Anxiety comes in many guises. Sometimes it is really obvious, like nerves before a driving test or a job interview, and sometimes it is really obscure and we might not even realise we are living with it, it’s just who we think we are.
It can be acute and intermittent. Perhaps recognised in a fear of spiders or birds, or swimming maybe. You know what I mean. That sudden yelp and jump out of the way, or complete avoidance of a place; hearts pounding , body bracing and maybe shaking, feeling a bit sweaty and perhaps out of control.
And, it can be chronic. That constant nagging, aching feeling that something isn’t quite right, either in the moment, or the future and definitely in the past. It stops us from feeling joy as it is looking out for all of the pitfalls in any situation and what might go wrong.
Those feelings that anxiety gives us are perfectly normal. It is a part of our primitive mind preparing us for situations that might be dangerous for us, a bit like a warning system. It escalates our heart rate so we have lots of blood pumping round our muscles so we can run away or fight, perhaps. It releases stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline to give us the fuel and energy we need to keep us alive. The butterflies, feeling of nausea, sweaty palms and agitation are all a part of the preparation process our body uses to try and get us ready for action to keep us alive.
Unfortunately, in our modern world we can be triggered into anxiety without there actually being a direct imminent threat to us. For example, watching the news can create anxiety as we see people perhaps starving, living in war and the effects of global warming, and we become alerted to possible danger, even though it isn’t there with us, right now.
Our primitive brain can’t take the chance of it not being real so goes ahead with primitive plan A.
Acute anxiety can cause us problems every day as we try to avoid whatever causes us anxiety, and can slowly creep into other areas of our life, as we make connections in our brains of where the dangers might also be lurking.
Chronic anxiety can have long lasting detrimental health impact on us as we remain ever ready for battle, it is exhausting.
Fortunately, Solution Focussed Hypnotherapy can help with both chronic and acute forms of anxiety as it gently helps us to focus on the good things in life, recognise patterns of behaviour that have been driving our anxiety and find our own helpful solutions to our problems and situations.
So next time you get that feeling, remember it is your own warning system that can be toned down by your other body systems and your intellectual mind, when you are in the right frame of mind, feeling and thinking positive, having positive interactions and positive actions, which Solution Focussed Hypnotherapy can help you to find.