End your struggle with anxiety – World Mental Health Day 2017:
Ahead of World Mental Health Day 2017 (on 10th October 2017), I’m delighted to appear in the Cambridge News giving my advice on how to strengthen your mental well-being.
In the article you can read my 7 tips to help you start ending your struggle with anxiety.
One in Six Adults Battling Anxiety & Depression:
Around one in six adults in England are struggling with anxiety and depression problems according to figures from NHS Digital (and as reported by the BBC recently).
The figures from their survey also show that women are more likely than men to have ‘common mental disorder’ symptoms (which comprises of different types of depression and anxiety) and women are also more likely than men to report severe symptoms.
And in another report, NHS Digital cite that prescription items for anti depressants showed the greatest numeric rise in 2016 (for the fourth year in a row), with 64.7 million anti depressant items dispensed. As they report, “The number of antidepressant items has more than doubled in the last decade. In 2016, there were 64.7 million antidepressant items dispensed – 33.7 million (108.5 per cent) more than in 2006, when there were 31.0 million.” (Prescriptions Dispensed in the Community 2006-2016, NHS Digital).
Health Anxiety – is ‘cyberchondria’ making you sick with anxiety?
Many of you may know that these days I like to exercise (a far cry from how I was during my school days!). I’ve been a member of my local running club for over a decade and, more recently, I’ve been converted to the ‘joy’ of bootcamps at their toughest. To my mind one of the greatest buzzes these days comes from a hard bootcamp where I feel like I’ve given all I can that day.
Yet way back in 2007, I can remember the moments of despair of thinking I may never be able to run again (I’ve since run a load of marathons!). A few months earlier I’d run my fastest ever marathon and I’d been setting new personal bests across the board. I was on a high. I was getting faster! Then around that time, my knee started to hurt. I mean it really hurt. If I tried to run a few steps it was excruciating. Sometimes just walking was enough to have me in pain and sometimes even bending my knees to pick up my then baby daughter was enough to bring it on. In summary, it hurt lots and it wasn’t going away.
I did what any runner would do and tried to push myself through it (bad idea!). I tried putting ice on it. I took over the counter painkillers. I tried resting it for a few days and going again. I tried anything else I could think of to get back running.
And then I hit on the great idea of researching my symptoms on Google.
Diffusing anxiety-fuelled worst case scenarios:
I don’t know about you but I’ve always had a tendancy to imagine scenarios in my head about what might happen in the future if I do this thing or make this decison and so forth. These days, now that I understand more about scenarios and how to control them, these scenarios tend to be more of a neutral contemplation or even about good stuff happening.
But when I used to struggle with severe anxiety, these scenarios would be like major feature film worst case scenario type disasters happening; like not being able to answer a question in a meeting and looking an idiot, or of standing up to present and going blank, or somehow messing up in what I said or did when out socially.
Whenever I work with clients with anxiety, this capability to imagine all sorts of future worst case scenarios and disastrous “what if?” thoughts tend to appear.
Our imagination is a wonderful thing, especially if you pause and consider that everything ever designed, built or made, from your computer to your chair, and every work of fiction you’ve ever read or TV show you’ve watched, started off as something in someone’s imagination. How awesome is that?!
Yet feelings of anxiety will always colour your imaginings with shades of things going wrong or badly in some way, leading to feelings of more anxiety, leading to more of those anxiety fuelled thoughts. So how can you dilute them to such a point that the anxiety has to subside?
How To Deal With Anxiety – Hypnotherapy Review
When you struggle with anxiety, it can make even the simplest of tasks turn into a battle. Things other people seem to just do can become anxiety-fulled struggles to avoid or endure – things like talking to others, answering the phone or open the door.
Recently I read an article where a therapist described how anxiety is your friend and should be welcomed. And certainly where anxiety is at a reasonable or appropriate level to what is going on then it can be helpful – it can help us avoid threats and harm and give us a clear ‘warning signal’ that we might need to review our plans or what we are doing.
