Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

The Anxiety Equation – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Jan 26, 2023 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

The Anxiety Equation – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Anxiety can be totally debilitating. Those anxious thoughts and feelings can seem to take over your mind and how you feel. And you’ll have already noticed how anxiety can grow inside your thinking patterns and feelings so that the more you feel anxious, the more you seem to struggle with it.

You can find that all of those anxious thoughts keep your mind so busy and you can’t seem to think clearly. Anything and everything can seem like a threat with the risk of something going badly or going wrong in some way. You feel anxious about the possibilities of what might happen and so you either have to endure the discomfort or you try and avoid those things that could escalate how uncomfortable and anxious you feel. You may dread and fear even the possibility of being anxious and it may feel like you are stuck in an ever spinning cycle of worry, stress, dread and anxiety.

And when people come to see me for anxiety hypnotherapy, their focus is naturally upon the people, places, times and things that cause them to suffer with the unwanted thoughts and feelings. There is a link between those places, situations and things and your anxiety.

Challenging Anxious Thoughts – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Jan 26, 2023 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Challenging Anxious Thoughts – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Along with the feelings of anxiety, it is the endless anxious thoughts that spiral through your mind that can start to wear you down and make you feel helpless and at the mercy of your own unwanted thinking processes. You may feel tired and exhausted from the constant stream of anxious thoughts that seem to always find something to attach to and worry about.

And because the future is by it’s very nature uncertain and many things could possibly happen, your imagination can conjure up, create, amplify and magnify any number of vivid worst case scenarios or catastrophic outcomes. Those people, places, situations and circumstances that you are anxious about become a source of ongoing threat, dread and worry and your anxious mind can start to create things to fill in the blanks of how things may turn out. Those initial, imagined scenarios can then play out in your mind, leading you to feel more and more anxious, as you focus upon and think about how things will progressively get worse and worse for you into the future. You imagine not just the initial anxious catastrophe, but also all the other bad and negative things that will inevitably follow for you as a consequence of it having happened.

Yet whilst it may feel like those anxious thoughts have taken over your mind and your thinking right now, it is possible to challenge, undermine and reign back in that free flowing stream of anxious thought. Whilst it may seem to be out of control and that your mind is just too noisy and too busy, you can learn how to take away the debilitating impact of your anxiety. You can learn how to relax in your own mind, evaluate your thinking more clearly and logically and to develop the sense of perspective that means you can trust in your ability to handle whatever comes your way (knowing that whatever happens, you’ll be ok).

The Negative Impact of Political News on Mental Health – Anxiety and Stress Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Jan 24, 2023 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

The Negative Impact of Political News on Mental Health – Anxiety and Stress Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

It’s been a tumultuous few years in politics here in the UK, from Brexit through to Partygate and with all the other scandals, leaks and ministerial changes that have been happening. What happens in politics impacts upon us all, with the ripples from Westminster flowing into everything from employment, the economy, health, education and pretty much everything else in-between. There is no escaping it and it impacts upon all of us in some way or another.

With everything that has been going on, and the way it can have positive or adverse impacts upon us all, it can be very easy to start watching more and more news on TV and engaging in more and more political content through the many media channels out there. And aside from sport, there are very few other topics aside from politics that can cause such a level of debate, argument, falling out and disagreement between people.

And, of course, the ever changing news and constant flow of information can make politics almost addictive as you try and keep abreast of what is happening and the latest news. It can be the first thing you tune into when you get up in the morning, and the last thing you watch, read or listen to before sleep (and for some, it can even be something they check if they wake up in the middle of the night).

With all the negativity in politics and the general news, I’ve often advised clients who are struggling with anxiety, stress and worry to cut back for a bit. When your anxiety levels are heightened, it isn’t helpful to start or end your day with a dose of negativity and potential threat, usually about things you have no control over.

And now, some research has investigated the daily impact of politics upon your mental health and well-being.

Using Hypnosis To Manage Rumination – Depression and Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Jan 13, 2023 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Using Hypnosis To Manage Rumination – Depression and Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

If you have a tendency to ruminate or dwell then you’ll already know how it can become an habitual, perhaps even seemingly automatic, way of thinking. You can find yourself going over and over negative events and outcomes and other situations where things didn’t turn out well or where you consider yourself to have failed in some way.

The more you imagine, focus upon and engage in these repetitive negative thoughts, the more they can lead to you feeling anxious, down, low or angry. And as those negative feelings increase, you get caught in the internal thinking spiral that leads to more and more overthinking and ruminating.

