Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Anxious Thoughts – From What-If To If-Then

by Dan Regan | Nov 16, 2020 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Anxious Thoughts – From What-If To If-Then:

With anxiety, you can find yourself imagining all sorts of worst case scenarios that might happen. You can worry about all the ‘what if’ possibilities and they can seem to take over your thinking, especially in the quieter moments. Even though you know logically that many of the things you are anxious about are unlikely to happen or are even irrational, you still find yourself worrying and worrying.

And the more anxious you feel, the more you experience those anxious thoughts, which in turn leads to more anxious feelings and even more unwanted thoughts. It becomes a cycle and a pattern that may be linked to something specific yet could just as easily be more general and pervasive. Essentially your mind responds to all those perceived threats of things going wrong or badly in some way and starts to prepare you for taking action. You feel uncomfortable, you get a funny feeling in your stomach, you get tense and restless and your mind keeps overthinking it.

There are many steps you can start to take that will begin to interrupt that pattern of anxiety and start to reduce and diminish it.

Anxiety and Surviving Covid-19

by Dan Regan | Nov 12, 2020 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Anxiety and Surviving Covid-19:

As I write this article, the coronavirus lockdown continues here in England, and the pandemic itself rumbles on. Whilst there seems to be optimism over a vaccine, infection levels remain high and sadly Covid-19 related deaths continue.

I’ve written a lot about anxiety and Covid-19, in terms of the impact of coronavirus on mental health, what you can do about your anxiety and the fear of contracting Covid-19 (coronaphobia). Most of the research I’ve come across up until now has been focused on how the pandemic is impacting on our mental health and the fear and anxiety around getting Covid-19, and the impacts from social restrictions and on things like employment and education.

However, some research is coming out now about what happens after someone has Covid-19. So rather than fear and anxiety about the possibility of getting it, what then happens physically and mentally to Covid-19 survivors.

Doomscrolling, Anxiety & Your Mental Health

by Dan Regan | Nov 6, 2020 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Doomscrolling, Anxiety & Your Mental Health:

Today I’m talking about screen use, social media consumption and how it links to your mental health, particularly in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

I don’t know about you but sometimes I have a terrible habit of having a quick check of what’s happening on things like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Perhaps between tasks or when I feel like I need a break I take a quick look at the latest (even though plenty of it is neither interesting or helpful!). And I don’t think that there is too much wrong with social media and smartphones and the like in general and if used constructively and purposefully. However, there is a flip side to screen time and social media consumption that can impact on your mental health and can contribute to anxiety.

Anxiety, with all of it’s unwanted thoughts and feelings, can lead you to spend more time online, whether as an escape from those feelings or seeking more and more information. As you worry about worst case scenarios and things that could happen, you can find yourself consuming more and more negative information as you try and find a sense of calmness, safety and certainty. And with the coronavirus, there is a mass of information out there, some more accurate than others, and in seeking information, knowledge and certainty (in an uncertain pandemic) you may find yourself spending more time online and more time consuming negative news and opinions.

It can seem like your anxiety compels you to check more and more negative news on social media and from other sources, and whilst a part of you might hope to find clarity and certainty about what is going to happen, the scrolling and negativity can just add more fuel to your anxious thoughts and feelings.

Doomscrolling refers to this compulsion to consume negative news on social media. And whilst as a concept it goes back before the pandemic, in recent weeks and months the coronavirus has made it more prevalent and more something we all need to pay attention to.

Protecting Your Mental Health During The Second Lockdown

by Dan Regan | Nov 3, 2020 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Protecting Your Mental Health During The Second Lockdown:

The second covid-19 lockdown is upon us following the recent announcement by the Government about the need to take action to try and curtail infection rates and the spread of coronavirus. And whether you believe it is the right course of action or not, or the timing is right, or even if you think the whole Covid thing is not a thing (and some people do), the fact remains that lockdown two is happening and will impact on all of us.

In many ways this Covid-19 lockdown is a whole different affair to the first lockdown back in March. Back then no-one really understood the disease or much about it, and there was a general sense of uncertainty and fear as the numbers hospitalised and those sadly dying rapidly increased. Whilst none of us knew when things would improve and how long lockdown would last back then, this time we have a time limited (at least that’s what they are saying right now!!) lockdown. The daily number suggests more and more people are being admitted to hospital and once again an increasing number of people are sadly losing their lives to Covid-related deaths.

