Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Health Anxiety Disorder Risks – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Health Anxiety Disorder Risks – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Health Anxiety Disorder Risks – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Health anxiety disorder is one of the common forms of anxiety and can have a massive detrimental impact upon your life. You struggle with your persistent preoccupation that there is something seriously wrong with you. You pay close attention to bodily signs and symptoms and you become convinced that something catastrophic is occurring with you.

You can overthink and ceaseless worry that there is something seriously wrong with you. The fear of how awful that would be continues to drive your imagination as you think of how your life will catastrophically unfold before you into the future. And those health anxiety thoughts drive your anxious feelings. You feel tense, restless, low, agitated and doomed.

Sometimes when I work with health anxiety clients, their anxiety has taken hold to such an extent that they struggle to concentrate upon anything else for any period of time. All that consumes them is their health and the feeling that there is something wrong. The tendency then can be to start looking things up online, and that only leads to more fuel being added to the never ending cycle of anxiety.

Some people find that any mention of an illness by others or in the media starts them on a frenzy of checking and seeing whether how they feel matches that illness. You can easily convince yourself your symptoms match and that you have an undiagnosed serious health condition.

And so after endless checking of your symptoms and how your body feels, you may go and see your doctor. For some with health anxiety disorder the reassurance from a medical professional puts their mind at ease for a time. Yet for others, even after all the tests have been comprehensively done, that feeling of dread and of something being wrong lurks on. You start to think that clearly they’ve missed something and that your serious health issue just hasn’t been found yet.

With all the media channels, campaigns and adverts these days it’s almost impossible to avoid health related content. And each time, you can start to notice how the symptoms described seem similar to those that you are experiencing (especially online where symptoms are described in such vague terms).

You may find yourself fixating on one specific part of your body. You feel anxious, fearful and full of fear and dread. You catastrophise, think the worst and become convinced there is something unknown and bad happening to you. Even if you are able to reassure yourself that you don’t have one thing, any period of calm can easily become unsettled as the focus of your anxiety just moves onto something else health related.

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Recording Hypnosis Downloads

Recording Hypnosis Downloads

Recording Hypnosis Downloads

I love recording hypnosis downloads because of all the positive feedback I get about how helpful they are. Whether it’s anxiety, confidence, self-esteem, weight loss or something else, I’ve probably got a download to help you!

I always give some downloads to my clients to support them in achieving their goals. The feedback is invariably positive. And there are many people who find, buy and download tracks and who message me to let me know how much it has helped them. It really does inspire me to get busy creating more titles for you!

I headed into the recording studio again today to record the latest batch of tracks. These will be available for you very soon. There are new hypnosis downloads to help with positivity, calmness, anxiety, self-esteem and about maximising your strength training.

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Exam Room Anxiety

Exam Room Anxiety

Exam Room Anxiety – Anxiety Hypnotherapy Ely and Newmarket

Do you suffer with exam room anxiety? You revise and know your stuff when you feel calm, yet as the exam gets closer your stress and anxiety levels just rise and rise.  And then, on the day, just when you want to perform to your best, your exam room anxiety kicks in and you panic, struggle to think clearly and it’s like all your knowledge has somehow faded away.

Exam anxiety and stress can mess up all your hard work and plans. You may be fine with your subject when the pressure is off. Yet anxiety will block your ability to think clearly and make decisions. In the exam room you struggle to think and focus and you burn up and waste so much energy as your heart races and the panic attacks.

Recently, I’ve been helping several students to manage their thoughts, feelings and emotions around exams. Mocks have been taking place and they’ve gone from believing they can’t do exams successfully to being calm, positive and confident as they head towards their end of year exams in the summer. Exams are not just all about the learning and knowledge. To perform to your capability you need to be in control of your thinking as you revise and in the lead up to exams, and then to calmly manage how you feel from before the exam starts and right through to successful completion.

You don’t want to be wasting your revision time stressing out and letting your anxious imagination run wild. All the anxious thinking, dwelling and catastrophising stops you learning and retaining the subject matter you are covering.  You become more focused on thoughts of failing, messing up and going blank in your exam. It can interfere with your eating and sleeping. The worrying, rather than the learning, revising and getting everything covered, starts to dominate your mindset and leaves you feeling stressed, tense and agitated.

