have anything planned that would make you feel this way.
2- Feeling of impending danger or doom
Similar to number 1, this feeling may be completely unwarranted and without reason. Or it may well be triggered by something that has occurred in the past.
3- Hyperventilating (rapid breathing)
Similar to a panic attack - this can feel scary and can just happen out of the blue. I worked in a fast food restaurant during the summer holidays and I had one while I was looking for something in the stockroom. I had never had one before and haven't had one since (over 20 years later).
4- Sweating and or trembling
This is likely to be a result of the increased heart rate caused by the adrenaline pumping around the body.
5- Stomach problems
Similar to stress, anxiety can lead to stomach (gastrointestinal) issues. I'm sure we have all experienced heightened anxiety before an exam and have to visit the bathroom.
6- Uncontrollable anger or irritability
Unsurprisingly, having anxiety can lead to anger or irritability. This could be due to being scared, worried or due to emotions.
7- Avoiding situations that trigger anxiety
Some people know what triggers the anxiety and avoid being in the situations. For example a previous client avoided driving for years, caused by a traumatic incident years earlier.
What can you do to help anxiety?
As a hypnotherapist, I could help you, as I have done for many clients before.
Schedule a call to see how I can help you by clicking on the button below.
Stephen Bissett
Hypnotist and Unconscious coach
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