Dan’s Blog

Panic Attacks at Christmas

by Dan Regan | Dec 8, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Panic Attacks at Christmas

If you struggle with panic attacks at Christmas then it can turn what should be a time of joy into one of despair and anguish. Anxiety and panic attacks can increase at Christmas, yet it is possible to regain control and feel calmer.

Christmas can be the time when your panic attacks suddenly appear, or they return after a period of calm. Perhaps seemingly out of the blue, you feel that rush of adrenaline, your heart pounds, you start shaking and the panic attack hits you. Your mind races, you’re filled with fear and you don’t know what to do with yourself.

Once you start experiencing panic attacks at Christmas, you start to worry and stress about when the next one will strike. You worry before events or about being embarrassed in front of others. You can easily fall into a spiral of feeling anxious about the possibility of having another overwhelming panic attack.

Anxiety can feel more intense in December. You feel a tightness in your chest, your sleep is more broken and your thoughts can race ahead to worst case scenarios. The festive season can place a huge strain on your nervous system. Panic attacks are like your mind and body saying it has all become too much. Even worse, you feel bad because you should be enjoying yourself at Christmas and you may worry about ruining things for others.

Panic attacks often follow a period of increased stress and a build up of anxiety. Just when things seem to settle, you experience a panic attack and it knocks you. Panic attacks are not dangerous, you are designed to be able to respond this way in the face of actual danger. However, they are disorientating, upsetting and frightening when they hit you. You know there is no reason for them, yet the anxiety and dread rumble on and it feels as if another panic attacks could happen at any time.

Regardless of whether you have had one or several panic attacks at Christmas, and regardless of whether you have ever or have never had them before, it is possible to feel calmer and regain control.

Managing Christmas Stress Eating

by Dan Regan | Dec 7, 2025 | Weight Loss

Managing Christmas Stress Eating

Christmas is a time when it is easy to pile on weight from all the food and drink that is always so nearby. Hypnotherapy can help you stay calm and in control around food and with managing Christmas stress eating.

Emotional and stress eating can happen at any time of year. Yet, during the bubble of Christmas, everything can feel magnified and intensified. There’s the planning, socialising, expectation and rush to get everything done and to please everyone. As I’ve covered in previous articles, this time of year can bring holiday social anxiety, December sleep anxiety and festive exhaustion and overwhelm. Your stress builds and that’s when stress eating can kick in.

I’ve helped many people throughout the year who use food to manage how they feel. You feel stressed, angry, low, happy or any other feeling or emotion. You then habitually reach for food irrespective of whether you are hungry. You eat too much and your weight and well-being suffer. With emotional and stress eating it will usually be unhealthy things and too much of them. You can get a sugar hit that may make you feel a little better for a bit. Yet it never lasts and you probably feel worse from having eaten the junk and added to your waist line.

Using external means to manage internal feelings can happen in any number of ways. When food is how you routinely manage feelings, this time of year can become challenging. There will be more food, particularly sweet treats and calorie loaded snacks, that make Christmas stress eating something that can get out of hand. Add in the extra stress and pressure of Christmas, and you really do need to be prepared for managing Christmas stress eating. You can enjoy food but you don’t want to reach January feeling despondent with your weight.

If you find yourself reaching for food to cope with festive tension, then hypnotherapy can help you to break the cycle and feel healthier, calmer and more in control throughout the season.

December Sleep Anxiety

by Dan Regan | Dec 6, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

December Sleep Anxiety: Why Racing Thoughts Get Worse At Night

December can be a time of increased sleep anxiety. There is just so much to get done each day. There are work pressures and social events. And there are all the presents and preparations ready for Christmas. It all comes on top of your normal day to day busyness and it can all feel like too much to do and not enough time to get it all done.

So many people struggle with December sleep anxiety. You lie awake with your mind running through to do lists, worries and negative what-ifs. Poor sleep and anxiety often increase at this time of year. It’s something that many of my hypnotherapy clients in Ely, Newmarket and online mention to me.

