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Anxiety Anxiety is one of the most common conditions of the human psyche and one which most of us have to deal with at some points during our lives.
I may never have become a Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist if it were not for my own experiences of anxiety and panic attacks – an area in which I now specialise. It was on the first day of a business trip to Canada that I had a full-blown panic attack. I was enjoying some free time in a gym when suddenly a wave of anxiety overwhelmed me. I will never forget being rushed to Vancouver Hospital, having convinced the ambulance crew and myself that I'd suffered a heart attack. To my embarrassment – and relief – a pleasant doctor informed me that my heart was in perfect working order and that it had been a panic attack I had experienced. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry – I ended up doing both. The worries about anxiety or suffering another panic attack built up and soon began a destructive spiral of behaviour that led to me becoming reclusive and introspective and after a while I even stopped working. I was in a mess. A chance meeting with an old friend proved to be the catalyst for getting my life back on track. She suggested I needed an interest – something that would bring a sense of balance to my life and help me build my confidence again. She reminded me of my teenage interest in hypnosis and said that during her training as a practitioner in the NHS she had seen the results of hypnotherapy curing a patient's needle phobia which had reminded her of the time I had attempted to hypnotise her in her youth. As a result of that brief conversation I enroled on a clinical hypnotherapy course and since that day I have never looked back. The value of my own experience is as important as all the years of training I have undertaken – it's the reason I feel so passionately about helping others and getting their lives back on track too. When anxiety takes hold to such effect that it is inhibiting or destroying your daily life then something has to be done to redress the balance and bring back a sense of stability, security and calm. Anxiety is often brought on by a past trauma or experience that leaves the sufferer with exaggerated worries leading to a state of almost constant worry and panic. It has also been suggested that anxiety can be genetic and follow from generation to generation. Whatever the cause, it can be damaging to your relationships, your work life, family life and social life, not to mention your health. Signs of anxiety Often anxiety leads to other anxiety-related problems such as panic attacks, depression or an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and in some cases sufferers turn to alcohol, drug or substance abuse to ease their condition. How can hypnotherapy help? Sometimes it is necessary to get to the root of the problem and change your perception of a past event so that you can move forward in your present life, but in either case once the underlying belief systems that support the anxiety have been addressed then the symptoms and onset of anxiety should diminish and the problem be resolved. One of the key aspects in treating anxiety is gaining confidence, trust and a sense of mutual comfort between the client and the therapist. This is something Russell takes extremely seriously, as an anxious client needs more confidence in being able to truly relax and allow themselves to drift into hypnosis. Before Russell begins any hypnotherapy he will ensure that you feel fully at ease and are truly ready. Contrary to popular belief, you can only be hypnotised if you want to – so when beginning hypnotherapy in dealing with anxiety it is essential that the client is relaxed and at ease. Treating anxiety is an area of special interest and expertise for Russell – he is passionate about this field of hypnotherapy and equally passionate about successfully helping people to beat their anxiety. If you feel that anxiety is taking hold of or, worse still, ruining your life, then get in touch with Russell. |
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