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Lots of people tend to use the terms stress and anxiety interchangeably, but they are actually two separate conditions. Stress is a reaction to a stimulus, either external or internal. You may experience stress because 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 fear and nervousness or even dread. It can be brought on by negative expectations and thoughts, or as a response to stress. You may feel anxious virtually all of the time and not understand why, or your feelings may be a response to something you are nervous about, such as 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 be induced environmentally, as when the child of a parent who is often anxious learns to be an anxious person by observing the parent. But very often the root cause of anxiety is simply the thoughts in a person's mind! Anxiety and stress are subjective conditions. Different people may feel stressed about 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 irregular heartbeat, anxiety attacks, and vomiting. Everyone feels some amount of anxiety once in awhile. We have all experienced the dry mouth and vague sense of dread before a public speaking engagement or a test. But when does it become harmful to your health? Studies have shown that chronic anxiety can lead to sleep disorders, relationship problems, depression, and high blood pressure For sufferers of long-term untreated anxiety, there may be negative health consequences that have yet to be explored fully. Some studies have found a link between generalized anxiety disorder and a variety of serious health conditions including cancer, arthritis, heart disease, respiratory illness, and thyroid disease. Chronically anxious people may even be more likely to suffer a fatal heart attack. If you suffer from what seems like a disproportionately high amount of anxiety relative to the situation, or if you feel anxious nearly every day, you may actually have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are chronic conditions characterized by a person's inability to function normally because of frequent anxiety. Anxiety disorders are serious conditions that should be treated to reduce the risk of long-term effects. Anxiety treatment has long been the subject of much debate in the medical field. Some medical professionals feel that medication is the best way to treat chronic anxiety. Unfortunately, anti-anxiety medications often produce serious side effects that are just as bad or even worse than the initial affliction. There are many safe and non-invasive ways to handle negative emotional responses. Exercise is one that is often overlooked by anxious people, but it is highly effective. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins, which are natural pain-killing and mood-boosting chemicals. With regular exercise, you may start to experience a decrease in negative emotional responses to situations that would previously have made you feel quite anxious. The most effective way to manage worry and tension is to control it from within. Stress management and stress relief techniques are very 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 tension, and maintain a tranquil state of mind. Meditation is an excellent form of tension relief in which you focus on mindful relaxation and deep, calm breathing. However, if you are looking for a proactive solution to free yourself of anxiety, hypnotherapy is by far the most effective treatment option. When a person undergoes hypnosis, their reactions and emotional responses to events are changed at their core. This allows them to cope with typical anxiety-inducing triggers without the usual feelings of nervousness and fear. Hypnosis is typically performed by a licensed hypnotist in a series of regular sessions. More commonly today, hypnotherapy takes the form of self hypnosis programs which can be purchased in the form of CDs, MP3s, or DVDs for personal home use. No special skills are necessary to perform self hypnosis. All that you need is a device to play the hypnotherapy program and a quiet space where you can listen and relax. Another successful method of anxiety treatment is Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. NLP is a type of therapy that can help you retrain yourself to naturally respond to situations in a more positive way. You can consciously decide to be calm instead of feeling anxious, which means that you always have control over your own feelings. In summary, you can see that it is important to control our negative emotional responses in order to remain healthy. Mastering techniques to deal with nervousness and fear may even extend your life. To treat long term anxiety, the best treatment option to follow is to participate in hypnotherapy to change your reactions and attitudes from within. Then, use stress management techniques as needed to keep calm in everyday situations.
By: Alan B. Densky, CH
Alan B. Densky is an NGH certified hypnotherapist. He offers a complete line of stress elimination hypnosis CDs, and advanced stress reduction CDs through his Neuro-VISION self hypnosis website. You can visit his video hypnosis blog, and download a free MP3. www.neuro-vision.us/ www.neuro-vision.us/Products/AudioStressRelaxationAdancedHypnosisTapes.htm
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