Have you ever felt a sudden rush of fear, with your heart racing and your breath becoming shallow? Or perhaps you’ve experienced persistent worry, with thoughts swirling endlessly in your mind, leaving you helpless.

Enter hypnotherapy, a trance-like state in which a person is more open to suggestions that can help them change certain behaviours, thoughts, or feelings. You can go for this therapy if you want to quit smoking, lose weight without going hungry, manage chronic pain, or get rid of depression and anxiety.

Why do you get so anxious though? Why do you feel like curling up in a corner and never coming out? Why can’t you just be “normal”? You will find all the answers when you read this blog.

Nature of Anxiety

You must know exactly why you get anxious. It is different for every other person. You can know more about it through three thought angles —psychological, neuroscience, and nervous system. They highlight why you react anxiously during some events and not others. 

Also, you get to find out about how your mind suffers from stress. Finally, you may understand why your body reacts to anxiety with palpitations or panic attacks.

So, let’s look at the three POVs of anxiety:

Psychology

Anxiety is characterised by long-staying feelings of worry, fear, and unease from a psychological perspective. You may have persistent and intrusive thoughts about potential dangers or bad consequences… even if it isn’t really going to happen. You will keep looking over your shoulder (and everywhere around you).

As a result, you won’t be able to do anything. Your to-do lists will gather dust, your self-care regimes may go down the drain, your loved ones might suffer… and so might your work. In short, it is not healthy to become obsessed by the idea of danger.

Neuroscience

Anxiety makes its home in your brain’s complex network of neural circuits from a neuroscience perspective. These neural circuits include the amygdala – regulates anxiety processes, fear and emotional responses; and the prefrontal cortex – deals with decision-making and regulating emotional reactions.

The amygdala may be hyperactive if you have anxiety. Similarly, the prefrontal cortex may struggle to control your mind’s chaos that does nothing except pushing you to be more anxious. Neurotransmitters, i.e. serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) imbalances can build further anxiety.

Nervous System

Anxiety triggers the sympathetic nervous system which tells you to fight-or-flight… from a nervous system perspective. In turn, it releases stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, which prepare the body to… well, fight or run. 

If your sympathetic nervous system is always on the roll, your body can grow tired of staying on high alert. As a result, you may develop heart problems or a weak immune system.

Why did you have to understand it? Because you can get rid of your anxiety faster if you know why it happens in the first place. You can decide that you need treatment asap.

Anxiety Sensations

What do you think anxiety feels like? Perhaps you can describe it very well. Or you might just feel “a tight knot in your chest” all the time. It is actually a mix of emotional, physical, and cognitive symptoms. Understanding these components can help you in recognising anxiety and finding appropriate support and treatment.

Emotional Dilemma

Overwhelming Fear: Anxiety can fill your mind with intense fear. It pushes you into a cycle of insecurity and fear. You may be so overwhelmed that you may not complete simple every day tasks. You may not even cook a meal properly.

The most painful thing is that you won’t know when you will get afraid. It is sudden. You can start “sensing danger” even if it is not going to happen. This emotional loop can cripple you seriously.

Persistent Worry: It is a big symptom of anxiety. You may seem like “always fluttering around worrying about everything and everyone.” People may think that you are an extra-caring person. But this constant worry wrecks your sanity and correct brain function. 

You may obsess over worst-case scenarios or potential negative consequences. As a result, you may always be uneasy and tense. Additionally, you may have a sense of impending doom, where you feel that something terrible is bound to happen at any moment.

Sense of Impending Doom: Many people suffering from anxiety fear that a catastrophe is about to happen. When? Where? Why? How? They cannot tell. But this bad feeling doesn’t do anyone any good.

It throws you into a constant state of hyper-vigilance and dread. You cannot relax or enjoy life. This sensation can make your already-present fear and worry bigger.

Physical Symptoms

Rapid Heartbeat: Your body’s natural fight-or-flight response is activated when anxiety strikes. Your body shows it with an increased heart rate. These palpitations are reactions that prepare your body to deal with danger… unreal. 

However, this reaction happens without an actual physical threat. So, you may feel more panicked and uneasy because “you can’t see anything so you can’t be safe.” The sensation of a pounding or racing heart can be frightening and may increase feelings of anxiety.

Sweating and Trembling: Anxiety triggers the release of stress hormones, i.e. adrenaline. It shows through sweating and trembling. These responses are part of your body’s effort to prepare for a potential threat.

However, you might feel your thoughts are right and wrong at the same time… because deep down you know that nothing bad is going to happen. It can make you unsure, apprehensive, and more anxious because you might think that you are “losing your mind.”

Shortness of Breath: Many people with anxiety feel shortness of breath or “not able to catch their breath.” This can be because of your body’s increased state of arousal. 

It increases the demand for oxygen during the fight-or-flight response. The sensation of breathlessness can make you more panicked. You might feel as if you are having a heart attack… or that you are about to die.

Cognitive Effects

Racing Thoughts: Anxiety can lead to a flurry of rapid, uncontrollable thoughts. This mental state makes it challenging to focus on one thing at a time as the mind jumps from one worry to another. 

Racing thoughts can be overwhelming and exhausting, preventing you from relaxing or finding mental peace. This constant stream of anxious thinking can disrupt daily routines and make it difficult to accomplish tasks.

Difficulty Concentrating: You may not be able to concentrate on anything because of your racing thoughts. Anxiety can eat your mental energy away and make it hard to focus on daily chores, talk to people, or complete work. 

This impaired concentration can degrade your productivity in professional responsibilities and personal interactions.

Irrational Fears: Anxiety may develop irrational fears or phobias in your mind that are far more dangerous that every day worry. You might be afraid of some things or events that are not actually dangerous. 

The worst thing? It can disrupt your life. You might ditch aeroplanes totally if you fear that its engines might stop working mid-air…even if it saves you time and is more comfortable. These irrational fears can severely impact daily life, limiting experiences and opportunities.

Impacts of Anxiety on Daily Life

Anxiety doesn’t just reside in mind; it seeps into every corner of life, altering how you engage with the world around you. Some of the impacts of anxiety on daily life are:

• Difficulty concentrating at work or school

• Strained relationships with family and friends

• Social withdrawal and isolation

• Trouble falling or staying asleep

• Frequent headaches and migraines

• Increased irritability and mood swings

• Persistent fatigue and lack of energy

• Chronic muscle tension and pain

• Decreased ability to enjoy hobbies and leisure activities

• Heightened risk of substance abuse as a coping mechanism

In a Nutshell

Anxiety has a broad spectrum of emotional, physical, and cognitive experiences that profoundly affect those who live with it. I am sure after reading this blog, you have a better understanding of how anxiety feels like. Enhancing your understanding of anxiety, combined with personalised hypnotherapy, opens the gateway to the powerful subconscious mind where the problem often lies. 

By bypassing the conscious mind, hypnotherapy can effectively address various psychological and physical issues, providing targeted relief and overall mental well-being.

Book a Free Consultation with our Clinical Hypnotherapist and take the first step towards a healthier, more peaceful life today.