Let’s take a brief look at the meaning of anxiety, through the lens of a hypnotherapist. Anxiety is different from fear. When we fear something, we usually know what it is we fear. It is normally directed at a definite external object or situation…fear of not being able to pay a bill, being rejected by a loved one, or being made redundant from work.
Events that we fear are usually tangible. It lies within the realms of possibility. Fear also comes with a rush of adrenaline, along with thoughts and images of immediate danger. Anxiety, on the other hand, may present without full awareness of where it might be coming from, or indeed what it means.
Anxiety is more internal
Moreover, anxiety tends to be more internal, rather than external. There may a vague feeling of danger that is not recognised consciously. It may be likened to a feeling of losing control. This could be linked to losing control of yourself or a situation. There is a feeling that something bad is going to happen. It is different from fear.
In addition, anxiety develops along with various levels of intensity. It can feel like a subtle feeling of uneasiness and in some cases may increase to a full-blown panic attack, including tightness in the chest, heart palpitations, dizziness, and sweating, along with feelings of dread.
However, not all anxiety is out of conscious awareness. It can be brought on by simply thinking about something in the future. When we anticipate a situation that we are worried about, this can bring on feelings of panic. Though overall, it tends to be more ambiguous than fear.
The hidden meaning of anxiety
Anxiety is part of who we are. It can also be a blessing. You have, I’m sure, had the experience of being stuck in a situation. This could be related to your professional life or even a romantic relationship. You become conflicted… ‘should I stay or should I go’. This then develops into an inner conflict. We feel trapped. This anxiety builds until we can no longer ignore it. It’s like a part of us that is screaming out ‘Make a choice, pick a direction and move forward.’ This, of course, in many cases, is easier said than done. However, if we continue to ignore our inner voice tension builds.
Another difference between fear and anxiety is that fear is usually short lived.
Anxiety vs Fear
Imagine you are on your way to a dentist appointment. As you walk you notice an acquaintance walking towards you on the other side of the road.
You glance across and smile, but the person just carries on walking without any acknowledgement of you at all, even though they saw you, or so you thought. So, you continue walking to your appointment with that gnawing feeling about why the person had not acknowledged you in any way.
Anxiety Festers away at you
As you approach the dentist, suddenly, an intense fear sweeps through you. You realise you are in for a very painful and uncomfortable twenty minutes. However, within ten minutes the fear subsides as you relax and accept that the discomfort will soon pass, but that uncomfortable feeling from earlier still festers within, along with negative self-talk about why that person ignored you.
So, fear although intense, is usually short lived. Whereas, although anxiety can certainly be intense it tends to be more subtle and may last for months or even years, because anxiety, almost always stems from an inner conflict of some type. This is the nature of anxiety.
So, how can hypnotherapy help?
Hypnosis can be a key tool for working with anxiety and fear. One of the most common fears that present to a hypnotherapist is ‘Fear of Flying’. This is probably because most people desire to take a holiday, and this often includes getting on a plane. So, hypnotherapists tend to receive many enquiries about overcoming the fear of flying. And it works for many people.
Anxiety too, is something that is well suited to a talking therapy that utilises hypnosis.
Life Trances
One way at looking at anxiety states, is to view them as mini trances, because they include strong feelings that seem to rise from nowhere and are in themselves an altered state of consciousness. These feeling States can be activated by life events from the past and sometimes this can be outside conscious awareness. Moreover, from the view of the hypnotherapist it is more a case of de-hypnotising the client from the existing anxiety state. And this can be said for all problems that present themselves to a talking therapist.
Take fear for example, if someone is struggling to get on a plane, they will be talking to themselves and creating images in their minds that are vastly different from someone who is comfortable with getting on a plane. So, through hypnosis a therapist can change how a person views their own inner world.
Anxiety is a little more complex. As already mentioned, there may be a host of things to consider, such as difficult life decisions and choices.
It might not be immediately obvious to the client where these uncomfortable thoughts and feelings are coming from. It can appear vague and objectless. There may be feelings of helplessness and at times, uncertainly. It tends to attack on a much deeper level than fear.
According to the great psychologist and author ‘Rollo May’ ‘Anxiety is the apprehension cued off by a threat to some value that the individual holds essential to his existence as personality’.
Existential Threat
Any existential threat to our being can be a pre- curser to anxiety. This includes things that at some point will affect most people’s lives, such as a perceived loss of freedom, or the threat of death. Anything that threatens our existence. As mentioned earlier, anxiety is a part of us, not something we get.
So, to summarise, anxiety is not necessarily stronger than fear, it just tends to penetrate more deeply. It is more subtle, lingers and can be less obvious than something we fear.
The good news: both respond well to talking therapies such as hypnotherapy. In addition, results can be achieved more quickly compared to general mainstream counselling.
This offers hope for us all.
Until next time!