HOW HYPNOTHERAPY CAN HELP ALLEVIATE ANXIETY
As I sit here on my couch winding down, after a long day of working with a wide variety of clients suffering from many of the “common” ailments that can grip us, humans, I find myself wondering “why do so many suffer from anxiety when they don’t have too”?
As a Certified Hypnotherapist specializing in state induction as well as neuro-semantics, I work with a variety of clients who suffer from a wide range of debilitating conditions that are affecting their day-to-day, keeping them from fully enjoying their lives. Fears, phobias, self-deprecating thought patterns, and shifting destructive habits surely make the list when considering the variety of issues I solve for my clients.
While all of these issues are commonplace in a hypnotists clientele, there is one emotional state that will always stand out as the most sought-after remedy for my client's suffering(s), anxiety. Upwards of 90% of my clients seek out my hypnotic services and gravitate towards hypnotherapy for anxiety treatment. Statistics show that up to 7 million people in the U.S. alone are suffering from GAD (generalized anxiety disorder), and yet only 40% seek treatment.
Hypnotherapy is the single most effective remedy for the removal of anxiety, as hypnosis has the power to “re-program” the subconscious mind away from overactive and fearful responses. The power of using hypnotherapy for anxiety treatment lies in the hypnotist's ability to deliver direct messages to the subconscious mind.
WHAT IS ANXIETY
Anxiety can be defined as the incessant worry and overactive fear response(s) to everyday situations. While symptoms vary from person to person, most experience a racing heart, heaviness or lightness in extremities, tightness in the throat, flushing of the skin, and the inability to catch one's breath. Statistics show that
More specifically, it’s important to not just understand the physical symptoms of anxiety, but to understand what its purpose is:
Anxiety is your body's attempt to keep us alive. Plain and simple.
In fact, one could argue that the reason our species has survived and thrived for so long, is our body's ability to experience anxiety.
After all, it's our anxiety that caused us to run from venomous snakes and man-eating animals that were hiding just around the corner. In fact, each and every one of our descendants was able to procreate because their anxieties kept them alive. In this sense, anxiety is purely a survival tool that is very effective.
ANXIETY IN OUR MODERN WORLD
Our modern world is a stressful place, there is no doubt about that. We have more systems, opportunities, and “things” in our life than any other culture in the history of mankind. The price we pay for that? You guessed it, anxiety.
You see, what we trade for comfort and opportunity, is high stress and constant demand. After all, it takes a lot of effort to keep all of the luxuries we have running. Think about your life and/or your business. Try ignoring emails for one week and see where that gets you. Or even one day, or maybe even an hour! That may be a hole you would rather not dig out of.
Did the thought of doing that just cause you some anxiety? You see my point.
While there may not be saber tooth tigers behind a bush ready to pounce, the demands of our world sure do have sharp, blood-stained teeth. And we feel it.
THE MOST COMMON ANXIETY - SOCIAL
As a hypnotist, the highest rate of anxiety treatment I provide to my clients is social anxiety. The reason is, this particular anxiety is deeply rooted in our biology.
We are tribal by nature. Throughout history, we gather in groups in an attempt to gain strength in numbers. For as long as mankind has existed, we have forged packs. Us versus them.
We still see evidence of this inherent inclination to group together in our species today. Countries at war, opposing political parties, and even our favorite sports team unite “us” against others.
Today in our modern world we are afforded the opportunity to identify with those of the same race, sex, or age group. We can forge with those who play the same sports, have the same hobbies, and professions, or like the same video game.
Thousands of years ago, however, our tribes were much smaller than they were today. And while today we can group ourselves into an infinite number of subsets, way back when we only had one option. Our families and those who lived near us.
This meant that as humans were evolving, the tribe was smaller, and the penalty for being kicked out of the group was infinitely larger. That penalty equaled one thing, death.
For most of human history, man could not survive on his own. While this is of course not true today, as I could spend months on end without any significant human connection and still be alive and well, our inherent response to the possibility of being socially rejected presents itself as anxiety.
On some level, we all want to be accepted by our peers, with whomever we identify with as being us. While the penalty for being blacklisted from our preferred group is more minor than ever before, our bodies still recognize this possibility as a danger and are acutely aware of and on the lookout.
LEARNED ANXIETIES - PICKED UP ON YOUR JOURNEY
As I provide my clients relief using hypnotherapy for anxiety symptoms, I find that many aren’t simply born or “wired” with certain anxiety responses, but in fact, they learned them along the way. They either picked them up from others or taught themselves that certain situations were so dangerous that anxiety was needed in an attempt to avoid and survive.
A client of mine once had an extreme anxiety response to bridges. Although he had never actually been in any type of dire situation on a bridge in his past, through our conversation and hypnotherapy for anxiety treatment processes, we discovered that at a very young age, he witnessed his mother having a general freak out while on a bridge. This caused my client to “learn” at a very young age that bridges equal danger.
