Anxieties, Panic Attacks

We all live with a level of anxiety: for some of us it provides a basis for drive and motivation. However, for others it can feel like an overwhelming state of negative thought, which seems to feed on itself. Sensitive people are more prone to anxiety, as they often worry about anything and everything.

The spontaneous feelings of anxiety or fear can be referred to as a panic attack. Some of the symptoms may be:

shortness of breath, feeling smothered dizziness or unsteady feeling heart palpitations or rapid heartbeat trembling or shaking, sweating

choking, nausea or abdominal distress feelings of being detached out of touch with your body numbness or tingling sensations

flushes or chills chest pain or discomfort fear or dying

These feelings can be so physically acute, that those experiencing it, feel they are having a heart attack. This is due in part to the increase in adrenaline in our body, causing it to go into the fear flight or fight mode. Adrenaline sends blood to the legs so that we can get ready to run if we are in danger but that can make our legs feel very wobbly. It makes the stomach freeze so that we can’t eat and it can give us that jittery anxious feeling. The blood rushes to the head so we can make decisions about whether to stay and fight or run but that can make us feel dizzy. And it causes the heart to beat much faster and the breathing to become shallower so that our body is getting revved up like an engine ready to run.

Anxiety attacks can start at any time in your life. Some anxious people may have learned an element of anxiety if they grew up in an anxious household but for others it can often occur after a life changing event or a long period of difficulty or emotional upset. Many people will cope through times of great difficulty and then are surprised to find that they start to feel anxious after the event, even though they may have thought they had dealt with it.

Many people experience what is known as the fear of the fear. Thinkshift hypnotherapy will help you learn how to take control of these feelings, learn to relax and get things in their true perspective. You will learn how to slow your body down and feel more in charge of the situation.

Sleep and Insomnia

Insomnia, put simply, is a difficulty in sleeping. Insomnia affects different people in different ways, but there are the main ways: difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, waking from sleep early and then being unable to get back to sleep again. The lack of sleep that insomnia can cause can be a major factor in the impairment of brain function while awake. Studies indicate that insomnia affects one in every five people; other studies indicate the insomnia sufferers could be as high as 60% of people or more. Insomnia affects women more than men.

Categories of insomnia that can affect people’s sleep patterns have been categorized as: Transient Insomnia (up to a few weeks), Acute Insomnia (a few weeks to a few months), Chronic Insomnia (years or longer) affects sleep patterns on a seemingly never ending basis.

Insomnia and difficulty sleeping is again best overcome by addressing the root cause of the problem: anxiety, depression and stress. Hypnotherapy generally is considered to be a very effective at helping with insomnia, whether it is a difficulty in getting to sleep, staying asleep or waking too early.