ANXIETY & PANIC ATTACKS
Are you nervous, irritable, constantly worrying, unable to relax or concentrate? Do you have butterflies in your stomach or chest, do you find you can’t breath properly, feel tightness in your body, dizziness, light headed, feel sick or need the toilet? Do you fear the worst? Worry about looking foolish? Are you constantly on high alert, unable to switch off or sleep well due to having too much on your mind?
WHAT IS ANXIETY:
Anxiety is healthy; it’s very useful before tests and exams to enhance performance by being more alert. It’s also our body’s warning system that alerts us to something not being right, a danger or a threat. When we feel under pressure, locate some sort of threat, our body releases adrenaline and cortisol to help us defend against attack (fight) or run away from danger (flight).
TYPES OF ANXIETY:
Anxiety can manifest itself in many weird and wonderful ways but most common are Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Social Anxiety, Health Anxiety, Skin Picking, Hair Pulling, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Fears/Phobias, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Panic Disorder.
WHAT HAPPENS:
Adrenalin causes your heart to beat faster and carry blood to your major muscles to give you more strength to fight or speed to run faster, your senses become heightened, your brain becomes alert and your digestive system slows down.
COMMOM SYMPTOMS ARE:
- Increased heart rate
- Increased muscle tension
- “Jelly legs”
- Tingling in the hands and feet
- Hyperventilation (over breathing)
- Dizziness
- Difficulty in breathing
- Wanting to use the toilet more often
- Feeling sick
- Tightness across the chest area
- Tension headaches
- Hot flushes
- Increased perspiration
- Dry mouth
- Shaking
- Choking sensations
- Palpitations
COMMOM THOUGHTS INCLUDE:
- Thinking that you may lose control and/or go “mad”
- Thinking that you might die
- Thinking that you may have a heart attack/be sick/faint/have a brain tumour
- Feeling that people are looking at you and observing your anxiety
- Feeling as though things are speeding up/slowing down
- Feeling detached from your environment and the people in it
- Feeling like wanting to run away/escape from the situation
- Feeling on edge and alert to everything around you
Once the danger has gone your body releases hormones to relax and soothe your body and mind, but if anxiety is severe and unmanaged you may feel out of control, powerless, as if you may go mad or even die. If these symptoms escalate and intensify they may lead to panic attacks and prolonged attacks can lead to panic disorder.
WHAT IS A PANIC ATTACK:
A panic attack is a heightened response to excitement, fear or stress where the emotions or physical sensations become overwhelming.
Symptoms include:
- Shortness of breath or hyperventilation
- Sweating
- Nausea or upset stomach
- Feeling dizzy, light-headed, or faint
- Numbness or tingling sensations
- Heart palpitations or a racing heart
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Trembling or shaking
- Choking feeling
- Feeling unreal or detached from your surroundings
- Hot or cold flashes
- Fear of dying, losing control, or going crazy
Panic attacks can come quickly, out of the blue and the affects can feel terrifying. These symptoms can be so scary that we can then develop a fear of the fear where we start restricting ourselves by avoiding anything that may trigger us, such as things, situations, people etc. Symptoms normally peak within 10 minutes and last from 5 to 20 minutes. Your body can only maintain this high state of arousal for 20 minutes before subsiding, and if you change the thought, the body will return to normal within 3 minutes.
POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES:
If you experience prolonged anxiety and/or panic attacks regularly, left untreated it can have devastating effects on your life. You may find that your life, your work, your health, you relationships become strained and unmanageable leading to isolation and depression.
CAUSES:
Some of us are more susceptible to anxiety and panic due to our personalities, genetics, learnt behaviour, family environment and past experiences.
Other factors can be caffeine, drug/alcohol misuse, poor diet, excess sugar, medications (side effects) significant life changes and stress such as bereavement, loss or separation, new baby, moving home, work problems, relationship problems, money concerns, family concerns.
HOW WE DEAL WITH IT:
We all have different ways of dealing with how we feel, some healthy and some not so healthy. Many of us choose quick fixes such as smoking, drinking, drugs, over eating, gambling, ignoring our self-care etc. and many of us ignore our feelings altogether letting it build up inside then exploding at the wrong person. These strategies may appear to work in the short term but these unhealthy coping mechanisms eventually catch up with us in some way or another.
Any strategies we learnt would have been helpful at one time but now may be out-dated and unhelpful. Anxiety is consistently present in our lives, so it’s really important to update our strategies, know how to manage ourselves and alter any unhelpful thinking.
HOW DOES HYPNOTHERAPY WORK?
By understanding your triggers, response patterns, understanding of cause, we can re-program a more helpful internal dialogue. You will also be introduced to different management techniques and coping mechanisms for when you do feel anxious.
Hypnotherapy facilitates your mind and your body to that calmer space that is currently unachievable where you feel calm, relaxed, rejuvenated and energised. Your parasympathetic nervous system is soothed and rested which gives the immune system a healthy boost.
Under hypnosis your brainwave activity reduces as you move to Alpha/Theta state, your mind feels calmer and soothed; your body relaxes and softens helping you to release any tension, aches and pains. Here we can re-program your old responses with your new desired responses, breaking your old patterns.
INSCAPE’S ANXIETY MANAGEMENT PACKAGE:
As a preferred Anxiety UK practitioner, Inscape's Anxiety Reduction and Management package reduces your anxiety levels, bringing them back in line and helps you feel resourced and equipped to manage yourself and your life.
We evaluate your current management strategies; give you a personalised anxiety management program along with strategies and techniques to help you to better deal with life’s ups and downs.
You will learn to deal with everyday anxiety more calmly, positively and effectively without letting it build up gathering emotional momentum and charge. You will learn to actively manage every day life more effectively, efficiently, positively feeling more in control of yourself and your life.
WHAT NEXT:
Please call for your free 15 minute no obligation phone consultation 07736 210 271.
Terms & Conditions:
- Sessions are payable a week in advance either by PayPal, cash, debit or credit card (fully secure card payment services).
- 100% of the full session price will be charged in the event of client cancellation with less than one week's notice. This is to cover the clinician’s time and costs.
- Payments are non-refundable including weight loss packages, stop smoking packages and any other addictions should you not complete the work (it's important to complete any work or packages). This includes if results are obtained before completion.
- Clients and information discussed are completely confidential at all times. An exception to this would be if the client is deemed to be a danger to themselves or to others or if there are any legal reasons for disclosure.
*Results may vary from person to person
Please call Louise on 07736 210 271 if you have any questions.
