Uncertainty is an inevitable part of life and when we are hit with a pandemic like the last couple of years, many people have found themselves struggling to deal with it all, exacerbating their anxiety symptoms. Most of us are also having to come to terms with different routines now and with the added worry of when life will return to some kind of normal.
The good news is that hypnotherapy can be very effective in helping with stress and anxiety and also allowing you to take back control of your life and moving forward.
Firstly, let’s talk a little bit about anxiety and how it can affect us.
Anxiety can be different for all of us
Some examples are –
- Feeling overwhelmed, getting the kids to school on time, keeping up with the house chores, fitting in time for our own self-care.
- Worrying about all the things that could go wrong, starting a new job, deciding on a new career path.
- Putting off doing things that would make us feel better.
- Feeling negative a lot of the time and lacking in confidence.
- Social anxiety, not wanting to go out and speak to people, dreading social events and having low self-esteem.
- Working from home and trying to juggle everything, including keeping the kids quiet and happy.
What is anxiety and how is it created?
Anxiety is a natural response to stress in our lives. Stress can be caused by all sorts of things for instance, work, relationships, money, poor health, the Covid-19 pandemic. Also worrying about stuff that happened in the past, dreading some particular event in the future, feeling low in confidence, overthinking. When we are going over all of these things in our head, we get stressed and we develop anxiety.
Anxiety isn’t necessarily something that just hits us out of the blue either, it can build up slowly over time.
There are physical symptoms of anxiety too, some of them are –
- headache
- butterflies in our stomach
- rapid heartbeat
- breathing rapidly
- feeling nervous or restless
- tiredness
- sweating
- trembling
- stomach ache and upset
- aching from being tense
- struggling to concentrate
- feeling dizzy
- feeling nauseous
Some of us may not realise that these symptoms are actually anxiety related and we carry on as we are, we might just brush it aside, we distract ourselves from it with unhelpful coping strategies, we hope it will go away if things get better.
Quite often though things don’t get better and then we find ourselves struggling to cope like we used to, we want to but we can’t.
Our brain and anxiety
There is a part of our brain called the primitive emotional brain. This brain does not like change or uncertainty and just wants us to feel safe and protected. It knows that whatever we did yesterday kept us safe because we survived and so it will encourage us to repeat the behaviour we did yesterday. It also doesn’t know the difference between imagined or real events so when we are feeding this emotional brain with lots of negative messages, it will believe it. This is why we can get really nervous about something that hasn’t even happened yet. So when our stress and anxiety levels go up, we can create all sorts of scary and worrying scenarios in our head and the primitive emotional brain believes them. This fuels the anxiety.
Anxiety can hold us back in life
Do you feel that your anxiety is affecting your life, preventing you from doing things you enjoy?
Is it stopping you from trying new things?
Is it affecting your job, your relationships, your social life?
Are you avoiding situations because you feel nervous, have low self-esteem, low confidence?
Are you worrying excessively and it’s affecting your sleep?
Maybe you don’t know where to start with reducing the stress in your life?
Occasional anxiety is a normal part of life and something that we all experience at certain points in our lives, but if we’re struggling to deal with it then it’s a good idea to get some help and support.
How hypnotherapy can help
There are different techniques that can help with anxiety and one of them is hypnotherapy. I specialise in solution focused hypnotherapy (SFH) and it can be highly effective at helping people cope better with stress. SFH uses solution focused brief therapy (SFBT) along with an understanding of how the brain works, and relaxing hypnosis.
We do not focus on what has happened in your past and instead look at your present situation and your future.
Hypnosis is a natural process that involves gentle relaxation. I will guide you into a state of trance where your mind will become more receptive to positive suggestions. It is often compared to daydreaming or meditating and is a very soothing and peaceful experience. Relaxation and guided visualisation can help to enhance the solution work being carried out.
The therapy can help you make significant, positive changes in your life in a relatively short period of time.
Do you need support and help for your anxiety?
If you have been thinking about hypnotherapy and wondering if it can help you, please get in touch. I am more than happy to have a chat with you if you would like to find out a bit more about the sessions. I offer a 10 minute free telephone chat, or alternatively you can email or text me.
To learn more about how hypnotherapy can help with stress, please have a read of my blog through the link below;
https://www.mandyholmeshypnotherapy.co.uk/can-hypnotherapy-help-with-stress-yes-it-can/
Email: newyou@mandyholmeshypnotherapy.co.uk
Tel: 07950 556382
“Sometimes the bravest thing you can do, is ask for help”.
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is a collaborative process and can be very effective in the treatment of stress and anxiety, low mood, low self-esteem and low confidence.
Mandy Holmes is a Shropshire based hypnotherapist offering on-line and face to face sessions. She is fully insured and a member of the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) and the Association for Solution focused hypnotherapy (Afsfh)
Hypnotherapy in Shrewsbury
Hypnotherapy in Shropshire