Anxiety and stress are common experiences in today's fast-paced and demanding world, affecting individuals of all ages and backgrounds. While they are often used interchangeably, they are distinct conditions that can have significant impacts on one's mental and emotional well-being.
Anxiety is characterized by persistent, excessive worry or fear about everyday situations. It can manifest in various forms, such as generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic, or specific phobias.
On the other hand, stress is the body's natural response to external pressures and demands, which can be both positive (eustress) and negative (distress). While anxiety is often tied to specific triggers or worries, stress is a more generalized response to challenges and uncertainties.
Anxiety serves as a natural response indicating if something is important to us, as seen when feeling anxious before an exam due to its importance.
Similar to Excitement, Anxiety triggers a chemical reaction in the body, with adrenaline activating the sympathetic system to prepare for action.
By viewing Anxiety as a normal aspect of life, we can equip ourselves with tools to manage it effectively and recognize when it becomes a problem, requiring further help and healing.
Anxiety becomes a problem (=Disordered Anxiety) when it dominates one's life or hinders enjoyment, resulting in a sense of danger even in safe situations.
This may manifest as:
persistent general anxiety,
social anxiety,
phobias,
disruptions to daily functioning such as sleep disturbances or panic attacks.
And the more one attempts to suppress Anxiety, the more potent it may become.
The psychological root causes of Anxiety can vary from person to person, but it all goes back to:
past traumatic experiences,
chronic stressors,
personality traits which were often "installed" to us,
environmental influences,
negative thought patterns,
perfectionism,
avoidance,
lack of coping skills,
and unmet emotional needs.
All these fuel Anxiety and Stress, leading to a cycle of worry, tension, and unease.
The most lasting way to feel better is by changing how we perceive ourselves, and that can only happen when we address the root cause of anxiety, as anxiety is merely a symptom.
By using hypnosis as a tool to access the subconscious mind, individuals can pinpoint the exact root cause of their anxiety, identify and reframe negative self-beliefs, release suppressed emotions, and develop new coping mechanisms to manage anxiety and stress more effectively.
A crucial part of this process is recognizing common negative thought patterns and directly shifting how the client feels about them. By doing so, we reframe these patterns and foster healthier perspectives. Some of the most common patterns are:
Catastrophizing:
Unhelpful Thought: "Everything is going to go wrong, and I won’t be able to handle it."
Reframed Thought: "I have faced challenges before and can manage whatever comes my way."
Black-and-White Thinking:
Unhelpful Thought: "If I don’t succeed perfectly, I’m a failure."
Reframed Thought: "Every step I take is progress, and mistakes are opportunities to learn."
Mind Reading:
Unhelpful Thought: "Everyone thinks I’m inadequate."
Reframed Thought: "I can’t know what others think, and it’s most important how I view myself."
Overgeneralization:
Unhelpful Thought: "I failed once, so I will always fail."
Reframed Thought: "One setback doesn’t define me; I can succeed again."
Personalization:
Unhelpful Thought: "It’s my fault this happened."
Reframed Thought: "Many factors are at play, and I can learn and grow from this experience."
By recognizing and transforming these thought patterns through hypnosis and deep subconscious work, individuals can cultivate healthier, more empowering beliefs. This allows for sustainable change, as the client moves from feeling trapped in anxiety to experiencing greater emotional freedom and self-confidence.
This way, change comes naturally because the client genuinely feels different.