Many people use the words stress and anxiety interchangeably, but they are actually two distinct conditions. Stress is a response to a stimulus, either internal or external. You may feel stress when you are frustrated with something (like waiting in line behind a slow person) or when you are worried that you will not meet expectations (such as missing a deadline).
Anxiety, on the other hand, is a feeling of dread, or nervousness and fear. It can be brought on by negative expectations and thoughts, or as a reaction to stress. You may feel anxious virtually all of the time and not know why, or your worry may be a reaction to something you are nervous about, like an upcoming business trip.
Abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain can cause generalized anxiety. Some studies indicate that anxiety can be brought on genetically. Anxiety can also stem from environmental conditions, as when a child whose father or mother is often anxious becomes an anxious person by observing the parent. But very often the core cause of anxiety is simply the thoughts that a person is thinking!
Anxiety and stress are subjective conditions. Different people may feel stressed about different situations, and different people may respond to their anxiousness in very different ways. Symptoms of anxiety can range from the mild, such as sweaty hands and tense muscles, to the severe, such as anxiety attacks, vomiting, and irregular heartbeat.
Everyone experiences feelings of anxiety once in awhile. All of us have experienced the dry mouth and “butterflies in the stomach” before a public speaking engagement or a test. But when does it become damaging to your health? Research indicates that prolonged anxiety can lead to sleep disorders, depression, high blood pressure, and relationship problems
For sufferers of long-term untreated anxiety, there may be detrimental health consequences that have yet to be fully examined. Some studies have found a link between chronic anxiety and a number of serious health conditions including cancer, heart disease, arthritis, thyroid disease, and respiratory illness. Chronically anxious people may even be more likely to suffer a fatal heart attack.
If you experience what seems like a disproportionately 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 a person’s inability to function normally because of frequent anxiety. Anxiety disorders are serious conditions that should be treated to lower the risk of long-term effects.
Anxiety treatment has long been the subject of much discussion in the medical community. Some medical professionals believe that medication is the best method to handle chronic anxiety. However, anti-anxiety medications often have harmful side effects that are just as bad as or even worse than the initial affliction.
There are many safe and natural ways to handle negative emotional reactions. Exercise is a frequently overlooked option, but it is very effective in managing stress and anxiety. Exercise causes your body to release endorphins, which are natural mood-boosting and pain-killing chemicals. With regular aerobic exercise, you may begin to feel a dramatic decrease in negative emotional reactions to situations that would previously have made you feel quite anxious.
The best way to cope with worry and tension is to control it from within. Stress relief and stress management 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 breathing, release the tension, and maintain a tranquil state of mind. Meditation is an excellent form of tension management in which you focus on mindful relaxation and deep, calming breathing.
However, if you are searching for a proactive method to free yourself of anxiety, hypnosis is by far the most effective form of treatment. When a person undergoes hypnotherapy, their emotional responses and reactions to events are changed at their core. This provides them with the opportunity to deal with common anxiety-inducing triggers without the typical fear and nervousness.
Hypnosis can be performed by a licensed hypnotherapist in a series of regular treatments. More commonly today, hypnosis can be learned from self hypnosis programs which are available in the form of DVDs, CDs, or MP3s for individual home use. No special skills are required to practice self hypnosis. All that you need is a way to play the hypnosis program and a quiet place where you can relax and listen.
Another successful method of anxiety treatment is Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. NLP is a form of therapy that can help you retrain your mind and body to naturally respond to situations in a more positive way. You can consciously decide to be calm rather than anxious, and consequently, you always have control over your own emotions.
In summary, you can see that it is important to manage our negative emotional responses in order to remain healthy. Learning to cope with fear and nervousness may even add precious years onto 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, practice stress management techniques as necessary to keep calm in everyday situations.
Alan B. Densky is an NGH certified hypnotherapist. He offers a complete line of anxiety elimination NLP CDs, and advanced anxiety elimination CDs through his Neuro-VISION hypnotism website. You can visit his self hypnosis blog, and download a free MP3.