Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Fears and Phobias
Stress, fear and anxiety are important for survival. They act as a mechanism to protect the body against danger by triggering the release of certain hormones, such as Adrenalin. Adrenalin increases heart rate to carry blood where it's most needed quicker. Breathing rate also increases to help provide the extra oxygen needed for energy. Sweat is produced to prevent your body overheating. Your mouth may feel dry, as your digestive system slows down to allow more blood to be diverted to your muscles. Your senses are heightened and your brain becomes much more alert. These changes enable the body to take action to protect itself in a dangerous situation, either by running away or facing the danger. This is known as the fight or flight reaction. Once the danger has passed, other hormones are released, which may cause you to shake as your muscles start to relax.
The response is important in protecting you against physical dangers. However, your body reacts in the very same way to situations that you find threatening, but which you can't deal with appropriately by fighting or running away. Situations like this may include job interviews, a driving test, or having an operation.
While we may be able to face and deal with one off situations, it is when the perceived or actual demands (physical, emotional and mental) take their toll over time and exceed our ability to cope, that negative stress occurs. More accurately this can be described as distress.
Anxiety is the innate feeling of fear that we all experience when faced with threatening or difficult situations. It helps us to avoid danger, makes us more alert and motivates us to deal with problems.
Remember that anxiety is something we all experience from time to time in differing degrees. Most people can relate to feeling tense, uncertain and perhaps fearful at the thought of something significant that is looming, like starting a new job, having an operation or getting married.
Fear of failing, being rejected or not being able to cope if things dont go to plan are all anxieties. These worries can affect your sleep, appetite and ability to concentrate. However, when everything goes well, the anxiety usually goes away. Indeed anxiety is essential and very useful in the short term as it can make us more alert and give us energy that can enhance performance.
It is when anxiety becomes chronic that we suffer most. The body goes into a state of sustained alert and this can cause abnormal physiological reactions. Quite literally, when anxious feelings become too strong they can be crippling.
Panic is defined as a sudden unexpected surge of anxiety that makes you want to exit the worrying or stressful situation.
Phobias are extreme, irrational fears of either a situation, a person or some particular thing. Phobic behaviour can be incapacitating. Phobia are often things that most people don't find troublesome at all e.g. clowns, trees or even sitting in a public space. You know that you have a phobia when your reaction is to instantly panic and want to run away whenever you encounter the thing that you fear (or sometimes even just see a picture of it).
Causes:-
*Life experience - bad experiences in the past or life-changes such as pregnancy, bereavement, changing job, major illness, becoming unemployed or moving house.
*Personality - whether by nature or nurture some people are more prone to anxiety than others. However, even someone who doesn't naturally worry can, under enough stress, become uncomfortably anxious.
*Circumstances - sometimes its obvious what is making you anxious. When the problem disappears, so does the anxiety. However, some extreme situations are so threatening that the anxiety goes on long after the event. You can feel nervous and anxious for months or years, even if you were not physically harmed. This is referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder.
*Drugs - recreational drugs can make you anxious ñ for some people, just the caffeine in coffee is enough.
*Learned patterns - people develop (learn) thought patterns, strategies and responses that keep them trapped. For example, after a while, people can start to fear the symptoms of anxiety, feeling out of control and this sets up a vicious cycle. They feel anxious because they dread feeling the symptoms of anxiety, and then they experience those symptoms because they are having anxious thoughts.
Anxiety symptoms
* Feeling worried all the time
* Tiredness
* Irritability
* Problems sleeping
* Difficulty concentrating
* Raised heart rate
* Sweats
* Muscle tension, aches and pains
* Shaking
* Breathing more heavily
* Dizzyness or fainting
* Indigestion, IBS or diarrhoea
If you are anxious already, the physical symptoms can make you worry they are signs of a serious illness. This can make you even more anxious.
Panic symptoms
* Sudden and overwhelming fear and a sense of loss of control
* Breathing very quickly or gasping for air
* Increased heart rate
* Feeling faint or dizzy
* Sweating
* Shaky limbs
* With a severe panic attack, you may feel that you are going mad, blacking out or even having of a heart attack.
Anxiety and panic are often accompanied by feelings of depression, losing your appetite, or seeing the future as bleak and hopeless.
Phobic Symptoms
* A phobia is experiencing strong feeling of anxiety in situations that frighten you. For example, if you have a phobia of flying, you feel anxious when you are on a plane, but feel fine at other times.
* You tend to avoid the situations that make you anxious (denial), but this can makes the phobia worse as time goes on.
* Your life gets taken over by the things you have to do to avoid the situations or things that you are afraid of.
* You can often realise that there is no real danger and even feel silly about your phobia, but still have no real control over it.
Impact on work, leisure and relationships
You may find it difficult to hold down a job, develop or maintain good relationships, or simply to enjoy leisure time. Sleep problems may further aggravate anxious feelings and reduce your ability to cope.
For some people, anxiety becomes so overwhelming that it takes over their lives. They may experience severe or very frequent panic attacks, for no apparent reason, or have a persistent, sense of anxiety. Some may develop a phobia about going out (Agoraphobia) , or may withdraw completely from contact with other people, even their family and friends. Others may have obsessive thoughts or develop repetitive ehaviour, such as endlessly cleaning or washing their hands (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD).
