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Anxiety is a normal and adaptive human emotion that is often experienced in response to stress or perceived threats. It is a natural part of your body’s “fight or flight” response, preparing you to face a challenging situation. However, when anxiety becomes excessive, prolonged, or disproportionate to the actual threat, it can develop into an anxiety disorder.
Excessive Worry or Fear: Anxiety involves excessive worry or fear about future events, situations, or outcomes. The level of anxiety is often out of proportion to the actual threat.
Physical Symptoms: Anxiety can manifest in physical symptoms, such as muscle tension, restlessness, fatigue, increased heart rate, sweating, trembling, and gastrointestinal discomfort.
Cognitive Symptoms: Those of you who suffer from anxiety may experience cognitive symptoms, including racing thoughts, difficulty concentrating, and a sense of impending doom and gloom.
Emotional Distress: Anxiety is associated with emotional distress, including feelings of apprehension, nervousness, or irritability. It can also lead to a heightened state of arousal.
Avoidance Behaviours: In an attempt to manage anxiety, you may find you are using avoidance behaviours, steering clear of situations or activities that trigger anxious feelings.
There are several types of anxiety disorders, each with its specific features. Common anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
It’s important to be aware that anxiety becomes a concern when it significantly interferes with your daily life, relationships, and overall well-being.
So how can the signs of Anxiety be recognised either by you or someone you know. Well firstly there are 3 categories.
Let’s look at the Psychological Symptoms first.
Psychological Symptoms: Re-experiencing traumatic events for example in flashbacks, nightmares, repetitive pictures or feelings or sensations, having constant negative thoughts about that; asking questions that stop a person coming to terms with that event, for example such as why did it happen and whether that person could have prevented it.
Physical Symptoms: Pain, sweating, feeling sick, trembling, irritability, angry outbursts, sleep disorders, difficulty in concentrating.
Social Symptoms: Avoiding people and places that remind a person of the trauma, not talking to anyone about the experience, trying to deal with the feelings by trying not to feel anything at all, becoming isolated and withdrawn, giving up activities that were once enjoyable.
If you or anyone you know is suffering from any of the above seek help immediately. It is extremely important that if you feel you are experiencing even slightly any of the above symptoms that you seek help immediately.
Talk. Talk to anyone about what and how you are feeling.
Remember, You are not alone. There’s help for you. I’m here to help you. You will not be judged. You will be understood.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), commonly known as Body Dysmorphia, is a mental health condition characterised by obsessive preoccupation of perceived flaws or defects in physical appearance. Those of you suffering with BDD may focus intensively on a particular aspect of your appearance, such as your skin, nose, hair, or body size, and believe that these perceived flaws make you ugly or deformed. Despite often being reassured by others that these flaws are minimal or non-existent, you do not believe them.
This preoccupation can lead to significant distress and impairment in daily functioning and you may practice various behaviours in an attempt to fix or hide your perceived flaws, such as excessive grooming, seeking reassurance, or undergoing repeated cosmetic procedures. However, these behaviours provide only temporary relief, and the obsessive thoughts and preoccupations persist.
BDD can significantly impact various aspects of life, including relationships, work, and overall well-being.
BDD often begins in adolescence or early adulthood, but it can start at any age. The course of the disorder can be chronic, and symptoms may come and go over time. Without treatment, BDD symptoms can persist for years.
BDD evokes an intense and distressing preoccupation with perceived flaws in appearance. These flaws are often minor, or they are not noticeable to others, but for the person with BDD they are huge and can pre-occupy them so much so that a lot of time and energy is put into thinking about them.
BDD sufferers will often engage in repetitive behaviours because of concerns about their appearance. These behaviours can include excessive grooming, checking mirrors, seeking reassurance from others, or avoiding social situations to prevent perceived judgment.
The preoccupation with perceived flaws can interfere with daily functioning. Again, those of you who suffer with BDD may struggle with work, school, or relationships due to the time and energy devoted to your appearance concerns and worries. You may also experience significant emotional distress.
BDD sufferers may go to great lengths to avoid situations or activities that trigger anxieties about your appearance. These avoidance tactics can lead you to social isolation and further impair the quality of your life.
BDD often coexists with other mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours seen in BDD overlap with those seen in OCD.
Those of you suffering with BDD may be hesitant to seek help because you may feel shame, embarrassment, or the belief that others won’t understand your concerns.
Studies have shown that Hypnotherapy can successfully reduce the symptoms of BDD. Hypnosis will help you to change your perception of your body and help you redirect your thoughts so that you take back control thereby enabling you to stop constant checking, grooming and reassurance seeking.
If you suspect that you or someone you know may be experiencing symptoms of BDD, it’s important to reach out the appropriate intervention. Early diagnosis and intervention can significantly improve the prognosis for individuals with BDD.
