Hypnotherapy for Anxiety
What is anxiety?
Hypnotherapy for anxiety is a very common request in my clinic in Plymouth, Devon. prolonged anxiety can disrupt work, relationships and sleep. There are many different types of anxiety and they include anxiety and panic attacks, fears and phobias, negative thoughts, public speaking, driving test nerves, fear of hospitals, dentists, exam nerves, social anxiety, generalised anxiety and much more.
We can understand anxiety better by looking both at what it is and what it is not. When we are afraid our fear is usually directed towards some external situation. We might fear going to the dentist, being unable to pay the bills, being accepted by someone we like.
There are other times when we experience anxiety, when we cannot actually specify what it is we are anxious about – it seems more internal than external, a response to a vague or unrecognised threat. We might be anxious about losing control of ourselves, or of some situation, or feel anxious about something nasty happening.
most of us experience these feelings. They are normal emotions that can be appropriate and even beneficial under certain circumstances. However, when anxiety is inappropriate it can severely disrupt our lives. If you suffer from anxiety, the question you have to ask is when am I going to take steps to change this behaviour?
What are some of the causes of anxiety?
Anxiety is more often than not caused by the conditioning you received as a child and young adult or some trauma that you went through during your life, or both. However, anxiety can sometimes be a symptom of depression or alcohol dependence. It can be caused by taking substances such as ecstasy LSD amphetamines, cannabis, or by withdrawal from long-term drugs.
Sometimes the cause is known and when the problem disappears so does the anxiety, and at other times the circumstances are so upsetting that the anxiety goes on long after the event
Some people feel anxious before a driving test, a presentation, going to the dentist or into a hospital.
There are many different causes, suffice to say that there is always a reason for anxiety. Using hypnotherapy we are quite often able to resolve the underlying issue that supports the anxiety and when this is done the anxiety itself collapses. How long have you lived with your anxiety? Perhaps it’s time to resolve it.
Anxiety symptoms
- Upset stomach
- Diarrhoea
- Dry mouth
- Palpitations
- Feeling sick, wanting to vomit
- Shortness of breath
- Dizzy feeling
- Feeling of a lump in the throat, difficult to swallow
- Shaking and trembling
- Tense muscles
- Tingling in the hands and feet
- Cold or sweaty hands
- Problems sleeping
- Fear of losing control
- Fear of going crazy
- Fear of dying
- Fear of a heart attack
How anxiety can significantly effect lifestyle.
If anxiety becomes more strongly marked it can show itself in different ways – we may have trouble falling asleep, think about a particular situation and find it difficult to think of anything else, feel tense, restless, have trouble concentrating. Some of us overeat or lose our appetite, have a feeling of disaster. All these symptoms can be very disabling and have great effect on our friends and family and our ability to work.
Anxiety problems are self-perpetuating with the overuse of flight/fight, negative thoughts, and avoidance strategies.
An example: Michael was terrified of going to the dentist, he booked an appointment, and the night before he starts to think about the terrible things that might happen, what if he cannot control himself and faints, he then experiences a considerable amount of anxious negative thoughts and physical symptoms, the more anxious he gets, the more catastrophic he thinks, until he can’t stand it anymore and cancels the appointment. This brought about an immediate reduction of anxiety, and therefore, the next time Michael makes an appointment with the dentist, he will not only be likely to think even worse thoughts but will experience more anxiety, he will also be strongly compelled again to cancel the appointment – and then he will be stuck in an anxiety avoidance cycle that is difficult to get out of.
So when is anxiety inappropriate?
It is important to realise that there are many situations that come up in everyday life in which it is appropriate and reasonable to react with some anxiety. If you didn’t feel any anxiety in response to everyday challenges involving potential loss or failure, something would be wrong. Anxiety disorders are distinguished from everyday, normal anxiety, in that they involve anxiety that is:-
- More intense, for example a panic attack
- Lasts longer – anxiety that may persist for months instead of going away after a stressful situation has passed
- Leads to phobias that interfere with your life.
How can hypnotherapy for anxiety help?
Hypnotherapy for anxiety helps be changing the beliefs at a sub-conscious. These beliefs are often fictitious and serve to hinder rather than help you.
By using hypnotherapy for anxiety we can help you bring these beliefs more into line with your conscious thinking and in doing so make the beliefs more appropriate for you and the way you want to be. Freeing you from the debilitating effects of anxiety once and for all.
