Category: hypnotherapy for Fears and phobias

1. How can I stop Panic Attacks and Anxiety feelings?

   Posted on 10:28am Sunday 29th May 2016

   How can I stop Panic Attacks and Anxiety feelings?

    

   When you are suffering from anxiety attacks they can seem so scary that it is tempting to rum away from anything that seems to cause them. Once you understand a little more about them, then you can learn to let go and end them

    

   Firstly learn to understand the symptoms and why they are happening.

   The way that your body reacts to a perceived fear is a natural and harmless ‘flight or fight’ response. It’s probably something you have already heard about. We often learn a little about it in school biology lessons without realising quite what it can mean to us. We evolved to release the hormone adrenalin when there is a perception of danger. It can happen in an instant, but not always when it is the right time. That danger, whether real or imagined will produce the same symptoms which we understand as ‘feeling anxious’ You may have felt yourself having a racing heartbeat, a churning stomach, nausea or sickness feeling, dry mouth, shakiness, or other symptoms.

   Start to be more aware of your thoughts

   When you become more mindfully aware of your thoughts and how they are more fleeting than it may at first seem, you can begin to notice how the physical symptoms of anxiety arise from that pattern of thinking and then the fear of that anxious feeling, and worry you will have a panic attack rather than the situation itself.

   You don’t need to run away

   Our natural instinct to counteract anxiety is to flee or try to fight it. That’s where the flight or fight phrase comes from of course. When the fear is unreal and only in our own minds there is nowhere to run. If you do run then you tell it that it was doing the right thing and that adrenaline release was correct.

   Hard as it may at first seem the best action is to stop fighting the feelings. Some people explain it as if it is a tug of war. If you just tug against it and fight then it will go on for longer and feel worse for you.

   Understand that the feelings will subside

   N one enjoys feeling anxious, so the fastest way of taking back control is to learn to accept these feelings as temporary and just allow them to be, until they subside. If you fight then they fight back, but accepting them, and knowing that they will go away, then they can start to leave you sooner and you begin to teach yourself that they are of no benefit. It’s almost like they a young child having a tantrum. It may feel awkward and you don’t have to like them or want them, just let them be, and they will calm.

   You can download a free how to stop a panic attack MP3 from the shop and there is plenty more information that can help you here: How to Stop and Anxiety Attack

    

    

    

    

    

2. Hypnotherapy in Redditch for Phobias with the Redditch Standard

   Posted on 5:42pm Thursday 28th Apr 2016

   The challenge of curing a flying phobia with hypnosis for the summer holidays

              

   I always love a challenge so when I was asked by reporter Beth Wright from the Redditch Standard if I could help her with a problem then I was more than happy to help.

   I had already met Beth last year when we spoke about phobias of snakes after a report in the paper about a snake who had hidden in a car engine prompted a rash of calls to me from people with similar phobias.

   This time the challenge for me was to help Beth as she prepared for a holiday in Las Vegas. However, rather than looking forward to this trip Beth was very worried about how she would deal with not just the flight, which of course is one of the most common fears that I help people with, but also with a fear of getting in a lift.

   Knowing that we didn’t have much time before the trip, and also that we could use the lifts in the Redditch Library, which is just across the square from the offices of the Redditch Standard, I knew that we had somewhere that we could go to actually see how well what we were doing was working.

   Here’s the story as reported in the Redditch Standard by Beth Wright herself...

   

    

   AS THE final days of April draw to a close, residents across Redditch are turning their minds to this year’s summer holiday.

   But the lure of turquoise waters and golden sands may prove out of reach for some due to a crippling fear of flying, which haunts many us across the borough.

   A number of factors can be blamed, including claustrophobia, a fear of heights and a general lack of control.

   It’s a feeling The Standard’s Beth Wright knows all too well, having suffered with a fear of flying since she was a little girl along with all-consuming claustrophobia, which is so restrictive she hasn’t used a lift in six years.

   So when local hypnotherapist Mark Powlett, who works out of his surgery in Winyates, offered to help Beth overcome her fears before a trip across the pond to America, she jumped at the chance.

   For as long as I can remember I’ve suffered with claustrophobia and been terrified of going in lifts. But now, at the grand old age of 26 I thought it was about time I addressed my fears.

   They were starting to curb my excitement over my trip to the States next week as I have a 10 hour flight and countless ‘elevators’ to face upon landing in Las Vegas.

   But Mark helped me learn the only two fears we are born with are falling and a fear of loud noises – everything else we find ourselves scared of can be ‘unlearnt’.

   During two sessions with Mark, who could not have made me feel more comfortable or at ease, we worked on a variety of hypnosis techniques including Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), sometimes known as tapping.

   At the start of my first session I described my fears on a scale of one to ten, as right up there at the top spot.

   But after working through both techniques I was amazed by how much calmer I felt and actually didn’t feel too fazed at the prospect of getting into a lift or the thought of the being on an aeroplane.

   Prior to the session just the thought of doing both made me short of breath, panicked and on edge.

   But just by following Mark’s fingers as he moved them in front of my face from side to side, mimicking the way our eyes move when we are sleeping, I instantly felt better.

   EMDR is used for a number of serious conditions, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression and common stress and ‘devotees’ say moving your eyes from left to right between 25 and 30 times, can diminish negative memories.

   But it was the tapping that really seemed to do the trick when it came to the final hurdle – going in a lift in Redditch Library and travelling up to the first floor.

   It was a target I set myself going into the sessions and one I was hesitant I would even be able to achieve.

   But Mark was by my side every step of the way, and while he assured me I did not have to face it unless I was comfortable, his steady presence was extremely reassuring.

   After around five minutes of EFT, which includes tapping on certain pressure points around the face, body and hands and repeating an affirmation, it was incredible how I tapped away my stress and anxiety.

   Although I was still apprehensive I was able to not only go in the lift but travel up one level, tapping as we did so, to the first floor – something I haven’t been able to do for six years.

   The relief and sheer joy I felt at being able to cope was immeasurable, no longer will I have to traipse up flights of stairs, luggage in hand, hanging off the handrail as I fight for breath!

   I can’t begin to explain just how much two simple sessions with Mark, who also uses Brain Working Recursive Therapy (BWRT), helped me face up to my fears.

   Thanks to Mark I feel like a burden has been lifted from shoulders and the world – or at least Las Vegas – is my oyster.

   If you would like to contact me for more information and to book your session, then just use the contact me page above.