Dan’s Blog

Virtual Reality Exposure and Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy For Fear of Flying

by Dan Regan | Feb 20, 2019 | Phobias and Fears

Virtual Reality Exposure and Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy For Fear of Flying:

Last week I headed back over to the virtual reality flying simulator team that I’ll be delivering my fear of flying course alongside. I’ve written already about the VR machine and the fear of flying course we have developed, in these two articles: i) New fear of flying course – help to overcome flying nerves and anxiety; and ii) Fear of Flying – Calmly Taking To The Air in a Boeing 737.

Naturally, one thing I’ve spent a fair amount of time researching and investigating is the added value of virtual reality for helping with fear of flying and the best methods of integrating that aspect with my cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy. And there is actually a fair amount of research out there that has looked at virtual reality exposure treatment for fear of flying and its benefits and effectiveness.

Many existing approaches make use of anxiety management and cognitive techniques, alongside providing accurate information about aeroplanes and flying as a way to calm that fear. Some approaches make use of exposure techniques that could range from going to an airport, watching and listening to the sound of aeroplanes taking off and landing and then, where practical, sitting in a plane before then moving on to actually flying somewhere.

Of course, some of these elements are easier to realise than others to help you overcome your fear of flying. As long as it isn’t too far, getting to an airport and watching and listening to planes is probably achievable. Actually arranging to sit on a stationary plane for a bit is harder to achieve and the opportunities for repeating this and subsequent steps become less and less. This is where virtual reality exposure can really nail the gap in your progress to reduce your fear before you actually fly.

New Fear of Flying Course – help to overcome flying nerves and anxiety

by Dan Regan | Feb 14, 2019 | Phobias and Fears

New fear of flying course – help to overcome flying nerves and anxiety:

Fear of flying is perhaps one of the most common fears and phobias around (along with the fears of public speaking and death). It’s estimated that up to 25% of the population battle with the fear of flying.

This can lead to avoiding flying completely due to the fear and anxiety associated with it, or perhaps simply trying to force yourself through it and living with the uncomfortable thoughts and feelings that come with a flight. Other people may also use alcohol to try and numb the anxiety and help them relax or rely on prescribed medication such as diazepam. And, of course, all these methods can have negative and anxious connotations and consequences that make air travel something to be feared and limited.

I’ve helped many people to overcome their fear of flying and there is no doubt that hypnotherapy can be a very effective method of overcoming that aviophobia. Yet there is always a leap between the hypnotherapy sessions and then an actual flight. Unless you have easy access to a plane then there is not much scope for testing your therapeutic progress and for having an opportunity to put strategies and techniques into place. There isn’t much scope for developing confidence and self-efficacy around flying.

Which is where my new fear of flying course comes in. I’m pretty excited at how well this can combine psychological processes along with education about flying, and the opportunity to put that learning and those calming techniques into practice in the cockpit.

Does Mental Health Stigma Stop People Seeking Help?

by Dan Regan | Feb 8, 2019 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Does Mental Health Stigma Stop People Seeking Help?

A little while back marked the annual ‘Time To Talk Day’ which is part of the ‘Time To Change’ campaign to end mental health discrimination. The campaign encourages people to talk about mental health as a way of breaking down the barriers and stigma around the subject.

And, of course, showing support to others and creating a space where you can talk about and express feelings is a good thing. In my experience, many people still do not understand things like anxiety and depression unless or until they experience it for themselves. Being open, supportive and showing others that they matter is always important. If someone close to you wants to talk then be there for them; if someone close to you doesn’t want to talk then be there for them.

There’s little doubt that there is still much room for improvement in improving education, support and help for people struggling with mental health problems. Talking about mental health is good yet much more needs to be done for people to understand and feel able to actively seek the help they need (which is perhaps where many well-meaning ‘just talking about it’ groups come unstuck).

We could probably also have a long conversation about whether talking about ‘stigma’ inadvertently supports its existence. Some might argue that talking about it and highlighting it just re-enforces it because it keeps it in existence (if you follow me…if you keep telling people there is stigma and re-enforcing the idea in people’s minds then it will always exist won’t it?). Far better, in my opinion, to talk about what we do want – good mental health and appropriate support and recognition – and be the change we want to see.

Anyway, I could digress but here today I’m more interested in looking at whether mental health related stigma does in fact deter or stop people from seeking help.

Relaxation Training For Anxiety – Could It Help You?

by Dan Regan | Feb 7, 2019 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Relaxation Training For Anxiety – Could It Help You Ease Your Anxiety?