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Anxiety Ely and Newmarket

Anxiety Ely and Newmarket

Anxiety Ely and Newmarket

Anxiety is one of the most prevalent issues right now, and the one that can have the most debilitating and limiting impact on your life. Whether you’ve always had a bit of a tendency for worry and now it has grown out of hand, or it’s something newer, anxiety thoughts and feelings can lead to you feeling lower and lower.

There are all the anxious thoughts that take over your focus and that dominate your awareness. You think the worst, catastrophise, think of the worst case scenario and dwell on things. Your anxious imagination takes over and thoughts accelerate through your mind. Everything seems negative and daunting. You feel that you aren’t in control over what goes on inside of your own head. Even where you know your worries may not happen or aren’t totally logical, that doesn’t stem the tide of ongoing anxiety that rolls on from one thing to another.

Alongside those anxious thoughts, there are all the uncomfortable feelings that you struggle with. You feel hot, tense and restless. Your sleeping and eating can be affected. You lack energy and feel weak. Your heart pounds, your breathing rate increases and you may feel wired all the time, like you can’t switch off. And you can get stomach issues where you feel nauseous and sick, meaning you want to eat less and do less. These are all things your body can cope with in times of stress, yet where they are too much and last too long, you feel awful.

You then get stuck in the habitual anxious cycle. Your anxious thoughts lead to you feeling anxious. And feeling anxious leads to thinking even more worst case scenarios. On top of that, you don’t want to do things because you feel so anxious and so you withdraw from normal activities. And you avoid as much as possible that could cause you anxiety and in doing so strengthen the sense of threat about those things that your mind has somehow learnt.

As a former anxiety sufferer myself, I know how dominating and debilitating it can be. Yet, I also know that you can learn how to master your own thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions. And you can change those thoughts and those feelings and the patterns of anxiety into new habitual ways that leave you feeling calm, confident and in control.

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Think Like Sherlock To Tackle Anxiety

Think Like Sherlock To Tackle Anxiety

Think Like Sherlock To Tackle Anxiety – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

We are into the start of the new year as I write this, and the Christmas festive period is now well and truly over for another year. I’ve written before about my love for A Christmas Carol and all things Dickens over the festive period and there was certainly some of that. However, things were certainly much more dominated this year by another character and his creator.

I’ve loved everything Sherlock Holmes since I was a teenager and I first picked up the books. I’ve re-read them dozens of times over the years, along with many other Sherlock stories from different authors. Over Christmas, I watched a couple of Sherlock films that were on, a fascinating documentary series about Sherlock and his creator, Conan Doyle, as well as a less fascinating programme on the same subject. And things certainly went Sherlock crazy at home when my daughter received a present of a Sherlock board game.

In the game you are given a case to solve and with the game afoot,  you then move around the board picking up clues along the way.  It’s one of the most enjoyable games we’ve had and we all got involved with a new case each day. It requires a bit of strategy and some thinking and then nothing beats that ‘a-ha’ moment when you can put the clues together and work out the culprit, the weapon and the motive. Elementary, my dead Watson! (Although that phrase doesn’t appear in any of the Sherlock books!).

One of the things I admire about Sherlock Holmes and his methods is the way he approaches issues and solves things using evidence, science and logical thinking. It’s exactly the sort of mindset that can help you if you need to tackle anxiety, fear, worry and overthinking. Rather than the feelings and emotions of anxiety driving your thinking towards worst case scenarios, you want to be able to think clearly, evaluate what goes on inside your head calmly and so then be in control of your own thinking and subsequent responses. Whereas most hypnotherapists sadly do not draw upon any of the science and evidence in their methods, thinking like Sherlock can help you to successfully tackle anxiety, feel better and stay feeling better.

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The Ageing Impact of Stress – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

The Ageing Impact of Stress – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

The Ageing Impact of Stress – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

In my last article, I wrote all about the stress response and the negative impact of stress on your mood, mindset, thoughts and feelings.

