Dan’s Blog

Ed Sheeran, Social Anxiety and Feeling Like A Zoo Animal

by Dan Regan | Jul 13, 2019 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Ed Sheeran, Social Anxiety and Feeling Like A Zoo Animal:

In a recent interview with The Sun, Ed Sheeran, the singer, has revealed that he suffers from social anxiety that makes him feel like an ‘animal in the zoo.’

For all the upsides of being famous and wealthy, even that kind of lifestyle can’t protect you from social anxiety and Sheeran talks of his constant battle with it. And whilst his lifestyle is a little different from mine (just a little!), I have every empathy with him having battled social anxiety myself from school age and all the way into my thirties.

Ed Sheeran describes living with social anxiety and the attention that comes with people filming and staring at him as making him feel like a zoo animal. I’d have described my own social anxiety as feeling like ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ whereby in one situation I would be relaxed, comfortable and at ease and in another situation I would be frozen by fear, overthinking, anxiety and worry.

Yet whether it’s Ed Sheeran, the younger me or one of the many people who come to me for help to overcome it, social anxiety has many familiar patterns that lead to doubt, insecurity, lack of trust and fear. The better news is that all of these anxious thoughts, feelings, beliefs, patterns and behaviours can all be tackled, amended and changed.

The Effectiveness of Hypnotherapy as a Treatment For Anxiety

by Dan Regan | Jul 11, 2019 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

The Effectiveness of Hypnotherapy as a Treatment For Anxiety:

Anyone who has browsed through the articles on my website will soon pick up that helping people to overcome anxiety is one of my main passions.

Having been there and struggled with anxiety in the past, I know the all encompassing nature of those unwanted thoughts and feelings that seem to grow more and more out of control. I also know from my own personal experience, from the feedback of my anxiety hypnotherapy clients and from research, that hypnotherapy can be very effective as a treatment for anxiety.

Anxiety problems and anxiety disorders are some of the most impairing and limiting mental health conditions that you can struggle with. They are also one of the most common mental health issues that impact upon people at some point in their lives. All of which means that having effective treatments for anxiety available is more important than ever, both for you as an individual and much more widely too.

Hypnosis has been scientifically demonstrated to offer very effective help with a whole range of issues and conditions. However, whilst more and more controlled studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of hypnosis in alleviating anxiety in areas such as general anxiety, dental anxiety, medical anxiety and performance anxiety, there has never been a meta-analysis quantifying the overall effectiveness of hypnosis as a treatment for anxiety.

Pretty hot of the presses (the research was published in July 2019), we now have that analysis. A recent thorough study has now quantified the effectiveness of hypnosis for reducing anxiety by conducting a meta-analysis of all controlled studies of hypnotherapy for anxiety and has published the results.

Overcoming Driving Anxiety – My Latest Video Hypnotherapy Testimonial

by Dan Regan | Jul 1, 2019 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Overcoming Driving Anxiety – My Latest Video Hypnotherapy Testimonial:

Driving anxiety is one of the most common anxiety and fear related things that I help people with. Whereas you can try and avoid some things that cause you anxiety, like flying or public speaking, pretty much everyone needs to get in a car at some point.

And of course, driving anxiety can vary greatly from person to person. I’ve worked with those who haven’t driven much for a long period and find themselves getting anxious and worried even thinking about driving, let alone getting behind the wheel. And there are those who struggle and dread even being a passenger in a car, perhaps particularly on faster roads.

You may find that local roads are generally ok as the speed is much slower, there are places to pull over and you know your way around a bit. Yet when it comes to faster roads, like motorways and dual carriageways, most people with driving anxiety find that their fear, dread and worry rockets. Everything moves so much quicker, there is more to think about and you can’t just stop and pull over if you feel like you want to. People often feel trapped and out of control as their mind races to process everything going on within and around them. The anxiety can be so great that you may decide to avoid them altogether if you can, even if that means taking a much longer route.

