Do you obsess about germs infecting everything from your door knobs to your food? Do black cats give you panic attacks? Are you afraid of socializing in large groups? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorders are nothing to be ashamed of; in fact, they are very common. In Australia alone, it is estimated that over a million people suffer from some form of debilitating and chronic worry, and these numbers are on the rise.
Anxiety disorders come in a variety of manifestations:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCD), phobias, Panic Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to name a few. While each type of anxiety has different symptoms, all have the same root cause: overwhelming fear.
According to most mental health professionals, anxiety disorders are caused by both nature and nurture; that is, your biological make up as well as the environment you live in can contribute to an irrational fear that spawns an endless cycle of worry. Evolutionary psychiatrists have a particularly interesting way of explaining the anxiety phenomenon. They believe that anxiety disorder is an extension of the brain’s fight or flight response, a result of modern society presenting us with so many things to worry about on a daily basis that the brain cannot differentiate between worries that are life-threatening and worries that are low intensity, such as turning in an essay for class. Put another way: our brains have not evolved fast enough to keep up with the pace and complexity of contemporary life.
There are many ways to treat anxiety disorders:
Cognitive behavioral therapy and medication are the most popular approaches to managing irrational fears. But there is another way to treat anxiety that doesn’t involve taking pills: hypnotherapy.
In tandem with a certified mental health professional, hypnotherapy can be used to treat anxiety disorders effectively. This is because hypnotherapy targets the subconscious mind, identifying the causes behind irrational fears and then helping the patient re-wire their thinking vis-à-vis their irrational fear objects. For example, if you have an elevator phobia, a hypnotherapist will place you under hypnotic induction by way of guided meditation and relaxation. He or she will then take you on a journey through your psyche to help you uncover the origins of your angst: perhaps, in this instance, you got stuck in an elevator when you were five years old and have not been able to enter one since. Once you know why you fear elevators, you can fix the problem. Through guided suggestions and affirmations, a hypnotherapist will help you re-wire your attitudes, beliefs and emotions towards elevators so that you no longer fear them. After undergoing hypnotherapy, elevators will no longer be a fear and worry trigger; instead, they will become a harmless construction of wires and metal that take you up and down the floors of your apartment.
You suspect you are suffering from an anxiety disorder
Then it is vital that you consult a mental health professional to learn more about your treatment options. And when you do, inquire about the hypnotherapy method: it is harmless, effective and predicated on the notion that you can change your life for the better with the power of your mind.
