Hypnotherapy For Anxiety

[Fusion5]

Has anybody tried this with a positive result ?

[boxtops]

Yes. I have. Many years ago, and it took many sessions, but it got me back on my feet.

[Greedyfly]

I had Hynotherapy for my temper and anxiety and it really helped. Things like this are always worth a try I think

[Fusion5]

I am sitting here sobbing as my anxiety has now stopped me going out.

[boxtops]

Fusion - I've been where you are, and I sympathise. Go and see your doctor. Are you on medication already?

[Greedyfly]

Definitely worth a try then Fusion, surely?

[gness]

Oh Fusion.....anxiety or depression?......Have you seen anyone about it... a doctor....xx

[boxtops]

Your GP can refer you - mine did. I did pay privately for mine in the end though, as there was a bit of a wait for NHS treatment, and my anxiety and agoraphobia was ruining my life. Here, fusion - hang onto my hand :-)

[Fusion5]

It's a mixture of both gness. I lost a close family member a couple of years ago after a traumatic few years. I have had counselling which initially helped but lost confidence in them. I have tried so hard to pull myself up but keep getting knocked down again. Did consult the gp a year ago and was prescribed AD, but I was going on a little holiday so she told me not to take them until I returned because of the side effects. So I never took them.

I did start to make progress under my own steam, but after a few health issues have fallen down again.

[gness]

It's really too hard to make progress on your own, Fusion.....the same happened to me some time after MrG died.....when there seemed to be no reason.
I tried counselling but I'm no good at talking about me in that situation.

I had a fantastic GP who had been with us through MrG's illness....I had a chat with him.....he prescribed Citalopram and explained brilliantly what was happening to me and why these should work...and they did.
Can't recall how long exactly I stayed on them.....but it didn't take long for the anxiety to ease and I could drive again.....and I stopped hiding in the house because getting ready and socialising was just too much.

Of course some feel pills are not the answer.....but life needs to be lived so if they work....great...☺

Hypnotherapy is great for some....I was asked by a friend who was training to be his guinea pig....useless.....I just couldn't be hypnotised....but it is always worth a try.
If you find a really good therapist who will also talk...and let you talk...it may help.....
My problem is....believe it or not....I don't talk when things are wrong...hence my preference for the pills....

Keep chatting here.....Gx

[wolf63]

I am just up and not awake so I hope that this makes sense.

Antidepressants have a bad reputation that they really don't really deserve.

In your case they might just give you a chemical 'shove' in the right direction. The idea is that they make you feel a bit better which gives you the strength to help yourself.

Some Depressions are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain and are a bit more complicated.

Clinical Depression is a horrendous illness regardless of its cause. Don't suffer if there is the possibility of help.

:-) I think that I may go back to bed soon.

[Fusion5]

Thanks gness. x

[gness]

It's the chemical imbalances that Wolf mentions that people don't always understand...and no amount of talking will sort that....

Funny how some will accept pills for other things...but not for anxiety or depression.....if you can, Fusion, give them a try after a chat with your doctor....xx

[sunny-dave]

Different therapies work for different people.

For me the key thing was getting the confidence to talk to people about my problems - it was a Clinical Psychologist who started me on that road and he also suggested this book :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Self-Help-Your-Nerves-overcoming/dp/0722531559

When I was (quite a lot) younger the book probably saved my life - it certainly saved my sanity.

It helped me come to terms with absolutely crippling anxiety attacks - helping to understand them & devising some practical strategies to cope with (and eventually eradicate) them. It was a long haul, but the book was a critical factor in getting there.

Keep talking to people, keep asking for help.

Dave x

[boxtops]

Fusion, don't try to manage on your own - there is no advantage (as I found to my cost) to being "brave" and not asking for help. This sort of thing is far more common than most of us realise, and you need some help. Go and see your GP. It can be overcome, but you have to get up and want it - I'm living proof (and so are others). It can be a bit of a scary pathway but you'll get there.... we're here if you need us.

[Sqad]

I have never been clinically depressed, but i have had to address the issue.........academically.

Forget hypnotherapy at this stage.

Get an accurate diagnosis.....not just AB's contributions.

What are your sleep patterns?

Are you worse in the morning and get better as the day goes on, or the other way about.

Drug therapy is the first line of defense based upon what you have written.

[boxtops]

I do agree with you, sqad - after my diagnosis, I went down the medication route for a couple of years before it was decided to look at other options. Not only did the hypnosis help me address what was underlying the anxiety and depression, but eventually it helped me get off the medication altogether. That was some thirty years ago - I'd hope people have a better clinical understanding these days (but I'm not always convinced).

[pastafreak]

Dave has just said *exactly* what my thoughts are. Including the book...and others...by Claire Weeks. It saved my sanity,no doubt about it. I really think talking is the key...to us,to friends,to a therapist... whoever will listen. And there are many who will. Just let it spill out...don't hold on to it. You're not alone,you're not going crazy. This is a blip,and your body's way of responding to change,loss,whatever. They are really only physical symptoms...and normal ones at that. X

[boxtops]

Pasta - so important to say that it's normal - I remember feeling that I was the only one who had these symptoms, that I'd lost the plot, that it was somehow shameful not to be able to cope. It's not that at all, fusion - you're amongst friends :-)

[pastafreak]

Boxy...even worse when others...maybe those closest...make you feel crazy or abnormal. It just reinforces the stigma.

[boxtops]

Oh yes - I recognise that, pasta. A long time ago, but horrified that I was needing to see a psychiatrist. Mental health issues are very scary to some who have no experience of it personally.