“Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill
Anxiety
I wonder which of these apply to you?
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Excessive worry and overthinking
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Stressing out even about small issues
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Overwhelming feeling of fear, dread and unease
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Constant tension in your body
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Panic attacks
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Feelings of powerlessness and helplessness
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Always see the negative in any situation
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Feeling like the world is happening to you
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Difficulty to perform well at work
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Feeling of not being good enough
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Trouble sleeping, overeating and over drinking
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Always preparing for the worst
Is it simply stress or is it anxiety?
Anxiety is the mind and body's reaction to stressful, dangerous, or unfamiliar situations. It's the sense of uneasiness, distress, or dread you feel before a significant event. A certain level of Anxiety helps us stay alert and aware, but for those suffering from an anxiety disorder, it feels far from normal - it can be completely debilitating.
Most people experience stress and anxiety at some point in their lives. Generally, stress is usually a response to an external cause, such as a tight deadline at work or having an argument with someone, and usually disappears or reduces once the situation is resolved.
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Anxiety is typically described as a feeling of apprehension or dread in situations where there is no actual real threat and is disproportionate to the situation faced. Unlike stress, anxiety persists even after a concern has passed. Being exposed to stress for a prolong period of time can make the mind start anticipating danger and respond to the perceived threat even in situations which are completely save. It becomes a problem when it escalates into an anxiety disorder and starts to affect day-to-day life.
How can hypnotherapy help?
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Hypnotherapy helps you relax
During hypnosis, you have the chance to fully relax your body and mind. After a hypnotherapy session clients often feel recharged and ready to face the week ahead; it's a bit like a massage for the mind!
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Hypnotherapy helps you understand the root of the problem and shift the focus on the positives in your life
Our brains are naturally prone to look for the dangers and negatives in our lives. This is down to evolution. The first job of our brain is to keep us alive, so we must be alert to threats. I always explain this to clients so that they can take the pressure off themselves for feeling anxious; it's a very natural and normal response! Additionally, if you have been raised in a highly stressed, unsupportive environment you might be prone to be more alert, hypersensitive as a person and have less positive coping strategies at hand to overcome daily challenges. When number of stressors increase in your life you might find it difficult to cope, the fight and flight sets in putting your body and mind into anxiety state. This can become an automatic, overwhelming way of experiencing life.
The inbuilt negative reaction means we have to consciously make the effort to look for the good in our lives. When you are thinking positively or feeling grateful for what you already have in your life, you cannot be worrying at the same time. From the calmer, more focused space we can start tapping into our natural resources, start finding and employing solutions. Hypnotherapy can encourage you to start to think in this positive, grateful way more often and be the resilient, strong you again.
Hypnosis allows your brain time to catch up with itself
During our REM (rapid eye movement) sleep at night our brains are very active processing the events of the day and filing them away. However, when we are under pressure or are sleeping badly, we have a deficit of this kind of sleep. The state of hypnosis is similar to REM sleep and hypnotherapy will allow you the extra processing time you may need. I often like to compare the brain to a computer, like a computer, our brains work better when we have fewer tabs open. A hypnotherapy session gives you the opportunity to shut some of those tabs down, in a similar way to a really good night's sleep.
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Hypnotherapy reduces your stress
During the hypnosis session, you will find your breathing become deeper and more regulated and blood pressure may be lowered. This all has the impact of reducing stress in your body.
Hypnotherapy builds your resilience
When we are feeling resilient, we feel stronger and more able to deal with challenges in our lives. And, feeling better equipped to face difficulties in our lives means we worry less. By reducing stress, you are better able to cope with life, and your resilience is naturally increased.
During a hypnosis session, your brain is receptive to positive and beneficial messages. You may be reminded about how well you have coped with challenges before and how you can continue to do so. I often remind clients about the importance of taking time for themselves, so that they can best support others, or that many of the things they worry about won't actually happen. Many clients feel that during hypnosis, they access the part of themselves that knows how to handle things, no matter what life may have in store, and they remember just how resilient they can be.
Hypnosis is not a magic wand to make your anxieties vanish overnight. But hypnotherapy can be a powerful tool in helping you develop a more resilient and positive mindset allowing you to enjoy life more fully.