Looking out from my Practice room contemplating how to start this ‘blog’, I realise the first thing I need to do is recognise how lucky I am to be doing something I love, and working from a place that allows me to look out at a calming view. Admittedly it’s not the rolling stark beauty of Dartmoor, or waves lapping on to a golden, caster sugar soft, sandy Cornish beach, but it is a view that I am cultivating. 

So, this seems like a good place to start when talking about anxiety. Like a garden, at times we may feel life is running away with us. It can be hard to maintain focus, make sensible assessments of what is going on in our life and react in a way that is good for us. Then with a little gentle cultivation, one step at a time …...weeding, deadheading, lawn mowing, planting and seed sowing, things slowly start to look calmer, greener, and generally back in our control.

It is perfectly normal to feel anxious at certain times in our lives, for example before an exam or a job interview. It is this challenge that stimulates adrenalin and allows us to focus and perform well in these situations. Imagine how the England Lioness’ were feeling prior to stepping out on to the pitch for the World Cup Final on Sunday 20th August 2023. They will have used that surge of adrenalin in a positive way to spur them in to action. 

However, for some people this feeling of apprehension or worry doesn’t always subside. When anxiety stays for long periods of time, or is out of proportion to the situation, and starts to affect your day-to-day life in a significant way, it can become an anxiety disorder. 

There are many things that may contribute to someone becoming anxious, including stress and being very busy in our day to day lives, with many demands on our time. Juggling work, young children, care of elderly relatives, relationship issues, being in an unfulfilling role, repetitive or boring activities, traumatic life events, the list is endless. While we don’t necessarily understand why some people may develop anxiety, we do know that a full stress bucket is likely to be a contributory factor.

What are the physical symptoms of anxiety?

I’m sure you will be familiar with that ‘butterflies’ in the stomach feeling. You could also experience shortness of breath, increased heart rate or palpitations, headaches, feeling dizzy, increased perspiration, the urge to use the toilet more, feeling sick, having a dry mouth and a tightness across the chest area and poor sleep.

We may not necessarily consider that we are suffering with anxiety as these things become commonplace in our lives. You may also start to experience some psychological symptoms including a feeling of being out of control, increased panic or a feeling of general detachment from your environment or people close to you. Increased irritability, having racing thoughts and an inability to concentrate and make decisions are common. You may get to a stage where you just feel like you want to run away, to escape from the situation and give yourself some space.

You may start to notice behavioural changes too, or it may be that others notice these in you. These may be subtle and can become coping mechanisms, such as making excuses not to go out with friends, avoiding going out on your own, or not going to busy or crowded places.

The good news is that there is help out there and you don’t need to live with anxiety. If you feel you may be suffering with anxiety, visiting your GP would be an excellent starting point to get help. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy has also proven to be very successful in treating a variety of anxiety-based disorders. 

As a solution focused hypnotherapist, I will explain to you how the brain has been conditioned over the centuries to respond as it does. This alone can be enough to help you start to manage your own anxiety. 

Together, using solution focused brief therapy techniques we will start to explore what a life without ongoing anxiety looks like, and how that can become your reality. By working with your unconscious mind using hypnosis, you are then able to embed and build new behavioural responses to non-life-threatening situations.

If you would like to find out more about how we can work together to make positive changes in your life please either email me at suzanne@hookhypnotherapy.co.uk or call 07833 465487 to arrange a complimentary 15-minute discovery call and initial consultation.