Anxiety? Stress?

 

Do you know the difference between feeling stressed and feeling anxious? It can be so easy to get the two confused, especially when they can become muddled together.

Think of stress as a normal response to the pressures of the circumstances. It usually occurs when we perceive the demands of the situation are greater than we are able to cope with. The important thing is stress is logical (while unpleasant) given the circumstances. Ask yourself: is it logical that I should feel the pressure given these particular circumstances, right now?

Stress is usually short-term if we have the correct coping experiencing to know how to deal with the demands of the circumstances. We adapt, reassess the situation and the stress response reduces because we have changed our perception of our ability to cope.

Where our experience of coping is limited or our natural resilience has waned, the stress response can continue. If this is left unchecked, it can lead to burnout.

Anxiety is a very similar physical and psychological response to stress, the difference is it is illogical given the demands of the circumstances. Anxiety is at odds with the situation we find ourselves in. A person feels anxious without an identifiable external reason for the response.

Anxiety comes from stress within ourselves rather than the outside circumstances, which is why coping strategies have only a limited benefit on anxiety. 

Anxiety is something inside the person but outside their own control.

Of course, one has an effect on the other. The greater the inner stress, the more difficult a person will find coping with external stress.

Why is it important to make the distinction?

To know that you are suffering from stress rather than anxiety can be calming in itself. I have found that clients find it very reassuring to hear that what they are experiencing is explainable and can be treated.

Knowing the difference between the two informs us about how we should tackle the problem.

With logical stress responses, problem focused and emotion focused coping can be used and boosted with the use of Suggestion Hypnotherapy.

Problem-focused Coping is working through the practical approach to dealing with the stressful situation. Using positive coaching approaches, we can talk through ways of addressing the practical obstacles that contribute to the stress response.

Emotion-focused Coping is addressing the emotions that are created by the stressful situation; the stress response itself. This is where Suggestion Hypnotherapy is very helpful.

Suggestion Therapy works under the principal of ‘re-writing’ the unconscious behaviour instructions that stand in the way fo a person feeling calm or behaving in the ways that would be more useful to them. Unhelpful habits can be changed and the use of self-hypnosis can be taught.

When the problem is identified as anxiety (an illogical emotional and/or physical response to circumstances) then it makes more sense to address the inner stresses that are creating the problem. Rather than just managing the stress response, we need to remove the underlying root cause of the problem.

The treatment used is Hypnoanalysis; a therapy which combines both Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy.

The therapy helps a person resolve the build-up of pressures which are leading a person to feeling anxious and being more susceptible to the stresses of everyday life.

By working through the underlying root cause of the anxiety, you can make sense of the origin and as a result, make the changes you want.

Many people often report that there has been a positive change in other aspects of their behaviour; things that they previously would never have thought of as part of their unhelpful behaviours have also improved.

Remove the unconscious obstacles to positive behavioural change and you find your goals and aspirations are much closer than you think. What the mind perceives the mind believes and the mind achieves.

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