Hello
Hope you are all well, after my last blog where I shared with you a simple breathing technique to overcome panic, I've had some enquiries my from my lovely clients asking for more simple solutions to feel better. Of course, if you wish to work with me, you can message me here debrahypnosis@gmail.com or here on FaceBook but in the meantime have a look at the information below.
Today I am going to share with you a technique that is used in Cognitive behavioural Therapy. Some of you may have had experience of this before, but I just wanted to put it out there, so you can take a look and decide for yourself if you have fallen foul to any of these common thinking errors.
Black and white thinking - It's either this way or that way! Your in or your out! Umm is there anything in between? Really useful to look at this, as you really can choose to see other options when you open yourself up to other suggestions.
Overgeneralisation - Just my luck, this always happens to me, this always goes wrong! Does absolutely everything go wrong... everything really?... When we feel emotional, we tend to veer towards the negative, this isn't your fault, our brains are hard wired towards the negative, this is a survival instinct. Good news though, once you realise this, you have the power to change how you feel.
Disqualifying the positive - Yes, but... stop putting negatives in the way, look for something positive.
Mind Reading - I know what your thinking! You will never agree with me! Do we really know what somebody else is thinking? NO WE DO NOT! We can only guess!
Catastrophising - It's all hopeless, it never works! I bet you can think of something that did work!
Magical thinking - Everything happens for a reason! Did you hear this from your parents?
Conditional thinking - I should always try and be nice or they will not like me! (people pleasing)
Personalising - It must be my fault! Does how you act really affect how others behave...NO! they are responsible for their own behaviour.
Blaming and labelling - I behave this way because of them! It's not my fault! You are responsible for your own behaviour, nobody else! Blaming usually occurs when people are not prepared to take responsibility for themselves, leaving their fate to others.
Anything sound familiar, just by really looking at the way we think about things and bringing it to our conscious attention, we can begin to question our thoughts and beliefs and see things in a more helpful way. Remember thoughts are just that! You don't have to act on them and beliefs are just thoughts repeated, not truths. Go on give it a try for the next week and see how your brain can really start to work for you rather than against you.
Hope this is of use to you all and will provide some food for thought! If you want to know more and would like to work with me, you can fill out the contact form at the top of this page or use the details below.
Regards
Debra
Mobile 07783 565685
Email debrahypnosis@gmail.com
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How Hypnosis can help you feel better!
Welcome, do you have panic attacks?
What happens when you book a hypnotherapy consultation with me
Do you want a solution to end panic attacks?
Friday 29 November 2019
Friday 15 November 2019
Do you want a solution to end panic attacks?
Hello Everyone
Welcome to another blog post, hope you are well? Today we are going to talk about panic attacks. As a hypnotherapist, I began to specialise a while ago in treating clients with panic attacks as I found using hypnosis to treat this issue was really successful in reducing both psychological and physiological responses. (There is lots of scientific evidence that also backs this up).
Anybody who has ever had a panic attack either in the past or perhaps is still experiencing them knows how frightening they can be. It is not unusual for somebody to end up in A&E Department as they fear they are having a heart attack. Panic attacks can just creep up on you out of nowhere or they may be triggered by a stressful life event. Either way, some sufferers then go on to have a fear of having another panic attack as well as the fear of the panic attack itself which can make this a vicious cycle.
In my consulting room, part of my treatment plan for panic attacks is education. I truly believe from experience in dealing with this issue that education is key. I have discovered that most clients I see really do benefit from gaining some form of understanding in relation to what is actually happening to them during a panic attack both psychologically and physiologically. I also find that arming clients with this information allows the client to recognise when they are having a panic attack, which helps to alleviate the fear element, which in turn allows them to start to take back that control.
So I'm going to give you a quick snippet of information that you can use to start you on the road to recovery.
1) Really important here, recognise what is happening to your body! By this I mean, recognise when you are having a panic attack! Are you breathing faster? Is your heart beating quickly! Are you sweating? Are you shaking uncontrollably? This could be a clue that you are in the midst of panic.
2) Notice whereabouts in your body you are feeling the discomfort, focus on that part of the body, you may find you have a tightness in the chest, churning tummy or feel it in your throat. Or it could be elsewhere!
3) Rate the feeling between 1 and 10. 10 being really intense!
4) Start to get control of your breathing! Slow your breathing down, I use a technique called the 7/11 technique. Breathe in through your nose to the count of 7, hold your breath for the count of 3, breathe out through your mouth for the count of 11. Keep repeating this for a couple of minutes and you will begin to feel better.
5) After a few minutes, check in with that unhelpful feeling, rate it between 1 and 10 again and you should find your anxiety has lowered. For some people they will at this stage have gained back some control, for others, they may have to continue with the breathing technique for another couple of minutes before checking in with that unhelpful feeling again and rating it between 1 and 10. Continue with the breathing until your anxiety has lowered and you feel you have gained back some control.
With regular practice, you will be able to reduce feelings of panic really quickly meaning you are back in control and retraining your brain for success.
If you have any questions or wish to work with me, please get in touch. You can fill out the contact form at the top of this page or use the details below.
All the best
Debra
Mobile 07783 565685
Email debrahypnosis@gmail.com
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