Even if you’re not sure if you’re suffering from trauma or want to describe your experience that way, know it’s OK, and important to ask for professional help at any time.
Seeking professional help, such as therapy, is essential for those of you dealing with trauma and the effects it’s having on you.
Depression is more than simply feeling sad or having a blue day. It is a common mental health condition that can affect how a person thinks, feels, and functions in daily life.
Those who suffer with depression may experience persistent sadness, low mood, loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed, fatigue, changes in sleep or appetite, and feelings of hopelessness that last for weeks or longer.
You know the Irish have a wonderful saying to describe their depression – they don’t say “I am depressed” they say “Depression is on me”.
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) also known as Clinical Depression.
“Clinical depression” is the more commonly used term, while “Major Depressive Disorder” is the formal diagnostic term used by mental health professionals.
Both describe a condition involving a persistent low mood and/or loss of interest or pleasure in activities, accompanied by other symptoms that significantly affect daily functioning and need, as the first port of call , medical intervention.
Continuous Low Mood or Sadness: One of the central features of depression is a persistent low mood that lasts for a significant period,. This low mood is often accompanied by feelings of sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness.
Having No Motivation or Interest in Things: Those of you with depression may experience a diminished interest or pleasure in activities you once enjoyed. This is known as anhedonia and is a key diagnostic criterion.
Changes with Your Sleeping: Depression can affect sleep, leading to either insomnia (difficulty falling or staying asleep) or hypersomnia (excessive sleep).
Appetite Changes: Depression may result in changes in appetite, leading to weight loss or gain. Some may experience a decrease in appetite, while others may turn to food for comfort, resulting in overeating.
Energy Loss & Fatigue: Persistent feelings of fatigue, low energy, and a sense of being physically drained are common symptoms of depression.
Finding it Difficult to Make Decisions & Concentrating: Depression can affect cognitive functions, leading to difficulty concentrating, making decisions, and remembering details.
Feeling Hopeless, Helpless, Worthless & Guilty: Individuals with depression often experience negative thoughts about themselves, feeling worthless or guilty without clear cause.
Suicidal Thoughts: In severe cases, depression may be associated with thoughts of death or suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, it’s crucial to seek immediate professional help.
As well as low self-esteem, someone suffering with depression can feel tearful, guilt-ridden, irritable and intolerant of others.
Depression is a treatable condition, and various therapeutic approaches such as Clinical Hypnotherapy, NLP, EFT, Mindfulness and Bilateral Stimulation – RT all of which we use to help you overcome your depression and be the person you deserve to be.
Clinical Depression primarily needs to be medically treated, prior to and together with Clinical Hypnotherapy, NLP, Mindfulness and Bilateral Stimulation – RT. However, when the two treatments are used together, recovery is easier and quicker.
So how can the signs of depression be recognised either by you or someone you know. Well firstly there are 3 categories.
Let’s look at the Psychological Symptoms first.
Psychological Symptoms: Re-experiencing traumatic events for example in flashbacks, nightmares, repetitive pictures or feelings or sensations, having constant negative thoughts about that; asking questions that stop a person coming to terms with that event, for example such as why did it happen and whether that person could have prevented it.
Physical Symptoms: Pain, sweating, feeling sick, trembling, irritability, angry outbursts, sleep disorders, difficulty in concentrating.
Social Symptoms: Avoiding people and places that remind a person of the trauma, not talking to anyone about the experience, trying to deal with the feelings by trying not to feel anything at all, becoming isolated and withdrawn, giving up activities that were once enjoyable.
If you or anyone you know is suffering from any of the above seek help immediately. It is extremely important that if you feel you are experiencing even slightly any of the above symptoms that you seek help immediately.
Talk. Talk to anyone about what and how you are feeling.
Remember, You are not alone. There’s help for you. I’m here to help you. You will not be judged. You will be understood.
EMDR / NNRT helps reprocess negative experiences, thoughts, memories and emotions by using bilateral eye movement whilst the patient/client experiences and feels the actual aspects of the memory and emotions associated with the disturbing event.
Why, you may ask, must you experience and feel the emotions, thoughts, feelings etc. that you don‘t want to feel or experience but want to recover from?
The reason is that we can’t let go of something we don’t own. Usually when we don’t want to feel something we generally put on a brave face and try to push it away. When we do this, the unwanted feelings come at us even stronger. However as soon as we ‘own’ those feelings and feel them, we can begin to let go of them and start to heal.
It has scientifically proven that bilateral eye stimulation movements of EMDR / NNRT creates biochemical changes in the brain that aid the processing of the negative emotions and experiences.
