We all feel anxious and stressed at times, and it’s often a rational response to whatever is going on in our lives. However, sometimes these feelings tip over into negative emotions that seem to take over all of our thoughts, most of the time. If anxiety and stress are starting to overwhelm you, solution focused hypnotherapy gives you the tools you need to feel positive again.
We’ll take a closer look at anxiety and stress, before outlining how I use hypnotherapy techniques to help my clients overcome them.
What’s the difference between anxiety and stress?
There’s a fine line between anxiety and stress, and they manifest in similar ways (such as racing heart, sweating, shaking, feeling nauseous). They are both your body’s natural response to what you perceive as a threat.
The simplest distinction is that stress is caused by external factors while anxiety doesn’t need a specific trigger or “stressor”. Stress should fade when the threat recedes but because it doesn’t have to have a tangible cause, anxiety can linger. However, as they feed off each other, it’s possible for a stressful situation to remain as an anxiety.
Let’s go back to our old friend the sabre-tooth tiger for a moment. Naturally, encountering one of these fearsome beasts made our ancestors feel stressed, triggering that essential fight-or-flight response. Safely back by the fire, the stress would recede. However, if one of our ancestors could no longer face leaving the safety of the fire in case they should meet a tiger again, that’s anxiety.
What are the causes of anxiety and stress?
Even though we face fewer immediate and sharp-fanged threats these days, the pressures of modern life (cost of living, climate crisis, social media) can all-too-easily lead to stress and anxiety.
Our brains haven’t changed that much since the days of sabre-tooth tigers, hence our seemingly extreme responses to 21st-century threats such as having to give a presentation or drive a different route.
In theory, if we have stress rather than anxiety, our symptoms will fade once the stressor is safely in the past: we’ve given the presentation, had a calming cuppa, and now we can relax again.
However, sometimes stressors don’t simply cease to be, and chronic stress occurs when the stressors are multiple and ongoing, such as the pressures of family life. We often refer to this build-up of stressors as “the stress bucket”, which overflows when the drip-drip-drop of worries reaches the brim.
The causes of anxiety are less clear cut. Anxiety disorders can be a result of trauma, genetics, environment, physical health, lifestyle choices – and a bucket full of stressors.
How can I manage the symptoms of stress and anxiety?
There are some lifestyle changes you can make that will help alleviate the feelings of both stress and anxiety.
- Reducing or cutting out caffeine and alcohol
- Eating regular and healthy meals
- Regular exercise
- Spending time with friends
- Making time for hobbies and interests
- Develop a good sleep routine
- Use calming breathing exercises or meditation
If you continue to feel anxious or stressed, please seek medical advice. Your GP is always a good starting point. They can prescribe medications and/or refer you for counselling or a therapeutic technique such as solution focused hypnotherapy.
How does anxiety and stress management hypnotherapy work?
I use a combination of psychotherapy and clinical hypnotherapy to manage anxiety and stress. We always start by looking at the root causes, then we go on to discuss the neuroscience behind the techniques I use. It’s important to understand this aspect, because your amazing brain will be doing the work here, re-routing negative thoughts along new and different neural pathways.
Solution-focused hypnotherapy is an excellent tool for managing stress, because it can reprogramme how we deal with stressful situations. The emphasis on future goals is a powerful way to manage stress in the here-and-now and prevent burnout or anxiety.
Hypnotherapy really helps people overcome anxiety. While you’re in the hypnotherapy trance state, your mind can be guided towards positive changes, improving feelings of self-belief and calm, while also reducing your anxiety and fear. The trance state is also incredibly relaxing, and I help my clients learn these relaxation techniques to help them manage anxious feelings.
The ability to use the relaxed mind to replace unhelpful thoughts with positive ones is the perfect therapy for the anxious mind.
Hypnotherapy for anxiety and stress with Great Minds Clinic
Living with anxiety or stress can be overwhelming and make everyday life feel really hard. Please don’t struggle alone – contact me for a confidential chat, and we’ll discuss how we can help you.
