Dan’s Blog

Controlled Breathing To Calm Anxious Feelings

by Dan Regan | Nov 12, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Controlled Breathing To Calm Anxious Feelings

Almost everyone with anxiety has tried deep breathing at some point. It tends to be hit and miss whether it helps. So here I’m covering how to use controlled breathing to help calm anxious feelings effectively.

When you feel anxious, your breathing gets faster and shallower. That signals for your heart to beat faster and the adrenaline starts. You notice all of the physical sensations and you know the anxiety is rising. You’ve been here before and you know how bad it makes you feel. You start to panic about becoming anxious and that makes things even worse. Your thoughts and feelings start to spiral and the anxiety takes over.

People who come to see me for help with anxiety often talk about feeling a tightness or weight on their chest. As they talk about anxiety and panic they describe that feeling of constriction. When I hear this I know they are describing their breathing getting faster and shallower. Most of us are pretty oblivious to our breathing most of the time, it just happens all by itself. You may not notice your breathing accelerating but you notice the sensations that follow it.

Anxiety is your body getting ready to actively do something, the fight or flight response. It’s what your body does when you exercise, except there the energy has an outlet as you move. Anxiety can strike when you are just sitting there. Your body is prepared for movement but you aren’t being active. The oxygen, blood and adrenaline goes to your muscles and builds and builds.

In contrast, when you are calm and relaxed, your breathing is slower and deeper. You probably don’t really notice this either, you are too busy relaxing. However, we can use this, how your body works, to calm anxious feelings. One of the most immediate and accessible tools you always have at your disposal is your breathing.

Done right, controlled breathing can help you calm anxious feelings quickly and effectively.

Fear of Needles and Injections

by Dan Regan | Nov 10, 2025 | Phobias and Fears

Fear of Needles and Injections – Hypnotherapy Ely & Newmarket

Do you struggle with a fear of needles and injections?

For many people, the thought of having an injection or a blood test can cause an immediate wave of anxiety. It’s something they actively avoid. Even the mention of injections and blood tests can create anxiety. Yet, you know that sooner or later you’re likely to need to have a jab, blood test or injection of some kind. And that’s when the worry and fear really accelerates.

The other day, I headed to my GP surgery for my annual flu jab. I’d barely taken off my hoodie when I was called into a consulting room. The nurse took out the needle, and I saw it there in his hand. I lifted my sleeve, felt a little sting and it was all over. From arrival to departure took a total of only about five minutes. In fact, I was going to ask if I could take a photo of the injection to show future clients, but it was all over too quickly!

Recently I was working with a client who had a fear of needles and injections. She told me that she couldn’t even look at a picture of a needle, or anything hospital related, without a surge of fear and anxiety. If other people started talking about injections or blood tests then she had to shut them down straight away because she couldn’t stand it. On the rare occasions in her life when she’d had to have an injection, she’d had panic attacks that led to crying, feeling sick and passing out. Even though it was for her health, just the thought of needing another one was overwhelming.

A picture, a movie, a conversation, even a thought of an injection or blood test. Anything associated with needles and injections can be enough to cause your heart to start racing, your temperature to rise, and your nausea to start. You feel tense, restless and on edge. Long before you come anywhere near your appointment, your imagination is racing through worst case scenarios.

The good news is that, just like with other forms of anxiety, you can manage, reduce and overcome this fear. I’ve helped many people go from panic and passing out to feeling calm and composed. It’s never going to be something to get excited about, yet you want to be able to calmly go and get it done if needed, in the same way you go to any other appointments. And with the right approach, you very much can start to feel calmer, more in control and more confident when faced with needles and injections.

Anxiety Therapy in Ely

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

Anxiety Therapy in Ely

Recently I covered how I’m celebrating fifteen years of delivering anxiety therapy in Ely and Newmarket. Thank you so much for all the positive messages you’ve sent me for reaching this milestone. It’s always great hearing from people who have benefited from my anxiety hypnotherapy and who continue to thrive long after their sessions.

When you struggle with anxiety, it can be hard to think clearly enough to seek effective help. You may be struggling just to manage day to day with all the overthinking and uncomfortable feelings that you experience. First of all, you’ll probably hope it passes. Yet as time moves on you realise that your anxiety is only getting worse.

I know from personal experience how debilitating anxiety can be. When it strikes, your heart races, you feel hot, tense and agitated. Your mind races, you can’t think clearly, you struggle to make decisions and everything becomes harder. It’s like anxiety robs you of all your usual capabilities and leaves you in a state of dread and fear. And the worse you feel, the less you feel like doing. You start to retreat and do less of the things you usually enjoy. And those unwanted thoughts and feelings are there to fill every quiet moment.

I used to think of it as a sort of Jekyll and Hyde thing. One day I felt relaxed, happy and comfortable in my own skin. The next day I could struggle to leave the house and was filled with adrenaline and anxiety.

One of the main reasons I love helping others with my anxiety therapy in Ely is because I know it is very possible for you to start feeling better and better in yourself again.

Night-Time Anxiety

by Dan Regan | Nov 7, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Night-Time Anxiety: Why It Happens and How To Break The Cycle

Do you struggle with night-time anxiety?