During the day you can keep busy and you are distracted as you rush around and do things. Then at night, just when you want to sleep, your mind is still going at the same rate it has been all day. This is especially true if your wind down routine has been squeezed out as you go from one thing to the next. Your brain hasn’t shut down and you get frustrated and stressed about not getting enough sleep to prepare you for the next day.

Anxiety loves time and space. As you lie there at night, there is nothing to distract you from your own thoughts. You replay the day and plans for tomorrow, you think about what you need to get done, runs through all the scenarios you’ve been sidelining, and can easily jump from one worst case to the next. The more anxious, stressed and frustrated you become, the more your thinking races on.

Some people have anxiety about sleep as a result of their general anxiety. Maybe you think about all the nights you’ve lain awake feeling anxious and restless. You can dread the approach of night time and the threat of a repeat of another long night alone with your anxiety.

Yet, sleep anxiety often gets worse for many people in December. There are longer to do lists, holiday pressures, social expectations and financial stresses. If that wasn’t enough, there are disrupted routines, increased screen time and potentially more caffeine, sugar and alcohol. Your brain and body can feel like they are stuck in ‘on’ mode. It all creates a perfect mix for December sleep anxiety.

The good news is that there are practical ways to ease sleep anxiety, calm your mind and improve your sleep.

Festive Exhaustion and Overwhelm

by Dan Regan | Dec 6, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Festive Exhaustion and Overwhelm

December is often described as the most wonderful time of the year. Yet it can easily become a time of festive exhaustion and overwhelm. Christmas stress can feel so intense, but it is possible to break that cycle.

Christmas seems to start earlier each year. The adverts and marketing now kicks in from November meaning there is a long, long stretch until the actual festive period arrives. When my two girls were little, Christmas was all about excitement, school nativity plays, seeing the Christmas lights and meeting Santa. It was enjoyable but busy and exhausting, especially Christmas day after having only had about two hours sleep! Now they are teenagers it can be draining trying to prise out of them what they actually want for Christmas that they don’t already have. And let’s just say that when it comes to toiletries, makeup and clothes, they probably don’t want to leave me to my own devices.

A client was telling me the other day how crazy people seem to go in preparation for Christmas. There are the presents, social events and grabbing a weeks worth of food for one day. The pressure to create the perfect Christmas, keep everyone happy, manage work deadlines and organise endless tasks can leave you feeling burnt out even before the big day even arrives.

December can create so much stress, exhaustion and overwhelm. There are more commitments and less free time. There are family expectations, changes to routine, less sleep and more rushing around to try and get everything done on time.

It’s no wonder some people start looking forward to when it is all over and they can finally try and relax. Yet it isn’t a nice place to be when you are just wishing it all away and that it was all done with. If you are struggling with festive exhaustion and overwhelm then there are ways to calm things down and regain control.

Holiday Social Anxiety

by Dan Regan | Dec 4, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Holiday Social Anxiety: How To Manage Festive Gatherings

Does the thought of all those upcoming festive gatherings fill you with a sense of holiday social anxiety?

For many people, the festive season brings a wealth of excitement, connection and celebration. Yet for others, December and the approach of Christmas and the New Year, creates a rising sense of dread and anxiety. There are office parties, work events, family gatherings, Christmas meals, noisy pubs, small talk and a pressure to go to everything and that you must have a good time. When you struggle with social anxiety, the holiday festive season each December can mean a struggle with feeling overwhelmed and anxious, with a heightened worry about what others think.

You can start to feel more and more anxious as social situations arise. You worry about drying up or messing up and being judged negatively. Maybe you worry about being there with no one to talk to, or that you’ll say something stupid and embarrass yourself. You might have worries about how you look and your appearance. Your social anxiety kicks in before you even get there, spikes when you are around others and then you dwell and overthink as you replay things afterwards.

Holiday social anxiety makes you worry for days beforehand about what people think. You spend way too long thinking how to avoid things or escape from things. You feel hot, tense and on edge. You may struggle to think of what to say, or you go the other way and blurt out all sorts of things without a filter. The whole time that anxious voice in your head is overthinking, observing and analysing. It can feel more like a draining ordeal that an occasion for fun and enjoyment.