Furthermore, clients can experience anxiety triggers as a result of negative situations and outcomes in their past. A typical example may be someone who gets into a car accident, and from that point forward can't get behind the wheel without flirting with a panic attack. The highly charged and negative event inserted an anxiety response as an attempt to keep one safe.
Regardless of whether anxiety responses are inherent to your biological condition, learned, or absorbed through life experience, the key to using hypnotherapy for anxiety removal lies in your mind. More specifically, the subconscious mind.
THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND - YOUR ANXIETY PROGRAM
The subconscious mind is what stores your body’s inherent programming, and what is responsible for the tyrannical emotional trigger that we call anxiety. This automatic response is an attempt to keep you safe from danger. Even while consciously you are aware there is no danger, the subconscious believes otherwise. This leads many to experience anxiety in everyday situations where zero inherent threats to survival are present.
Deep within the subconscious lies a very important aspect of you. Your identity. The subconscious is responsible for who and what you are. Your belief systems, habits, emotions, fears, thought patterns, responses, personality, what you like and don’t like, etc. If your actions, choices, and personality are the branches, your subconscious is the root.
HOW DOES THE SUBCONSCIOUS FORM?
The subconscious mind begins gathering and taking in data from birth. In fact, humans are mostly subconscious until our early teen years.
During our formative years, the subconscious mind runs the show. Taking in information at a rapid pace without the filters of the conscious mind is a highly beneficial strategy for our development as humans.
In other words, the subconscious allows us to learn at a rapid pace. This is why a child can learn 3 languages at once, while adults (who are thinking with their conscious mind) struggle for years to master an additional language.
The subconscious mind does not filter and takes on new information at an accelerated rate. The reason being we are all subconscious while we are younger, is because we are tasked with absorbing a plethora of information about the world we find ourselves in. It would take many lifetimes to explain to a child everything he/she has to know about the world.
The subconscious mind's ability to retain and keep multitudes of information is what ensures our advancement and success in the world.
THE PROBLEM WITH THIS AMAZING ABSORPTION TOOL
As stated, the subconscious mind simply “takes in”. It does not filter what is necessarily true. It is imaginative and literal. This is the reason why a young child can put on a cape and truly believe he or she is batman. We all long to have that sense of imagination as adults.
However, the subconscious mind can easily work against us. If the messages and beliefs absorbed into our programming of the subconscious are negative, our adult lives can forever be affected.
If we believe and accept at a young age that we are unlovable, we will surely push away any potential suitors with insecurities and avoidant or aggressive traits. If we believe that we are somehow flawed or “not good enough”, the result may be a life of isolation and the inability to seek out opportunities for advancements in career and life.
Finally, if we believe that danger lurks in specific situations, anxiety is the result.
HYPNOSIS AND THE ABILITY TO REMOVE ANXIETIES
As I stated above, my favorite brand of treatment I provide my clients is without a doubt saying goodbye to anxiety once and for all. Hypnotherapy for anxiety is truly the best method I’ve discovered for instantly creating a re-wiring and an un-learning within the subconscious mind.
Why is this?
To put it bluntly, hypnosis allows the conscious mind to take a well-deserved back seat, and to bring up the workings of the subconscious mind. The techniques are easy and quick, and most are surprised to find them very enjoyable.
While the conscious mind is out to lunch, I the hypnotist can speak directly to the subconscious mind providing it with the proper knowledge and understanding to easily allow for feelings of safety, especially in those that use to cause distress.
RUNNING PROGRAMS
In our lives, we are all running various programs. While with a friend, you are running a program for ease and connection. While giving a presentation, fear, and anxiety.
While in hypnosis the mind can take those characteristics from the pleasant feeling event, and simply transfer them to the anxiety-producing event. Using advanced techniques in Neuro-linguistic programming, I am able to induce mental stimuli associated with the pleasurable event, and simply “attach” them to the poor one. The result, giving that presentation with an unmatched sense of confidence and sturdiness.
Hypnosis effortlessly allows the client to attach wisdom, new perspectives, and ease to those instances where they once struggled. The effects of hypnotherapy for anxiety are so quick and immediate, that I still wonder to this day why most don’t seek out hypnotherapy for anxiety removal as soon as they begin.
CONCLUSION
We all experience, or have experienced anxiety in one-way shape, or form in our lives, however, my concrete stance is we don’t have to. If you are experiencing anxiety, firstly, I’m sorry. I truly know just how debilitating that can be.
I assure you, there is an answer. Within hypnosis, there are many answers waiting for you.
To find the quickest way out of anxiety, simply go to bradplotkin.com. From there you will find numerous videos, programs, and techniques to rid yourself of anxiety once and for all.
You will also be able to schedule a call with me directly, and I would be more than happy to hear from you.
Thank you for reading, and until we speak, feel well. - Brad.
305.778.9236
To view a quick video of how the subconscious works, and how hypnosis easily influences its programming, click here.