Like most weeks, this week I have been hugely busy helping many people to manage, reduce and overcome their anxiety. As part of that treatment, I always encourage people to find ways they can mentally, emotionally and physically calm things down a bit. After all, if you are more relaxed and calm for a while then your anxiety has to reduce a few levels doesn’t it?

Perhaps one of the best aspects about learning to feel calmer and more relaxed is that it is something anyone can do. Sure, with all those anxious thoughts and feelings it may take a bit of time and application, yet we are all biologically and naturally able to do so. We just need to learn methods that work for us and that we can incorporate into our daily lives.

And given that when we feel more relaxed we tend to feel better in ourselves and be able to think more clearly and rationally, it seems a little strange that relaxation training is often dismissed as ‘just relaxation’.

Earlier this week my regular bootcamp was cancelled twice in a row; once due to unsafe icy conditions and the other due to the illness of the instructor. Like many others who use exercise for their mental health and physical health I noticed a difference in how I felt without this usual release and focus. And certainly there is nothing I find more relaxing than lying in bed at night with a good book and getting absorbed in the story line (I love those classic crime novels!). I’ve also been using my Alexa a lot with the kids to play thinking games (like ‘fact or fib’ or ‘escape room’) so we all get some time away from the screen and have to use our brains a bit (even if my seven year old seems able to randomly guess the right answer in any true/false quiz and beat me time and time again!).

Finding time to relax certainly does pay dividends in reducing anxiety and helping mental health, yet could actual relaxation training also provide you with feeling better benefits?

Hypnosis – How Does It Work & What Are The Benefits? My Latest Good Zing Article

by Dan Regan | Jan 30, 2019 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Hypnosis – How Does It Work & What Are The Benefits? My Latest Good Zing Article:

“From managing anxiety to boosting confidence, a hypnotherapist breaks down how hypnosis works and how it can help you break bad habits.” So begins my latest article for the fantastic Good Zing website.

And as they write on their webiste, ‘Good Zing is the best resource for you to find (*and share) all of the best wellbeing and self-care tips for specific issues – from dealing with everyday common physical ailments to emotional and mental health issues.’

My latest article is all about my take on what hypnosis is, how it can help you and with a bit about how hypnosis can help you with your anxiety (something I’ve also written about for their website in these earlier articles: Can Hypnotherapy Really Help Anxiety? and 5 Simple Ways To Shut Down Your Anxiety)

Anxiety – How To Deal With Anxious Thoughts

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

Anxiety – How To Deal With Anxious Thoughts:

Phew! It’s been a blistering start to the New Year and January is well and truly over already! How did that happen!

Hot on the heels of Christmas came my daughter’s eleventh birthday one weekend, and a sleepover involving five over-excited (and then over-tired and over-sugared) ten and eleven year olds for her sleepover party. That was one loooonnnngggg night! And it wasn’t helped by my seven year old who had to cram in to bed in between my wife and I, and who decided (in her sleep) that if her elbow hit something hard when she moved (my head) then the best thing was to keep elbowing it until it moved.

Being in the office and helping people to overcome their anxiety and other unwanted and unnecessary thoughts, feelings and behaviours has seemed like a rest compared to that night!!

On top of all that home stuff, and a return to bootcamp after the festive break (oh the muscle soreness!), I’ve been really busy helping people who have been struggling with anxiety and who want to break free from that ongoing cycle of anxious thoughts.

In this article I’m going to suggest some ways in which you can start to interrupt, challenge and let go of anxious thoughts so that your anxiety reduces and you can find yourself feeling more at ease, more relaxed and just generally feeling better mentally and physically.

Sports Psychology: The Impact of Hypnosis on Athletic Performance

by Dan Regan | Jan 28, 2019 | Sports Improvement

Sports Psychology: The Impact of Hypnosis on Athletic Performance:

As I write this, the weather here in the UK seems to have turned well and truly into a very cold and bitter winter. As I made my way to bootcamp this morning, the car thermometer was trying to kid me that it was one degree, yet clearly my car doesn’t allow for the cold Eastern wind that sweeps across the Fens. Roll on Spring!

Today was a good affair at camp where I felt pretty focused and kept my mind on each set, rather than allowing my thoughts to wander to what the next station entailed. Six minutes non-stop on each of six stations (each with two alternating exercises) certainly does require mental focus and the ability to shut up that nagging inner voice that wants you to slow down, or even better, stop and fall into a heap where you no longer need to carry your own body weight.

I work with a lot of athletes from all sorts of sports and with all sorts of personal goals who tend to have one factor in common: all of them want to perform to their best in their chosen sport. That might mean aiming to win, shooting for a personal best or wanting to improve focus, concentration and confidence. In all these cases, hypnotherapy has many tools that can beneficially aid them.

