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Breaking Free from Anxiety

Anxiety

Anxiety is defined as ‘a state of apprehension or fear,  resulting from the anticipation of a real or imagined threat, event or situation’.

If you are feeling Anxious, it can have a significant negative impact on every area of your life.

My experience of anxiety was in my early twenties on my teaching placement, I was under continual observation. I didn’t know what a panic attack was at the time, my pounding heart, chest pains. Feeling I was about to pass out or be sick. Fortunately, it didn’t prevent me from going on to being a teacher. It was also what led me to discovering ways to overcome anxiety.

When we get anxious our Amygdala becomes sensitised, this is the fear centre of our brain. This causes us to feel stressed, anxious, tense, nervous and frustrated. The brain presumes all these threats are life threatening and produces cortisol and adrenalin. It’s positive intent is to give us the energy, focus and drive to fight, freeze or flee.

Sympathetic Nervous System

However, releasing these hormones continuously over time will begin to erode your well-being. When the brain continues to release excessive amount of stress hormones, the body reaches a point where it can’t balance these out. It then creates a dominance of the Sympathetic nervous system. Consequently, we then become highly sensitised and hyper-responsive to stress. We may get to a point where we are unable to relax or feel comfortable.

It is evident that when we suffer from anxiety, it strips all joy and happiness from daily events. It leaves us feeling on edge and uncertain.

Our autonomic nervous system has two systems, the sympathetic which we have just described for emergencies, fight or flight and the parasympathetic which promotes healing and balance. This produces serotonin and reduces stress. Only one side is activated at once.

ParaSympathetic Nervous System

Every time you feel happy, joyful, grateful, relaxed, calm, optimistic, when you sleep and rest, love and connect with people, when you’re clear thinking and communicative. Your parasympathetic nervous system in activated. This is our natural state. We are here to live a happy and abundant life.

Activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System is the only way to restore balance and emotional wellbeing. Discover ways to relax your nervous system and release those stress hormones from your bodies. Great ways to do this are; breathing techniques, yoga, massage, acupuncture, self-hypnosis, being in nature, gratitude, meditation, exercise, improving diet, human contact, and drinking more water. When the PNS system is strong, you have increased confidence and refreshing sleep. Your health and mental ability improves and you will experience an increased frequency of positive emotions.

Hypnosis for Anxiety

Hypnosis is becoming a more recognised method for reducing feelings of anxiety. Since it works with a client’s unconscious mind, or more specifically their belief system, memory and imagination. Hypnotherapy for anxiety can help boost confidence and self-belief, while reducing feelings of fear and intense worry. Therefore, it helps you develop the ability to access the calm state of mind needed to overcome the often-overwhelming emotions you are living with. Hypnotherapy shows you how to regain a sense of control and normality.

Practical strategies to overcome anxiety, are grounding and breathing techniques in addition to various Neuro lingual Programming techniques.

If you are suffering from anxiety and would like to start your recovery, please make an appointment with me at Stillpoint Practice in Sheffield.

Thank you so much to all those that attended and shared their experiences – I’m already looking forward to our next event!