Understanding Anxiety Differently

Maybe you know you’re anxious.

Your mind won’t switch off. You worry about things that haven’t happened yet, replay conversations, imagine everything that could go wrong or constantly ask yourself, “What if…?”

Perhaps you feel it in your body too. A racing heart, tight chest, sweating, feeling sick, shaky or restless.

You might know you’re safe but your body doesn’t seem to have got the message.

Or maybe your anxiety doesn’t look like anxiety at all.

It might be overthinking every decision, needing everything to be perfect, constantly checking that you’ve got things right or finding it difficult to say ‘no’.

You might avoid things that make you uncomfortable, worry about what people think of you, struggle with boundaries or find yourself constantly trying to keep everyone happy.
Perhaps you feel stuck but can’t understand why.

Anxiety can show up in far more ways than we realise.

So how do I see it?

I don’t see anxiety as something that is wrong with you or something we simply need to get rid of.
Anxiety is part of your mind’s protection system. Its job is to look out for possible danger and prepare you to deal with it.

And your mind doesn’t only learn from what is happening now. It uses your experiences to build patterns and make predictions about what might happen next.

That can be incredibly useful when there really is danger.

But sometimes your mind learns that something needs protecting against when, actually, you are safe.

You might know this logically.

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

“I know I can do this.”

“Why am I reacting like this?”

And yet the reaction still happens.

You want to say ‘no’ but immediately worry they’ll be upset with you.

You make a small mistake and your mind tells you everyone will think badly of you.

You want to do something but your mind gives you a long list of reasons why you shouldn’t.

This is where the CONTROL Method offers a different way of looking at anxiety.

Rather than seeing your reaction as your mind sabotaging you, we look at it as a pattern your mind has learned for a reason.

What has your mind learned?

What is it trying to protect you from?

And is that pattern still useful now?

The aim isn’t to get rid of anxiety. We need anxiety. It helps us notice danger, prepare for challenges and protect ourselves.

The aim is to have anxiety working for you rather than controlling your life.

When we understand what is happening underneath the reaction, we can begin to change patterns that are no longer helping you.

The outcome isn’t becoming a completely different person or never feeling anxious again.

It’s having more choice, more confidence and more freedom.

To say ‘yes’ when you want to and ‘no’ when you need to.

To do things that matter to you even when they feel uncomfortable.

To trust yourself more.

And ultimately, to feel like you are back in control of your life.

Please note: Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is very effective, however, results may vary and success is not guaranteed. The treatment requires your willingness and commitment to bring about the changes.