For some people, their anxiety doesn’t just affect them during the day. At night-time, when you want to switch off and relax, your anxiety starts to take over. For others, they keep distracted during the day and then their anxiety comes racing back at night. And some people struggle with anxiety that increases towards bed time and they worry whether they will get enough, or any, sleep.

Whether you worry about sleep itself or your anxiety races at night, the end result is the same. You feel tense, agitated and restless. Your mind accelerates through all sorts of unwanted anxious thoughts. Just when you want to rest and sleep, you find yourself lying awake. Your thoughts race thinking about your day or what might happen tomorrow. You stress about getting enough sleep and how tired you’ll be the next day. It can become a cycle where night-time anxiety becomes linked with bed time.

We’ve all had those nights where sleep just seems never to come. Maybe you haven’t yet switched off from the day, or you’re still thinking about what you need to do the next day or you just aren’t ready for sleep yet. However, with night-time anxiety it becomes an unwelcome habit. Night after night you are filled with dread and foreboding about the night ahead. Will you sleep? Will you disturb others? Is it going to be another long night in the dark, alone with your thoughts?

Night-time anxiety is stressful and frustrating. The dread and anxiety can start as the evening unfolds. You are desperate for a good night of sleep but worried about another night of anxiety. You’re exhausted and longing for sleep. Yet your mind refuses to co-operate. It becomes an ongoing pattern where anxiety leads to poor and disturbed sleep. Your lack of sleep then makes it harder to deal with your thoughts and you struggle to cope with even more of the anxiety.

You find yourself stuck with night-time anxiety that you can’t find a way to find relief from. So why does night-time anxiety happen and how can you start to break the cycle so that you feel calm and relaxed enough to sleep soundly and restfully?

Grounding Techniques for Anxiety

by Dan Regan | Nov 5, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Grounding Techniques for Anxiety That Work When You’re On The Go

Today I’m covering five grounding techniques for anxiety that work when you’re on the go.

Anxiety doesn’t wait for the perfect moment to strike. You can just as easily struggle with anxiety wherever you are and whatever you are doing. If you are out and about and feeling anxious then you need to be able to quickly and discreetly interrupt those anxious thoughts and calm those anxious feelings.

It can appear when you’re commuting, in a meeting, at the shops, out with friends or just when walking the dog. And when anxiety hits, the unwanted thoughts and uncomfortable feelings can take over. Your heart races and your mind spirals. You feel uncomfortable, tense and uneasy. You may worry others will notice and you just want to get out of there as quickly as possible. You start to worry and feel anxious about the possibility that it may happen again.

When you start to feel anxious, you need grounding techniques for anxiety that are quick, discreet and effective. You want to be able to nip it in the bud and regain your calm without anyone noticing and without having to leave the situation.

The grounding techniques outlined below can help you to take back control over your thoughts and feelings quickly. You can calm your mind and body and bring your focus back to the present. These techniques, including the popular 3-3-3 rule for anxiety and the 5-4-3-2-1 method, can become part of how you manage your thoughts and feelings on the go.

How To Overcome Anxiety in Ely: 5 Steps To Regain Calm

by Dan Regan | Nov 2, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

How To Overcome Anxiety in Ely: 5 Steps To Regain Calm

If you’re struggling with anxiety here in Ely, then you are far from alone. Anxiety is one of the more prevalent mental health challenges and has always been the main thing that I successfully help people overcome. In this article, I’m covering five steps that can help you to start regaining calm.

Having been there myself, I know how debilitating, limiting and uncomfortable anxiety can be. It dominates your thoughts and sends them in all sorts of negative directions. You feel tense, agitated and overwhelmed. Week in and week out, I work with people who describe feeling anxious, even when they know there is no obvious reason to feel that way. There is always something to worry about and they struggle to switch off. Even the good times are tainted by the possibility that the anxiety could strike at any moment.

Anxiety makes everyday tasks and situations feel harder than they should. Sometimes the anxiety takes over completely.

Anxiety runs on habitual, repeated patterns. In similar situations and circumstances you experience anxious thoughts, feelings and behaviours. With the right strategies, tools and support you can interrupt and redirect this pattern. You can calm your mind, take back control over your thoughts and feelings and start feeling more capable and confident.

In this article I’m covering five simple steps you can use to start overcoming anxiety and feeling calmer again.

The 5-4-3-2-1 Method for Anxiety

by Dan Regan | Nov 1, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

The 5-4-3-2-1 Method for Anxiety

If you struggle with anxious thoughts and feelings, have you tried the 5-4-3-2-1 method for anxiety?

Now, when I think of 5-4-3-2-1, I get the Manfred Mann song stuck in my head for hours. I blame the 80’s TV advert that used it (to advertise the long forgotten 54321 chocolate bar).

Recently I wrote about the 3-3-3 rule for anxiety and you can find that in another article. The 5-4-3-2-1 method for anxiety is another grounding technique that can help you to shift your focus away from anxious thoughts and back into the present moment. Anxiety is all about the ‘what if’ type thoughts of what might happen in the future. By moving your focus back to the here and now, you focus on what is actually happening now, rather than imagined future catastrophes.