Whether you ruminate for a few minutes at a time, or for hours, it can seem like you are lost in a sort of trance of negativity that you can’t always bring yourself out of. Your head seems to be always busy and noisy and stressed.

Rumination is a thinking pattern characterised by negative and repetitive thoughts that are often linked to a sense of loss or failure. It is a common thinking pattern that contributes to common mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. You may find yourself struggling with anticipatory anxiety where you worry ‘what if’ something bad happens and other anxiety provoking worst case scenarios. You may find yourself wishing that things could have been different to how they are (thoughts that are about ‘if only…’) or you can find yourself being negative and critical in your assessment of yourself and your capabilities, such as telling yourself you are a failure or not good enough and so on. As you repeat these thoughts and thinking patterns, you feel more and more down, low, anxious and stressed (which can then have a ripple effect into the rest of your life and your relationships with others).

Rumination, and the negative feelings that it generates and that persist, thrives on receiving focus, belief, engagement and having time and space to run on and on through your mind. Yet as a learned pattern of thinking, and because what goes on inside your own head is something you can certainly learn to manage and orchestrate, it is a style of thinking that can be modified reduced, diffused and changed in a variety of ways that will lead to you feeling more in control and feeling better in yourself (rather than repeating the same old ongoing spiral of negative thoughts that go on and on).

Hypnosis As A Support in Cancer Treatment – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Jan 12, 2023 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Hypnosis As A Support in Cancer Treatment – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Cancer is a terrible condition that sadly is likely to have affected many people that you know. There’s the worry, anxiety and fear around the condition, your treatment and your prognosis, that can cause concern for you and your loved ones. And the condition and treatment can entail pain, fatigue, insomnia and anxiety.

A significant number of cancer patients experience anxiety or suffer with depression. There can be symptoms such as muscle fatigue, insomnia, poor sleep quality, and chronic and acute pain.

Recently a close family member went through chemotherapy for his cancer. Before his diagnosis was confirmed he was very poorly, and throughout his treatment there were challenges such as fatigue and sleep problems. Thankfully recent scans show that the treatment has been very successful. Yet as with all cancer patients, there is always the lurking anxiety about health and the worry of the cancer returning.

At every stage of the cancer journey there can be mental distress, anxiety worry and fear. There can also be the impacts of treatment on your mental and physical well-being. And whilst hypnotherapy and hypnosis can’t cure cancer (in fact it is illegal for anyone to claim they can), the research and evidence demonstrates that, alongside your medical treatment, there are many ways that hypnotherapy can help with the things that come with it, from cancer treatments or symptoms, such as anxiety, nausea, distress and so on.

How Nature Helps With Anxiety, Stress and Depression – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Jan 10, 2023 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

How Nature Helps With Anxiety, Stress and Depression – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

I don’t know about you and your family, but we quite like to watch Richard Osman’s House of Games on TV together. I really like some of the rounds and the way they are put together, and it’s one of those shows that, no matter what your age, you can join in with and play along at home. Only no shouting out the answer please because that just leads to arguments!

The other day, after a particularly engaging play along at home episode, a show came on the TV which was all about groups of strangers getting together and hiking in areas around the country. In the show, five walkers compete against each other with their favourite walks to win a voucher or something at the end of the week. It’s like a strange hiking based reality competition show.

As the show aired, we were shown some absolutely fabulous areas of nature in Yorkshire, and we became particularly interested when they walked in and around Robin Hood’s Bay, a place we’ve visited on many occasions and which we always enjoy going to when we are in that part of the world. They showed some areas nearby that we’ve never explored, or even been aware of, on our previous visits.

Now the reason I mention this is not because I now work for the Yorkshire tourist board, but more because of some of the comments made by the walkers about their love of hiking and what got them into it, along with what they continue to get from their endeavours.

Several of the hikers mentioned how walking, and particularly walking in nature, had helped them with their mental health. From overcoming fears to anxiety and lowness, they had found a method and a passion that helped them. Part of this may have been having a sense of purpose and part of it may have been from being in an environment where it can be a bit easier to discuss mental health issues safely. Yet certainly a large aspect of the mental health boost they talked about came from getting out and spending time in nature.

