We have all experienced occasions of worry, stress and anxiety, however, sometimes these feelings or negative thoughts can be damaging and result in a lack of confidence and increasing self consciousness.
Whether you suffer from social or “free-floating” anxieties such as; a general lack of confidence, lack of self believe, fear of speaking in public or at interviews. Or you may be feeling the negative effects of stress such as;
- Irritable bowel
- Anxiety / panic attacks
- Job related stress / family stressors
- Bereavement and loss
- Insomnia
Or indeed it may be a specific fears / phobia that is restricting you such as; agoraphobia, fear of flying, driving, spiders, needles etc.
What are anxiety disorders?
It’s not the presence of anxiety alone that creates problems. It is more about how severe it is – and how much it gets in the way of life.
Psychiatrists divide anxiety into three main types:
People with generalised anxiety may find that they:
- Easily lose their patience
- Have difficulty concentrating
- Think constantly about the worst outcome
- Have difficulty sleeping
- Become depressed and/or
- Become preoccupied with, or obsessional about, one subject
These mental symptoms lead to, and are supported by, physical symptoms. These can include:
- Excessive thirst
- Stomach upsets
- Passing wind
- Loose bowel movements
- Frequent urinating
- Failure to respond to sexual stimulation
- Periods of intense pounding heart
- Periods of feeling winded
- Muscle aches
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Pins and needles
- Tremors
- Painful or no periods
Anxiety can also be “free-floating”- where it appears to have a mind of its own and “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” is the name given to the anxiety and fear following a particular frightening or traumatic event.
If there’s a particularly difficult situation at work or at home, the stress that this creates can spill over into other areas of life – and create anxiety. A person suffering from anxiety can then worry about the anxiety and therefore compound the problem further, making the cycle continue.
Panic Disorder
A panic attack is a sudden rush of overwhelming fear that comes often without warning and without any obvious reason. Intense anxiety may develop between attacks because of their unpredictable nature. This persistent fear is a symptom of panic disorder.
A panic attack can be very frightening but is not dangerous.
The symptoms often include a sense of unreality, feelings of impending doom or fear of dying.
Panic attacks arise most commonly between the ages of 15 and 25, but it can develop at any age. Twice as many women as men are affected by panic disorder. At least 1 in 10 people have occasional panic attacks. Incidence of chronic panic disorder is approximately 2%.
Without treatment panic disorder and panic attacks may lead to phobias, depression or substance abuse.
Panic attacks can occur with or without agoraphobia. Recurrent panic attacks i.e. panic disorder, may become associated with the places in which they occur. As the individual attempts to avoid these situations agoraphobia may develop.
Panic attacks can happen anywhere and at anytime. Symptoms include several of the following:
- Dizziness or feeling faint,
- Palpitations, increased heart rate,
- Sweating, trembling or shaking,
- Difficulty breathing,
- Feeling of choking or nausea,
- Chest pain
- Numbness or tingling sensations,
- Chills or hot flushes,
- Feelings of unreality and detachment,
- Fear of losing control,
- Fear of dying, and
- A sense of great danger and an urge to escape.
The symptoms of a panic attack can last anywhere from several seconds to about ten minutes. Occasionally the symptoms come in ‘waves’ for up to 2 hours.
Phobias
A phobia is a constant, extreme or irrational fear of an animal, object, place or situation that wouldn’t normally worry the majority of people.
A phobia is when you have an overwhelming need to avoid any contact with the specific cause of the anxiety or fear. Coming into contact, or even the thought of coming into contact with the cause of the phobia, makes you anxious or panic.
If it’s unlikely that you will come into contact with the object of your phobia, for example, snakes, it won’t tend to affect your everyday life too much. However, phobias such as agoraphobia and social phobia can make it very hard to lead a normal life.
Phobias are divided into two types:
Simple phobias
This type is about a single object, situation, or activity. Common examples are a fear of insects, heights, snakes, enclosed spaces, dentists or flying. If you have a simple phobia you might react with mild anxiety or even with panic when confronted with the prospect of facing source of your fear.
Complex Phobias
Agoraphobia is an example of a complex phobia. It involves several anxieties, including fear of entering shops, crowds, and public places, or of travelling in trains, buses, or planes. It also includes anxiety of being unable to immediately escape to a place of safety; usually home.
Social phobia is another complex phobia. Social phobia is a fear of social e.g. a wedding, or performance situations e.g. public speaking. Those with a social phobia have a fear of embarrassing themselves or of being humiliated in public.
