“Stress and anxiety are closely connected, but they can feel very different. Below you’ll find an explanation to help you better understand what you may be experiencing”.
What is Stress?
What is stress?
Why do we experience it?
What causes it?
Why does my body respond in this way?
How can I stop it?
These are the questions many people ask themselves when they begin to experience stress. A feeling of frustration can come over you, especially when you don’t fully understand where it’s coming from or why it keeps happening.
If what you are experiencing feels more like constant worry, overthinking or panic, you may find it helpful to also read my Anxiety page, where I explore this in more detail.
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Stress and How the Subconscious Processes It…
Stress begins with a thought. It then becomes a physical response — one that your body has learned and practiced through previous experiences, thoughts and reactions.
Your subconscious mind remembers these experiences. So when you find yourself in a similar situation — or even thinking about it — your body responds in the same way. Each time this happens, more emotion is added to the experience.
This strengthens the thought, the reaction and the physical response… creating a habit around how you think and how your body reacts.
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The Autonomic Nervous System…
Your Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) is regulated by your subconscious mind. It controls your bodily functions automatically, maintaining balance between activity and relaxation.
There are two key parts:
- Parasympathetic Nervous System – your “rest and digest” state (calm, relaxed, balanced)
- Sympathetic Nervous System – prepares the body for stress or perceived danger
When these systems work well together, your body responds to stress in a natural and balanced way. However, when we repeatedly experience stress, the subconscious can begin to keep the body in Sympathetic mode — making it feel like it can’t switch off. This can lead to ongoing feelings of stress within both the mind and body.
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Why Does This Keep Happening? …
Every experience you have ever had is stored within your subconscious mind — like a memory library (see The Mind). This includes experiences right back to early life.
When something stressful or frightening happens, especially with strong emotion, the subconscious logs it away. Then… when you experience something similar again, your mind pattern matches. It brings back the same response as before — believing it is protecting you.
Your subconscious mind is simply doing what it thinks is right for you, based on previous experiences.
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Why Does the Subconscious Think It’s Protecting Us? …
We learn from every experience we have — and so does the subconscious mind.
It remembers everything about a situation:
- the environment
- sounds
- sensations
- and most importantly… the emotions
When something similar occurs again, the subconscious instantly recognises it and recreates the same response. If that response was stress, fear, or anxiety — those same feelings will arise again automatically. The subconscious believes this is the correct way to respond, because it has been “wired” that way over time.
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Fight, Flight, Freeze…
We are all born with a natural response known as:
Fight – Flight – Freeze
This is part of the Sympathetic Nervous System.
- Fight – facing the situation
- Flight – avoiding or escaping it
- Freeze – feeling stuck or unable to respond
When this response is triggered, the body releases cortisol — preparing you to react quickly. Cortisol is a steroid hormone and is made in the cortex of the adrenal glands. This is essential in real danger. For example, if you were faced with a lion, your body would respond instantly to protect you. But in modern life, we are not facing that “lion” every day.
Instead, this response can be triggered by:
- pressure
- thoughts
- worry
- past experience
When this happens repeatedly, the subconscious begins to practice staying in this state.
This can lead to:
- constant stress
- overthinking
- feeling unable to switch off
The body remains in this heightened state, even when there is no real danger present.
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Modern Life and Stress…
In today’s world, it is easy to see how stress can become a constant. Ongoing pressures, lifestyle demands and past experiences can all contribute to the mind and body remaining in a heightened state. Over time, this can become the “new normal” without us even realising it.
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How Can Hypnotherapy Help? …
Hypnotherapy allows access to the subconscious mind (see Hypnosis). — where these patterns are created. In a relaxed state, you can be guided to create positive changes, helping to reduce stress, release emotional responses and develop a calmer way of thinking.
The subconscious mind does not know the difference between what is real and what is imagined. So imagine what can change when you are guided to create new, more positive responses. I often describe this as updating an app on your phone. The mind works in a very similar way — running patterns based on past experiences. When those patterns are updated, it allows you to move forward in a more positive and balanced way.
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Stress and anxiety are closely connected, and many people experience a combination of both. You may also find it helpful to read my Anxiety page for further understanding and support.
Moving Forward…
If you are experiencing stress and would like to understand how hypnotherapy could help you create change, please get in touch via the Contact Form.
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Michelle Townsend
Harmony Life Balance
C.Hyp, D.Hyp, C.I.H, I.H.A, CNHC Registered