To help protect the NHS form being overwhelmed, to try and reduce Covid-19 transmissions and to hopefully save lives, I believe that moving all of my sessions to Zoom or Skype for four weeks is the right thing to do (not only that but I’ve had legal advice that it is the only thing to do!). Whilst rates in the East of England have been comparably lower than elsewhere in the UK, any steps that reduce contact for a short period means that your safety and well-being is prioritised.

In fact, it saddens me that so many businesses seem to have decided to continue working as they have been before lockdown. I’ve seen social media posts by many businesses of all types justifying continuing despite the pandemic. We all need to make money to pay the bills but if everyone keeps interacting in the way they have been up until now (including going from home to home working on non-urgent matters) then we may well find that the Coronavirus doesn’t ever get far away and the risk of even stronger restrictions over a longer period continues.

But hey that’s just my two pennies’ worth; we all have to make our own calls here and it’s cool if you think differently (in a reasoned, objective kind of way). And so back to the topic of this article, which is about doing what you can during this second Covid-19 lockdown to protect and preserve your mental health.

Public Speaking Anxiety

by Dan Regan | Oct 26, 2020 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Public Speaking Anxiety

The clocks just went back recently, and while the season is changing to Autumn with all the wonderful shades of brown on the trees, one thing that doesn’t seem to change is the prolificacy of public speaking anxiety. It’s often considered to be one of the most common fears that people struggle with, and there have even been surveys in the past suggesting people are more scared of speaking in front of others than of dying.

Recently I’ve been working with quite a few people who have a fear of public speaking. That anxiety may be linked to formal presentations (these days as often over Zoom as face to face) or speaking up, reporting, updating or asking/answering questions in meetings.

That anxiety can lead to all sorts of anxious thoughts in the lead up to speaking, along with that pit of the stomach nervous feeling and you may find that the thought of the presentation or meeting comes to mind more and more as the date gets closer. There are then all the anxious sensations on the day, in the build up and when speaking, and you may have a tendency to be overly self critical afterwards about how you did (sometimes even going over and over perceived mistakes or errors).

As I often point out to people, this isn’t about whether you can talk, or about whether you can speak to people. Everyone does that with friends or family or in some other situations where they feel relaxed and comfortable. Yet certain perceptions, expectations, thoughts, feelings and beliefs start to creep in about speaking in other situations or environments that lead to you struggling with that anxiety all the way through until your ‘ordeal’ is over.

Covid-19 Anxiety, Stress and Negative Body Image

by Dan Regan | Oct 23, 2020 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Covid-19 Anxiety, Stress and Negative Body Image:

I’ve been talking and writing for many months now about the mental health impacts from the coronavirus pandemic and everything that goes with it, such as social restrictions and worry about potential future consequences.

The latest data from the Office of National Statistics (October 2020) found that more than three quarters of adults were very or somewhat worried about the effect of coronavirus (COVID-19) on their life right now. That level of worry has been increasing over recent months as the pandemic endures. Levels of anxiety remained at their highest since the start of April, and life satisfaction has fallen.

As I’ve written about before, more and more evidence demonstrates that this Covid-19 pandemic is impacting on mental health for many, many people. As well as fears about contracting the virus, there are worries about the future, impacts on meeting and interacting with others, difficulties planning, impacts on work and education, and many other factors that lead to these high levels of Covid-19 anxiety and stress.

And whilst I’ve written about these mental health impacts and what you can do about them, a new piece of research has been published that suggests that Covid-19 anxiety and stress may also be having an impact on body image.

Client running around the world to raise money for mental health

by Dan Regan | Sep 29, 2020 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Client running around the world to raise money for mental health

Someone I worked with during the pandemic has put his trainers on to raise money for the mental health charity, Mind.

Chris Tromans is running around the world in 80 days and wants his long distance virtual running to raise exactly £17,895 for the mental health charity (use the links below to learn why he has chosen that figure and why it is so important to him).

As he mentions in his Ely Standard article and Just Giving page, Chris had a mental health issue at the start of lockdown and used the Mind website to understnad more about it. He also worked with me to help him with his anxiety and found that the sessions helped him.

Quoted in the Ely Standard, Chris said: “I’m much better now, thanks to information on Mind’s website. I arranged for video sessions during lockdown with Dan Regan, a local hypnotherapist. He provided me with tools to help overcome the problem.”

