Worry - What Creates It And How To Get Rid Of It

Although many people tend to use the terms "anxiety" and "stress" interchangeably, they are actually two distinct conditions. Stress is a reaction to a stimulus, which can be internal or external. You may experience stress when you are frustrated with something (like waiting in line behind a slow person) or when you worry that you will not meet expectations (such as missing a deadline at work).

Anxiety, on the other hand, is a sense of fear and nervousness or even dread. It can be caused by negative thoughts and expectations, or as a response to stress. You may feel anxious virtually all of the time and not understand why, or your feelings may be a response to something you are nervous about, such as an upcoming exam.

Abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain may cause generalized anxiety. Some studies show that anxiety can be brought on genetically. Anxiety may also be induced environmentally, as when the child of a parent who is often anxious becomes an anxious person by observing the parent. But frequently, the core cause of anxiety is simply the thoughts in a person's mind!

Anxiety and stress are subjective conditions. Different people may feel stressed about different situations, and different people may respond to their anxiousness in very different ways. Symptoms of anxiety can range from the mild, such as sweaty hands and tense muscles, to the severe, such as vomiting, irregular heartbeat, and anxiety attacks.

Everyone feels some amount of anxiety from time to time. All of us have felt the dry mouth and vague sense of dread before an exam or public speaking engagement. But when does it become harmful to your health? Research has revealed that prolonged anxiety can make us vulnerable to sleep disorders, relationship problems, depression, and high blood pressure

For sufferers of chronic untreated anxiety, there can be negative health consequences that have yet to be fully examined. Some studies have found a link between chronic anxiety and a variety of serious health conditions including cancer, respiratory illness, heart disease, thyroid disease, and arthritis. Chronically anxious people may even be more likely to suffer a fatal cardiac attack.

If you suffer from what seems like a disproportionately high amount of anxiety relative to the situation, or if you feel anxious nearly every day, you may actually have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are chronic conditions characterized by an individual's inability to function normally because of frequent anxiety. Anxiety disorders are serious conditions that should be treated to reduce the risk of long-term effects.

Anxiety treatment has long been the subject of much debate in the medical field. Some medical professionals feel that medication is the best treatment for chronic anxiety. Unfortunately, anti-anxiety medications often have serious side effects that are just as bad or even worse than the initial condition.

There are plenty of safe and non-invasive ways to handle negative emotional responses. Exercise is an often overlooked option, but it is highly effective. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins, which are natural pain-killing and mood-boosting chemicals. With regular aerobic exercise, you may begin to feel a decrease in negative emotional responses to situations that would previously have made you feel quite anxious.

The most effective way to manage tension and worry is to control it from within. Stress relief and stress management techniques are very useful in coping with day to day stress. These techniques can teach you to calm yourself and relieve your tension. You make a conscious effort to slow your breathing, release the tension, and remain in a tranquil state of mind. Meditation is an increasingly popular form of tension management in which you practice thoughtful relaxation and deep, calm breathing.

However, if you want a proactive solution to free yourself of anxiety, hypnosis is by far the best form of treatment. When an individual undergoes hypnotherapy, their emotional responses and reactions to events are changed at the core. This allows them to cope with typical anxiety-inducing triggers without the typical nervousness and fear.

Hypnosis can be performed by a licensed hypnotherapist in a series of regular sessions. More commonly today, hypnosis can be learned from self hypnosis programs which can be purchased in the form of MP3s, DVDs, or CDs for individual home use. No special skills are required to perform self hypnosis. All that you need is a way to play the hypnosis program and a quiet place where you can listen and relax.

Another very successful method of anxiety treatment is Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. NLP is a form of therapy that can help you retrain your body and mind to naturally respond to situations in a more positive manner. You can consciously decide to stay calm rather than anxious, meaning that you are always in control of your own emotions.

It is evident that it is very important to be able to manage our negative emotional responses in order to remain healthy. Mastering techniques to deal with nervousness and fear can even add precious years onto your life. To treat long-term anxiety, the best treatment option to follow is to use hypnosis to change your reactions and attitudes at the core. Then, it becomes easy to use stress management techniques as needed to keep calm in everyday situations.

Alan B. Densky is an NGH certified hypnotherapist. He offers a complete line of anxiety reduction hypnotherapy CDs, and advanced anxiety elimination CDs through his Neuro-VISION hypnotism website. You can visit his video hypnosis blog, and download a free MP3.