Anxiety Disorders

Hypnotherapy & Regression Therapy

e-mail: barbara.burgess@rocketmail.com or call 01626 210330 for an appointment

A certain amount anxiety is normal in life however when it becomes more constant, affecting daily life it is described as Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Sufferers of GAD find that they feel anxious most days, and will often struggle to remember the last time that they felt relaxed. GAD affects about one in 50 people in the UK at some stage during their lifetime. Slightly more women are affected than men, and the disorder is most common during your 20s. GAD can cause both psychological and physical symptoms including:

· restlessness

· sense of dread

· feeling 'on edge'

· difficulty concentrating

· irritability

· impatience, and

· being easily distracted

· dizziness

· lethargy

· pins and needles

· irregular heart beat (palpitations)

· muscle aches

· dry mouth

· excessive sweating

· shortness of breath

· stomach ache

· diarrhoea

· headache

· excessive thirst

· frequent urinating

· painful or missed periods

· difficulty in falling, or staying, asleep.

The causes of mild anxiety are usually clear, whether it is anxiety about a specific event or situation. However, with GAD, the cause may not be clear; and not knowing the triggers can often make the anxiety worse. The human brain is designed to see patterns in everything, this is how we learn, however when it starts to link together unrelated things on the strength of one or two incidents we are at risk of completely missing the real source of the problem and avoiding situations which have no real connection with the problem – which will then pop up somewhere else, blighting another part of life..

Panic Attacks

Panic Attacks are a result of the ‘fight of flight’ response, the adrenaline rush intended to prepare our bodies to react to danger. However, as we are generally dealing with fears of a different type, whether it be phobias, shame, rejection, embarrassment, failure or disappointment the ‘fight or flight’ response is not usually appropriate.

This adrenaline rush creates physical symptoms, which include shaking, feeling confused or disorientated, rapid heartbeats, dry mouth, sweating, dizziness and chest pain which normally peak within 10 minutes. Most episodes (attacks) will last for between five and 30 minutes.

Since these symptoms can resemble organic illnesses, it is advisable to have a medical check-up to ensure that the symptoms are not indicative of a medical condition. Once medical causes have been ruled out, panic attacks can point to an emotional or psychological issue that needs resolving. If left untreated, the attacks often multiply in frequency and intensity and, since the attack is unpredictable, the sufferer often begins to fear onset of another attack. This can lead to curtailing normal activities as the mind searches for the triggers and attaches it to the situations when the attack occurred, so that someone who has suffered a panic attack while driving at night may start to fear driving at night.

A panic attack can be shattering for those who experience them. Unless you have felt the terror it can create, it is very difficult to understand. During a full-blown panic attack, one truly feels death is imminent

Anxiety Disorders & Hypnotherapy

Anxieties and Panic attacks are often the body’s way to send an urgent signal that something in your life needs addressing. With hypnotherapy you will learn relaxation ad self-hypnosis methods and control of your breathing, heart rate etc. We can start to break down the connections you have built up between situations and emotions, breaking the ‘fear of fear’ bonds. You are then able to look at the disturbing thoughts and emotions that the subconscious is using to keep you in that constant state of anxiety or alarm, replacing them with positive thoughts and calming thoughts. In hypnosis you can rehearse alternative behaviours, so that these become the ‘default’ reaction to events that would have caused anxiety or panic previously.

Anxiety & Panic Attacks

Don’t let anxiety and Panic attacks rule your life, help is available

Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.

Arthur Somers Roche