new empowered you | wellbeing blog | olga willemsen | hypnotherapy for anxiety

How to Deal with Anxiety

Anxiety Emotion

Anxiety is a very normal emotion. It is okay to feel anxious from time to time. For example, you may get distressed facing a problem at work or before taking an exam.

Stressful situations can cause more anxiety. For example,

  • the pressure of passing exams or projects at work,
  • being a parent of a newborn,
  • an unfavorable financial situation.

Certain professions are related to more anxiety, like being a healthcare worker.

And of course, happenings like the global pandemic or the war in Ukraine raise the overall levels of anxiety in society.

The purpose of anxiety emotion is to warn you about possible danger and protect you. Moreover, your mind’s goal is survival; therefore, it focuses automatically on possible danger and neglects neutral and positive aspects of your life. This creates a discrepancy between the accurate picture of life and your perception. And it takes effort to re-orient the default focus of your mind on the negativity towards positivity.

What is Anxiety Disorder

Having an anxiety disorder means living in constant and overwhelming anxiety and fear. Sudden, intense fear can lead to a panic attack.

The anxiety can worsen with age.

Anxiety disorder is nowadays the number one mental health concern people face and varies from 2.5 to 7 percent by country.

An estimated 284 million people suffered from anxiety disorders in 2017 and the numbers have been growing continuously. 

Causes and Treatment of Anxiety

Abuse, trauma, adverse life events, and low self-esteem are considered to be some of the factors that can lead to anxiety disorder

Certain diseases are related to anxiety disorder, like, for example, autoimmune diseases, and others can lead to anxiety disorder due to continuous stress, like chronic painful conditions or cancer.

Usually, people with anxiety disorder take medicines and go to counseling to cope better with the symptoms of anxiety.

Effectiveness of Anxiety Treatments

A meta-study published in the International Clinical Psychopharmacology compared the efficacy of pharmacological, psychological, and combined treatments for the three main anxiety disorders (panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and social phobia). They evaluated the data from 234 randomized-controlled studies.

This study found that most medications had a clear anxiety-reducing effect compared to placebo. However, it is known that anti-anxiety drugs have a wide range of side effects and may cause dependency or withdrawal symptoms.

This meta-analysis showed that mindfulness, relaxation, and cognitive-behavioral/exposure therapy (CBT) were the most effective psychotherapies. Whereas psychodynamic therapy, eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR), and interpersonal therapy were not effective in reducing anxiety. Hypnotherapy studies were not included in the meta-analysis.

Even physical exercise was able to reduce anxiety to an extent comparable to placebo pills and the considered psychotherapies.

Hypnotherapy for Anxiety

Another meta-analysis published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis showed the high effectiveness of hypnosis in treating anxiety.

The results of 17 trials of hypnosis met the inclusion criteria. About 80% of participants receiving hypnosis in those trials reduced anxiety compared to participants who didn’t receive hypnosis.

The results were also lasting. At the longest follow-up, participants treated with hypnosis felt better than control participants.

Hypnosis was even more effective in reducing anxiety when combined with other psychological interventions.

Four Crucial Steps to Beat Anxiety Fast

Even if anxiety disorders develop in adulthood and are related to specific events in our lives, the real cause of anxiety lies in our childhood. 

The root cause of anxiety is disbelief in our own power and abilities.

To beat anxiety fast, one needs:

🤩 to restore the belief in one’s own innate power

😉 to start seeing the situation, event, or relationship in a new light

🧐 to look for solutions to the current situation

😎 to take action to change the situation

treat anxiety | hypnotherapy | wellbeing blog
How to Deal with Anxiety 3

Transformational Hypnotherapy for Anxiety

Transformational Hypnotherapy is exceptionally effective in treating anxiety because it addresses the root cause of the issue. These are the feelings and subconscious beliefs that lead to it.

Hypnotherapy scatters old negative beliefs that hold you back and cause emotional pain. It assists you in choosing new beliefs that empower you.

You cannot build a stable building on an old, rotten foundation. All your efforts to change your behavior will fail if you do not make this essential step of laying a new, stable foundation.

These new empowering beliefs break the habit of negative thinking and allow positive thinking instead. Changing your beliefs will allow you to make better choices and wiser decisions.

This transformed way of thinking and making decisions allows you to create a much better life.

In this way, hypnotherapy raises your confidence and ensures permanent improvement of your mental health.

