Common Anxiety Signs and Symptoms: Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

Anxiety is a very normal human experience. Yet many of the common anxiety signs and symptoms can cause even more panic and worry. You think there’s something seriously wrong with you, you worry about feeling bad and you just long to feel ‘normal’ again.

Anxiety is very normal, however, right now it’s happening too often and in too overwhelming a way. It’s your body’s way of signalling there may be something to pay attention to. Your body and mind search for the source of the threat and danger. Your mind races and jumps from one worst case to the next. Your anxious feelings leave you frightened and exhausted.

When it comes to persistent, intrusive and out of proportion anxiety, it can start to interfere with your day to day life. You can find yourself frequently caught in anxious thoughts and sensations. These can vary in intensity and in how much they affect you. Yet anxiety lurks there, causing you to worry about things. Even when you feel a bit calmer, you dread the anxiety coming back again. You start to wonder if it is something more than just ‘stress’ and this scares you even more.

Understanding anxiety is part of overcoming it. Everything you experience is something you are designed to do. It’s just happening at the wrong time and at too high a level. Your body and brain are overprotecting you in a way that is counter productive. Rather than being frightened, frustrated or upset, you need to understand the common anxiety sings and symptoms. Then you can recognise what is happening in your body and mind so you can take action and bring things back down.

Common Anxiety Signs and Symptoms

Anxiety is essentially your in built alert signal kicking in. Your brain perceives a threat or danger and the fight, flight or freeze response is prepared in anticipation of needing to act. It could be an external threat yet, with problematic anxiety, is more likely to be a response to worrying and troubling thoughts inside your own head.

Sometimes it can be like this alert system stays stuck in the ‘on’ position. You remain alert and ready for a threat that doesn’t come, or that you even know is irrational. You can struggle with a whole host of signs and symptoms – physical, emotional and behavioural.

Here are some of the common signs and symptoms of anxiety. You may notice some or all of these. Some may come and go and others can be more persistent and troubling.

1. Physical / Bodily Sensations

• Racing or pounding heart
• Tightness, heaviness or discomfort in your chest
• A shortness of breath or shallow breathing
• Feeling jittery, shaky or trembling
• Hot/cold sweats or feeling flushed
• Dizziness or feeling light headed
• Tingling or numbness in your hands or feet
• Muscle tension or headaches
• Butterflies in the stomach, nausea, bowel changes
• Tiredness and fatigue

These physical symptoms of anxiety are all a result of being stuck in high alert.

2. Thoughts, Emotions & Feelings

• Persistent worry, such as ‘what if…’ thoughts and worst case scenarios
• An ongoing sense of dread, apprehension or impending doom
• Difficulty concentrating, racing thoughts or brain fog
• Irritability and feeling on edge
• Restlessness and being unable to stay still or relax
• Over thinking past scenarios or rehearsing future scenarios
• Negative self talk and self criticism
• Feeling overwhelmed easily or a sense of being out of control.

These thoughts, feelings and emotions will go hand in hand with the physical symptoms above.

3. Behavioural Effects & Impacts

• Avoidance of people, places or situations that trigger anxiety
• Frequently seeking reassurance from others
• Problems falling asleep, staying asleep or waking early
• Procrastination and difficulty getting things done
• Eating more or less than usual (e.g. comfort eating, skipping meals)
• Withdrawal from hobbies, socialising or other things you used to enjoy
• Using alcohol, caffeine or sugar to help you try and cope
• Checking behaviours, monitoring physical symptoms, feeling tearful

These behaviours are the common result of anxiety. However, they can also become part of the patterns that keep the anxiety cycle going. The more you do these things, the more anxious you feel and so the more you do these behaviours.

Whilst occasional stress is part of life, prolonged anxiety needs action to deal with it. If you are feeling persistently anxious for no reason and it impacts upon your life, then hypnotherapy can help you. You can learn how to become ‘unstuck’ and to calm your mind and body. You can break the spiral of anxiety and start feeling more calm, confident and in control.

How Hypnotherapy Can Help You

Recognising anxiety is a key first step towards change. Once you notice how it’s showing up for you, in your body, mind and behaviour, you can target how best to respond.

As an anxiety hypnotherapist, I help people go beyond just managing the symptoms of anxiety (although that is important too). We get to the root patterns of anxious thinking and behaviour and rewire how you respond to the people, places and situations that used to trigger anxiety.

Through hypnotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, NLP and other strategies, we can calm those anxious feelings, help you take back control over your thinking and build lasting confidence and calm so that you can enjoy life.

Anxiety becomes something that happens only when it is reasonable and appropriate to what is going on. It no longer dominates your life. With awareness, small daily action and the right support, you can regain your calm, confidence and control.

If you’re ready to take that first step towards feeling better, reach out and book your free 30 minute consultation. No pressure, just a chat about how things are for you right now, how I work and how we’ll help you to tackle the common signs and symptoms of anxiety.

To your health and happiness,

Dan Regan

Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Find out more about anxiety hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket: Anxiety Hypnotherapy

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