Imagine the scene you are waiting in the que for the biggest, most frightening roller coaster. It stretches up to the clouds with significant drops, at great speed, you can hear the people on the ride screaming with fear as it turns loop the loop and hurtles down the track at breakneck speed.
You may be feeling scared, frightened, or excited and exhilarated. In your body you may notice your breathing quicken, your heart rate increase, you may feel tension restlessness. Whether you enjoy adrenaline packed rides or fear them I’m sure we can agree that you will have felt feelings and sensations in your body relating to anxiety or excitement.
Now picture a calm, quiet beach, miles of soft white sand, beautiful blue sea with little boats gently bobbling back and forth in on the gentle waves. A picture of peace and tranquillity. As you visualise this beautiful peaceful scene notice how you feel in your body. For most people they will may begin to relax, their breathing may slow down and they may begin to relax the muscles in their body. If this scene doesn’t work for you try thinking of a safe, quiet and tranquil place of your choice.
It is amazing how the body works in maintaining a strong body / mind connection and how the thoughts and feelings we experience impact on the physical body. Bessell Van Der Kolk talks in detail about how trauma can impact on mind, brain and body and how “the body keeps the score” of earlier traumatic life events. His book illustrates how traumatic experiences can lead to the amygdala the “smoke detector” in the brain becoming overly sensitised to triggers causing the nervous system to be easily triggered into fight, flight, freeze or fawn. This also floods the body with stress hormones including cortisol, adrenaline, increases breathing and blood pressure preparing the body to fight, flee or submit to the threat.
This is healthy at times where there is a real threat posed such as we are being attacked by a tiger, but for trauma survivors and people experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder the constant triggering of the body’s threat response can impact negatively on the body placing it under a higher levels of stress. Gabor Mate’s book “When the body says no” discusses the mind body connection and how unprocessed trauma can link to a range of diseases and health conditions.
Sadly when the body is frequently being triggered into the threat response of Fight, flight, freeze or fawn we are more likely to be in a defensive state. This makes trusting and connecting with others very difficult as the mind can be hypervigilant to threat. Maintaining a sense of connection and community is important in supporting trauma survivors but can be difficult to access from a defensive state.
The thoughts and feelings we experience often have physical feelings in the body. For someone experiencing panic attacks may have a rapid heart rate, difficulty breathing, feel light headed and have weak limbs etc.
For people experiencing anxiety they may have digestive discomforts, feel muscle tension or have difficulties relaxing or sleeping. These feelings and sensations can be very frightening and overwhelming. For others experiencing dissociation there may be a disconnect between the mind and body and it may be difficult to recognise the feelings in the body.
However, in recognising and noticing how you feel in the mind and body is the first step towards positive change.
Four practical ways to reduce anxiety and increase well being
Anxiety is a normal and natural bodily response to threat. Many years ago a high level of anxiety was needed in order to keep the human race alive. Worrying about not being eaten by an animal, having enough food or the threat of a rival tribe was what kept us alive. Evolution valued anxiety as it helped keep humans safe and alive, however the level of anxiety needed long ago is no longer relevant in the modern technical world we live in today. The threats have changed from being faced by the threat of an animal to having to plan an organise an office meeting.
The level of anxiety once needed in order to keep us alive is no longer needed. However traumatic events or experiences in our lives can also impact on our brain and lead to our brains alarm system the amygdala becoming over sensitized to threat causing it to activate the fight, flight, freeze, fawn branch of our nervous system all to readily.
Anxiety can managed and reduced a number of ways, although it is important for our protection to maintain a health level of anxiety. This blog focuses on a few practical areas you are able to control: thoughts, feelings and behaviours as well as lifestyle advice to support a positive mental health.
Counselling and Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy and Counselling can be extremely beneficial in helping you to reduce stress and anxiety and gain confidence and self-esteem. I have experienced the profound impacts of counselling and hypnotherapy myself which were life changing and inspired me on my own journey into becoming a counsellor.
Counselling
Counselling and Hypnotherapy can be an affective way to support yourself when dealing with anxiety. Counselling offers a safe and confidential space to explore your thoughts and feelings and work through past trauma. Counselling can help you in building resilience, confidence and self-esteem and learning coping skills to deal with the difficulties of life. Counsellors can work with you using a range of models and techniques to promote self-growth and support you in identifying and living as your authentic self. Counselling helps you to identify thoughts that may be distorted or hindering you making progress. Though Counselling you are able to modify your thoughts and beliefs which will in turn have a positive impact on your behaviours.
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy works a deep level with the subconscious mind. Our mind runs on subconscious programmes within the mind which were often established in our childhood. These patterns and programmes effect the way we think feel and behave. When these subconscious beliefs and programmes are negative they can impact greatly and hold us back. Hypnotherapy helps with identifying and reprogramming the negative and limiting beliefs, building more positive ones, increasing levels of self efficacy confidence and self esteem.