And all of that driving anxiety and fear can cause stress, worry and frustration, particularly if it stops you going places or doing the things you want to do.

As you’ll have gathered from the title of this article, I’ve got a new hypnotherapy testimonial video that I’m excited to share with you today from someone who overcame their driving anxiety and is now confidently driving anywhere they want to .

How To Increase Willpower and Self-Control

by Dan Regan | Jun 28, 2019 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

How To Increase Willpower and Self-Control:

Do you struggle to find the willpower and self-control you need to achieve what you want to? It’s something I hear a lot from clients, how they lack the willpower they need, whether that’s to stop smoking, lose weight, get exercising, study, get to bed earlier or any number of other areas.

When it comes to taking action and making better decisions, almost all of us struggle at one time of another to act in our own best interests or to forego something that seems more enjoyable or easier right now (especially compared to much longer term goals).

You know what you ought to be doing yet, even knowing this, you find that your willpower, motivation and self-control quickly evaporate. It may seem like one ever lasting battle with yourself to make better decisions for yourself. All those short term temptations and rewards are irresistible and we give in and promise ourselves we’ll do better in the future; for example, in our eating habits where we take the sugary/fattening option in front of us (who has told themselves when it’s gone, it’s gone and then I’ll be healthier?), or quitting smoking (but the habits and stress kicks in so the decision gets pushed to another time) or it could be procrastinating by watching that next episode on Netflix, having a look at one more you Tube video, ‘quickly’ checking out social media or surfing the net and a whole host of other things that can mean you don’t get around to exercising or getting stuff done or getting enough sleep.

Knowing what we should be doing isn’t enough to stop us doing what we want to do in that moment. We struggle to prioritise our long term goals over our more immediate behaviours and choices (and all the while promising ourselves that we will do better in the future).

Willpower and self-control are things we need more and more to make sure we achieve what we want to rather than jumping from one urge and instant reward to another. So how can you increase willpower and self-control so that you actually make stuff happen?.

Boosting Your Happiness and Well-Being

by Dan Regan | Jun 21, 2019 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Boosting Your Happiness and Well-Being:

Could you benefit from boosting your levels of happiness and well-being in some area of your life right now? I think we can all take deliberate steps to both increase and maintain the kinds of happiness, well-being and mental health that we want.

Recently I’ve been working my way through a really good online course from Yale University which is all about the Science of Well-Being. One thing that comes through pretty clearly is that a lot of our thoughts and expectations about what will make us happy are well wide of the mark.

Another thing that comes through from the research is that increasing your happiness and well-being takes daily, intentional effort over a long period of time. This is something I often cover with my clients. Waiting for change to happen, hoping for the best or waiting until you feel like it, are usually not great strategies if you want to make positive changes in your life.

I’ll cover a bit more about well-being and happiness a bit further down this article.

Why You Should Be Kind To Yourself – The Benefits of Self-Compassion

by Dan Regan | Jun 5, 2019 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Why You Should Be Kind To Yourself – The Benefits of Self-Compassion:

Do you find it easy and natural to be kind to yourself? Are you able to reassure yourself in times of adversity? Or perhaps you have a tendency to be self-critical, pointing out every perceived mistake you make and feeling like you don’t even like who you are.

I work with many people who have a habitual tendency to be harsh towards themselves and who judge themselves negatively. And it can be associated with many mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. There are certainly few benefits to be gained, and not much respite to be had, from living your life being your own harshest critic.

That’s not to say that you need to strut about thinking that you are the best thing since sliced bread, yet being kind to yourself and exercising self-compassion has many benefits that mean you can encourage yourself, feel comfortable in your own skin and reassure yourself when dealing with challenges or adversity.

It can be easy, when things go wrong, or when faced with adversity or rejection, to turn the blame and criticism inwards and be harsh with yourself. However, a relatively recent piece of research has added to the study of the benefits of self-compassion which adds to the weight of knowledge about why you should be kind to yourself and develop self-compassion.

