What is Anxiety? The Symptoms of Anxiety - Hypnotherapy Can Help
Anxiety is normal, everyone feels anxious at some point in their life. However, it can become overwhelming because anxiety puts your body and mind in danger mode stimulating the fff (fight, flight. fright) response. This happens as you worry about bad outcomes to events, that are in fact really unlikely to happen. Therapy can help with many different symptoms of anxiety which can be grouped into physical symptoms, emotional / behavioural symptoms and mental / cognitive symptoms.
It is Normal to Feel Anxiety, Everyone Does
You are not alone feeling anxious. Anxiety is a perfectly normal and common feeling. Like stress it is your bodies way of telling you, you are in danger. Not wanting to feel anxious can lead you into a cycle of avoiding these situations however, that does not help in the longer term. Unfortunately, with anxiety and some anxiety disorders, it can be unrealistic worry about what might happen rather than actually being in danger. For example, you might have been feeling anxious before sitting an exam at school or driving test or feeling anxious about completing work tasks in time for a deadline. Symptoms of anxiety are like those for stress but, unfortunately anxiety symptoms can last longer than a single stressful episode.
What is Happening to Me When I am Feeling Anxious?
Just like when we are stressed, anxiety sets the fff (fight, flight. fright) response in motion. This is a normal human reaction to danger. However, with anxiety, this biochemical reaction happens in anticipation of an event which we think will cause us danger. So anxious people can be worrying about what might go wrong, what bad thing could happen next or even how anxious they will feel in and hour, when the meeting with the boss is scheduled.
Cyclical Worry & Avoidance Doesn’t Help Long Term
These thoughts and or worries may become cyclical. Meaning they go around and around in circle.
(Anxiety Strikes > Avoid The Situation > Short Term Relief > Long-Term Anxiety Builds Up > Rinse & Repeat)
This avoidance can create longer-term problems. Before this happens, it is worth while seeking help from a professional. That is what we do here. We are happy to help people when they are finding it difficult to cope. A little help can go a long way.
Worrying Unrealistically About Unlikely Outcomes
It is very worth noting that anxious worrying can often be worry about unrealistic outcomes to events. Things that are so unlikely to happen, they never will happen. Yet, even when we know this, the worry persists. Yet again, over the longer term this can be devastating on the mind and body. So, we need methods to overcoming anxiety, which is where therapy comes in. We will teach you methods of coping better.Offer you personalised therapy techniques that can help you put in perspective some of your difficulties. Rather than your anxiety controlling you, we can help to put you in more control of your anxiety.
Physical, Behavioural & Mental / Cognitive Symptoms of Anxiety Checklist
Anxiety and its presenting symptoms can be different for every individual. This is an outline of some of the more common one as defined by the NHS, National Institute of Mental Health, Mind and Anxiety UK. You may experience some of the below but, you may also get others not listed here too.
If you find yourself with more of these symptoms than you would like, book an appointment today. We can aid you in finding out, you are not your anxiety. We can show you effective methods, creating a toolbox of techniques to help you take more control.
- Raised heartbeat / palpitations in everyday situations.
- Sweating more than normal.
- Feeling your muscles are tense or tight much of the time leading to aches and pains.
- Getting pains or tightness in your chest.
- Having a busy mind at night is stopping you sleeping.
- Grinding your teeth at night, in your sleep.
- Feeling on edge, agitated, or shaky.
- Often feeling like you have “Butterflies” or churning in your tummy.
- Finding yourself short of breath.
- Often becoming dizzy or having a headache.
- More hot flushes than normal.
- Feeling sick and or shaking.
- Feeling tired often and or easily fatigued.
- Not enjoying quiet time by yourself.
- Avoiding going out, especially alone.
- Difficulty learning new things.
- Finding it harder to concentrate or focus for any period of time.
- Putting things off because you are feeling swamped, overwhelmed or inundated during a normal day.
- Avoiding situations that you think might make you anxious.
- An inability to relax.
- Making excuses to avoid situations.
- Becoming panicky and rushing out of situations where you feel anxious.
- Only shopping online or when the shops are quiet.
- Feeling scared or panicky too often.
- Feeling like running away to escape from anxious situations.
- Worrying much of the time.
- Thinking people know you are feeling anxious.
- Thinking that you might go mad.
- Feeling like time is speeding up and or slowing down.
- Worrying you may lose control.
- Catastrophizing about the worst possible outcomes.
- Thinking people are watching you during an anxious moment.
- Thinking you might die.
- Hypochondria, worrying you might have a terminal illness.
- Criticizing yourself about everything you do.
- Putting yourself under unreasonable pressure by thinking everything you do must be perfect.
- Thinking you might be sick or faint in public.
- Thinking you are going to embarrass yourself often.
- Blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong.
- Feeling disconnected from your environment and or people in it.
- Worrying about how anxious you will feel in an impending situation.
References:
No Author (nd) About anxiety [online] available from https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/get-help/about-anxiety-and-anxiety-disorders/ last accessed 22/05/22
No Author (2019) Anxiety, fear and panic [online] available from https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/feelings-and-symptoms/anxiety-fear-panic/ last accessed 23/05/22
No Author (2022) Anxiety Disorders [online] available from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders last accessed 18/05/22
No Author (2021) Anxiety and panic attacks [online] available from https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/anxiety-and-panic-attacks/symptoms/ last accessed 21/05/22
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Hello Lady. Thank you for your kind comments. I am very happy to hear you find the article about anxiety useful to you in some way. I am always glad when I can help someone any way I can. I look forward to hearing from you. You will be made very welcome when you find the time is right for you.