Although many people use the words stress and anxiety interchangeably, they are in fact two separate conditions. Stress is a response to a stimulus, which can be internal or external. You may experience stress when you feel frustrated with something (like waiting in line behind a slow person) or when you worry that you won’t meet expectations (such as missing a deadline at work).

Anxiety, on the other hand, is a sense of dread, or fear and nervousness. It can be caused by negative expectations and thoughts, or as a reaction to stress. You may feel anxious all of the time and not understand why, or your feelings may be a reaction to something you are nervous about, like an upcoming business trip.

Abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain may cause generalized anxiety. Some studies show that anxiety can be hereditary. In addition, anxiety can stem from environmental conditions, as when the child of a parent who is often anxious becomes an anxious person by observing the parent. But very often the core cause of anxiety is simply the thoughts in a person’s mind!

Anxiety and stress are subjective conditions. Different people may feel stressed about different situations, and different people may respond to their anxiousness in very different ways. Symptoms of anxiety can range from the mild, such as tense muscles and sweaty hands, to the severe, such as irregular heartbeat, anxiety attacks, and vomiting.

Everyone experiences feelings of anxiety once in awhile. All of us have experienced the dry mouth and vague sense of dread before a public speaking engagement or a test. But when does it become harmful to your health? Research indicates that prolonged anxiety can lead to sleep disorders, high blood pressure, relationship problems, and depression

For sufferers of chronic untreated anxiety, there may be negative health consequences that have yet to be fully examined. Some studies have found a link between chronic anxiety and a number of serious health conditions including heart disease, respiratory illness, arthritis, thyroid disease, and cancer. Chronically anxious people may even be more likely to suffer a fatal cardiac attack.

If you suffer from what seems like an overwhelmingly high amount of anxiety relative to the circumstances, or if you feel anxious nearly every day, you may actually have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are chronic conditions characterized by an inability to function normally because of frequent anxiety. Anxiety disorders are serious conditions that should be treated to lower the risk of long-term effects.

Anxiety treatment has long been the subject of much debate in the medical field. Some medical professionals believe that medication is the best way to handle chronic anxiety. Unfortunately, anxiety medications often have side effects that are just as bad or even worse than the initial condition.

There are many natural ways to handle negative emotional responses. Exercise is a frequently overlooked option, but it is extremely effective. Exercise causes your body to release endorphins, which are natural mood-boosting and pain-killing chemicals. With regular exercise, you may begin to feel a decrease in negative emotional responses to situations that would have previously made you very anxious.

The most effective way to manage tension and worry is to control it from within. Stress relief and stress management techniques are very useful in coping with day-to-day stress. These techniques can teach you to relax yourself and relieve your tension. You make a conscious effort to slow your breathing, release the worry, and maintain a calm state of mind. Meditation is a form of tension relief in which you focus on thoughtful relaxation and deep, calm breathing.

However, if you want a proactive method to relieve yourself of anxiety, hypnotherapy is the best treatment option. When a person undergoes hypnosis, their reactions and emotional responses to events are changed at the core. This permits them to cope with anxiety-inducing triggers without the typical feelings of nervousness and fear.

Hypnosis is typically performed by a licensed hypnotherapist in a series of regular sessions. More commonly today, hypnotherapy can be learned from self hypnosis programs which can be purchased in the form of CDs, MP3s, or DVDs for individual home use. No special skills are required to practice self hypnosis. All you need is a device to play the hypnotherapy program and a quiet place where you can listen and relax.

Another very successful type of anxiety treatment is Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. NLP is a form of therapy that helps you retrain your mind and body to naturally respond to situations in a more positive way. You can consciously decide to remain calm instead of feeling anxious, and consequently, you always have control over your own feelings.

It is evident that it is very important to manage our negative emotional responses in order to stay healthy. Mastering techniques to cope with nervousness and fear may even extend your life. To treat long term anxiety, the best treatment option to follow is to participate in hypnotherapy to change your reactions and attitudes from within. Then, practice stress management techniques as needed to keep calm in everyday situations.

Alan B. Densky, CH has been in practice over 30 years. His Neuro-VISION hypnosis website carries a broad spectrum of stress management hypnotherapy CDs, and advanced anxiety reduction CDs Visit his site for the Free video hypnosis blog, and download a free MP3.

- Alan B. Densky, CH

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