Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Anxiety

The vast majority of us know what it’s like to feel worried and stressed: the tightness in the chest, a sinking feeling in your stomach, a sense of being out of control, preoccupied, unable to concentrate properly. For most of us this will be an occasional and normal reaction to the events life throws at us such as waiting for the result of a test, financial hiccups, someone not back at home on time at night. However, when you are experiencing the symptoms of anxiety every day and you can’t remember the last time you felt calm, comfortable and relaxed then it could well be affecting your quality of life.

Chronic anxiety is most likely to affect people in their twenties and slightly more women than men. The symptoms are wide-ranging, from dizziness, lethargy, irritability and sweating to diarrhoea, stomach aches, headaches and shortness of breath. Coping with these symptoms or trying to avoid situations which provoke them can interfere with normal life and inhibit enjoyment of even the most pleasurable event.

Panic Attack

At its extreme in a full-blown panic attack the person feels as if they are about to die. Often the attack comes ‘out of the blue’ with no warning and for no apparent reason, a ‘free floating anxiety’, as Freud described it. The combined effect can be devastating to experience – heart rate speeds up, like a palpitation, breathing quickens as the person feels they cannot get enough air into their lungs and their chest feels tight. Tingling sensations and hot/cold flushes can appear anywhere in the body and most likely in fingertips, feet etc. It’s no wonder that many such an experience has been taken for a heart attack.

Once a person has suffered such distress, it’s likely that they’ll be wondering at the back of their mind if and when another will take place. The more the person worries about the onset of another attack, the more the likelihood that their anxiety levels will rise and with it the distinct possibility that the much-feared event will happen again.

Treatment

If you have suffered from panic attacks, or if you feel worried and anxious a lot of the time without really knowing why then it is likely that a course of Pure Hypnoanalysis (analytical therapy) will be what you need to set yourself free from your symptoms and start enjoying life to the full again. 7-12 weekly sessions are usually needed to complete a course of this therapy.

However, if your anxiety is more localised or short-term (fear of an up and coming airplane flight or a presentation, for instance) then 1 or 2 sessions of suggestion therapy would help you to overcome your worries, boost your confidence and greatly improve your feelings of well-being.

Please call Emma on 07706 996043 or email at emma@malvernhypnotherapy.com to discuss any questions you have about hypnotherapy and how it could work for you.