DID YOU KNOW THESE FACTS ABOUT ANXIETY?
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates 300 million people suffer from Anxiety disorders globally, equivalent to 4.4% of the world’s population.
Anxiety can lead to full-blown depression, which the WHO estimates are the major contributor to nigh on 800,000 suicides per year. In the United Kingdom Google receives 70,000 searches per day relating to anxiety. Australians rank high among the world’s most laid-back people — but are we actually the most anxious? Google data has challenged Australian’s “She’ll be right’’ attitude, with internet searches for anxiety-related terms found to be the highest in the world as a percentage of our searches. In The U.S., Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year.
So anxiety is a huge issue, both globally and personally. Those Anxiety searches are also asking: “Can hypnotherapy Help?” Hypnotherapists know from experience that hypnotherapy can help. Hypnosis expertise can help anxiety sufferers. Research has shown that hypnotherapy can help relieve stress, fear, and anxiety. It can also be used to help in coping with the symptoms of panic disorder. … The person will bring awareness to the physical sensations, emotions, and cognitions associated with their attacks, such as chest pain, shaking, and fear. (See research evidence at the end this page)
During a hypnosis session, you undergo a process that helps you relax and focus your mind. This state is similar to sleep, but your mind will be very focused and more able to respond to suggestion.
While in this relaxed state, it’s believed that you’re more willing to focus on your subconscious mind. This allows you to explore some of the deeper issues you’re dealing with.
Hypnotherapy sessions may be used to:
- create a desire for healthy habits that can lead to weight loss, stop smoking
- help to relax and reprogram an anxious brain
The practitioner, or therapist, is there to help guide this process. They aren’t there to control your mind.
What are the benefits of using hypnotherapy to treat anxiety?
- Hypnotherapy sessions may be used to:
- create a desire for healthy habits that can lead to weight loss, stop smoking
- help to relax and reprogram an anxious brain
The practitioner, or therapist, is there to help guide this process. They aren’t there to control your mind.
Even though hypnotherapy isn’t as widely known as psychotherapy and medication for treating anxiety, researchers and scientists have been studying the effects it can have on mental health conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression for several years.
In a 2016 Stanford University School of Medicine study, by Heidi Jiang and others, researchers scanned the brains of people while they were undergoing guided hypnosis sessions. They found that a hypnotized brain experience changes in the brain that gives a person focused attention, greater physical and emotional control and less self-consciousness.
Anxiety can impact physical and mental health with short- and long-term effects on both the mind and body:-
- feeling nervous, tense, or fearful
- restlessness
- panic attacks, in severe cases
- a rapid heart rate
- fast breathing, or hyperventilation
- sweating
- shaking
- fatigue
- weakness
- dizziness
- need to control situations and make them perfect
- sleep problems
- nausea
- digestive issues
- feeling too cold or too hot
- chest pain
- difficulty concentrating
- stressed, overwhelmed and frantic
- procrastination
- unfinished projects
- social withdrawal
Many people know about the effects of anxiety on mental health, fewer people are aware of the physical side effects, which can include digestive issues and an increased risk of infection. Anxiety can also change the function of the cardiovascular, urinary, and respiratory systems. When a person becomes anxious, stressed, or frightened, the brain sends signals to other parts of the body. The signals communicate that the body should prepare to fight or flee. The body responds, for example, by releasing adrenaline and cortisol, which many describe as stress hormones.
The fight or flight response is useful when confronting an aggressive person, but it is less helpful when going for a job interview or giving a presentation. Also, it is not healthy for this response to persist in the long term.
Expert Research on how Hypnotherapy helps Anxiety
According to M.H. Moskowitz the brain changes constantly, it also changes in response to traumatic events and stressful situations like the one we’re in now. This process is called neuroplasticity. Using hypnotherapy we can re-train the brain. Clinical Hypnosis with its focused, calm, relaxation is a useful de-stressor. It assists people to enter into an altered state of mind, the calming purpose of hypnosis. The more time we spend creating images of how things are improving, feeling calm, the better we feel, and the stronger we are. Hypnosis leads us into areas we want to change in our lives, to rewire the brain.
Research Articles and Books
Assen Alladin “Evidence based approach to enhancing Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with Mindfulness and Hypnotherapy” pub. John Wiley and Sons 2015
Assen Alladin “ Cognitive Hypnotherapy “pub John Wiley and sons 2008
Michael Heap “Hypnotherapy Therapy- a Handbook” pub. McGraw Hill 2012
Hamilton, Bertie, Gibson and Michael Heap “ Hypnotherapy in Therapy” pub. Psychology Press 1991
E. Thomas Dowd “ Cognitive Hypnotherapy” pub. Jason Arson 2000
Michael M. Moscowitz:” Life in Slow Motion – Neuro plastics and pain management strategies”
“The Brain’s Way Of Healing” The Brain’s Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity$23.09Amazon AU
“Rewire your Brain” Free Audiobook Trial – Rewire Your Brain – Listen on Audible$27.10AudibleFree delivery
Hammond DC “ Neuro therapeutics”, 2010. Hammond found that “Self hypnosis training represent a rapid, cost effective , non-addictive and safe alternative to medication for the treatment of Anxiety related conditions”
Book in for your free chat and discovery with Suzy on ph. 0409429101 And let your changes begin. SKYPE: suzywoodhouse, email: suzyw@bigpond.com, web: https://suzyshypnotherapy.com.au