Anxiety and Depression
Anxiety and Depression often go hand in hand and a person suffering from these conditions can feel miserable and hopeless. This can cause them to feel stuck and think that nothing they do is going to help. Having motivation to get help when you are depressed and or anxious can be extremely challenging. It's difficult for someone else who hasn't suffered from these problems to understand why someone cannot simply "snap out of it" like people can snap out of a mood. This unfortunately means than relationships often suffer as these conditions start to impact on others who live or work with the sufferer.
Both Anxiety and Depression are mind states but they cause physical symptoms such as exhaustion and weight gain. Many people take anti-depressants and other medication when they suffer from these issues but there is a lot of evidence that suggests that talking therapies and other forms of therapy can be very beneficial.
The techniques that I use are focussed on working with the symptoms, as well as addressing the causes and improving the thinking styles that contribute to these conditions. I find that most clients notice some change and improvement within a few sessions, however sometimes these issues can take several sessions and require a combination of approaches to address the different components that need to be addressed.
I can help you address Depression and Anxiety by using therapeutic skills to:
* Affect the way you think and feel about yourself
* Help you to overcome fears
* Helping you to better handle past traumatic or upsetting events
* Helping you release bad feelings and understand emotions
* helping you with worrying and other problematic thoughts
* change unhelpful beliefs and self talk
* improving confidence and self esteem, body esteem
* Help you to relax and be less tense.
* helping you to express yourselfÂ
Why can I not just stop being depressed or anxious?
Most thoughts and behaviours we do are "automatic" by that I mean we don't rationally "decide" to do them. Â Instead another part of our brain decides what to do. This part of our brain works so fast that we do not have conscious control
How does Hypnosis help with anxiety?
The state of Hypnosis itself helps to engage the relaxation response and it's thought that this helps the body to calm down its stress hormones, which is similar to what happens in sleep. It also allows the mind to be trained to think differently and to learn through offering suggestions that are designed to address the symptoms and the way a person processes the other contributing factors to the anxiety or depression. In hypnosis these suggestions are more easily accepted and absorbed than our usual waking state.
Everyone experiences hypnotic states every day and night. It is not an unusual state but rather a naturally occurring state that can happen through relaxation. This is why your therapist will help you to relax by ensuring a comfortable and safe environment to discuss your problems. Hypnotherapy is very safe and we take time to listen to you and help you to move forward. Although a part of Hypnotherapy is similar to Counselling, by giving you a safe space to talk, explore and understand feeling., Hypnotherapy differs due to the use a variety of techniques aimed at helping you change your thinking and behaviour at an unconscious/subconscious level, where many automatic habits and thinking occurs.
Why do you use hypnosis?
We use hypnosis because it helps speed up therapeutic change and can make it easier for a person to learn a new way of thinking or feeling or behaving, more quickly than it might otherwise take.
Is Hypnosis the same as Mindfulness?
Whilst there are similarities, Hypnosis is a different mental state than Mindfulness. Mindfulness has its's own qualities and we sometimes use and experience Mindfulness states as part of a Hypnotherapy session but the intention of the use of Hypnosis is aimed at changing unwanted behaviours, feelings and thoughts, whilst the purpose of Mindfulness is more aimed at acceptance, compassion and building resilience.
How does Hypnotherapy work?
Most people who attend a Hypnotherapist have problems with their thinking, usually due to past learning through events and trauma that cause unwanted outcomes such as anxiety, bad feelings and problematic behaviours. Hypnotherapy is an intervention which is thought to help by adjusting or re-routing neural pathways in the brain. This affects thinking patterns, leading to changes in feelings, reactions and behaviours. In simple terms, it can be viewed as a learning process where a client learns at an unconscious as well as conscious level.
A Hypnotherapy session with Rae may also incorporate skills from other therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Gestalt, Transactional Analysis, Energy Psychology, Brain Working Recursive Therapy and NLP.
Session One - What to expect.
An initial Hypnotherapy session with Rae Jenson, Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist, consists of a discussion about the problem for which you seek help. Rae will ask some important questions which will give her information on which to base your treatment and to help you move forward in the way you want to.
Most of this first session time will be used to give you an opportunity to talk about the problem and to set some manageable goals. This is a very important element of therapy in itself and can offer a much needed safe space to talk freely about what's troubling you and help to motivate you. Sometimes there maybe a little time left to start doing some other therapy interventions.
Session Two
Rae will give you an opportunity to feedback on how you have been between sessions and will then use some therapy interventions to help you with your problem. You will also be given access to a special self hypnosis recording that can help boost the suggestions given during your sessions and help to keep you calm and relaxed.
Ongoing sessions
The number of therapy sessions you will require will depend on the type of problem you have brought to therapy as well as how you respond to therapy. It's not possible to give an exact indication of how many sessions you will require, however Rae may be able to give you an estimate after discussing your problem.
The sessions are kept to the minimum number required and it is always up to you how many sessions you decide to have. Rae does not do block bookings or contract you into having a certain number of sessions. This is because some people do not need a block of sessions. Some problems can be quickly resolved but most people do require a minimum of two sessions to start their therapeutic journey.
It's also perfectly acceptable to take a break from therapy or end therapy at any time you choose, especially when you are seeing improvements in yourself and no longer feel the need for support. However, the door is always open for booster sessions if you need them.
Author Rae Jenson. Copyright (C) Rae Jenson 2021.