Lifestyle
There are many thanks we can do in life that can impact on our emotional and physical health. Sometimes we just get into bad habits and may not realise the impact it may be having the levels of stress or anxiety we experience. It is important when making lifestyle changes to balance these out with the need for enjoyment and fulfilment.
Caffeine
Caffeine – Caffeine can have a great impact on our anxiety levels, it can increase feeling of stress and physical feelings of anxiety. Caffeine can also impact on our sleep as it can suppress our sleep drive. Drinking a strong cup of coffee in the morning can remain in our system for several hours. Some people are more sensitive than others, so it is important to recognise the impact on yourself and be mindful how much you consume. Caffeine also impacts the body differently and can remain in your system longer if you are taking certain prescribed or non prescribed drugs. If you drink large amounts of caffeine it’s also not advisable that you cut it out all at once as you may have withdrawal symptoms.
Alcohol can also impact negatively on mood, anxiety levels and sleep. Being mindful about the impact of alcohol on yourself and your mental health can be helpful.
Diet is also a very important factor in your mental health. The mind and body are connected and if you are not nourishing your body with healthy foods you are likely to feel sluggish and lack motivation. Making an effort to replace overly processed foods for more natural options can be a good starting point. Try eating the colours of the rainbow and experiment with healthy foods that are appealing for you. Changing your diet from an overly processed one to a more natural wholefoods diet can have a massive positive effect on your mood and energy levels.
Exercise/ Yoga
When we experience high levels of anxiety and frequently trigger the fight/ flight part of our nervous system our body’s produce stress hormones including adrenaline and cortisol. These stress hormones give us a large amount of energy which were helpful to us in times gone by where we may have been hunted by a bear, but not so much now when we experience them as result of having to do a presentation at work.
Exercise can help in allowing the body to burn off some of the stress hormones. It is important to find the right exercise for you and something you enjoy. Even just a short walk in nature can be good in connecting with the body and enjoying the therapeutic effects of being in nature. If you are feeling particularly anxious aerobic exercise such as running, jogging, Zumba, aerobics can be very effective. Although if this isn’t possible due to health reasons a brisk walk or gentle stretching can also be helpful.
Yoga is also an effective exercise that helps you connect with the mind and body. The gently poses and movement can help reduce stress and tension in the body. It also incorporates an element of mindfulness helping you to focus on the pose. This focuses the mind on the present moment reducing the need to ruminate on the past or worry about the future. Noticing and connecting with your mind and body can help with emotional regulation. There is a large amount of evidence that Yoga can be particularly helpful for people who have experienced trauma.
Connect with yourself
The fourth tip I would suggest is to spent time to connect with yourself and your feelings and thoughts. Strong feelings and thoughts that are supressed are likely to bubble up to the surface and will not get any quieter until they are listened to . If you are able to allow yourself time to be with your feelings, notice how they feel in your body and what images you have in your head. Eventually all feelings positive and negative will pass. The more you supress them the louder they will become.
Spending time journalling or writing down how you feel, can also help. It gives you some distance in writing down and naming your feelings and reading back can help in reflecting on your wants and needs and what is important to you. Some people also find being creative using art , drama music expressing their thoughts feelings through art, dance or drama can be a powerful release and way of expressing themselves. Allowing yourself this time helps you to connect with yourself and reflect on the things that are important to you helps you to live more authentically and in alignment with your values.
If your feelings are too intense to stay with or you are feeling overwhelmed it may help to reach out to a family member or friend for support or contact a counsellor. Counselling can provide a safe space where you felt held enough to explore what may be difficult thoughts and feelings. When thoughts become obsessive or unhelpful counselling can be helpful in identifying these and challenging them.
Final Word…..
The mind and body are interlinked, if you work with only one and ignore the other you are less likely to get the results you are looking for. Working with the mind and body together helps you to connect with yourself and bring calm and relaxation to both your mind and body. Techniques and lifestyle changes which help to calm and regulate the body will support and complement the inner work you are doing with your mind. If you want to bring calm to the mind you will need to support your body to feel calm, which can be done by exercise, breathing, techniques and meditation. This can be particularly effective alongside counselling and hypnotherapy. You know your mind and body better than anyone so trust your intuition and use the tools and techniques that resonate most with you.
Please send me a message if you would like to find out more or book a free consultation call.
Send Us a Message
Your details will not be shared to any other party and information will be held confidentially and not discussed without your permission
Please fill in your email address and click ‘Accept’ if you wish to received future information and promotions
Copyright © Sunflower Empowerment 2023 – All rights reserved
Counselling/Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy in Great Barr, Birmingham
SUNFLOWER EMPOWERMENT 