Hypnosis for anxiety

Anxiety disorders are the most widespread mental disorders in Switzerland. Experts estimate that in 2016 up to 14% of the population will suffer from some kind of anxiety disorder.

What is an anxiety disorder?

One can speak of an anxiety disorder when one feels exaggerated fear without any external influence justifying it.

That means it's a disruption in the threat assessment of our Unconscious. So unconsciously a situation is considered to be much more dangerous than it really is.

If there is no rational danger, the fears are associated with different things. Therefore, these fears can also be linked to different triggers, such as places, people, sounds, etc.

Each time a trigger triggers an anxiety reaction, the connection between trigger and anxiety is strengthened more and more until the affected person becomes more and more restricted.

What belongs to the category of anxiety disorders?

• Panic disorder
• Agoraphobia
• Social phobia
• Specific phobias
• Generalised anxiety disorder
• OCD
• Post-traumatic stress disorder

Why hypnosis for anxiety?

There are many reasons that speak for hypnotherapy in the treatment of anxiety .

The possibility of feeling fear is much older than man itself and so it's deeply rooted in our brain. A phrase I often hear from my clients is, "I know it doesn't make sense, but..."

We have almost no influence on fear with the conscious mind. Therefore it is important to communicate directly with the subconscious. With hypnotherapy we have more possibilities to overcome the fear. The subconscious always listens, but the best way to address it is hypnosis.

How does the anxiety come about?

Anxiety disorders can have many causes.

Sometimes they are known and we know that the anxiety started as a result of a traumatic experience or a disease.Sometimes the exact moment is unclear and it was more childhood atmosphere or something similar that mades someone susceptible for anxiety.

With whatever cause at some point for some reason, the unconscious has decided at that moment that there is danger. 

This activates a deeper area of the brain. The "fight or flight" response is triggered. Since there is no real threat to fight, there is almost always a flight response. That's why so many people panic in places they can't leave. Like in tunnels, trains, airplanes, lifts etc. So anxiety and panic arise especially in moments when the people affected have no control over the situation.

When all the reserves of the body are mobilized to escape, but there is no way out, then our unconscious stores these places as threatening.

Usually the fear and panic does not arise the first time.

But if it builds up again the next time, it can increase the anxiety more and more. It also leads to more real panic attacks.

Hypnotherapy for anxiety

Hypnosis can be used to conquer fear. To solve the fear, however, the first step is to learn how to deal with fear and panic.

Dealing with panic attacks

Again and again I hear from clients that one of the worst things is helplessness. When they realize that a panic attack is imminent and there's nothing they can do.

Therefore I find it important, as a first step, to train my clients hypnotically. In doing so, we develop their personal way of self-hypnotically decreasing the anxiety.

The ability to be able to reduce the fear even a little bit by oneself brings strength. A lot has already been done when the affected people no longer feel helplessly at the mercy of their fear. This approach will also strengthen their self-confidence.

Dealing with fear is much easier if you have practiced the right hypnotic methods.

Alter states of anxiety

When fear and panic is in full swing, the affected are in a kind of negative trance.

This negative trance differs from the positive trance mainly in that we cannot leave the negative trance by ourselves. Many describe it as being trapped in the state of fear.

One of the important possibilities that hypnosis gives us in treating anxiety is the ability to change states.

In doing so, we can reduce the fear and have more resources ready if it comes up. So that, for example, the physical symptoms of anxiety are reduced.

If the heartbeat is slowed down and the breathing remains deep, then it is also possible to calm down in case of panic. This makes it possible to reduce the fear and anxiety piece by piece. A certain "excitement" may still be there, but you are no longer paralyzed by fear.

Hypnosis against fear

The last step of anxiety therapy with hypnosis is the complete dissolving of the fear. The goal is to fully get rid of the fear. In these steps we use a lot of individual resources, which can differ from person to person. The most important steps are:

• Inner strengthening
• Separation of trigger and fear
• Stopping the fear reaction
• Dispelling fear of fear
• Getting rid of panic attacks
• Using imagination for positive things instead of bad scenarios

Conclusion

Hypnosis gives us many things that we can use against fear and panic.

In several steps the fear is reduced and removed with hypnosis.

The hypnosis therapy against anxiety also increases the inner power and makes it possible to grow beyond limitations. This makes it possible to free yourself from any fear, panic and anxiety.