Can Hypnosis Work for Anxiety?

Introduction - Who is This Guide For?

I have written this guide as a reference if you are looking for some help, treatment or cure for anxiety. You can also share this article with somebody whom it may help. It will also give you an indication of how I will work with you in a one-to-one live hypnosis session. 

Whether you are noticing for the first time that a feeling of anxiety is starting to impact your life or if you have been struggling with it for a long time. My aim is to help you, whether you choose to seek professional help or not - that is up to you. One thing is for sure, anxiety can be confusing, frustrating and difficult to get your head around. In this article, I’ll explain briefly what’s happening in the brain and some ways you can immediately take control, including details on how hypnosis for anxiety works. 

Thinking Differently about Anxiety Relief

First, a big disclaimer. The information in this post is by no means any kind of medical advice or diagnosis and will never be a substitute for it, but is here for educational purposes to help you start to think differently about anxiety, which in itself can be a huge help. 

What is the Best Cure or Treatment for Anxiety?

Keep in mind that there is no magical one size all solution for all. In reality and unfortunately hypnosis is often the last thing people consider. Many people wish they had used it earlier. 

Taking action and deciding to address any unwanted anxiety is the first step in making a change. However there is good news, you do not have to be stuck with anxiety - there are many ways in which you can manage it and even overcome it. I’ll cover a number of them here, as a way of giving you some choices. 

What is Anxiety?

Essentially anxiety is a feeling of worry, anticipation, fear or dread over a future event or situation.  There are of course many circumstances where some anxiety is completely normal, like when you are about to do something you have never done before or are facing a difficult situation such as bankruptcy or  relationship issues. 

Anxiety is Nothing Abnormal
The anxiety response that you feel is normal, it's simply part of your body’s automatic protection system, which has two main goals, to move you away from potential danger and move you towards pleasure. 

This system has allowed us to grow and develop as a species, therefore we cannot get rid of all feelings of anxiety - it’s part of what makes us human. 

When Anxiety Becomes a Problem
However, with an accumulation of stress factors anything repeated over time has the ability to create a habit in the brain, that can feel very difficult to shift, and this is where the problems can occur and where anxiety can cause severe and debilitating symptoms which start to hold you back. 

Fortunately it is not so difficult to shift, research shows that we are able to train the mind to adapt new habits, on both a conscious and unconscious level, and we can use hypnosis to enhance this. 

Symptoms and Effects:
Sometimes symptoms can be physical and can include:

• Headaches
• Nausea
• Sweating
• Aches and Pains
• Stomach issues such as diarrhoea or constipation
• Difficulty sleeping
• Panic attacks 

These are just a handful of physical symptoms, everyone’s experience is different.  Of course, these symptoms can also have biological reasons too, and it can be wise to first check with your doctor. 

These physical effects are often found with psychological effects too and can include:

• Feeling overwhelmed
• More irritable and increased anger
• Feeling stuck or out of control
• Increased use of drugs, alcohol or smoking 
• What if thinking (Worst-case scenario thinking), catastrophizing events
• Repeated questioning and ruminating about your abilities and situation
• Comfort eating of high sugar and high fat foods
• Feeling disempowered 

What’s Wrong?

If anxiety starts to hold you back and make you feel miserable and stuck, help is at hand. Many people notice it in some of the following situations. 

• Job interview stress and anxiety
• Speaking a foreign language 
• Giving presentations and public speaking
• Going outdoors
• Social gatherings, interactions and networking
• Going straight to the worst possible scenario 
• Certain public places, like restaurants and public transportation
• Driving 
• Fear of flying

Anxiety of Any Level or Severity Affects Behavior
As a way of quickly calming ourselves down or to feel better, we will often resort to certain patterns of behaviour. 

• Eating high sugar and high calorie foods
• Cigarettes, vaping,
• Anger and rage
• Nail-biting

The above solutions can provide a temporary quick fix, but have a damaging effect on the body in the long term. 

There are also beneficial ways that can provide relief and even help lift lingering anxiety.

• Exercise
• Self Hypnosis
• Meditation and Mindfulness
• Deep breathing techniques

Common Anxiety Conditions:

• Generalised Anxiety Disorder
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Panic Disorder
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Social Anxiety Disorder

Let’s put this list to the side for a moment. 

Beware of Labels 

If you have already sought professional psychotherapy or counselling , it’s likely you may have been told you have one of the above disorders and that’s completely normal. 

As a hypnotist, I approach things differently. Rather than focusing on what’s wrong with you, we help you find what’s good about you and allow that to become part of the solution. At an unconscious level we all have strengths and understanding that we can access and develop, that will make overcoming that anxiety easy. 

There is a problem with the labelling It leads us nicely into a very common language trap of saying to ourselves ‘I have this disorder’ or even owning it as ‘my anxiety’. 

Automatically, this is creating the idea that anxiety is something you own or something that is happening to you, it suddenly steps out of your own control. You own achievements, valuable objects, possessions. By our very nature, we don’t like losing things. 

Instead we can turn it into a ‘doing’ rather than a happening. It’s a very subtle shift in wording, but we can change the things we do, and not the things which happen to us. You might be thinking at this stage - “but wait, I did not choose this, I can’t help it”.  That’s true, at a conscious level, but on an unconscious level, there’s an automatic process that you are running.  Through a combination of techniques including hypnosis, we can interrupt that pattern. 

The Anxiety Habit Pattern

Any pattern that we repeat over time has the potential to become a habit, generally the more we try and push something away, the more we want it. Even things we consciously do not want. 

As anxiety intensifies, our stress increases which limits our capacity to think rationally can lead us to feel physical symptoms or begin overthinking a situation.

Your Brain, the Learning Machine

Some personality types will naturally find themselves having to deal with anxiety more often than others. We already know that some kind of anxiety is a natural part of life. We do, however, have the ability to get relief from debilitating anxiety that holds us back and that makes us feel bad over an extended period of time.

Inside your head you have the single most powerful computer that has ever existed, it’s your brain. Still in the 21st century, nothing can reproduce the intelligence and speed of the human brain.  Yet, some of the programmes running are not always the most useful or up to date.  Fortunately, this can be changed. 

How Does Hypnosis Work for Anxiety?

This article will have already given you hopefully the idea that there is a better future available for you.  Here’s how hypnosis can be used to help you overcome anxiety.  

I approach this as a fully interactive learning experience where you won't just be talking about the issue, you'll be making changes. 

Step One: Gain Immediate Control over Symptoms

In a live online hypnosis session, I’ll teach you easy to apply but powerful mind-body tools that can retrain the mind to do something differently. Think of these like little roadblocks which will begin to signal to the mind that something else needs to change.

Step Two:  Updating Unconscious Patterns of Behaviour

Here we begin to change the old pattern and create a positive alternative which is matched to your specific goals. 

Step Three: Insights and Understanding

You’ll get further freedom from the issue as I’ll help you find understanding of the issue and help you see it differently, and how you can avoid recurrence. 

Step 4: Self Hypnosis Training

Included as standard is training in self-hypnosis, which will allow you to take everything you have learnt and apply it to other areas of your life. 

In recent studies, hypnosis has been shown to be highly effective in helping people overcome anxiety. Unlike other methods, we are not just simply talking about the anxiety, we are essentially rewiring the brain. 

You can contact me here and book a free consultation​ to see how I can help you.