Stress can easily start to negatively effect your thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviours in ways that make you feel worse and worse. You may feel anxious, depressed, overwhelmed and on edge. You can struggle to think clearly, make decisions and plan things. You may feel like you have no control over your life, or conversely, you may start to try and control every small detail. You struggle to relax and switch off. And there can be impacts upon your motivation, enthusiasm and general energy levels. Your sleep is disrupted, your eating and drinking habits can change and, all in all, you feel burnt out, lost and exhausted. If your stress has been going on along time then it may seem like there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

Stress clouds your mood and mindset, you feel like you are carrying a weight on your shoulders and you struggle to take a grip of your own thoughts and feelings. As I mentioned in that article, hypnotherapy can help you to start feeling calmer and to take back control over your thoughts and feelings. You can feel more enthusiastic, stronger and more self assured to tackle the challenges and problems that come your way. You develop the personal resources that will help you to deal with the demands placed upon you.

However, the impact of stress goes beyond the negative thoughts and feelings you experience. Recent research has also investigated the impact upon your biological age in response to stress.

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The Stress Response – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

The Stress Response – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

The Stress Response – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

The stress response can have a massive negative impact upon your thoughts and feelings. When it feels as though the demands upon you are too great to cope with, you can easily start to spiral into a cycle of negativity and stress. And when your stress just seems to run and run, it can impact upon you detrimentally and start to weave into all the other aspects of your life too.

The stress response evolved to help us to navigate immediate and external threats and dangers.  Stress hormones mobilise your resources for action. Blood and oxygen is directed to your muscles, adrenaline is released, your heart beats faster and you are ready to deal with the threat through fleeing or fighting. And although this is helpful when there is an immediate danger to deal with and where you need to act quickly, it can be less helpful when seeking to manage your life and to deal with more modern challenges.

And many of these modern challenges can come from things like relationships, other people, employment and other things that can be ongoing over a much longer period than out stress response system was designed to deal with. In many cases, it can be our own thoughts, perceptions, expectations and thinking patterns that stress us out and lead to endless worrying. And dealing with things over the longer term and that continually fire off your stress response can be pretty exhausting (mentally and physically).

The negative effects of stress can lead to a range of physical issues such as exhaustion, burnout, digestive problems and high blood pressure. You might feel overwhelmed, anxious, tense and struggle to think clearly or to make decisions. And, as a result of the physical depletion and mental fog, you will start to struggle with sleeping and healthy eating, and you might feel angry, apathetic and start to avoid things you usually enjoy. And, of course, all of these things just add to your stress load, making you feel even worse.

Yet no matter how much your stress response is negatively impacting right now, it is very possible to take back control over your thoughts and feelings. You can feel calm and more confident as you orchestrate your own internal thinking and feeling patterns and as you deal with whatever external challenges and problems may come your way.

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Running Therapy for Depression and Anxiety Disorders

Running Therapy for Depression and Anxiety Disorders

Running Therapy for Depression and Anxiety Disorders – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Recently I wrote all about completing my first marathon for seven or so years when I finished the Ely Marathon. And now I’m very pleased to report that I’ve finished an ultra marathon too!

The St Edmunds Trail Race is a well organised event that takes place around Ickworth Park and surrounding villages, near Bury St Edmunds. It was a cold, wet, icy and muddy affair and I was pretty happy when I finally crossed the finish line. Ickworth Park is a National Trust site and it was lovely to jog around some paths that I’d never been down before. After that it was a case of heading out across some increasingly muddy paths before heading back into the park again. I had some nice chats with other runners on the way around and I’m massively grateful to all of the marshals who stood out for hours in the wet and cold cheering us on (and making sure we didn’t get lost!).

My main goal was to finish the 50km in six hours which, allowing for a few minutes, I successfully did. And, as always with these sort of things, there are plenty of learning points for next time (once my legs recover and I can manage stairs again!).

Many people I work with are runners or do some other form of exercise. This may be to support their weight management, to help with their mental health, or simply because they enjoy it. Sometimes as part of their sessions they want to improve their running, others want to get back started and sometimes they want to get their motivation for running back and to start enjoying it again.

Whether your thing is running or some other form of exercise, there are massive benefits for your physical and mental health from moving. Running and exercise have a wealth of research to support how beneficial they can be if you struggle with anxiety or depression symptoms.

