Lots of people use the terms “anxiety” and “stress” interchangeably, but they are actually two distinct conditions. Stress is a reaction to a stimulus, either internal or external. You may feel stress because you feel frustrated with something (like waiting in line behind a slow person) or when you are worried that you won’t meet expectations (such as missing a deadline).

Anxiety, on the other hand, is a sense of dread, or nervousness and fear. It can be brought on by negative thoughts and expectations, 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, such as an upcoming exam.

Abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain can cause generalized anxiety. Some research indicates that anxiety can be hereditary. Anxiety can also stem from environmental conditions, as when the child of a parent who is often anxious learns to be an anxious person by observing the parent. But very often the core cause of anxiety is simply the thoughts that a person is thinking!

Stress and anxiety are subjective conditions. Different people may feel stressed about different situations, and different people may react 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 anxiety attacks, vomiting, and irregular heartbeat.

Everyone experiences feelings of anxiety once in awhile. We have all felt the dry mouth and “butterflies in the stomach” before a public speaking engagement or a test. But when does it become harmful to your health? Research has shown that chronic anxiety can lead to sleep disorders, depression, relationship problems, and high blood pressure

For sufferers of long-term untreated anxiety, there may be detrimental 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 cancer, thyroid disease, respiratory illness, heart disease, and arthritis. Chronically anxious people may even be more likely to suffer a fatal heart 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 a person’s inability to function normally because of frequent anxiety. Anxiety disorders are serious conditions that should be treated to reduce the risk of long-term negative health effects.

Anxiety treatment has long been the subject of much discussion in the medical field. Some medical professionals believe that medication is the best way to treat chronic anxiety. However, anxiety medications often produce undesirable side effects that are just as bad or even worse than the initial affliction.

There are plenty of safe and non-invasive ways to control negative emotional reactions. Exercise is an often overlooked option, but it is highly effective. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins, which are natural pain-killing and mood-boosting chemicals. With regular aerobic exercise, you may start to feel a decrease in negative emotional reactions to situations that would have previously made you feel quite anxious.

The best way to manage tension and worry is to control it from the inside out. Stress management and stress relief techniques are extremely useful in coping with day to day stress. These techniques can teach you to relax yourself and let the tension leave your body. You make a conscious effort to slow your breathing, release the tension, and remain in a peaceful state of mind. Meditation is an excellent form of tension relief in which you practice thoughtful relaxation and deep, calm breathing.

However, if you want a proactive solution to relieve yourself of anxiety, hypnosis is by far the best treatment option. When a person undergoes hypnosis, their reactions and emotional responses to events are changed at the core. This allows them to handle common anxiety-inducing triggers without the typical feelings of fear and nervousness.

Hypnosis can be performed by a licensed hypnotist in a series of regular treatments. More commonly today, hypnosis is available in the form of self hypnosis programs which can be purchased in the form of MP3s, DVDs, or CDs for individual home use. No special skills are needed to practice self hypnosis. All you need is a device to play the hypnosis program and a quiet space where you can listen and relax.

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

It is evident that it is very important to be able to manage our negative emotional responses in order to stay healthy. Understanding how to cope with fear and nervousness may even add precious years onto your life. To treat long term anxiety, the best treatment option to follow is to use hypnosis to change your attitudes and reactions at the core. Then, use stress management techniques as necessary to keep calm in everyday situations.

Alan B. Densky is an NGH certified hypnotherapist. He offers a complete line of anxiety elimination NLP CDs, and advanced stress management CDs through his Neuro-VISION hypnosis website. You can visit his self hypnosis blog, and download a free MP3.