Yet when someone has an anxiety disorder, the last thing they consider their anxiety to be is helpful. When anxiety levels are too high, everything can seem like a threat and all those thoughts lead to more anxiety which leads to even more thoughts. Once we take away the emotion, the thoughts are no different to hundreds of other random thoughts that pop in and out of heads all day long, yet which don’t stop us going about our day.
And having been there with anxiety myself, I know what a relief it is to reset anxiety, feel back in control and start enjoing life again.
New Hypnosis Audios available very soon!
I’m often getting asked when I will be adding to the hypnosis tracks I have available in my online hypnosis shop, particualarly by those who have listened to and benefited from my current offerings and now want some additional and fresh content to listen to.
So I’m delighted to confirm that I will have two new products available later this month.
The feedback from those who have trialled them has been awesome so I can’t wait to share them with you and many others.
The Happiness Journal
Over the last eight years and through thousands of hypnotherapy sessions, one of the most consistently positive things that I encourage people to do is to start to focus on what is going right in their lives.
When we feel anxious, worried or generally a bit rubbish, a natural trait we share is to become more and more engaged with thoughts about all the people, things, situations and circumstances that aren’t how we want them to be.
For example, an anxious person can become completely engrossed in thoughts of worst case scenarios or about things going wrong. Someone who lacks confidence may spend their time thinking about what if they mess up or people think they are weird or an idiot or some other negative judgement about them.
And the same can be true for someone trying to lose weight who criticises themselves after snacking, or a stressed person who becomes overwhelmed at thoughts of not being able to cope. No matter what the issue, it’s easy to become lost in a cloud of unwanted and unhelpful thoughts and emotions and to lose sight of other things.
Which is where the happiness journal comes in.
How To Get Rid Of Anxiety – Another Success Story!
As a former sufferer of anxiety myself, there is nothing I love more than helping someone discover how to get rid of anxiety.
After all, who wants to put up with all those unwanted thoughts and feelings dominating their life day in and day out.
I can remember times feeling sick with anxiety, pacing around the house, my mind filled with all sorts of worst case scenarios and desperately wishing things were different. And of course, now I know that it doesn’t have to be like that for anyone.
So I’m really pleased to bring you another inspiring testimonial video from someone else who has found freedom from anxiety. Because we couldn’t find a way to match our schedules, this testimonial was recorded seven months after we finished our sessions together. Check it out by clicking on the image below.
Mindfulness for Anxiety, Stress and Worry:
With all the media stories, articles and books about mindfulness now available, it’s probably true that you have heard about mindfulness and you may even have dabbled with it yourself.
As with hypnosis, there is a growing body of research that suggests that for many people, mindfulness can be helpful for anxiety, stress and many other issues. And as with the research showng that combining congnitive behavioural therapy with hypnosis substantially enhances treatment outcomes, there is a huge benefit to combining elements of mindfulness with hypnosis to overcome issues and feel better.
Many people that I talk to about mindfulness tell me that they have found it frustrating and difficult to work with or achieve the results they are seeking. That frustration can then lead to never quite getting around to it with any sort of motivation or dedication and ultimately deciding it isn’t for them.
So here I’ve got some simple techniques that you can start using quickly and effectively in your daily life so that you can benefit from mindfulness for anxiety, stress and worry.
Stress Management Help – Stress Awareness Month:
Whilst stress can affect you at any time, April is Stress Awareness Month and so a good time to take action to relieve your stress levels from this point onwards.
I work with many people who come to me for help because they are struggling with stress and anxiety in their lives.
That stress may be from their workload, from colleagues at work or other career issues. It may arise from their family, friends and relationships. Or it may come from exam stress, health worries or, in fact, any other part of your life where you no longer feel in control or able to cope effectively.
I was delighted to be published once again in the Cambridge News, giving my advice on how to manage stress.
So whether you are looking for stress management help to proactively stay resiliant and handle pressures, or whether you feel that stress is having a detrimental impact on you, these steps will show you the way forward.
Subscribe to Dan’s Digest filled with tips, strategies and techniques and get instant access to your free rapid relaxation hypnosis audio track.
Enjoy feeling and being more mentally calm and physically relaxed right now:
