Dr J Plowman

Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy & Counselling

07587 229163
info@drjplowman.co.uk
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Can Hypnotherapy Help with Anxiety and Panic Attacks?

This article explains how anxiety, stress, and panic attacks develop, and how hypnotherapy can help people respond to these experiences in calmer and more constructive ways.

In this article:

  • How hypnotherapy helps anxiety
  • Understanding panic attacks
  • Why panic attacks feel like you’re dying
  • How to calm a panic attack
  • Worry and anxiety in modern life

Anxiety, stress, worry, and panic attacks are common experiences in modern life. Hypnotherapy can help people understand these feelings, reduce their intensity, and respond to them in calmer and more constructive ways. This article explains how hypnosis works with the subconscious mind to support emotional wellbeing.

One person’s stress is another person’s pleasure. Often said but still very true. Stress is part of everyday life and always has been. It is just that the way stress is experienced in modern society is different from what happened in the past.

Now we do not tend to burn off the excess adrenaline that courses through our veins when we get stressed and this is partly what leads to anxiety and even to panic attacks. In the past, as far back as the Stone Age and until quite recently in historical terms, we had real reason to secrete extra adrenaline to get away from the physical threats in our environment. Then we had to flee to save our lives. This is called the “flight or fight syndrome”. Of course “freezing” is another response to perceived threat such as the “rabbit in the headlight” response.

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How Hypnotherapy Works with Other Relevant Therapies

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) are closely related. Both originated in the USA and, although it is not necessary to use hypnosis to practise CBT or NLP, hypnosis can be used as a powerful tool to increase the effectiveness of both methods.

Both CBT and NLP view people as being programmed in their thinking and emotions. Importantly, both approaches claim that through rational and practical methods, people do not need to be victims of their emotions or thinking. Even conditions often considered “irrational”, such as depression and obsessions, can be treated using the commonsense principles that both methods promote.

We are programmed from the time we are in the womb, both physically and mentally. Some of this programming is beneficial, some destructive, and much lies somewhere in between. The main aim of CBT and NLP is to make people aware of their programming and, through that awareness, enable them to change it.

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How Hypnosis Works: The Power of Suggestion

It is universally known that hypnotherapy works on the power of suggestion. What this really means is not often understood. It is necessary to understand how the mind works to fully appreciate what this means.

Remember the iceberg theory of the mind, which goes all the way back to Freud at the beginning of the twentieth century. He said that our mind is made up of the conscious, which consists of what we are aware of, and the subconscious, which consists of all we are not aware of but which is still in our mind, such as memories and experiences.

The subconscious mind makes up a large part of our mind. In fact, what we are aware of consciously takes up such a tiny part of our mind as to be practically negligible. The driving force behind what we do comes largely from the subconscious mind.

When we decide not to smoke anymore this appears to be a conscious decision, or at least we like to think so. However, the impulse may have come from the subconscious mind. If that impulse is strong enough, change can happen without much difficulty.

The subconscious mind does not work by reasoning things out. If it feels like doing something it sends a feeling which we become aware of. If that feeling is very strong, then we usually succeed. Feelings often work in a more powerful way than conscious thought.

This is why hypnosis, which works on the subconscious mind, is significantly more effective than willpower alone. Research shows that hypnosis can be up to six times more effective than willpower-based approaches.

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What Is Hypnosis? What Hypnotherapy Really Is (and Isn’t)

To give you an idea of what hypnosis is, let me tell you two brief stories.

One involves a woman who went to a hypnotherapist to stop smoking. The session was a great success and she found that she could not smoke after it. Unfortunately, she later decided that she wanted to smoke again because she missed it too much. She returned to the hypnotherapist to have the suggestions removed. This was successful too, and several years later she was still smoking.

There are several things to be learned from this. First, hypnosis can be very powerful. Secondly, the individual ultimately remains in control and can make their own decisions about what they want to happen. For this reason, I do not refund the fee for smoking cessation hypnotherapy. When clients are properly informed, responsibility for change ultimately lies with them.

The second true story illustrates this point about control even more clearly.

A man was given the suggestion under hypnosis that if he ever held a cigarette without thinking, he would crumple it up. He left the session feeling it had not worked and reached for the emergency packet of cigarettes he had kept. As soon as he took one out, he crumpled it up. He tried another — the same thing happened. Every cigarette in the packet met the same fate. He bought another packet, assuming the suggestion would wear off. It did not.

When he returned to the hypnotherapist, he was told that his subconscious mind had accepted the suggestion, even though his conscious mind doubted it. Once he understood this, he allowed the process to continue and did not smoke again.

Although hypnotherapy is always under your control, it can still work even when you are not consciously aware of it. Suggestions can be modified at any time — they are only permanent if you want them to be.

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Making mistakes as related to Hypno- psychotherapy

It may seem counterintuitive but making mistakes is good. This can be a major tool in self-development and therapy itself.

Consider this quote from George Bernard Shaw, ” A life spent making mistakes. is more useful than a life spent doing nothing” Important too to know the difference between doing nothing and having nothing to do.

So it is about taking risks and when that happens then mistakes are made. This creates a learning opportunity for how to do things better. Not only that but making your own mistakes tailor makes the opportunity for your own learning. In that sense, it is best to make as many mistakes as possible because then you will learn more that way.

So learn from mistakes don’t dwell on them. Once the learning is truly done then you can move on. Remember that learning is painful but not to learn is even more painful as the same mistakes will be repeated.

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Dr J Plowman
Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy & Counselling

30+ years clinical experience
UKCP Registered
DBS Checked

Areas served:
Newport • Cwmbran • Pontypool • Caerleon • Cardiff • South Wales
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