This is a question I get asked a lot by people who are trying to work out if what they are feeling is anxiety or is normal for a person with anxiety.
If you haven’t read it already then I would recommend you listen to my podcast episode on the role of adrenaline on the body as this also covers many of the symptoms that people with anxiety often struggle with, you can find it here.
This list of symptoms has been taken from the NHS website[1] and covers all of the symptoms that I usually see in clinic.
Anxiety is caused by a fear of something. This could be anything from a fear of public speaking to a more generalised fear of everyday things that happen in life.
When we are looking at anxiety from a cognitive behavioural point of view, it’s your thoughts about the situation that causes you fear that kickstarts the natural fight or flight response in your body. It’s the fight or fight response that causes the symptoms and feelings that are listed above.
As an example, if you wake up in the middle of the night because of a presentation you have to give in the morning there are a few different things you might be thinking:
Do you think this person will be getting back to sleep soon?
Probably not and they will start to notice that they start getting the symptoms above.
This person is much more likely to head back to sleep because they aren’t thinking about the situation in a way that causes them fear. They may well be nervous about the presentation, but they are able to control their thoughts and not stress themselves out.
The types of therapy that I use are hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy. These two therapies work really well together.
The cognitive behavioural therapy teaches you how you can change those fear inducing thoughts to more helpful ones and the hypnotherapy teaches your mind how to calm itself and focus on what you want to focus on
The first thing to be aware of is how your thoughts are contributing towards your anxiety. Luckily for you, I have a free worksheet that you can use to find out what types of negative thoughts are causing your anxiety, just click here and enter your details for your worksheet. You will also be sent a video from one of my workshops explaining more about negative thoughts and what you need to do.
Resources and references
[1] https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/anxiety#signs-of
The way we think has a huge impact on our mental health. If you are looking to overcome your anxiety or just improve your mental health then first you need to know what thoughts are making things worse.
This download gives you a list of the most common ways we think negatively. All you need to do is see which ones you do most.
Also, keep an eye on your emails! I will be sending you a really useful video that goes with this exercise.