anxiety & stress management
When we’re confronted by a stressful situation, we usually experience a fight-or-flight reaction - our heart pounds in our chest and our breathing quickens. It is one of nature’s great survival mechanisms and our body’s special way of gearing us up for a burst of energy that could potentially save our life. However, this automatic response probably served our early ancestors better than it does us. They were certainly more likely to encounter a dangerous bear or wolf in the wild.
In reality, our reaction to perceived danger doesn’t always fit well with our modern lifestyle where constant stress and anxiety have become endemic. Today we are all too often left with unhelpful levels of adrenaline pumping through our system for unhealthy periods of time.
What’s the Difference?
Because they’re set off by a similar chemical reaction within us, the symptoms of stress and anxiety can feel the same. Whereas stress is a normal response to a threatening situation, anxiety is more the result of worry. Probably the main difference between the two is their duration. Stress tends to be a relatively short-lived condition while anxiety can last for weeks, months or even years.
Some Common Symptoms of Stress and Anxiety
- Increased irritability
- A heightened sensitivity to criticism
- A feeling that there is always something that needs to be done
- Difficulty getting off to sleep at night or awaking too early in the morning
- Procrastination
- Drinking too much alcohol or smoking more than usual
- Palpitations of the heart
- Indigestion
- Noticing a slight tremor of the hands
- Having reduced concentration
- Feel a ‘lump’ in the throat or in the stomach
- An inability to just sit and relax
- An inability to make decisions
Some More Concerning Symptoms
- Severe weight-loss or binge eating
- Chest pain
- Chronic constipation or diarrhoea
- An erratic (or rapid) pulse rate
- Feelings of self-harm or suicide
- Avoidance of certain important everyday situations or activities
It’s Certainly Time to Find Help When …
- You have feelings of self-hatred or diminished self-worth
- Your sex drive has lessened markedly
- Your relationships start running into trouble
- You feel irritable, angry or frustrated on a daily basis
- You radically increase your consumption of alcohol, nicotine or other substances
- Life becomes an up-hill struggle
- You experience any of the more worrying symptoms listed above
- Life has lost its sparkle
Possible Consequences
The potential consequences of extended episodes of stress and anxiety are enormous. They not only increase our likelihood of eventually suffering hypertension, high blood pressure, heart disease or some other serious physical illness, but they also increase our susceptibility to many psychosomatic conditions, including weight issues and addictions.
On a more immediate level, they can reduce our ability to effectively cope with whatever task may be at hand, stifle creativity and impact on our quality and enjoyment of life. This, in turn, can have implications for our relationships, our career, our finances and almost every other aspect of our lives.
There is, indeed, every reason for us to learn to effectively manage our stress and anxiety.
It’s all in the Mind
Isn’t it interesting how some people are far better able to deal with life’s tensions than others? Anxiety and stress are just creations of our own individual system. They are caused when we perceive a danger and then respond (usually in an unconscious way) to what we have perceived. We all deal with stressful situations differently, largely because of the way our perceptions and responses differ.
Because these are mechanisms that take place completely within ourselves, we are able to become aware of our own natural process and develop both more appropriate ways to perceive situations and more helpful ways to respond to our perceptions. Fortunately, each of us has a surprising ability to calm ourselves and to, not only control our outward behaviour, but also our internal reactions.
Focussing on the unconscious mind as they do, Hypnotherapy and NLP are excellent tools when dealing with both the symptoms of our unhelpful emotional states and also their underlying causes. It is fascinating to think that, on a physical level at least, our body doesn't really know the difference between an imagined threat and a real one. An understanding this can make these disciplines even more effective than they already are.
Help
I now offer a four-session, personalised stress and anxiety management workshop in which I help my clients on an individual, one-to-one basis. Together we discover their habitual ways of processing life's more difficult events and then develop healthy, less stressful methods of dealing with them. I also teach them powerful techniques to help, when necessary, quickly change their emotional state to one of calm and relaxation.
Use this link to view my fees page or this link to make a time to see me. (I do, of course, understand that it is important for you to find the right person to work with, so feel safe in the knowledge that I won’t charge you for your first visit if, by the end of it, you decide that my way of working is not quite right for you.) Should you have any questions, or should you just wish to speak to me about this (or anything else), please feel free to send me an e-mail or to just call me on 020 7734 4000.
There is really no need to let life stress us out!
