Overcoming Panic Anxiety and Panic Attacks with Self-Hypnosis
Do you experience uncomfortable feelings of anxiety and panic
?
Do you fear those feelings?
When an attack takes hold of you do you feel a sense of terror, loss of control, a racing pounding heart, chest pains that convince you that you're having a heart attack?
Do you get short of breath, sometimes with choking sensations?
Feelings of unreality, or being detached from yourself
Do you feel you're going "crazy" or something embarrassing is about to happen?
All of the
panic symptoms described above are nothing more than an extreme form of fear. Fear is our body's natural response to a situation perceived as threatening. Fear can range from mild anxiety (which can be helpful when there is a goal, like passing an exam) through to full blown panic.
But why have fear at all when it's such an unpleasant feeling? In a way, it is a bit like pain. If you were to break your ankle, it would feel very painful, which would be a warning to you not to walk on it. If you heard a noise downstairs at night, you might feel frightened, which is a warning that you might have to deal with a dangerous situation. Fear is very useful. It prepares your body for action. This has been called the "fight or flight" response. So that when you feel fear, what is happening is that your body is preparing to fight or run away from the thing it feels threatened by, or possibly to stay completely still and wait for the threat to pass.
If we take the example of the noise downstairs let us suppose it is a burglar, as you fear. You may wish to stay absolutely still, so as to prevent the burglar from attacking you. You might want to go and challenge him or you might need to run away should he come after you. Your fear response would help with any of these. When you are frightened you breathe more quickly so that you can get lots of oxygen to your muscles. Your heart beats faster to pump the blood faster round your body. Your digestive system closes down to allow your body to concentrate on the more immediate threat. This is your body's normal healthy reaction to situations where your body feels under threat; it is your body's alarm system.
The problem with
panic attacks is that usually they occur when there is no obvious physical threat there at all. Your body is reacting as though it was about to be attacked when in reality it is not. In other words it is a false alarm. It is a bit like the annoying smoke detector which goes off at all the wrong times, because it is sensitive to small amounts of smoke. Or the burglar alarm that goes off because of the cat. Or even more annoying, the car alarm that is triggered by the wind. These are all alarms that can be triggered when there is in fact no danger. The same can be the case with your body's 'alarm' system. Sometimes it can be triggered off when there is no real danger.
The problem is that our body's 'alarm system' was designed many, many years ago, when people had to cope with dangers in order to survive. Nowadays, we are rarely faced with the sort of life or death threats our ancestors faced. We have very different threats, mainly related to stress. Financial worries, overworking, moving house, divorce, can all be stressful, and can raise our anxiety levels to the point where our 'alarm system' is triggered. It is a bit like a 'stress' thermometer - which when it reaches a certain level results in panic. Whilst a panic attack may be unpleasant, it is not dangerous. Quite the opposite. It is a system designed to protect us not harm us.
So to summarise, an anxiety or panic attack is an over stimulated flight or fight reaction, but with Self-Hypnosis you can learn to control the attacks, reducing their severity or eliminating them altogether. With practise, you can change how your subconscious mind works, and in doing so, it can change how you feel, think, react and behave in various situations. Once the trigger button has been turned off, you can stop the sequence of the feelings before they escalate, and each time you do that, the fear-of-the-fear will diminish also.
Remember, Self-Hypnosis is a powerful self-help tool for implementing change within your life. It is simple, effective, non-invasive, produces long-term changes, and can be used by almost everyone.
Hypnotherapy sessions often include the benefit of soothing music at strategic points, helping the listener to relax even more, and absorb the information whilst the therapist guides you with gentle suggestions, positive language, and life changing imagery. You will always be in control at all times, able to awaken immediately should the need arise and attend to anything that you need to.
By using self-hypnosis pre-recorded material such as a CDs and mp3 download, you will have at the touch of button, a full Hypnotherapy session that can be used whenever you need to, as often as you need to. It's as simple as that.
Sharon Shinwell. Dip Couns. Dip HP. Dip CBT. Dip Sup. MBACP is a published author, UK qualified Counsellor, Hypnotherapist, Life Coach and Clinical Supervisor.
She also produces a range of Self-Hypnosis Audio CDs and mp3 downloads to improve health, combat fears, phobias, unwanted habits, and for personal development. All these can be ordered direct online or by telephone so visit our website
Overcoming Panic Anxiety and Panic Attacks with Self-Hypnosis
By: Sharon Shinwell
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