Call Now
01353 886158

Dan’s Blog

Injections, Needles and Giving Blood – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

Injections, Needles and Giving Blood – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

by | May 24, 2023 |

Injections, Needles and Giving Blood – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

The other day I went to give blood here in Ely for perhaps the fifth or sixth time, and certainly the first time since the pandemic. My Dad was a regular donor of blood and it means a lot to me to follow in his footsteps (although I’m not sure I remember him acting as weak and pathetic as I do after a donation!). It’s also nice to know that for someone somewhere that I will never meet, my blood could make all the difference to them.

Whenever I mention to people that I’ve been to give blood there will undoubtedly be several people who tell me how they couldn’t do that because of their fear around needles and injections, or because of a phobia about blood. 

It really does seem to be one of the most prevalent fears and phobias around. And, for the most part, if you are healthy then you may not have much need to go near a needle or injection, or to need something like a blood test. And so, when people come to see me for hypnotherapy to overcome their fear then it is likely that their avoidance strategy has failed because they need something dental or medical done, or because their health now requires regular blood tests or injections.

And, of course, you know logically that there is no need to fear that little needle, or to fear the sight of blood (after all you carry enough of it around inside you), yet the fear and anxiety can take over to the point where you delay things, suffer overwhelming panic, want to run from the room (and just keep running) or you worry you may faint. And if you’ve been anxious, fearful and had unpleasant experiences around blood, needles and injections, then those memories are a lingering reminder of what an ordeal you are facing. 

Fears around needles, injections and blood are not uncommon and that pattern of anxiety can certainly be changed. You can learn how to feel calm, comfortable and in control to get done anything you need to get done, and to relax if a need for something like a blood test crops up. 

(Note: There is a picture of me at my blood donation with a needle in my arm further down this article. Please scroll carefully if you want to avoid it). 

read more
Fear of Flying Help – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Fear of Flying Help – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by | May 23, 2023 |

Fear of Flying Help – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Holiday season is approaching and the number of people seeking help for their fear of flying is rising. 

For many people with a fear of flying the pandemic has an unintended consequence. Rather than having to hope flying somewhere wasn’t mentioned or feeling anxious about the possibility of flying, the restrictions probably meant a period of relief where you didn’t have to worry about it. Yet now, it is much more likely that either friends of family, or work, will be talking about booking flights and going away somewhere.

If you have a fear of flying, then no matter how much you love going away or seeing other places, your primary strategy is likely to always be avoidance. You’ll try to suggest other options, find reasons not to fly, look for other methods of travel or you’ll do just about anything else to get out of that thing that is filled with nervousness, dread, fear and anxiety. 

Through avoidance you can find temporary relief from your fear of flying, yet the next time there is a possibility you may need to fly, the same old anxiety and fear resurfaces. And if your friends and family or work keep pushing you to commit to going somewhere that involves flying then, sooner or later, the prevarication, excuses and avoidance strategies will probably run out.

Pretty much every person with a fear of flying knows logically that flying is the safest mode of transport and that their fear is irrational. Yet that logic and reasoning can’t prevent all of the anxious feelings and emotions arising and all of the associated thoughts about the plane you will fly on being the one that is certain to fall out of the sky. 

read more
Kindness, Happiness and Mental Health – Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

Kindness, Happiness and Mental Health – Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

by | May 19, 2023 |

Kindness, Happiness and Mental Health – Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

In a world where you can be anything, be kind, as the saying goes (I think it might be hanging up on a sign in our downstairs toilet at home!).

Yet, it’s kind of true isn’t it? I mean it must be because random acts of kindness even have their own day in the calender each year. And who hasn’t seen a video on TikTok or Facebook where someone shares their happiness after receiving some small unexpected act or token of kindness from someone else.

We all know that the receiver of an act of kindness generally gets a boost of positivity and happiness (and as a side note it’s my birthday soon, just saying!). Yet all to often it can seem that everyone you encounter has forgotten, or is yet to realise, the psychological benefits that can come from carrying out acts of kindness.

