Rachel Abbott

Discuss the relationship between stress, anxiety, habits and phobias and describe how you would treat these issues with hypnotherapy.

Introduction
Hypnotherapists are inundated with requests from potential clients seeking treatment for stress, anxiety, phobias and habits. It is essential for a therapist to understand the individual attributes of each one as well as understanding the relationship between these disorders. An understanding of the relationship between them allows therapists to decide which type of treatment will be most accurate as well as effective.
In this essay I will start by defining stress, anxiety, habits and phobias and as well as exploring their individual attributes and symptoms I will seek to discuss the link between them as well as describing how I would treat these issues with hypnotherapy.

Stress and Anxiety
Are stress and anxiety just two different words to describe the same experience? Quite often they are coined together into one phrase because when you experience one you usually experience the other. This is not to say that they are the same. In fact, despite both states producing similar responses, there are differences in the triggers which cause them.
Our bodies are designed to respond to danger; we have an inbuilt defence mechanism known as the ‘fight or flight response’, which triggers psychological and physical changes in our bodies. The release of chemicals can give rise to very real physical symptoms such as the release of adrenalin, a rapid heart rate and breathing as well as heightened senses. These symptoms are designed to give us the ability to ‘fight or flee’ a specific danger. In evolutionary terms it would have been this very reaction that has kept the human race going. The ‘fight or flight’ response has been created by our subconscious mind due to the fact that its’ sole responsible is for our