Problems of this kind are known as panic disorders or anxiety disorders. This does not mean you have a serious mental health problem. However, itís important to consult your GP to eliminate any possible physical cause for the symptoms before considering hypnotherapy or any other forms of treatment.
Hypnotherapy, combined with learning to relax and other practical ways of helping yourself such as exercise and changes in diet, can enable you to overcome anxiety, take control, and lead a happier more fulfilling life.
The response is important in protecting you against physical dangers. However, your body reacts in the very same way to situations that you find threatening, but which you can't deal with appropriately by fighting or running away. Situations like this may include job interviews, a driving test, or having an operation.
While we may be able to face and deal with one off situations, it is when the perceived or actual demands (physical, emotional and mental) take their toll over time and exceed our ability to cope, that negative stress occurs. More accurately this can be described as distress.
Anxiety is the innate feeling of fear that we all experience when faced with threatening or difficult situations. It helps us to avoid danger, makes us more alert and motivates us to deal with problems.
Remember that anxiety is something we all experience from time to time in differing degrees. Most people can relate to feeling tense, uncertain and perhaps fearful at the thought of something significant that is looming, like starting a new job, having an operation or getting married.
Fear of failing, being rejected or not being able to cope if things dont go to plan are all anxieties. These worries can affect your sleep, appetite and ability to concentrate. However, when everything goes well, the anxiety usually goes away. Indeed anxiety is essential and very useful in the short term as it can make us more alert and give us energy that can enhance performance.
It is when anxiety becomes chronic that we suffer most. The body goes into a state of sustained alert and this can cause abnormal physiological reactions. Quite literally, when anxious feelings become too strong they can be crippling.
Panic is defined as a sudden unexpected surge of anxiety that makes you want to exit the worrying or stressful situation.
Phobias are extreme, irrational fears of either a situation, a person or some particular thing. Phobic behaviour can be incapacitating. Phobia are often things that most people don't find troublesome at all e.g. clowns, trees or even sitting in a public space. You know that you have a phobia when your reaction is to instantly panic and want to run away whenever you encounter the thing that you fear (or sometimes even just see a picture of it).
Causes:-
*Life experience - bad experiences in the past or life-changes such as pregnancy, bereavement, changing job, major illness, becoming unemployed or moving house.
*Personality - whether by nature or nurture some people are more prone to anxiety than others. However, even someone who doesn't naturally worry can, under enough stress, become uncomfortably anxious.
*Circumstances - sometimes its obvious what is making you anxious. When the problem disappears, so does the anxiety. However, some extreme situations are so threatening that the anxiety goes on long after the event. You can feel nervous and anxious for months or years, even if you were not physically harmed. This is referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder.
*Drugs - recreational drugs can make you anxious ñ for some people, just the caffeine in coffee is enough.
*Learned patterns - people develop (learn) thought patterns, strategies and responses that keep them trapped. For example, after a while, people can start to fear the symptoms of anxiety, feeling out of control and this sets up a vicious cycle. They feel anxious because they dread feeling the symptoms of anxiety, and then they experience those symptoms because they are having anxious thoughts.
Anxiety symptoms
* Feeling worried all the time
* Tiredness
* Irritability
* Problems sleeping
* Difficulty concentrating
* Raised heart rate
* Sweats
* Muscle tension, aches and pains
* Shaking
* Breathing more heavily
* Dizzyness or fainting
* Indigestion, IBS or diarrhoea
If you are anxious already, the physical symptoms can make you worry they are signs of a serious illness. This can make you even more anxious.
Panic symptoms
* Sudden and overwhelming fear and a sense of loss of control
* Breathing very quickly or gasping for air
* Increased heart rate
* Feeling faint or dizzy
* Sweating
* Shaky limbs
* With a severe panic attack, you may feel that you are going mad, blacking out or even having of a heart attack.
Anxiety and panic are often accompanied by feelings of depression, losing your appetite, or seeing the future as bleak and hopeless.
Phobic Symptoms
* A phobia is experiencing strong feeling of anxiety in situations that frighten you. For example, if you have a phobia of flying, you feel anxious when you are on a plane, but feel fine at other times.
* You tend to avoid the situations that make you anxious (denial), but this can makes the phobia worse as time goes on.
* Your life gets taken over by the things you have to do to avoid the situations or things that you are afraid of.
* You can often realise that there is no real danger and even feel silly about your phobia, but still have no real control over it.
Impact on work, leisure and relationships
You may find it difficult to hold down a job, develop or maintain good relationships, or simply to enjoy leisure time. Sleep problems may further aggravate anxious feelings and reduce your ability to cope.
For some people, anxiety becomes so overwhelming that it takes over their lives. They may experience severe or very frequent panic attacks, for no apparent reason, or have a persistent, sense of anxiety. Some may develop a phobia about going out (Agoraphobia) , or may withdraw completely from contact with other people, even their family and friends. Others may have obsessive thoughts or develop repetitive ehaviour, such as endlessly cleaning or washing their hands (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD).
Problems of this kind are known as panic disorders or anxiety disorders. This does not mean you have a serious mental health problem. However, itís important to consult your GP to eliminate any possible physical cause for the symptoms before considering hypnotherapy or any other forms of treatment.
Hypnotherapy, combined with learning to relax and other practical ways of helping yourself such as exercise and changes in diet, can enable you to overcome anxiety, take control, and lead a happier more fulfilling life.
