Dealing with Anxiety

There are so many different types of anxiety. As a hypnotherapist as well as an integrative counsellor/psychotherapist, I can blend these two modalities together to bring about a lasting change. I also practice and teach Reiki which can also be introduced to therapy. Different types of anxiety include:
– Agoraphobia
– Anticipatory anxiety
– Arachnophobia
– Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)
– Claustrophobia
– Compulsive skin picking
– Dental phobia
– Depersonalisation disorder
– Emetophobia
– Fear of flying
– Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
– Health anxiety
– Hoarding
– Injection phobia
– Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
– Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
– Panic attacks
– Perinatal anxiety
– Phobias
– Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
– Separation anxiety
– Social phobia/social anxiety
– Stress
– Toilet phobia
– Travel anxiety
– Trichotillomania
– Zoophobia
As you can see the list is long and during your first therapy session, I go through some psychoeducation around the neuroscience so you can understand what is happening biologically to you. I also briefly explain the polyvagal theory to you and teach you Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) so you can have something to use from the first session.

We also look at lifestyle and nutrition and exercise. Now, I am not a nutritionist but I can tell by your diet if that is having an impact on your anxiety so you can self-refer yourself if I get a sense that your diet is part of the problem. There is now overwhelming evidence that gut microbes have a major impact on our brains and our behaviour, especially in stress related disorders such as anxiety.

If you are feeling nervous most of the time, have problems falling asleep, have bad dreams or worry all the time, if you feel frustrated a lot of the time or feel very tense and uptight, it is possible you have anxiety.
Most people will suffer with some stress and anxiety at some point in their lives due to work pressure, or family arguments or issues with friends, finances etc, but usually after the stress has gone you go back to feeling well.

Anxiety is often felt all the time though, including at times when there is no threat at all. Unlike stress, anxiety persists and in some cases it can interfere with your daily life.

Anxiety can be treated in a number of ways from hypnotherapy, to CBT to talking through your anxieties. I like to use a combination of all 3 of those where this is possible. Not everyone is suitable for hypnosis, for example, those who are experiencing psychosis, so we would use other approaches, but where possible hypnotherapy does give the best outcomes.

I record my hypnosis so the client can listen to it between appointments. This can be really useful if you have a phobia of flying for example. You can take the recordings with you to listen to before you get on the plane and even listen to them during take off and landing if you need to which many clients have found extremely useful.

If you feel I can help you, I do offer a 10 minute introductory call to discuss any questions and we can go from there.