Research shows that the rhythmic horizontal eye movements from right-to-left and left-to-right moves the negative events from the right side of the brain (the creative side) to the left side, (the logical side to the “filing cabinet” area, where those memories/events are filed away, It’s believed to facilitate the brain’s adaptive processing of traumatic memories, leading to decreased emotional distress and improved mental well-being. When used in conjunction with BLS-RT, NLP and Hypnosis, this integrative approach enhances EMDR / NNRT’s effectiveness by deepening the therapeutic experience ultimately aiding in the resolution of emotional distress and trauma-related issues.
A fear is generally defined as an emotional response to a perceived threat or danger. It is a basic human emotion that triggers a physiological and psychological response to help you cope with potential harm. Fear can be experienced in various situations, ranging from real and immediate threats to imagined or anticipated dangers.
Physiological Responses: Fear activates the body’s “fight or flight” response, which then leads to various physiological changes. These may include an increased heart rate, rapid breathing, heightened alertness, dilation of the pupils, and increased adrenaline and cortisol release.
Cognitive & Emotional Response: Fear is accompanied by cognitive and emotional reactions, such as intense anxiety, worry, or a sense of impending danger. Thoughts and beliefs about the threat can influence the emotional experience of fear.
Behavioural Responses: Fear often leads to behavioural changes such as avoidance to confront the perceived threat. Common behaviours associated with fear include fleeing, freezing, or taking defensive actions.
Subjective Experience: Fear is a subjective experience, meaning it can vary from person to person based on individual differences, past experiences, and cultural factors.
Fear serves a protective function by preparing the body and mind to respond to potential dangers. While it is a natural and adaptive response, excessive fear can lead to anxiety disorders and impact daily functioning. Understanding and managing fear are essential aspects of mental and emotional well-being.
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder characterised by an excessive fear of a specific object, situation, or activity. Unlike general fears, phobias are intense and persistent, often leading to significant distress and interference with daily life. People with phobias go to great lengths to avoid the feared stimulus, and the fear is typically out of proportion to the actual level of danger posed by the situation.
Avoidance Behaviour: Do you find that you go to great lengths to avoid the phobic stimulus. This avoidance behaviour can significantly impact your daily life and may limit your other activities.
Impact on Day-to-Day Life: Phobias can interfere with your ability to function in everyday situations. For example, if you have a fear of flying (aviophobia) you may avoid travel or experience extreme anxiety when faced with the need to fly.
Immediate Anxiety Response: Exposure to the phobic stimulus typically triggers an immediate and intense anxiety response. This can manifest as physical symptoms (such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, and trembling) as well as emotional distress.
Common types of phobias include specific phobias (e.g., fear of heights, spiders, or flying, driving, animals, claustrophobia etc), social phobia (fear of social situations or scrutiny), and agoraphobia (fear of situations where escape may be difficult).
The Dictionary of Nursing Oxford Reference 1992 defines stress as follows:- “Any factor that threatens the health of the body or has an adverse effect on its functioning, such as injury, disease or worry. Constant stress brings about changes in the balance of hormones in the body”
Stress is a totally normal re-action. We need stress, it motivates us, and it’s perfectly healthy in limited amounts, however it becomes a serious risk when it occurs too often. The results of which may result in emotional and physical burnout. We humans respond to stress in one of two ways – fight or flight. In primitive caveman times the stress response was short lived and the body could return back to normal.
Today, however this is not so; we have far more stressors to contend with, for example noise, money, relationship problems, financial worries, a frightening experience, bad news the list goes on and on. Our general health depends mostly on how we are able to fight stress and disease and depending on our body type, personality and lifestyle, stress can trigger a range of health problems. “Although the exact role of stress in human diseases it is not known it is clear that stress can lead to certain diseases”. (Tartora & Grabowski 1993:559).
Stress now seems to be endemic – 21st century dis-ease in fact – however when we can understand how stress works and our ability to cope with it, it becomes easier to handle. Stress is a physiological and psychological response to a perceived threat, challenge, or demand. It is a normal part of human experience and can arise from various sources, both external and internal. Stress can manifest in different ways and impact individuals physically, emotionally, and behaviourally.
A Perceived Treat: This threat can be real or imagined and may include situations such as work pressure, relationship issues, financial concerns, or major life changes.
Physiological Response: The body responds to stress through the activation of the “fight or flight” response, releasing stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. This leads to physiological changes, including increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, muscle tension, and heightened alertness.
Cognitive & Emotional Components: Stress involves cognitive and emotional responses. Individuals may experience heightened awareness, increased worry, anxiety, or a sense of urgency. Stress can also impact cognitive functions such as concentration and memory.
One Man’s Meat is Another Man’s Poison: Different people may respond to the same stressor in unique ways. What one person finds stressful, another may not, and individuals have different coping mechanisms for dealing with stress.
