Has anyone tried hypnotherapy for anxiety?

[ArielK]

I have suffered with anxiety now for about 3 years, since then I have stopped going to social events with friends as people and public places freak me out, I struggle going to shopping centres on my own, can only drive certain distances and to certain places (my worst panic attack was while driving) which caused that..... as a hairdresser I sometimes feel anxious at work, and feeling like your going to faint, throw up ect while doing a clients hair is very embarrassing.i also freak out daily about my healt, eg; hear that someone has died of a 1 in a million illness and all of a sudden, I’m worrying I might have that illness.

all of the above is ruining my life! I have tried medication and psychologists, the medication worked for a time but I don’t want to solve my problems with a pill forever.... and the psychologist was just telling me everything I already knew about my anxiety.

my next step is to try hypnotherapy as I’ll try anything that might work, so has anyone tried it or know of anyone who has successfully been hypnotised for anxiety? Or have any other treatments I can try?

[PamelaR]

Hello ArielK

Anxiety can feel so terrible can't it. It's good that you've found your way to Beyond Blue (BB) forums. Welcome! You'll find the people here are friendly, caring, supportive and respect individual's privacy.

We're not counsellors or therapist, all we do is share our experiences in the hope it may help people, like yourself.

I do have anxiety myself. It comes and goes as I'm triggered by one thing or another. I actually lived with it for 40 odd years before being diagnosed with it. Over the years I've learnt many different strategies to help manage my symptoms and triggers.

You specifically ask about 'hypnotherapy'. Yes, I have an some hypnotherapy in the initial stages of recalling my childhood trauma. It was used in conjunction with relaxation to help me reduce my heighten awareness and hypervigilance that I was experiencing. But the hypnotherapy was not done in isolation, I was also going to anxiety reduction classes as well. The classes looked at the bodily responses, the triggers, the reasons behind the triggers. It was very comprehensive. The hypnotherapy came afterwards to help me relax and move into a more stable frame of mind. I found it extremely helpful and in many ways I don't think I would have come through what I needed to look at without having a few of these sessions first.

There are a range of different methods that psychologists use to assist people with anxiety, hypnotherapy is just one, but it is not used on its own as I've indicated above. Some times it is finding the right psychologist that suits your needs. I've stopped seeing ones that weren't helping, but it hasn't stopped me from finding another one. My GP has been particularly caring to make sure I am receiving the best treatment that I need by finding more appropriate psych.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you go.

Kind regards

PamelaR

[blondguy]

Hi ArielK

Welcome to the forums and thankyou for being a part of Beyond Blue!

We have had hypnotherapy brought up as a suggestion a few times in the past but we have had no knowledge about any success in this area of treatment....unfortunately

However, if anyone has had any success with Hypnotherapy and anxiety we would love to hear from you 🙂

Ariel...the symptoms you are describing are very very common anxiety symptoms. I understand you as I used to have the same symptoms and they are awful to have.

As you know the meds can be a good move as they provide us with a solid foundation on we which can heal more effectively with regular counseling....I know you have mentioned that you have seen psychologists and kudos to you for being so proactive with your health...

Just from what I have read...you have no illness that is life threatening. I do empathise with you about the symptoms though as they can be scary even though its our adrenaline pumping too hard

Sometimes anxiety symptoms are our system letting us know that we have way too much on our plate too

Can I ask if you get along with your GP? I still see mine for a fine tune and support.....They also have much better training than they used to when I used to have anxiety back in the 1980's

The more frequent the counseling the quicker the anxiety will lose its severity ArielK

You are not alone

I really hope you can post back with your thoughts if you wish 🙂

My kind thoughts for you

Paul

[ArielK]

Hi Paul, thanks for your words.

yes I do get along with my gp, he’s great! He is a trained psychologist and special interest is mental health, but because he studied in the uk can not technically practise as a psychologist but works great for my gp because he has the extra knowledge.

i tried a great lady psychologist who I would see every 2 weeks and did this for a few months, but she would just tell me things I already know like, why do I feel certain ways when I do certain things, and techniques to help deal with these issues which I try but are never successful, it’s like the anxiety is stronger than me.

the frustrating part is I’m aware of what I’m doing but I just can’t stop my brain from doing it!

i wish there was an anxiety switch I could just switch off!

but don’t we all!

[ArielK]

Hi Pamela,

thanks for your advise, I have been reading up on a lady who is local to me. I plan to get in contact with her in the next couple of weeks to organise and appointment to get the hypnotherapy started, and will deffinetly let you know on my progress.

[blondguy]

Hi ArielK

Thanks heaps for posting back

You are very proactive with your health and good on you ArielK! I hope you can post back when its convenient and let us know how you go

My kind thoughts

Paul

[Mef]

Hello I feel the same way.Did you end up getting hypnotherapy? How did it go? X

[beejadee08]

Hi Ariel

As soon as I read this I knew I had to reply, this is the exact same thing am going through. My anxiety is been here for almost 3 years and my biggest attack happened while driving so now I am limited to how long I can drive before I start getting nervous and think ill have another attack. I don't like going out anymore especially in public and can't ever be alone. I also fear being embarrassed if I have an anxiety attack or faint in front of people while out or on public transport or while hanging out with friends. I also have a ridiculous mind set where I feel like I will die from some silly medical condition even if its rare and sometimes google things and make it worse. One time I actually convinced my self I had rabies and cried about it which is so silly but its crazy how powerful our minds are. I went to see a psych and they were just telling me all the things I already knew and telling me to exercise and reduce stress but that didn't help me with my thought process so I ended up paying big money without getting the help I needed. I am still searching for other treatments as well and am looking into acupuncture and hypnotherapy and other types of alternative treatment. I am trying mindfulness meditation and also looking at ways that will help me thinking healthier thoughts. What I have found to help with being scared of health conditions and being scared of diseases and stuff is to just not take any notice of it when I hear it and immediately distract myself from those thoughts. I have learnt even if we do happen to develop that medical condition or get sick we don't have full control over what happens to us and can't do absolutely nothing until we have been diagnosed so I try to stay in the moment and not stress about irrational fears that haven't yet happened as hard as that may be. We could stress about our health every day for ten years and nothing may ever happens so we have wasted ten years fearing something that never happened. Im happy to have heard a bit about your story and its comforting to know there are others going through similar situations as I feel so alone with my anxiety and feel kind of inferior compared to others who don't have it. If I find anything that helps in the future ill be sure to post but keep pushing through, I am sure this will all be over for us both one day. xx

[josh1245]

hey arielK I would firstly like to welcome you to this wonderful online community that I have became apart of its helped me to deal with some of my battles with my mental health and me trying to help others helps me as well. I would like to applaud your incredible strength and courage in asking for help it takes incredible bravery and something you should be extremely proud of. I also would like to say that I'm really sorry that your are experiencing this tough time in your but beyond blue is the perfect place to ask for help and support. if you don't find your current psychologist helpful I would recommend maybe opting to see another psychologist and maybe see if they support you better. there is light at the end of the tunnel believe me I thought they same thing when I was going through my struggles but there is recovery.

hope all is well in the future

regards josh

[blondguy]

Hi beejadee08

Good on you for having the courage to post about your anxiety issues...I echo what Josh posted above as anxiety can be awful to experience....and especially when driving after our first attacks occur in traffic...I remember having the same...ugh!

This thread subject was written back in 2018. I really hope you can start your own new thread subject so you can have more replies that are helpful to your own situation instead of hypnotherapy and anxiety

any questions are welcome beejadee08 🙂

my kind thoughts

Paul