Most days I would say it’s fifty:fifty whether someone even acknowledges it if you hold a door open for them, lifts a hand and smiles if you give way in the car or nods their head and returns your ‘good morning’ when you walk past them. But hey, that’s their thing and not yours so you can just let it slide because the research tells us that giving acts of kindness can have a boost for your levels of happiness, your well-being and your mental health.     

read more
Sick of your Emetophobia? Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Sick of your Emetophobia? Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by | May 18, 2023 |

Sick of your Emetophobia? Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Emetophobia (fear of vomiting) can be a particularly debilitating form of anxiety and fear. After all, in theory there is the possibility that you or someone around you could become unwell and be sick at any moment. That possibility that anyone can vomit, and the uncertainty around what if it happens, drives the anxious thoughts and feelings that can easily start to control your life. 

Emetophobia is a fear of vomiting or feeling sick, seeing or being near vomit, or watching someone else be physically sick. With many people I’ve helped with this, even the mention of the words ‘sick’ or ‘vomit’ can be enough to trigger a sense of rising anxiety. 

As with all forms of anxiety and fear, avoidance or seeking to try and take control over things, tends to dominate. You may avoid alcohol or being around lots of people drinking as there is an increased possibility of someone being sick. You may struggle with travel, especially with boats, trains and planes where you are trapped and, again, where there is an increased possibility of someone being unwell. And most likely, things like fairground rides or anything that can cause that sick feeling in your stomach will be well off your fun things to do list.

Yet the fear and anxiety goes beyond just the problematic nature of avoiding these situations. Recently I worked with someone who would avoid any foods that they had eaten before a time they were sick before (even if the food wasn’t responsible for the vomiting), and who would also feel anxious if someone around them was eating that food. You may scan people as you go through your day for signs of them potentially being unwell, and you may be anxious if someone coughs of hiccups too much. I’ve also worked with people who struggle to go into certain rooms at home that they associate with them, or someone else, being sick on a previous occasion.

If you know someone has been unwell recently, even if they are now better, you might try and keep your distance from them. If there is a sickness bug going around, you can be on edge and fearful.  And if you feel sick or someone close to you says that they feel sick, or in the worst case, you or they actually vomit, it can lead to uncontrollable panic.

Emetophobia limits your life and can lead to a roller coaster or anxious thoughts and emotions that impact upon your well-being, sleep, appetite, social life, relationships and ability to get on and do the things you need or want to do.    

read more
IBS Help – Irritable Bowel Syndrome Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

IBS Help – Irritable Bowel Syndrome Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by | Apr 19, 2023 |

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

IBS is a very common gastrointestinal disorder which is usually characterised by abdominal pain, cramping, bloating, constipation and diarrhoea. When it strikes you may need to get to the toilet very quickly, or find yourself in pain and discomfort on the toilet for a prolonged time. What you can eat, what you feel comfortable doing when out, and the time spent on the toilet and near a toilet can start to impact upon your life.

Whilst certain foods and drinks can trigger it, it can be a frustrating condition to live with as you can have an IBS episode at any time and sometimes without knowing what has triggered it. Perhaps one of the biggest causes of IBS anxiety is not knowing when it may affect you or what even causes it. You may find yourself avoiding certain places and situations, such as eating out or travelling long distances, in case something happens, or you have an episode, or through the worry about the struggle to find a clean toilet you can use in a hurry should you need to.

  

Even if you have sought medical advice and have had all the available medical investigations, you may still be left with just trying to avoid food and drink that you know triggers it and with just needing to try and live with it, no matter how much it affects your enjoyment of your every day life. I’ve known people who only go out to the same places where they are comfortable there is a toilet, or who eat the same safe foods whenever they are out, or even who avoid eating out completely and wait until they are safely home before consuming anything just in case something happens.

 

Anxiety and stress are certainly well recognised contributors to IBS symptoms. There is the lingering concern, worry and dread that your IBS will affect you when you are out, or that you will have to cancel plans at the last moment due to your symptoms. The lurking anxiety and stress that IBS may impact, and the fear about not finding a toilet in time or being embarrassed in front of others, can add to your uncomfortable stomach issues and just make your IBS more impactful as well as more likely to affect you.

read more
Anxiety and Fear in The Swimming Pool – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Anxiety and Fear in The Swimming Pool – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by | Apr 17, 2023 |

Anxiety and Fear in The Swimming Pool – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Helping people overcome their anxiety and fear is one of the main things that I do within my hypnotherapy sessions. Whether it is a general anxiety, panic attacks or a fear of a certain thing or situation (such as a fear of flying, driving anxiety, fear of the dentist or public speaking anxiety), it is very possible to change all of those uncomfortable thoughts and feelings that you have been experiencing.