Short- & Long-Term Stress: Stress can be acute, occurring in response to a specific event, or chronic, persisting over an extended period. Chronic stress, if not managed, can have negative effects on your physical and mental health.
Behavioural Response: Stress can influence behaviour, leading to changes such as irritability, restlessness, changes in sleep patterns, increased or decreased appetite, and avoidance of certain situations.
Stress related disorders can include such illnesses as gastric ulcerated colitis, IBS, peptic ulcers, hypertension, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine, anxiety and depression, trauma, even conception becomes difficult. It has also been shown that people under stress are at greater risk of developing chronic disease or dying prematurely. (Tortara & Grabowski 1993:559)
It’s important to note that while acute stress can be a normal and adaptive response, chronic and overwhelming stress can contribute to a range of health problems, including anxiety disorders, depression, and physical health issues. Effective stress management involves developing coping strategies, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, seeking social support, and, in some cases, professional intervention.
So how can the signs of stress be recognised either by you or someone you know. Well firstly there are 3 categories.
Let’s look at the Psychological Symptoms first.
Psychological Symptoms: Re-experiencing traumatic events for example in flashbacks, nightmares, repetitive pictures or feelings or sensations, having constant negative thoughts about that; asking questions that stop a person coming to terms with that event, for example such as why did it happen and whether that person could have prevented it.
Physical Symptoms: Pain, sweating, feeling sick, trembling, irritability, angry outbursts, sleep disorders, difficulty in concentrating.
Social Symptoms: Avoiding people and places that remind a person of the trauma, not talking to anyone about the experience, trying to deal with the feelings by trying not to feel anything at all, becoming isolated and withdrawn, giving up activities that were once enjoyable.
If you or anyone you know is suffering from any of the above seek help immediately. It is extremely important that if you feel you are experiencing even slightly any of the above symptoms that you seek help immediately.
Talk. Talk to anyone about what and how you are feeling.
Remember, You are not alone. There’s help for you. I’m here to help you. You will not be judged. You will be understood.
Trauma is when we experience very stressful, frightening or distressing events that are difficult to cope with or are out of our control. It could be one incident, or an ongoing event that happens over a long period of time. Most of us, however, will experience an event in our lives that would be considered traumatic. But we are not at all affected the same way by it.
Trauma can happen at any age, and it can affect us at any time, including a long time after the event has happened. Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that can have a profound physical and emotional impact on a person. It can be caused by a single event, such as any accident or a natural disaster, or by repeated exposure to stressful or traumatic situations, such as child abuse or domestic violence.
These events are often perceived as life-threatening, causing intense fear, helplessness, terror and overwhelm. Trauma can result from a wide range of experiences, including but not limited to:
Psychological Trauma: Events that deeply affect you emotionally, such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness, or experiencing violence or abuse. Sexual assault, harassment, or any unwanted sexual activity can lead to severe psychological trauma.
Physical Trauma: Injuries or accidents that cause harm to the body, such as car accidents, falls, or physical assault.
Trauma from being involved in a Natural Disaster: Surviving or witnessing natural disasters, like earthquakes, hurricanes, or floods.
Combat Trauma: Military personnel may experience trauma related to combat, injuries, witnessing violence or losing comrades.
Childhood Trauma: Adverse childhood experiences, such as neglect, abuse, or household dysfunction, can have lasting effects on mental health.
Trauma impacts different people in different ways, and its effects can be short-term or long-lasting. It’s important to note that trauma is a subjective experience, and what may be traumatic for one person may not be for another. Additionally, each person can respond to similar events in different ways based on their resilience, coping mechanisms, and support systems.
Responses to trauma vary and some develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a mental health condition characterised by persistent symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety. Early intervention and a supportive environment are crucial for individuals recovering from trauma.
Even if you’re not sure if you’re suffering from trauma or want to describe your experience that way, know it’s OK. Seeking professional help is essential. Know Trauma can be overcome. For those of you dealing with trauma and the effects it’s having on you. Don’t suffer alone.
So how can the signs of Trauma be recognised either by you or someone you know.
Well firstly there are 3 categories.
Psychological Symptoms: Re-experiencing traumatic events for example in flashbacks, nightmares, repetitive pictures or feelings or sensations, having constant negative thoughts about that; asking questions that stop a person coming to terms with that event, for example such as why did it happen and whether that person could have prevented it.
Physical Symptoms: Pain, sweating, feeling sick, trembling, irritability, angry outbursts, sleep disorders, difficulty in concentrating.
Social Symptoms: Avoiding people and places that remind a person of the trauma, not talking to anyone about the experience, trying to deal with the feelings by trying not to feel anything at all, becoming isolated and withdrawn, giving up activities that were once enjoyable.
