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Anxiety Problems
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I am specialised in all types of anxiety (certified), with over 18 years training and experience. In fact, I have real personal experience in this area, so you can be assured that you are with someone who truly 'knows' this dis-ease. My programme offers a combination of Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, Education, Solution-focused Psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and traditional Hypnoanalytic Therapy. It is a comprehensive package to free you from fear and limitations, enabling you to live a happy and successful life.
There are a number of different anxiety disorders depending on the particular way your anxiety is expressed. (For my separate page on Obsessional States and OCD go to Obsessional States.) Some of these are listed here, but it is well to remember that underlying all these disorders is simply FEAR. The fear finds a focus in one or other of the listed conditions or symptoms. Generally, the more the symptoms of anxiety interfere with work or relationships, the more fear you have, and the more serious the illness.
I have a very gentle approach to clients with anxiety and fear. Therapy consists of a number of facets based on various styles of therapy, depending on the person's unique situation. Importantly, I will be concerned to treat the cause(s) of the anxiety, not just the symptoms. I start by listening and gathering information. Together we unravel the nature of the fear - what is making you anxious, what exactly you are afraid of and why. Gentle techniques are then used to resolve these fears and create a change of outlook. Phobias can be 'reprogrammed'. Positive thinking and confidence are instilled. By combining the best of several different styles of therapy the vast majority of people with anxiety can be helped.
STRESS
You may not always realise it, but if you are someone who complains of stress, you have a problem with anxiety - that is, you are not managing your life or your self well enough to avoid creating a surplus of too much anxiety each day for your health and well-being. The symptoms of stress are simply the symptoms of low-grade anxiety - tense muscles, headaches, worry, irritability, inability to relax, tiredness, poor sleep and feelings of being under pressure. People use the word 'stress' before they realise they are anxious.
GENERALISED ANXIETY DISORDER
The condition of generalised chronic anxiety (lasting many months), with constant worrying about a variety of issues, and physical symptoms suggestive of a mild chronic emergency response - muscle aches, headaches, poor digestion, easily startled and problems with sleep (typically finding it difficult to fall asleep with a mind that won't stop thinking).
SIMPLE PHOBIA
The person functions normally in most areas of life but is acutely frightened of something most people regard as harmless, and usually attempts to avoid that situation. Common phobias include spiders, mice and other types of animals, flying, driving/driving on certain roads, vomiting, enclosed spaces, thunderstorms, and many others.
SOCIAL PHOBIA
Anxiety and panic brought on by being in social or performance situations. Symptoms often include nausea, blushing and sweating, and subsequent avoidance of feared situations. It is essentially the fear of scrutiny and negative evaluation by others, or embarrassment. It may be specific in the case of 'stage fright', or generalised - encompassing almost any situation where you need to interact with people. Sufferers may appear shy or withdrawn even though inwardly they desire contact with people. Common social anxieties include presentations, speaking up in groups, eating with people, using public toilets, and vomiting in a public place.
PANIC DISORDER
Panic Disorder is identified by discrete, out of the blue, attacks of severe panic with very strong physical symptoms - racing heart, rapid breathing (hyperventilation), dizziness, and other physical signs of fear. Often, especially at first, the sufferer misinterprets the symptoms (eg chest pain) and assumes he/she is medically ill or even about to die. This can result in a trip to A&E where the whole episode concludes with reassurance and a prescription for Valium. After one or more episodes the person is likely to develop a continuous fear of having another attack, and will seek to avoid it at all costs. The illness is progressive in that more and more situations are avoided and life becomes restricted. In this panic disorder overlaps with agoraphobia.
AGORAPHOBIA
Really the fear of leaving home or entering busy situations, especially supermarkets. It is often (but not always) associated with panic attacks, where the real fear is of having an attack and not being able to escape quickly enough, or having an attack away from the safety of home. Agoraphobics tend to avoid places like supermarkets, crowds, public transport, going far from home, and in severe cases leaving the front door. A variation of this that we see quite often is adult separation anxiety - essentially the fear of being away from a safe person.
POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)
This condition includes one or more phobias but is also marked by flashbacks and recurring nightmares. The symptoms have an obvious cause in some situation that is recognizably traumatic. We are familiar with the classical causes of PTSD - war, natural disasters, accident scenes - but it can also be triggered by more personal events, such as rape, personal assault or sudden illness.
I treat most types of PTSD, but I do not treat PTSD resulting from wartime/battlefield trauma. For this I can confidently recommend David Reeves of Mindtech Associates, also based in Swindon. Click here for David Reeves.
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