Hypnotherapy for Anxiety & Phobias
Anxiety and phobias are top reasons people seek help from a hypnotherapist like me.
The NHS defines Anxiety it as a feeling of unease which is a useful start to understand what's going on. A phobia is a more specific kind of (often extreme) anxiety linked to one particular thing or situation which can range from the ones you'll know about like spiders, the dark or dogs through to the more unusual like buttons or a certain colour.
When you experience unease connected with anxiety or a phobia, you'll be aware of that as a feeling in different degrees. Our emotions are in charge of us for a reason. They are the quickest way our brains have to get us to take action and move us from a potential threat (about 10 x quicker than rational thinking).
Fight or Flight
Those feelings get expressed in all sorts of ways as part of the 'Fight or Flight' response (we'll also sometimes Freeze or Fawn too). Sometimes it's helpful to keep us safe and more often it won't be. The result is all sorts of misery ranging from niggling worries through phobic reactions, full-blown panic attacks, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) or GAD (Generalised Anxiety Disorder).
Unconscious Learning
Regardless of the psychological label for anxiety, for most people it stems from the faulty learnings made by our unconscious. Sometimes these foundations are laid long ago. Did you know there's an evolutionary reason why we're afraid of spiders? We all evolved from the earliest humans in Africa where spiders can be life threatening. Couple this ancient learning encoded in our brains with a memorable experience in childhood (perhaps someone in your family reacting in an extreme way when they saw a spider) then it's easy to understand why your unconscious might think it's a good idea to make your heart speed up if you think there's a possibility of a spider near you. It wants you to run away so getting you ready to pump more blood around your body so you can run quicker is a useful idea.
Bespoke Hypnotherapy for Anxiety or Phobias
So if your anxiety and phobia is based on faulty learning, this means it can be unlearned. You don't have to carry on living with it. It's entirely possible for your unconscious to let go of that learning and for you to be free from fear or unease. The good thing about Cognitive Hypnotherapy is that it's so flexible incorporate different techniques which help to loosen your unconscious attachment to hanging onto what it's been doing up to now. As soon as it decides that this is no longer a good idea, clients can make great progress and banish or reduce their fears. Your experience of learning how to be in the world is absolutely unique to you, so I will tailor my treatment to you. I am there to help you, not the label you've been given by you or anyone else.
Free Anxiety-Reducing Technique
One of the best ways to help you brain understand you can reduce feelings connected with anxiety or a phobia is to use a simple breathing technique. I have a free audio download you can download on my site if you would like to learn how to breathe in a way which will reduce anxiety and stress.
Get in touch now if you would like to talk about hypnotherapy to get rid of anxiety or a phobia and arrange an appointment. I can see you in London EC1 or Stevenage SG1 which is easy to get to for surrounding areas in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire
Disclaimer - please note results can vary from person to person