Social anxiety tends to skyrocket in December. There’s the expectation, or obligation, to go to social gatherings. Social anxiety is something I help people with all year around in my Ely, Newmarket and online hypnotherapy sessions.

Yet, it’s never the social situation itself. It’s your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, expectations and habitual perceptions that create the inner anxiety, dread and fear. And that makes it possible to change those patterns to make festive socialising feel calmer and more manageable this year, and all year.

Festive Eating Without the Guilt

by Dan Regan | Dec 2, 2025 | Weight Loss

Festive Eating Without the Guilt: How Hypnotherapy Helps You Stay in Control at Christmas

Festive eating without the guilt? Can it be done?! It can with weight loss hypnotherapy to help you stay in control over your eating this Christmas.

Christmas can be a wonderful time of the year. It’s filled with family, friends…and plenty of delicious food. In fact, often there is too much food. There can be big meals, treats, snacks and grazing with sweets and chocolate in front of the TV. There is always so much food around and plenty of opportunity to eat much more than you usually might.

It can all lead to a repeat of the boom and bust of weight loss. You work hard to be healthy and lose some weight, only to undo all that effort over the festive period. You can end up entering the New Year feeling fat, bloated and disappointed that it happened again.

Festive eating can come with guilt. There’s the guilt of undoing your previous efforts. The guilt of indulging when you know you don’t really need to eat it. The guilt if you are miserable from missing out by not eating. You try to battle with yourself yet ultimately fail. And once you’ve started, the festive eating can rumble on and on.

Christmas can bring anxiety, guilt and a sense of losing control around eating. You find yourself reaching for some more or those chocolates just because it’s Christmas and it’s there. You feel bad if you ‘deprive’ yourself and you feel guilty if you eat too much.

If you struggle with eating at Christmas, hypnotherapy can help you navigate the festive season with confidence and balance.

Men Walking and Talking Ely Group

by Dan Regan | Dec 1, 2025 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Men Walking and Talking Ely Group

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting up with James Clements, who runs the Men Walking and Talking Ely group.

James has spoken openly and honestly about is own mental health journey. He was inspired to set up the Ely group after catching a segment on the One Show. Since then, the group has gone from strength to strength thanks to the ongoing endeavour, motivation and determination of James. If you are a man in Ely struggling with mental health issues, seeking to connect with other men or just looking for an evening out and a walk with others, then do contact James or join the Tuesday walk.

Men Walking and Talking started in 2021 in Telford. They run mental health walks, with the aim of bringing men together in a safe space to end the stigma around men’s mental health by supporting each other.

The Men Walking and Talking Ely group started in 2025. They meet at Barton Road Car Park every Tuesday at 7pm. James really is a lovely, approachable and friendly guy so do consider going along if this seems like something you might be interested in. There’s no obligation to go every week but it’s definitely worth giving a try if you can.

Fear of Blushing and How To Overcome It

by Dan Regan | Nov 24, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Fear of Blushing and How To Overcome It

Do you struggle with a fear of blushing?

Having a fear of blushing can turn every social occasion into a source of anxiety and stress. You worry beforehand about whether you are going to go red. When around others you feel anxious in case you blush. At the first sign of your face warming, the panic sets in. You feel your face burning up and you feel embarrassed. You’re sure the other person must have noticed and, if they do mention it, you feel mortified.

It could happen at any time, perhaps even around friends and family. Your face starts to flush when you’re talking to someone and their eyes are upon you. Your fear of blushing may become a reality when giving a presentation, speaking in a group, when in a queue or just out and about during everyday interactions. You feel that warm rush in your cheeks and you know your worst fear is happening again. The more you notice it, and worry about others noticing it, the worse it can seem to get.

For many people, the fear of blushing can lead to a cycle of worry, embarrassment and avoidance. You find yourself dreading situations where you think you could blush. You worry about what other people will think. You may try and avoid situations where it could happen. And, should it happen, then you can dwell and give yourself a hard time afterwards.