You can read more about Chris and his running challenge in the Ely Standard: Dad-of-two aims to raise precisely £17,895 for Mind – and here’s the reason why he picked that target

And you can join me in supporting Chris and helping him reach his target for Mind, the mental health charity, by heading over to his Just Giving Page: Just Giving Page

Running and Mental Health – Run My World Blog

by Dan Regan | Sep 22, 2020 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Running and Mental Health:

I’m delighted to have had the opportunity to write a guest post about my running and mental health. I mean, how could I pass up the chance to write about two of my favourite things!

Running and exercise have been an integral part of my life for many, many years. At the outset, running was a way for me to try and deal with my anxiety, overthinking and low self-esteem problems. After a day at work it gave me an escape from those unwanted thoughts and feelings. It was a chance to think things through or to think about nothing at all. And I always felt physically and mentally better afterwards.

These days, exercise and running are key aspects of my life because I enjoy them, they give me a sense of achievement and they help iron out any of the challenges in life that head my way. Exercise and running now help to keep me mentally healthy.

The awesome team over at Run My World (https://www.runmyworld.co.uk/) have recognised that lots of us get into running, or keep running, for our mental health. They organise virtual running challenges from 5km up to ultramarathons and, what is awesome, is that a percentage of profits from each challenge goes to various mental health challenges. It’s awesome to see someone raising mental health awareness, contributing to the mental health conversation, and giving something back from running that will benefit others who may be struggling. I’m super excited to take part in some of their challenges (and the bling is pretty tidy too!)

Generalised Anxiety Disorder Levels Continue To Escalate

by Dan Regan | Sep 16, 2020 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Generalised Anxiety Disorder Levels Continue To Escalate

Generalised anxiety is the biggest thing I help people with by far in my hypnotherapy sessions. Having experienced anxiety myself, I know all too well how unpleasant and uncomfortable it can be, as well as how it impacts on you physically, emotionally and socially. Anxiety can be well and truly debilitating.

Fortunately we know from the research that hypnotherapy is a very effective treatment for anxiety that can help you (for more on the effectiveness of hypnotherapy for anxiety have a read of this article: The Effectiveness of Hypnotherapy as a Treatment For Anxiety).

What we also know is that, despite effective treatments for anxiety such as hypnotherapy, the levels of generalised anxiety disorders continue to escalate over the years. More and more people are finding themselves struggling to cope with anxiety-related thoughts, feelings and symptoms.

Some time ago, I wrote about results from the Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (published in 2016) which suggested that one in six adults in England has a common mental health disorder (such as anxiety and depression). This translated to about one woman in five and one man in eight having a mental health disorder, and they also reported that rates of self-harming had increased. Studies have also previously suggested that increases in mental health disorders is being primarily driven by adolescents and young adults (for more on these see: The Rise and Rise of Anxiety and Depression).

Building upon the research that shows that generalised anxiety disorder levels continue to rise, comes a new study that looked at trends in anxiety and related mental illness in UK general practice over a twenty year period.

Time In Nature For Your Mental Health

by Dan Regan | Sep 9, 2020 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Time In Nature For Your Mental Health:

There’s no doubt that getting away from things and spending some time in nature has a positive impact on your mental health, and can help you to reduce your stress and anxiety levels. Like me, you may know this already from personal experience, yet the science and evidence also exists to back it up.

The research shows that just ten to twenty minutes in nature has significant and positive impacts on your mental health and well-being and that just doing these a few times a week is enough for you to benefit.

As you’ll know if you read my blogs, I like to combine the benefits of being outdoors in a nature environment with the (also well evidenced and researched) benefits of running (or walking/jogging). I love training runs that go through woodland or that involve getting away from the built up areas and just being around the sights and sounds of nature. It’s also why I enjoy my walk to my new office and looking out of the windows across the fields watching the birds and the deer doing their thing.

While on my recent rip to the New Forest I spent every early morning walking and jogging around the forest and enjoying being around the horses and other wildlife in the solitude and silence. I was fortunte enough to watch a fascinating ‘stand off’ between two groups of horses at a stream, where in complete silence they just seemed to stare at each other for minute after minute until the deadlock ended (there’s a little bit from that at the end of the video below so keep watching to see the horses).

In this video, I talk about some of the benefits of time in nature for improving your mental health and well-being, and for reducing stress and anxiety:

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