If you are waking up in a panic each morning, experiencing shortness of breath and generally feeling off form you could be suffering with anxiety. The American Anxiety and Depression Association (AADA) describes Generalized Anxiety Disorder as being characterized by ‘persistent, excessive and unrealistic worry about everyday things’. If you are expecting the worst from every situation and catastrophizing about life in general you are not alone. The AADA estimated that approximately 6.8 million adults in the U.S. suffer with generalized anxiety disorder each year. It can be debilitating. In it’s worst form individuals with severe anxiety can retreat from social situations and from work, finding it difficult to participate in day to day activities.
Anxiety occurs when the mind and body react to perceived threat or danger. Sometimes that anxiety is helpful. It can stimulate the release of hormones which provoke us to take action. When the anxiety is prolonged however or when it is disproportionate to the situations the individual is facing then it becomes an issue which needs to be addressed.
With hypnosis there are two approaches which can be taken to tackle anxiety. At Bodywatch Ltd. here in The Galway Clinic we offer hypnotic age regression and suggestion therapy. The first consultation is two hours in duration and the consecutive consultations are an hour each in duration. Some researchers have suggested that panic attacks are the body’s physical reaction to a situation which the mind interprets as being overwhelming, particularly when there is no real threat or danger. Often the age regression package can be enough to stop panic attacks from recurring. The alternate approach is all suggestion based and involves 6 consultations of one hours duration each week for six weeks. The consultations are personalized to include suggestions relevant to person at that moment in time.
Recently Stellar Magazine interviewed me about hypnosis for anxiety and you can read all about it here..