Your fear of blushing can become linked to social anxiety, fear of judgement and worry about what other people think. It all becomes an ongoing cycle of fear about blushing, anxiety about social situations, and feeling bad in yourself.

Yet just like other anxiety related issues, you can break that cycle and overcome your fear of blushing. You can start to feel more calm, confident and comfortable in yourself again.

Dealing with Social Anxiety – My Ely Standard Column

by Dan Regan | Nov 23, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Dealing with Social Anxiety – My Ely Standard Column

My latest regular column in the Ely Standard is about dealing with social anxiety.

If you struggle with social anxiety, then the article has a few suggestions of positive actions you can take. You might also want to read my recent post about combating social anxiety this festive season.

Like all anxiety, social anxiety thrives in the unhelpful patterns of thoughts and feelings that go on inside of your mind. You worry before events about what if you mess up somehow and look stupid. The closer social situations get, the more you probably think about how you can avoid it. If you do go then that inner critic overthinks everything. You are constantly scanning for signs from others to check if they are judging you. You can feel hot, tense and edgy. You can get so focused on your own inner thoughts about what you are doing or saying that you struggle to engage in what is going on around you.

Dealing with social anxiety was a major challenge for me at one time. I would worry incessantly about what others thought of me and what I said or did. Every interaction felt like a potential opportunity to mess up or be judged. Before events you feel anxious and full of dread about what might go wrong. At events you feel anxious about what is happening, or could happen. Afterwards, you dwell on everything and worry about what you said and did. It’s exhausting.

You worry about saying or doing something wrong in case others think badly about you. You may also worry about the things you didn’t do but worry you should have done. There are worries about freezing and having nothing to say, or about saying or doing something stupid. You overthink and overthink about it all. And all those thoughts, feelings and behaviours just get in the way of you relaxing and being yourself.

The festive season, in particular, comes with pressure to go to, and be seen to enjoy, social events. If you are dealing with social anxiety, then you may just look forward to the relief when it is all over and done with.

However, the good news is that social anxiety is something that you can overcome. You can start feeling better and better in yourself when it comes to social events, occasions and interactions.

Combating Social Anxiety This Festive Season

by Dan Regan | Nov 21, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Combating Social Anxiety This Festive Season

Do you need some help combating social anxiety this festive season?

Christmas and the New Year are meant to be a time for connection, laughter and celebration. Every advert, TV programme and Christmas film shows people enjoying their time with others. It can bring a sense of pressure that you must enjoy yourself on social occasions. But for many people, the festive season brings a rise in their social anxiety.

If you struggle with social anxiety then the thought of work parties, family gatherings, meeting new people or other social events can leave you feeling tense, nervous and on edge even when just thinking about these situations. The nearer the situations get the more anxious you feel, and the more you may feel inclined to find an excuse to cancel. Avoidance brings temporary relief but your patterns of social anxiety rumble on. On the flip side, going to events can be exhausting as you struggle to cope with anxious feelings and the constant overthinking.

With social anxiety, there are so many perceived pitfalls over the festive season. You might worry about not having anything interesting to say, or saying the wrong thing. You may worry about being judged negatively for how you look, what you do or what you say. You overthink everything during social situations with that anxious inner commentary getting in the way. And then afterwards you replay every word, gesture and action and worry about what others may be thinking about you. It’s enough to make you dread events and want to avoid them altogether.

I’ve covered before how I used to suffer with social anxiety. I would worry incessantly about what others thought of me and what I said or did. Every interaction felt like a potential opportunity to mess up or be judged. Around people I trusted, I could relax and be myself. Around others, I’d overthink, tense-up and second-guess everything. It was exhausting.

The festive season can be a social anxiety minefield. You’re expected to go to some of the events you’d rather skip. Maybe you’d like to feel relaxed and comfortable around others. Yet you just know that the social anxiety will strangle any enjoyment and stop you from being your normal self. So how do you go about combating social anxiety this festive season?

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