Anxiety’s grip can be difficult to release. Typically I use a 3 step approach in helping clients address anxiety: 1 – Manage symptoms 2 – Reframe underlying cause 3 – Create a compelling future. The order of these elements depends upon the individual. This is a very brief snapshot, but to give you some idea…
Manage symptoms:
There are techniques I employ to address anxiety by lessening its impact. We can manipulate the way that the unconscious regards negative feelings and experiences, so that they are perceived as positive. We can empower the client to ‘redistribute’ the anxiety so that it is no longer in their mind, body or personal space.
Reframing underlying cause:
This can be done in many ways and it will depend upon the client which tools will be used. One example is regression, to address anxiety by determining and transforming its root cause. We can also access the unconscious directly, to communicate what the cause is and what appropriate replacement actions or beliefs might better fill the underlying need, instead of the anxiety.
Creating a compelling future:
We can address anxiety via sensory experiences of future scenarios. This is where the client uses an optimal response/behaviour to an old trigger, instead of the old response/behaviour of anxiety. You can liken it to visualising your future. Future work also involves rewriting the past, or at least sorting it out, thus healing old pathways in the brain. With the clutter gone, the client can focus on new, optimal response to old stories. There’s a tonne of sensory work in this area involving attention to self-talk, and what you say to yourself; what you see for yourself; what feelings you can access as resources to build a foundation for growing those good feelings.
Read more about anxiety and how hypnotherapy can help.