If you have a social phobia, the thought of being in public or appearing at social events will make you extremely anxious and frightened. It’s because these types of situations make you feel vulnerable.
Avoiding meeting people in social situations, including parties or eating in restaurants are typical signs of social phobia. In extreme cases, some people are too afraid to leave their home.
Paruresis (also known as ‘bashful bladder’ syndrome) is another type of social phobia. This anxiety disorder means being unable to use public toilets or urinate when others are nearby. It can make it hard to do normal activities, for example, going to work, social events or taking holidays. Paruresis can start at any age and seems to affect men more than women.
1 to 2 % of men and women have a social phobia and it is usually linked to low self-esteem and fear of criticism.
Although a phobia is not described as an illness, the thought of coming into contact, or the actual contact with your feared object, place or situation can lead to panic.
Panic can create real physical symptoms that include:
- Shaking
- Feeling confused or disorientated
- Rapid heart beats
- Dry mouth
- Intense sweating
- Difficulty breathing
- Feeling sick (nausea)
- Dizziness, and
- Chest pain
In extreme cases, especially if you have a complex phobia, you may experience the above symptoms as well as:
- A fear of losing control
- A fear of fainting
- A fear of dying
The symptoms of social phobias are very similar but also include blushing, trembling or an urgent need to visit the toilet.
The most common factor of a phobia is the need to avoid the animal, object, place or situation at all costs. This may mean that your daily activities are limited and can lead to depression. Anxiety and panic attacks may also develop.
What is Stress?
Stress can be defined as the way you feel when you’re under too much pressure.
Research suggests that a moderate amount of pressure can be positive, making us more alert, helping to keep us motivated, and making us perform better. However, too much pressure, or prolonged pressure, can lead to stress. Stress can cause illness and physical and emotional problems.
Research has shown that around 12 million adults see their GP with mental health problems each year. Most of these have anxiety and depression, much of it is stress related.
You may start to experience headaches, nausea and indigestion. You may breathe more quickly, perspire more, have palpitations or suffer from various aches and pains such as:
- Chest pains
- Constant tiredness
- Constipation or diahorrea
- Cramps or muscle spasms
- Craving for food
- Dizziness
- Fainting spells
- Lack of appetite
- Nail biting
- Feeling sick
- Frequent crying
- Nervous twitches or muscle spasms
- Pins and needles
- Restlessness
- Sleeping problems, and
- A tendency to sweat
Longer term you may be putting yourself at risk from high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, impotence.
Fight or Flight Syndrome
When you are stressed, your body produces more of the so-called ‘fight or flight’ chemicals, which prepare your body for an emergency.
Adrenaline and noradrenaline raise your blood pressure, increase the rate at which your heart beats and increase the rate at which you perspire. They can also reduce blood flow to your skin and reduce your stomach activity.
Cortisol releases fat and sugar into your system (but also reduces the efficiency of your immune system).
All of these changes make it easier for you to fight or run away, which was extremely useful to the human race in past times.
Unfortunately these changes are less helpful if you are stuck in a busy office or on an overcrowded train. You cannot fight or run away, and so cannot use the chemicals your own body has produced to protect you. Over time these chemicals and the changes they produce can damage your physical and mental health.
How will Psyche Investment help?
When you are stressed you may experience many different feelings, including anxiety, fear, anger, frustration and depression. These feelings can themselves produce physical symptoms, making you feel even worse. Extreme anxiety can cause giddiness, heart palpitations, headaches or stomach disorders. Many of these symptoms may make you feel so unwell that you then worry that you have some serious physical conditions such as heart disease or cancer, making you even more stressed.
Behaviourally, you may become withdrawn, indecisive or inflexible. You may not be able to sleep properly. You may be irritable or tearful all the time. There may be a change in your sexual habits, and even if you were previously mild-mannered you may suddenly become verbally or physically aggressive.
It is a fact that in some cases, phobias and panic attacks can serve a negative purpose to some people. It can occur that a person might “use” there fear to avoid the situation, avoid taking responsibility for their own actions or even to actually gain emotional sympathy from others.
My aim is to give you the means to have control within yourself and to empower you with the skills to improve your coping strategies.
Together, we will discuss your symptoms and what it is you hope to achieve. We will work together to help you understand what is happening, rationalise it on a conscious level and also to address it via hypnotherapy on a subconscious level.
By using combined therapeutic approaches and reaching your conscious and subconscious mind, I will provide you with the means to take control of the situation and break the cycle of stress, anxiety, fear and/or phobia.