Now, if you are an avid follower of my articles here on my website then this perhaps wasn’t really news to you. Research upon research has shown that spending time in nature and walking in nature can have immensely positive impacts upon anxiety, stress, depression and your mental health and well-being.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Anxiety Disorders – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Jan 5, 2023 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Anxiety Disorders – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

The level of anxiety disorders that are recognised and diagnosed seems to continue to rise and rise. More and more people are sadly struggling with anxiety, and within the plethora of possible treatments and ways forward, it can be tough to be sure that you are making the best decision that you can. Luckily, we have an increasing body of scientific research and evidence that can point you in the direction of the most effective treatments for anxiety disorders.

Rather than having to endure all of those never ending anxious thoughts that race through your mind, and having to struggle with all of those uncomfortable anxious feelings, it is possible to learn how to take back control over your thoughts, feelings, action and reactions. In fact, you can come out of the other side of your treatment even better equipped with tools, strategies and the self-belief you need to handle, deal and cope with any future challenges you may face too.

Cognitive behavioural therapy and hypnosis grew out of a shared therapeutic background so it is unsurprising if I call upon aspects of each when helping people with their anxiety. By drawing up the most helpful approaches that are tailored to your own needs, you can move forwards past anxiety and start feeling better again.

As I describe below, hypnotherapy has strong evidence to support its effectiveness as a treatment for anxiety, and adding hypnosis to your cognitive behavioural therapy has been demonstrated to increase positive outcomes.

And here I’m taking a quick look at research into the long term effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety related disorders.

Hypnosis During Pregnancy and Childbirth – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Jan 5, 2023 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Hypnosis During Pregnancy and Childbirth – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

With my eldest just turning fifteen and with both of my kids now at college, the pregnancy and childbirth for both of them should feel like a long time ago (they grow up so fast as we like to say!). Yet, I can still remember the entire experience of pregnancy and childbirth like it was just a few days ago.

There was the worry, anxiety, stress and hope that all would be ok and that they would be born healthy and well (especially as we had sadly suffered a miscarriage along our journey to parenthood). There was the whole birthing process and the tiredness and anticipation of waiting for the little one to come along. And then the turmoil as you try and work out what to do with a new baby in the house and how to try and stay on top of everything as you build new routines and try to cope with interrupted sleep, feeding and nappies whilst also managing work and life at the same time.

I often work with women during pregnancy and through childbirth and throughout the adjustment to parenthood stages. They may be struggling with anxiety and a sense of overwhelm. There may be anxiety about health, about being in hospital and coping with the birthing process, and about how well they think they will cope with having the responsibility of a new born to look after. There is no doubt that there are a lot of demands, challenges and things to learn through pregnancy and into parenthood (as well as a lot of love, happiness and joy, of course!!). And, of course, the change in roles and routines can equally have an impact upon fathers too as they also need to adjust through the pregnancy process and into being a new father.

A Quick Strategy For Anxious Overthinking – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Dec 22, 2022 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

A Quick Strategy For Anxious Overthinking – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

If you struggle with anxiety then you’ll be all too familiar with the overthinking that takes over your thinking and that leads to you feeling more and more tense and on edge. All of that anxious overthinking drives your focus and attention towards all sorts of possible worst case scenarios and other catastrophic outcomes.

And even though you know that a lot of those thoughts aren’t rational or logical, that doesn’t stop them from going around and around inside of your head.

There are many, many strategies for calming anxious feelings and interrupting unwanted anxious thoughts. In this short video I share one strategy that you can all upon to bring your focus back to the present moment and to move your time, focus and energy away from all those imagined future possibilities.

Anxiety and Worrying What Other People Think – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Nov 29, 2022 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Anxiety and Worrying What Other People Think – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

When I used to struggle with social anxiety, my life was dominated by the overarching, and ever present, worry about what other people think.

Anxious thoughts and feelings about being judged negatively, making an idiot of myself or somehow failing in the eyes of others, would lead to overthinking, anxiety and avoidance. I would worry about everything, from how I looked and dressed, to how I moved and to what I said and did.

At school, I would get out of anything in the limelight if I could in any way do so, I would hesitate at speaking up, or giving an opinion, and I would struggle in groups. It dogged me through my teens and well into my thirties. There were even periods when I struggled to force myself out of the house, and, when out, I would be almost paranoid that people were looking at me, mocking me and judging me.

Somehow I made it through education and into the work place and into management despite my worry, anxiety and fear. Yet it was never a smooth journey or an entirely comfortable one. Certain tasks, people and places were fine, others left me feeling awkward, uncomfortable, unable to think clearly and wanting to just escape to somewhere more comfortable for me.

And although that anxiety is now long gone, that same anxiety and worry about what other people think is a regular theme that comes up time and time again when I’m working with people.

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