And a recent study, that I’m covering in this article, has examined the effects of anti-depressants versus running therapy on both your mental and physical health.

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Evening Calmness – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Evening Calmness – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Evening Calmness – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

How joyous it is to experience an evening of calmness. The main business of the day is done and it’s time to relax and unwind in some way. And whether you are watching a film, reading a book, pursuing a hobby or chilling out with friends, you can decide what to do, choose whether you engage with others or answer messages and just take some time for yourself.

Or maybe not. Perhaps the busyness and distractions of the day are still running and racing through your mind during the evening. You struggle to let go of the stresses and strains from dealing with people and tasks during the day. Your mind fills with everything you need to do and the kind of obstacles that you wade through each day. Something someone else said or did, an injustice you think you were at the end of, or perhaps a sense of overwhelm and burden from aspects of your life can all keep your mind too noisy. Instead of an evening of mental and physical calmness that allows you to recharge, things niggle at you and lurk in your mind. You overthink through the evening and perhaps even lie there in bed at night churning over stuff as your mind refuses to switch off from the day.

And, of course, holding onto the busyness, stress and events of the day inside your head can make you feel stressed and irritable. It can lead to unhealthy eating or using alcohol to try and hush your thinking and relax your body. It interrupts the very time when you should be happily calm and comfortable, recharging and refreshing yourself for the next day. And it can interfere with getting a good night’s sleep, meaning you get up the next morning feeling tired, defeated and harassed.

So rather than struggling to relax, unwind and enjoy your evening, wouldn’t it be nicer to let go of the emotions, thinking and weight of the day you’ve had? You want to be able to calmly reflect on the day you’ve had and to let go of any negative emotions. You want to feel good about the positives and accomplishments of the day rather than overthinking the problems and challenges. And you definitely want to feel calm and relaxed during the evening so that you can enjoy your time and reset effectively for the next day.

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Can Being Kind To Others Reduce Social Anxiety? Hypnotherapy Ely and Newmarket

Can Being Kind To Others Reduce Social Anxiety? Hypnotherapy Ely and Newmarket

Can Being Kind To Others Reduce Social Anxiety? Hypnotherapy Ely and Newmarket

I’ve written before about my own earlier struggles with social anxiety and how it plagued my life for many years before hypnotherapy helped me. It’s something that I often discuss with clients who are seeking help with social anxiety itself or related issues such as low self confidence and low self esteem. It certainly is very possible to end all that anxiety and worry and to feel more relaxed and comfortable in your own skin.

I can still clearly remember how I would initially get excited about an upcoming event when it was first mentioned. Yet then over time, that initial excitement and enthusiasm would get slowly eroded by feelings of worry and nervousness. I would start to think of all the things I could mess up, from what I might say and do, through even to what to wear and what others would think. Every little decision was a potential minefield that could lead to embarrassment, being judged or failing in some way in front of others (and usually others who I would then have to face again afterwards knowing they would know about whatever I’d messed up).

My social anxiety would drive my imagination into all sorts of worst cases and catastrophes. Sometimes I would feel sick beforehand. Many times I would contemplate cancelling plans or not going through with things. Many times I did actively avoid situations. And I would often be hot, sweaty, panicky and tense from the outset.

At work I would avoid presentations, endlessly overthink before meetings, minimise my interactions with senior staff, try and avoid speaking on the phone in front of others and seek to manage my work style to minimise all of these risks and threats. Sometimes out of frustration I would push myself to go outside my comfort zone in the hope that at some point all of the anxiety would vanish, yet it would be there throughout, leave me exhausted afterwards and I’d just end up starting my worry habit about the next hurdle I would be facing.

I proposed on stage in front of five hundred people, made myself join a running club, became a parish councillor and a district councillor so I’d have to speak and do stuff in front of others. Sometimes these steps went ok and I felt good for a while. Other times they were just an ordeal that I would negatively dwell upon afterwards. My own negative beliefs and social anxiety patterns of thoughts and feelings would just rumble onwards relentlessly no matter what I tried to do to overcome it (before hypnotherapy).

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