Client’s testimonial

When I contacted Olga I was on the edge of having the second burnout in my life. Being a new mom and taking care of my step-children, life was busy, hectic and my anxieties sneak up on me. I couldn’t find the rest, my inner peace and the joy of life. The panic attacks came more frequently and I wanted a change, right away!

After the session I felt the difference, I wasn’t that stressed out anymore. My husband saw the change immediately and I felt happy, energized, secure and I was living in the moment.

I’m very thankful for the method and Olga’s coaching. Everything is so clear now and life is good.

Olga is an amazing, caring person willing to help others with their problems and be the best version of yourself. The RTT was mind blowing and the outcome made so much sense. Olga will give you the tools and guide you. Trust the process, yourself and Olga and enjoy!

Charito Loyola, Netherlands

Anxiety FAQ

  1. How can I calm my anxiety?

    Check out this blog post about techniques to help you calm down quickly.

    Meditation, mindfulness as well as breathing exercises do not resolve the underlying root cause of anxiety but can help you relax, have a break, and rest from the negative emotions. They allow you to stay calmer.

    Also, exercise was found to be effective in reducing anxiety.

    An essential component of anxiety is the fear of the anxiety itself and the fear of panic attacks even before they happen – anxiety for anxiety. Meditation, mindfulness, and breathing exercises are helpful techniques in reducing this fear and having more control over one’s own emotions.

    For the best results, these techniques need to be practiced daily.

  2. What foods alleviate anxiety?

    Every cell of your body and every neuron has a very complex structure with highly sophisticated processes continuously going on. It is like a microcosm that requires a wide range of high-quality nutrients from nutritious foods.

    Such nutrients are absent in highly processed and sugary foods.

    Nervous cells also need higher amounts of specific nutrients. Find out more about such specific nutrients, foods, and supplements in this blog post “Food for the brain“.

  3. What is social anxiety disorder?

    Social anxiety disorder is a common type of anxiety. It is an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others. Such fear affects work, school, and any other daily activities. It makes it complicated to make and keep friends. Hypnotherapy is very effective in cases of social anxiety, too.

  4. What are social anxiety symptoms?

    People with a social anxiety disorder being around people may:

    1. experience stress and blush, sweat, and have a rapid heart rate or tremble
    2. have difficulty expressing themselves and talking, feeling their “mind going blank,” or feeling sick to their stomach
    3. avoid making eye contact
    4. feel extreme self-consciousness or fear that people will judge them negatively
    5. avoid places and activities with other people.

  5. What can I do against morning anxiety?

    Some people find it helpful to practice gratitude to reduce morning anxiety. Read this post about the best gratitude practice.

  6. How do I conquer driving anxiety?

    The reason for driving anxiety can be a simple lack of skill, which can be improved with time and more practice. Hypnosis can help you to become confident in driving in a short time.

    Said that driving anxiety may also be accompanied by general insecurity, doubting yourself, and a deeper root cause. In this case, it can disappear if you address that root cause with hypnotherapy.

  7. Do I have anxiety?

    You can take a free online anxiety test like one by Mental Health America to evaluate your anxiety levels. At the same time, you should keep in mind that only your doctor is entitled to provide you with a diagnosis.

  8. What is the difference between stress and anxiety?

    American Psychological Association explains that under stress, people experience symptoms, such as irritability, anger, fatigue, muscle pain, digestive troubles, and difficulty sleeping.

    Anxiety, on the other hand, is persistent, excessive worry experienced even in the absence of an external stressor.

Conclusions

  • The root cause of the anxiety is an unconscious belief about being helpless.
  • And to beat anxiety quickly and permanently, one needs to start believing in innate power and abilities.
  • Drugs can reduce anxiety but bring significant side effects.
  • Hypnotherapy reduces anxiety without side effects and gives lasting results.
  • Transformational hypnotherapy offers the tools needed for such an empowering change.

Have you or someone close to you experienced excessive anxiety? Were you or they able to overcome anxiety easily and how?

References

  • Bandelow B, Reitt M, Röver C, Michaelis S, Görlich Y, Wedekind D. Efficacy of treatments for anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis. Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2015 Jul;30(4):183-92. doi: 10.1097/YIC.0000000000000078. PMID: 25932596.
  • Valentine KE, Milling LS, Clark LJ, Moriarty CL. THE EFFICACY OF HYPNOSIS AS A TREATMENT FOR ANXIETY: A META-ANALYSIS. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2019 Jul-Sep;67(3):336-363. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2019.1613863. PMID: 31251710.

Similar Posts

8 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *