Stress and AnxietySTRESS is something that everyone experiences at some point in their lives, and in a mild form can be a part of everyday life. Life can be very stressful at times, this can be for a variety of reasons such as work / college related issues, relationships, finance worries, illness, bereavement, fear, lack of confidence, not living the life you want to be living right now. There are a huge number of reasons a person may feel stressed, this may be short lived or very long term. People may experience feelings of irritability, impatience and being overburdened. Things they used to enjoy no longer hold any, or very little enjoyment for them.
ANXIETY is a feeling of worry, apprehension and a feeling of uncertainty about a situation. People often will feel a level of anxiety before taking an exam, presenting in front of an audience, meeting unfamiliar people, driving, starting a new job, social situations, and doing things outside of your comfort zone, for example. Anxiety can prevent people from achieving their goals and therefore being where they want to be in life. Anxiety can also be a feeling that is with you all the time, without you necessarily being aware of any specific cause. We are all guilty at times of "thinking errors", these are particular ways of thinking that maintain anxiety, such as over thinking, only looking at a small part of a situation, or predicting without evidence (there are many forms of thinking errors, this is a small selection of the most common ones I come aross in my practice). Once you become more aware of the way you are thinking you can learn to change this process in one that is more realisitc and beneficial to you. Imagine a life where anxiety no longer holds you back from living your dream.
Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy can be incredibly beneficial in treating stress and anxiety. Sessions are tailored to the individual, but the focus is on the outcome the client wants. I will introduce you to calming techniques (including deep muscle relaxation and mindfulness), self hypnosis, and will encourage more realistic and beneficial ways of thinking. Rehearsal of situations that trigger stress and anxiety under hypnosis encourages new more beneficial automatic responses.
Number of sessions needed: Between 4 - 6 sessions normally, but this does vary depending on the individual.
Phobias & Fears
It is fairly common for people to have a phobia or a fear. Common phobias can include, spiders, rodents, needles, flying, heights, health, driving, social phobia, public speaking, presenting to an audience, exam fears and blushing. I start therapy by teaching you techniques to help you relax, techniques that you can easily do yourself and at any time. I may also teach you how to self hypnotise. It is important to find out what you actual fears are, and what it is that you are actually scared of. This can often be due beliefs that may have been created many years ago, or may stem from learnt behaviour, for example, if your Mother was scared of cats, you may have grown up thinking that there is something to be fearful of after witnessing her avoidance of cats, or anxiety when around them. I use "systematic desensitisation", this evidence based technique is highly effective in the treatment of anxiety, fear and phobias. I will ensure you are deeply relaxed and in hypnosis, and gradually you will be exposed to whatever it is you are fearful of by imagining you are in that situation. This will be repeated a number of times. In turn helps you think differently about your fears / phobias, until they are no longer a problem for you.
Insomnia & Lack of SleepIf you are not getting enough sleep you are likely to feel drained, exhausted and irritable. Lack of sleep can have a profound affect on your physical and mental health, affecting every area of your life.
There are many reason why someone may not be sleeping well, anxiety, stress, pain, depression, and ill health can all be factors that affect our sleep.
During treatment we will look at your bedtime routines, and sleep hygiene. You may also be asked to keep a brief sleep diary. I will teach you deep relaxation techniques, self hypnosis, and techniques to achieve better and deeper sleep, we will also replace your negative beliefs about sleep with more positive and helpful beliefs. If you are regularly thinking negatively about sleep it is likely that this will become a self fulfilling phophecy. It is normal to find that people who sleep well will rarely speak or think about their sleep. I can help you to "re programme" these negative thoughts into more realistic and beneficial ones.
|
