The problem comes when that response is triggered too easily, becomes disproportionate to the situation, or continues when the immediate threat has passed.
In my work with people experiencing anxiety, I use hypnotherapy alongside techniques drawn from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), mindfulness and relaxation. The aim is to help you understand your responses to anxiety and develop more helpful ways of managing them.
Understanding the fight-or-flight response
When your brain perceives danger, your body prepares you to respond.
Stress hormones including adrenaline are released, producing physical changes that can include an increased heart rate, faster breathing and heightened alertness. This is commonly known as the fight-or-flight response.
It’s a perfectly normal and useful reaction when you’re genuinely facing danger.
With anxiety, however, the same response can be triggered by situations that aren’t actually dangerous. You may consciously recognise that there is little to fear, while still experiencing a powerful physical and emotional reaction.
Over time, this can become an established pattern.
When anxiety becomes a problem
People experience anxiety in different ways.
For some, it involves persistent worrying and an inability to switch off. Others experience very physical symptoms or panic attacks. Anxiety can interfere with sleep, concentration, work, relationships and everyday activities.
It can also create a cycle of avoidance. If something makes you anxious, avoiding it may provide immediate relief. But repeated avoidance can reinforce your belief that the situation really is threatening and make it harder to confront in the future.
Part of therapy can therefore involve learning to recognise these patterns and gradually responding to them differently.
How I use hypnotherapy for anxiety
Hypnotherapy creates a deeply relaxed and focused state in which we can work with some of the thoughts, feelings and responses associated with your anxiety.
My approach isn’t based on the idea that there’s necessarily one hidden event or single “root cause” that has to be uncovered.
Instead, I look at what is happening for you as an individual. That may involve exploring experiences that have contributed to your anxiety, recognising established patterns of thought and behaviour, and developing different ways of responding to situations that currently trigger anxiety.
Hypnotherapy can be particularly useful as part of this process because it allows us to work with these responses while you are relaxed and focused.
You remain aware and in control throughout the process.
Combining hypnotherapy and CBT
I don’t treat hypnotherapy and CBT as competing approaches.
CBT provides practical techniques for recognising the connections between your thoughts, feelings and behaviour. It can help you identify unhelpful assumptions, question automatic thoughts and gradually change behaviours that may be maintaining your anxiety.
Hypnotherapy provides another way of working with some of those established responses.
Depending on what you are experiencing, I may therefore draw on both approaches during our work together rather than applying one fixed method to everyone.
Developing techniques you can use yourself
Therapy isn’t only about what happens during a session.
I also want you to develop techniques you can use independently when you encounter anxiety in everyday life.
These may include relaxation, self-hypnosis, mindfulness and CBT-based techniques for recognising and responding to anxious thoughts.
The objective is to help you feel increasingly able to manage your own responses rather than becoming dependent on therapy.
Getting help with anxiety
If anxiety is affecting your everyday life, relationships, work or ability to do things you would otherwise like to do, seeking professional support may be worth considering.
I work with people experiencing anxiety and panic at my practices in Highgate, North London and Radlett, Hertfordshire.
My approach is individual rather than formulaic. We can discuss what you are experiencing, what you would like to change and whether hypnotherapy, CBT or a combination of approaches may be appropriate for you.
You can read more about my approach to hypnotherapy and CBT for anxiety and panic, or contact me to arrange an initial consultation.
FAQs on overcoming anxiety with hypnotherapy
How can hypnotherapy help with anxiety?
Hypnotherapy can help you work with some of the thoughts, feelings and automatic responses associated with anxiety while you are in a relaxed and focused state. In my work, I use it to help people recognise established patterns and develop different, more helpful responses to situations that currently trigger anxiety.
Will I remain in control during hypnotherapy?
Yes. Hypnosis isn’t a state in which you lose control or become unaware of what is happening. You remain conscious and aware throughout the session and cannot be made to do something against your wishes. I think of hypnosis as a state of focused attention and relaxation rather than a loss of control.
Can hypnotherapy and CBT be used together?
Yes, and I regularly combine them. CBT can help you recognise and challenge patterns of thinking and behaviour that may be contributing to your anxiety, while hypnotherapy provides another way of working with established emotional and automatic responses. I use whichever techniques seem most appropriate for the individual rather than applying exactly the same approach to everyone.
How many sessions will I need for anxiety?
There isn’t a fixed number because anxiety affects people differently. Some people come to me with a very specific issue, while others have experienced anxiety for many years or in several areas of their lives. We can discuss what you are experiencing during your initial consultation and I can explain how I would approach it. I will also review progress with you as our work continues.