The other day I came across a wonderful research paper on this very subject of sports psychology and performance. This research set out to evaluate the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy with positive imagination of success during hypnosis on athletic performance. In this article I’ll cover their findings.

Anxiety and Uncertainty…And The Amazing Disappearing Rabbit!!

by Dan Regan | Jan 23, 2019 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Anxiety and Uncertainty…And The Amazing Disappearing Rabbit!!

If you are currently dealing with anxiety, or even if anxious overthinking and worry are your habitual ways of thinking, then anything that involves uncertainty or waiting for something to arrive, like an appointment date, can lead to that anxiety escalating massively.

In fact it can take over your every thinking moment.

Those anxious thoughts can be there from the moment you open your eyes and all the way through to when you try to get to sleep at the end of the day (and you can find anxiety impacts on your dreams when you do sleep too, as I wrote about last year in this article, Anxiety and Dreaming – How Your Anxiety Impacts While You Sleep).

And here’s the thing; when you are in the midst of some stressful or anxious moment and you can keep active and focused and ‘doing stuff’ then you probably feel at least a bit better. You may feel you are being productive, getting things done, taking action. You may feel like you are dealing with that anxious or stressful thing and that you are coping. That anxiety can, of course, come back to bite you when things calm down again and are quieter and you have less to occupy you.

Yet sometimes some of the trickiest times for anxiety and your mental health are those moments when there is nothing at all you can do, when you have to just sit back and wait for something to happen and where events are outside your control. What can we do then?

How NLP can help you to overcome anxiety and depression

by Dan Regan | Jan 22, 2019 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

How NLP can help you to overcome anxiety and depression (including what NLP is and how it can help):

When I first sought help to overcome my own anxiety, I was naturally attracted to the field of NLP, or to give it its full name, ‘Neuro-Linguistic Programming.’ It seemed to me to be the way to understand how our brains work and to make changes.

Having experienced NLP with hypnosis with the hypnotherapist I saw to help me take back control over my thoughts and feelings, I was so inspired that I went on to learn all about it and now incorporate it in my sessions to help others to now manage their anxiety.

So I was naturally curious and interested when I came across an Evening Standard article published recently by Samuel Fishwick called ‘How NLP can help you to overcome anxiety and depression.’ As he writes, ‘Neuro-linguistic programming can translate anxiety into new ways of thinking’. Which is certainly true in my own experience of helping people with their anxiety and depression.

These days I rarely specifically refer to NLP with clients unless they know something about it already or ask about it specifically. Rather than point to NLP or another method or approach it works well to simply focus on what someone is currently thinking, feeling and doing and what they would rather be experiencing with particular people, places, times, situations and circumstances.

A while back I decided to further my knowledge of how to help people and completed another very thorough and comprehensive hypnotherapy diploma. Part of that course asked me to write about what NLP is and how certain techniques and ideas from NLP can be applied in therapy. So for all of you out there who want to know more about what NLP is, where it came from and how it can help you to overcome anxiety, depression and more, I’ve included a large part of my answer below.

Fear of Flying – Calmly Taking To The Air in a Boeing 737

by Dan Regan | Jan 18, 2019 | Phobias and Fears

Fear of Flying – Calmly Taking To The Air in a Boeing 737

Another busy weekend has passed and I’m back in the office ready for a whole new week helping people to overcome limitations and make progress with their goals. As with most other weeks, Saturday was a trip to boot-camp before a fully booked day of clients, and Sunday was a seven mile run before relaxing with the kids. I even found time to have a little go on my ten year old ‘original’ x-box because there is nothing like a virtual reality game or Star Wars to mentally switch off from everything else.

January has been manic with clients seeking to overcome anxiety, over-thinking, fear and worry. And whilst some fears are easier to approach in real life, such as overcoming driving fear by getting behind the wheel, fear of flying is much harder to re-create in real life (not many people have easy access to a plane!). Even though it is possible to overcome that flying fear, it is a little trickier to get the proof of change until the day of the actual flight (although most people notice they feel calmer and more relaxed beforehand).

That’s why last week I headed over to a flying simulator centre not far from me to progress our plans to create a course for overcoming fear of flying that combines the best of my psychological help with their knowledge and expertise of plans and flying, along with the opportunity to learn more and experience feeling calm and in control in the cockpit of a Boeing 737. It’s a pretty awesome piece of kit and uses virtual reality to fill that gap of overcoming flying fear before your actual flight.

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