You already know that when anxiety strikes, it can feel like your mind has been hijacked. Your thoughts spiral from one worry to the next. You find it hard to think clearly. Your heart pounds, you feel hot and tense and you get entangled in the web of anxiety. Anxious thoughts feed anxious feelings that then leads to even more negative thinking and on and on it races. You experience the discomfort when you feel anxious. And, even in calmer moments, you may have started to worry about the possibility that you may experience it again. The fear of the fear constantly lurks inside of you.

The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique for anxiety is a simple and powerful tool that can help you interrupt anxiety and quickly come back to calm. You shift your focus away from anxious thoughts and back into the present moment. It’s something you can use anywhere, anytime and without anyone else even noticing.

How Horror Films Help Anxiety

by Dan Regan | Oct 30, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

How Horror Films Help Anxiety

Today I’m talking about how horror films can help your anxiety.

Halloween is upon us again and there are spooky decorations on houses on every street. Skeletons, ghosts, witches and the like have been put up by many people in anticipation of the children trick or treating. Cinemas and TV channels are again running horror movie seasons. And it reminded me about an article I wrote a few years ago that explored research looking into how horror films could help make you more psychologically resilient.

Now, that particular research looked at resilience in the context of the covid pandemic. The research found that fans of horror films exhibited greater resilience during the pandemic, a time of uncertainty, distress and anxiety. In addition, fans of films that contain imagined worlds of chaos, such as zombie and post-apocalyptic genres, also exhibited greater resilience and preparedness. It seems that exposure to frightening fictional scenarios allows you to practice effective coping strategies that can be beneficial in real world situations. This then helps with experiencing less anxiety and distress when something happens in the real world.

You go to be entertained and you end up learning useful coping strategies. That’s a good result.

Now, I don’t claim to be the biggest fan of horror movies, although I’ve seen quite a few recently at my local cinema (some better than others!). There was The Long Walk that covered a kind of dystopian future. And there was The Conjuring: Last Rites which I think jump scared me a couple of times. There have been others but they seem to have blended into a sort of mediocre sameness inside my mind.

Yet it seems that in this Halloween season (and the rest of the year too!), horror movies can help you to manage your anxiety and develop effective coping skills.

5 Everyday Habits That Could Be Fuelling Your Anxiety

by Dan Regan | Oct 29, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

5 Everyday Habits That Could Be Fuelling Your Anxiety

In this article I’m covering 5 everyday habits that could be fuelling your anxiety.

We all know that anxiety can make you feel like rubbish. Your mind races over and over all sorts of worst case scenarios. You feel tense, agitated and restless. You struggle to think clearly and make decisions. You might feel sick and struggle to eat. You go to bed exhausted from all the thoughts and feelings yet you struggle to drift off. You are so tired that you struggle to get up in the morning. Everything starts to feel much harder than it should. Even when you feel a bit better, you find yourself worrying that you might feel anxious again later.

Anxiety starts to ripple and ripple. You feel more and more tired so you want to do less. You worry about making plans and going out because of how you might feel. You don’t want to embarrass yourself or let others down. You don’t feel like seeing people, being active or pursuing your usual hobbies and interests. The less you do the more time you have to overthink. Life can feel like it is shrinking more and more. Some people I’ve worked with only get some temporary relief when they are at home, away from the outside world and with a screen for distraction.

Some everyday habits can fuel anxiety. These may be things that you were always doing but when anxiety strikes, they exacerbate it. Others may be things that have become habitual because of how you have tried to cope with those anxious thoughts and feelings.

Habits are just thoughts, feelings and behaviours that you have repeated over and over in a particular situation. The good news is that if some of your everyday habits are fuelling anxiety then there are practical steps you can take to help you with feeling better.

Anxiety in Ely Help and Support

by Dan Regan | Oct 26, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Anxiety in Ely Help and Support

If you are in Ely or Newmarket, and struggling with anxiety, then help and support is available. You can start feeling better.

In my last article, I wrote about the Ely Standard covering my fifteen year milestone as an anxiety therapist in Ely. I’ve been blown away by all the positive feedback I’ve received through messages and on social media. It’s been really lovely to hear from some of my early clients about how well they are continuing to get on after their sessions. Thanks so much for all the positivity and support, I really appreciate it.

This is just a quick article as a reminder that if you are currently struggling with anxiety then help is available. Having been there myself, I know how bad it feels with all those unwanted anxious thoughts and feelings. Yet, however bad it feels right now, you can start feeling better and break that cycle of unwanted thoughts and feelings. No matter how far off it may seem to you right now, you can get to a place where you consistently feel more calm, confident and in control.

That’s what I love helping my clients to achieve and many of them have gone on to leave positive reviews after their sessions. You can find all of these in the review section on this website.

And, if you are struggling right now, do get in touch and ask to book your free initial consultation. You can tell me a bit about how things are for you right now, and I’ll explain how I work and how I can help you. There will also be plenty of time for you to ask me anything you want to know before you decide to go ahead with sessions.

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