What's Behind Anxiety?

 




Ever wondered why one person develops an anxiety condition and another doesn’t?


Some people have phobias while other’s don’t. One person may suffer terribly from depression, and the next person never has to fight against the same emotional numbness.

In years gone by, we might have described this as having trouble with their nerves or being highly strung, but that's a description of how they are, not WHY they are so. A description of symptoms is not an explanation.

If you were to ask the person suffering from anxiety WHY they had that problem, they might shrug their shoulders and say: “That’s just the way I am.” Others might explain: “I know where it all began. I was trapped in the cupboard under the stairs as a child and I was terrified."


If you were to ask why they think that caused the claustrophobia, they might look puzzled as if you hadn’t understood their explanation. Lots of people get stuck in cupboards or enclosed spaces when they are playing as children, do they all develop claustrophobia? Of course not. So why is this person different?

The Diathesis-Stress Model suggests we may develop a particular psychological problem because of an interaction between a predisposed vulnerability and stressful life events. We may become poorly when triggered by even everyday stresses.

What if past unpleasant experiences also make us vulnerable? 

We have thousands of early life experiences, each one we interpret in the best way we can given the circumstances at the time. A large proportion of those experiences occurred when our understanding of the world was less advanced than now. None of us feels fear, anger, embarrassment, guilt or shame with the same intensity as a child.

We accumulate these experiences creating pressure within our minds. They make us vulnerable to life stresses. Minimal life stress means we are unlikely to be suffering terribly from anxiety. However, the greater the stress a person experiences, the more likely they will be vulnerable to developing symptoms.

If we were to ignore the past experiences of someone suffering from an emotional problem, we are only treating symptoms rather than what has made them vulnerable. 

How do we release the pressure created by these past experiences?

Hypnoanalysis aims to reduce the accumulation of childhood unhelpful experiences. By thinking through them as an adult, they are processed in a way they couldn't be the first time. Less accumulated psychological baggage means we are less vulnerable to developing anxieties even when life stresses increase.

While we cannot change what happened in the past, it is possible to change the negative effects it has on current behaviour.


David treats clients at Kettering Osteopaths and at Oundle Osteopaths. For a Free initial consultation call David on 01536 350328 or visit www.ketteringhypnotherapy.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting a Better Nights Sleep - The 3 Week Challenge: Principle One

Image
It all began a month or so before lockdown when I noticed how many sleep aids there were in the chemist.  That same week I had four people contact me for help with sleep problems.  This made me ask myself: “What does psychological research and Hypnotherapy tell us about getting a good nights sleep?” A positive psychological approach focuses on what makes people healthy rather than unhealthy. Instead of looking at the behaviour of someone who is struggling to get a good nights sleep, we should focus on the person who frequently sleeps well. How is the behaviour different? Can we copy it? I began teaching people to use these psychological techniques alongside Hypnosis to nudge their sleep pattern. I was pleased to see the differences that could be made…but more people are needed to really see how effective it could be. Fancy a challenge? You need to apply the principles for the next three weeks and review the changes to your to sleep.  Each principle usually takes on
Read more

Hypnosis Explained

Image
    If you are hoping to read that Hypnosis is a magical, mystical, controlling power that can make people behave in ways they choose not to, then you are certainly going to be disappointed. Any assumption that a person is asleep or unconscious is also not the case.  So have you ever experienced Hypnosis? Think back over the last 24 hours…. When you woke up this morning, do you remember that half-awake half-asleep feeling? On that commute to work, perhaps you drifted into auto-pilot and as you were driving along? Perhaps your mind drifted to the things you had to do.  You could be forgiven for thinking that you were daydreaming. Tonight, just as you drift off to sleep you are very likely to experience that same half-awake half-asleep feeling. Every one of those experiences could be given the name Hypnosis. Hypnosis is a natural state we all experience many times throughout the day. It is as much part of our lives as breathing. The idea of being under the control of another or being un
Read more

Why Talking Works - The Processing Answer


Image
  A problem shared is a problem halved, isn’t that how the saying goes?  When something is on your mind and you're struggling to figure out which direction to take, talking it through with someone often helps you find a way out of the dilemma. What appeared to be an obstacle shrinks when you have put it into words. Why? When we talk about something, we adapt our understanding of it. Talking about something out loud means we have to slow down and think about it differently rather than having thoughts racing around our mind. Speaking about something forces us to think things through so we understand things differently; we have processed them. Processing means understanding. We understand something about the circumstances and ourselves. Something happens, and we have to understand what happened and the effect it did or did not have on us. When a person has experienced a significant event, particularly a life change, they will have to process what happened or is still happening and
Read more