I specialise in helping people overcome anxiety. There are many different types of anxiety such as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety, health anxiety and panic attacks. I have experienced GAD and health anxieties myself, so I’m passionate about helping people to recognise the symptoms and understand that there is a reason for feeling this way and it doesn’t have to define you. Many people can experience the symptoms of anxiety at some stage in their life, such as before exams, or job interviews, but when it starts to be debilitating and has an adverse effect on your life, then it’s time to get support.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a natural response when our brain thinks that our life is in some sort of danger. Cavemen/women needed this response to survive when there was danger lurking around every corner and they had to be constantly on high alert and ready to run or attack. When our brain thinks there is a danger, the fight or flight response is activated and our brain releases the stress hormone cortisol – great for when we run in to wild predators, but not so good in our everyday life when the bank statement arrives, or we have an argument with our partner. In modern day life, our brain often overreacts, and we can end up in fight or flight all day long causing symptoms of anxiety. As the brain doesn’t know the difference between what is real and what is imagined, if we are constantly worrying about the past or future, or catastrophising what might go wrong, then our brain thinks there is a danger.
What are the symptoms of anxiety?
Symptoms of anxiety can be very physical and can include feeling nauseous, a churning feeling in your stomach, needing the toilet more often, having panic attacks, headaches, back aches, feeling dizzy. The effects on your mind can include having a constant feeling of dread, difficulty concentrating, worrying about things going wrong, worrying about being ill or constantly wanting reassurance from others.
How can Solution Focused Hypnotherapy help relieve anxiety?
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy will help you to understand when your brain has overreacted and gone into fight or flight, and using solution focused discussions we will help you to take small steps to reduce your stress and spend more time in your intellectual brain, where you can be more rational and positive. We use guided relaxation at the end of every session to help consolidate these small steps. Whilst in trance we have access to the subconscious mind where we hold 95% of our thoughts, so this is where we can make real and lasting changes.