“Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths.”
– Charles H. Spurgeon
Anxiety and Stress Treatment
Are you tired of being worried, fearful and nervous?
Do you often find yourself feeling restless, edgy and irritable? Are your thoughts constantly racing in your mind not letting you have a bit of ‘breathing space’ or even sleep properly? Do you struggle with troublesome physical symptoms, like feeling fatigued or tense in the muscles, or even experience a sense of panic with a racing heart and difficulty breathing?
Anxiety is universal and even its most burdening forms are very common
Anxiety is fundamentally a product of our mind’s and body’s automatic efforts to help us deal with difficulties, perceived dangers, to help us solve important, personal problems. Unfortunately, it is not that hard for this process to go overboard, producing anxiety that takes a form that is constant, intense, and actually does the opposite of its original intention: restraining us in our daily lives, preventing us from actually solving problems, coping with the things in front of us, following our priorities and values.
Anxiety and stress can take many forms
Some people suffer from what is called Generalized Anxiety. They experience anxiety and intense worry about a number of things in their lives: work or school, family, relationships, the future etc. They may almost constantly feel insecure, on edge and tense.
For others, anxiety is mainly triggered in social situations, when they interact with other people, or have to perform in front of others. People with Social Anxiety struggle with low self-esteem, a sense of being inferior to others and fear intensely the possibility of being judged, criticised or even humiliated. They are anxious about being anxious, that the symptoms of nervousness will show and others will notice it and judge them negatively. Because of the disturbing physical sensations of anxiety (e.g. heart palpitation, blushing, sweating, stuttering etc.) and the related fears, they may avoid social situations and restrict their lives.
People suffering from Panic Attacks experience very intense bouts of fear with scary physical symptoms (racing heart, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, nausea, dizziness, numbness etc.) and an overwhelming sense that something terrible is just about to happen: losing control, going crazy or dying. They may avoid a number of those situations where they fear a panic attack is more likely for them to be triggered and escape from the situation would be difficult. As a consequence they may restrict their lives significantly, giving up: driving, travelling, going out or even leaving their home alone altogether.
Phobia is the extreme, irrational fear of something: a certain object, animal, place or situation (such as enclosed or open spaces, heights, flying etc.). A person with a phobia avoids the feared situation (or thing) and experiences very high levels of anxiety when being close to it. It may come to a point when one’s everyday activities and work are seriously impeded by the phobia.
Stress is when we feel like we are under too much pressure, and have a sense that dealing with certain problems and manage the things that are demanded from us are beyond our capacities. Stress is a normal part of life, everybody experiences it. It is a reaction of our nervous system that mobilizes our physical and mental resources to help us deal with life’s demands, face and solve difficulties. People perform better when they experience a certain level of stress. However, when it becomes too intense and constant, it will drain one’s energies, self-esteem, cause tension, headaches, irritability, difficulty concentrating and constant worrying.
Anxiety therapy is designed to help you feel balanced, natural and in control
Both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Hypnotherapy have an established competency in treating anxieties with a rich and evidence-based repertoire of techniques. In Cognitive Hypnotherapy we use interventions that science regards as most effective in the treatment of anxieties.
The so called cognitive part would help you reevaluate some of your automatic, partly ‘subconscious’ thinking habits that may not be so helpful and may be related in some way to the anxiety you’re experiencing.
Also, we would use a number of ways to strengthen new, more useful, balanced and motivating automatic patterns of thinking/reacting to things, which in return would come with a more balanced, relaxed general emotional state.
You would also learn how to down-regulate your mental and physiological tension with certain techniques that you will be able to use after therapy at any point in your life. These could include: Relaxation techniques (e.g. Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Rapid relaxation skills) and Self-Hypnosis.
You would learn to use hypnosis to give your whole system, the conscious and subconscious parts, effective messages, powerful suggestions to cultivate a sense of being centered, self-assured and confident in your own abilities to deal with life’s challenges. We would use your imagination as your inner arena where you can practice safely these new ways of being, feeling and thinking, until they become habitual and natural for you.
We would also have you try out your new skills in your everyday behaviours, in certain situations. We would do this gradually, systematically, so that you experience that you can do things differently and feel differently in these everyday situations.
What is unique about this therapy?
Cognitive Hypnotherapy for anxiety and stress aims to provide you with lasting changes. It has a strong skills-teaching component, so that you do not just temporarily feel better, but have the skills and psychological tools that you can use in your life. In my work, I aim to provide the most up to date psychological knowledge so that at the end of therapy you can feel satisfied, having the sense that you can be your own therapist and use the learned skills whenever you feel the need to support yourself.
Anxiety and Stress Treatment is available online as well
Therapy on Skype has the same effectiveness as traditional face to face therapy. Learn more about Skype Sessions here.
What’s next?
I know you may feel ready to change, but have some questions or concerns about treatment. I would be happy to discuss these with you, without any obligation.
Start to Relieve Anxiety and Stress today with this free Guided Relaxation mp3:
Short sample from the guided exercise.
Deep Stress-Relief Relaxation
23-minute guided relaxation in mp3 format.
Learn to create deep relaxation throughout your body and mind by releasing tension in a systematic way with the stress-relief breathing technique. It will help you calm the body and nervous system which is an essential ability to cultivate your well-being and inspire new positive behaviours.
Learning how to relieve stress and rejuvenate yourself thoroughly is a very beneficial skill. With practice, you will be able to use this breathing technique to relieve unhelpful stress and become more relaxed in everyday situations as well. Learning such skills often takes place in online cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for anxiety issues.
Just drop me an email and I’m happy to send you the free guided audio with further background and helpful guidelines: onlinepszi@gmail.com