Stress & Anxiety

Stress

Stress has always been a part of our daily lives. Many of our stresses are natural responses to common situations where our bodies react in a somewhat stimulated way. This is so called positive stress because it stimulates and directs to active life. In our current society, people are increasingly experiencing too much stress, so called negative stress. This type of stress can make you feel tense, nervous and explosive. Stress is a well-known trigger for depression and it can also affect your physical health. The most common reasons cuasing stress are: any sort of loss, from bereavement, divorce and separation to a child leaving home; long-term illness and disability; marriage; moving house; a new job; holidays and work.

The symptoms of negative stress include:
• Increased irritability
• Heightened sensitivity to criticism
• Signs of tension, such as nail-biting
• Difficulty getting to sleep and early morning waking
• Drinking and smoking extensively
• Indigestion
• Loss of concentration

Everybody has a level of stress which is manageable for their. This level varies from person to person. So, as long as one keep the stress levels below their individual limit everything works fine. When thinking about the stress levels it is important the degree to which our response to a certain stimulus has been either appropriate or disproportionate. Equally important is the degree to which stress is getting into all aspects of life.

Anxiety

As similar with stress, everyone will experience feelings of anxiety and worry many times throughout their lifetime. For example, you may feel worried or anxious about a job interview, getting the results from a medical test, financial issues or even getting married. These are perfectly normal reactions to the daily pressures of life. However, for some people, these feelings of worry or anxiety can become intrusive in their lives, and may begin to affect them on a daily basis.

The symptoms of anxiety are many and varied, for example:
• Feeling 'on edge'
• Restlessness
• Sense of dread
• Difficulty concentrating
• Irritability
• Impatience
• Being easily distracted
• Dizziness
• Lethargy
• Pins and needles
• Irregular heart beat (palpitations)
• Muscle aches
• Dry mouth
• Excessive sweating
• Shortness of breath
• Stomach ache
• Headache
• Diarrhoea
• Excessive thirst
• Frequent urination
• Painful or missed periods
• Difficulty in falling, or staying, asleep

Some people experience 'panic attacks' which can feel very frightening indeed, with people often describing how they thought they were going to die, usually of a heart attack. There are also many diagnosable conditions for which anxiety is the main symptom. For example, panic disorder, phobias, post-traumatic syndrome and generalised anxiety disorder.

Self-confidence Issues

Many of the features, and the impact, of low self-confidence mirror issues associated with problems such as anxiety, stress, and social phobia and it is likely that many people who have low self-confidence also suffer aspects of these other difficulties. Life can be quite challenging for those who have poor levels of self-confidence, self-belief and self-image. For this group of people, there are likely to be unresolved issues from their past that are undermining their confidence levels on a daily basis.

If you are experiencing a lack of confidence over an upcoming event or feeling anxious, then hypnotherapy can enable you to increase your belief in yourself and your self-confidence, enabling you to feel more proficient and in control.