The number one strategy for dealing with anxiety and fear is always avoidance. You feel better when you can swerve that situation or thing that is currently linked with anxiety and dread and that sends your mind into a racing panic. Yet whilst avoidance usually makes you feel a bit better in the short term, it does nothing to help you to get past that fear or to ease your future anxiety. Your mind perceives there is a threat of some kind and you get all of the negative thoughts, feelings and sensations each and every time you are faced with something similar.

However, in the same way that you at some point developed that pattern of anxiety and those associations of fear, it is possible to change your thoughts, feelings and behaviours to something more comfortable that allows you to do whatever it is you need to, or want to do. In fact, you’ll probably only decide to do something to change how you feel when you either no longer want to feel that way because of how it interferes with things, or because you can no longer avoid it and have to find a way to be able to handle, deal and cope in that situation. That is where hypnotherapy can help you, regardless of whether you actually know what initially caused your fear and anxiety.

read more
Finalist For Service Excellence in the Ely Business Awards 2023 – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Finalist For Service Excellence in the Ely Business Awards 2023 – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by | Mar 28, 2023 |

Finalist For Service Excellence in the Ely Business Awards 2023 – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

I’m delighted to announce that I’ve been short listed for Service Excellence in the Ely Business Awards for the third year running!

As a small business (of one!) it’s such an honour to be shortlisted in these prestigious awards alongside many other great Ely businesses. My goal when I started work as a hypnotherapist was to work as hard as I can to help as many people as I can to overcome challenges such as anxiety, panic and low self-esteem. I’m massively grateful to all of you for your ongoing support and please do wish me luck for the awards event in May!! 

read more
Anxiety Patterns – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Anxiety Patterns – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by | Jan 26, 2023 |

Anxiety Patterns – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

So many people that I meet who are struggling with anxiety think that they are somehow broken, or that there is something wrong with them in some way. They feel that they should somehow be able to just stop feeling anxious and to not find their mind being overrun with endless overthinking about things that they know are little things or unlikely to even happen.

And so, on top of the problematic and uncomfortable thoughts and feelings of anxiety, they start to label themselves and criticise themselves about their perceived shortcomings, which only adds to their levels of worry and stress and that overall sense of feeling rubbish. 

If anxiety has become a problem for you, then all that really means is that at some point along the way in your life, you learnt some unhelpful patterns of thinking and feeling. You then repeated these over and over until it seemed that these habitual anxious experiences had become automatic and a part of who you are and what you do. As creatures of habit, pattern and repetition, you generally just get better at the things you do over and over until you expect to think and feel a certain way, then you experience it and then that confirms to you that you are an anxious person as you reflect negatively and dwell over things.

Of course, everyone experiences anxiety and worry at certain times or about certain things. It’s a normal human response when faced with some sort of perceived threat or danger. With anxiety, those problematic patterns have just become seemingly more automatic, more present, more persistent and more troublesome.

read more
The Anxiety Equation – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

The Anxiety Equation – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by | Jan 26, 2023 |

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. 

 

read more
Challenging Anxious Thoughts – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Challenging Anxious Thoughts – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by | Jan 26, 2023 |

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).

read more

Claim your FREE Consultation TODAY

Just call 01353 886158 to book your free 30 minute consultation. Discover how you can start feeling better quickly and effectively and ask any questions you may have before deciding to go ahead.

Call Dan today!



Get Your Copy Right Now…

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:

Rapid Relaxation hypnosis mp3 dan regan hypnotherapy

Dan in the spotlight!

Click below to see Dan in the media

Hypnosis Downloads

Powerful hypnosis for download that will help you to overcome issues and achieve your goals. 

Hypnotherapy Video Testimonials 

Click below to see dozens of videos from happy clients who have worked with Dan:

Copy of YouTube Channel Art Untitled Design

Copy of YouTube Channel Art Untitled Design