Overcoming Anxiety & Fear after Serious Road Traffic Accident

by Dan Regan | May 30, 2019 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Overcoming Anxiety & Fear after Serious Road Traffic Accident:

There’s no doubt that being involved in a serious road traffic accident can have huge consequences upon your life. I’ve helped people who were in a car, driving or as a passenger, that was involved in an accident and the shock and panic experienced stops them getting back into a vehicle.

Once a panic attack has been experienced in any situation, the anxiety and worry about having another one, combined with the dread and worry about the situation itself, can be enough to lead to avoidance and other safety seeking behaviours.

One client I have helped, and whose video testimonial is below, came to me after being involved in a serious road traffic accident as a cyclist. One minute she was enjoying cycling down a country road as part of training for an upcoming event, then in a flash of a moment, she found herself having been thrown off her bike, a car having hit her from behind.

Not only did she have the physical injuries to recover from, and come to terms with, she also had the anxiety, fear and worry about whether she would ever be able to get back on her bike again and dealing with the often difficult consequences on her life as a result of the accident. Her story is massively inspirational and this lady is well worth paying attention to for how far she has come since that fateful day.

Emetophobia – A Fear of Vomiting

by Dan Regan | May 29, 2019 | Phobias and Fears

Emetophobia – A Fear of Vomiting:

Recently emetophobia, or the fear of vomiting, has been something cited by quite a few clients as either the main thing they are struggling with, or as part of their wider anxiety and panic issues.

While most of us can happily and calmly eat whatever we chose and go from place to place relatively worry free, someone with a phobia of vomiting can find their life becomes pretty restricted and filled with the potential for panic. There may be worry about going places where people may be sick (or places associated with themselves or others having vomited in the past), you may worry about contact with others and look to see whether they may look ill or likely to vomit (e.g. if they are vigorously coughing) and you may restrict what you will eat and worry that you may be sick.

A phobia of vomiting can manifest itself in three main ways: a fear that you may vomit yourself, a fear of others vomiting (which could lead to you catching something that makes you vomit) and a fear of vomiting in front of others and being embarrassed or judged negatively by them.

Certainly clients I’ve helped have described avoiding foods to reduce the risk of being sick, staying away from people who have had a bug and panicking if they think someone near them may vomit. For most of us casually saying we feel sick or mimicking vomiting is just a bit of fun; for someone with emetophobia it could add to a whole spiral of worry, tension and fear.

Coping with Turbulence and a Fear of Flying

by Dan Regan | May 25, 2019 | Phobias and Fears

Coping with Turbulence and a Fear of Flying:

Since the launch of my new fear of flying course with the great people at Sim2do, I’ve written quite a bit about overcoming the fear of flying and how combining knowledge about flying, coping strategies, hypnotherapy and the virtual simulator can help to alleviate your flying fears.

As part of our course preparation we have people spend a few minutes before they come completing a brief fear of flying questionnaire. This means we can tailor the support we provide based on whether someone gets anxious in anticipation of a flight, on the plane or if they have a generalised fear around flying. For the latest course participant it was all about the turbulence (or more precisely, the fear of there being turbulence on an upcoming flight).

And this person is not alone in worrying about turbulence and being able to deal with it (without panic). It’s one of the most common concerns when someone has a fear of flying, particularly if severe turbulence has been experienced before.

Before I get on to a little more about coping with turbulence, this week I found myself wondering what it must be like to be an astronaut and to fly into space. I mean, what must that turbulence be like?

Celebration of Business 2019 – Ely Cathedral Business Group

by Dan Regan | May 17, 2019 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Celebration of Business 2019 – Ely Cathedral Business Group

I was delighted to take part in the recent Celebration of Business event hosted by the Ely Cathedral Business Group. A great event in a fantastic location.

The event allows over a hundred local businesses, from a diverse range of sectors, to showcase their services and to meet other local businesses.

It’s always a great occasion and a highlight for any local business in the Ely / East Cambridgeshire area.

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