Tackling Anxiety with Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy

In this article, I cover tackling anxiety with Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy.

For some people, it can seem as though their anxiety creeps in when they least expect it. For others, anxiety has been a way of life for too long. Sometimes better, sometimes worse, yet always present.

You know that there is no real, actual danger and nothing for you to actually feel anxious about. Yet your heart races, your mind races faster and your body can feel as if it on high alert. It’s exhausting, and it can leave you feeling as though you’re stuck in an endless loop of tension and worry.

Anxiety isn’t a sign of weakness, failure or something being wrong with you. It’s a learned response that has become habitual. Those patterns of thoughts, feelings and reactions have become automatic through repetition. No matter how long you have struggled with anxiety, there is good news. You can change those patterns and replace them with something more calm and helpful.

This is exactly where my cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy comes in to help you to tackle your anxiety.  We will combine the practical tools of cognitive behavioural therapy, helping you challenge and reframe unhelpful thinking, with the relaxation, focused imagination and skills of hypnosis. You can create lasting change that helps you feel better and better. You can calm your mind and body and direct your own thoughts and feelings.

Below, I’ve covered five simple action points that you can start using today to help you relax, refocus, reset and feel calmer.

 

5 Ways To Begin Tackling Anxiety

Here are five ways to start tackling anxiety and directing your own thoughts and feelings.

1. Recognise and Name the Anxiety Thought

The first step to tackling anxiety filled thoughts is awareness. You notice what you are doing inside your own head. Usually we get caught up in the content and subject matter of our thoughts. Before you know it, that anxious thought has jumped twenty steps ahead down an ever more dreaded imagined path.

Notice when your mind starts to spiral into ‘what if’ thinking. These types of thoughts are the cornerstone of anxious thinking. Maybe you are thinking along the lines of ‘what if something goes wrong?. ‘what if I can’t cope?’, ‘what if I make an idiot of myself?’ or ‘what if they judge me?’

Each time you notice an anxious thought, do this. Pause and say to yourself ‘this is an anxious thought, not a fact’ or ‘this is an anxious thought and not a genuine thought.’ Call it out for what it is. Inside your head it seems like a bigger thing than it is. This approach separates you from the thought and so reduces its power and hold. You think thousands of other thoughts every day that don’t bother you at all. Learn to notice and observe your own thoughts rather than getting caught up in them.

 

2. Challenge the Catastrophe

Anxiety tends to lead you to exaggerate risk. You’ve probably found yourself thinking how things are unlikely to turn out how your anxiety is having you imagine. Combined with this, anxiety underestimates your ability to cope with whatever comes your way. You discard all of the things that you could do to deal with things constructively.

You want to start examining these anxious distortions and purposefully replacing them with more balanced thinking. Ask yourself, what evidence supports this thought? What evidence goes against it? If this happened to a friend, what would I tell them? How might I cope if the worst really did happen?

You can critically examine your own thoughts rather than just accepting them. These questions help you shift from emotion based thinking to evidence based thinking. You gradually train your brain to stay calmer and more rational. If the thing happens (and it may very well not) then you will do things to handle it.

 

3. Breathe To Calm

You’ll already know the uncomfortable feelings of anxiety. Your body and mind work as a single system. When you breathe shallowly or hold tension, your mind searches for the threat that has caused those feelings. When you slow your breathing, you signal safety to your nervous system. Calm your body and you calm your mind.

Try breathing in through your nose for a slow count of 4. Hold gently for a count of 2. Then exhale through your mouth for a slow count of 6. The numbers are just a guide. The longer out breath is the key.

As you breathe out you can deliberately imagine tension leaving the body. Relax your shoulders, feel your chest easing and unclench your jaw. Repeat for at least a minute and notice how your body begins to feel calmer and more relaxed.

 

4. Rehearse Calm In Your Mind

You can use your imagination to retrain your emotional responses. Rather than feeling anxious and imagining the worst, while calm imagine handling things. When you visualise yourself handling situation calmly, your mind begins to expect calm. You associate feeling calm with the situation and your body follows.

In a relaxed state, imagine yourself in a typical anxiety provoking situation. Now, imagine yourself breathing easily, shoulders relaxed and mentally calm. Visualise yourself responding with confidence, composure and control.

Repeat this short mental rehearsal daily. The more vividly you imagine it, the stronger the new pattern becomes.

 

5. Build A Daily Calm Habit

The most powerful change comes from being consistent. Even five minutes of daily self hypnosis or relaxation helps you to build resilience and reduce overall stress levels.

You might choose to practice just before sleep or first thing in the morning, a calm mind book-ending your day. If anxious thoughts arise during this time, gently return to your breathing or your calming image. You’re training your mind to return to calm and balance more easily each time.

 

Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy for Anxiety

Anxiety thrives upon fear and avoidance. The more you retreat from it, the stronger it can feel. But with my cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy approach, you can learn to meet anxiety with calm awareness, balanced thinking and deeper self control.

Each small moment of practice, each time you pause, breathe, challenge a thought or visualise calm, rewires your brain more and more. Over time, these changes build into lasting resilience and genuine calmness and confidence. You start to control your own thoughts and feelings rather than just living at the mercy of them.

If you could use some help to tackle anxiety and feel better then do get in touch and we can meet for your free, no obligation, consultation. Working together, we’ll help you to consistently and habitually start thinking and feeling more calm, relaxed, confident and in control.

To your health and happiness, 

Dan Regan

Anxiety Therapist in Ely & Newmarket

 

Could use some help to tackle your anxiety? Struggling with anxiety, stress, worry and fear and need some help? Find out how I can help with a Complimentary Hypnotherapy Strategy Session. Learn more here: Appointments

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