anxiety comes in many forms

• Do you experience intense, sudden episodes of fear, panic or discomfort?

• Do you feel extreme fear or anxiety in social situations?

• Do specific situations, like test taking, giving a presentation, meeting with a boss, trigger your anxiety?

• Do certain physical sensations (e.g. increased heart rate) trigger or worsen your anxiety?

• Did you have a sudden onset of anxiety around driving, flying, or elevators?

• Do you have phobias about insects or animals, or other environmental conditions?

• Do you feel out of control and fearful when anything changes in your body?

For all of these forms of anxiety, hypnotherapy CAN help.

Through most of human development, we faced danger on a daily basis. Lions, tigers and bears. Dependency on, and vulnerability to, the elements. Hostile enemies with sharp objects. In short, we had a constant need for our sympathetic nervous system to engage in fight or flight. We needed these responses to fight the tiger, run from the enemy, survive through periods of feast and famine.

In modern life, our immediate survival is not typically challenged, but our neurology has not evolved. Despite the relative comforts of everyday life, we still face constant stressors: lack of sleep, traffic, AI bots, illnesses, family problems and financial difficulties. In modern life that “fight” reflex can translate to anxiety, and “flight” to situational depression. If we have experienced trauma and disruption early in life, we become conditioned to be hyper-vigilant. our perceived “tigers” never seem to go away. So with the constant input into our nervous systems, we can get stuck “on.”

Hypnotherapy is incredibly potent as a tool to treat anxiety, because it puts you in control of your responses. In our first hypnotherapy session, we begin by soothing the nervous system. We give you the experience of turning that switch “off” during a deep and nourishing relaxation. Then with each following session, we strengthen the connection between the body and the mind to choose this reaction, rather than having your reaction choose you.

After the first session, we will continue to create an environment of soothing and calm, strengthening your ability to create this state for yourself, and desensitizing triggers. If deeper feelings emerge, we may safely and gently begin to release any stuck emotions or beliefs that are interfering with your ability to create calm in your life. To do this, I may incorporate EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), Therapeutic Imagery, and Somatic practices into our sessions.

The hypnotic portion of the session will be recorded and sent home with you for reinforcement, and you may have some short assignments between sessions.

Note: As your health and safety is my primary concern, if you have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, I will ask for a referral from a licensed medical or mental health professional.

Or call or text 808-987-5535 for questions.