by Dr. Bryan Knight
There are two types of anxiety:
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*Situational
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*Existential
Most of us experience both kinds.
Situational Anxiety
Common examples of Situational Anxiety that provoke an inner trembling are:
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Writing an exam
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Asking someone for a date
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The boss calling us into her office
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Entering hospital for a serious operation
This kind of anxiety is easily relieved with hypnosis. Situational Anxiety is a response to stress. Since you define what is stressful you can change your definition, and your response, with hypnosis.
That’s because your response to situations is under your control. The control increases the more you use your hypnotic capacities to create confidence and reduce anxiety.
Existential Anxiety
Existential Anxiety is universal. It is the frightened wondering we feel about:
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Why we are here
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Why our time is short
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What happens after death.
We deal with existential anxiety in two, almost opposite ways: by denial or by developing meaning.
Meaning lies mainly in the realms of philosophy and religion. Hypnosis can help you to find the meanings. It does this by helping you relax and use your imagination in creative ways so you can face your questions about the meaning of life.
Anxiety is nourished by negative thoughts and starved by positive thoughts.
Your imagination constantly sends messages to your internal organs. These chemical/electrical messages (hormones, for instance) influence your endocrine, nervous and immune systems. When the messages are calming you feel fine; when they are alarming, you feel anxious.
Hypnosis is your gateway to change those messages. Hypnosis enables you to deal with the symptoms of anxiety, or to get to the root cause.
That is, you can use hypnosis to better control your worrisome thoughts, stomach upset or clammy hands. Or, with hypnosis, you can uncover the root of your particular anxiety.
Karl became convinced he was going to die of a heart attack. He frequently suffered with chest pains and the feeling he was about to pass out.
Karl became anxious about his anxiety. Numerous doctors examined him and declared him physically healthy. Finally, one of the physicians referred Karl to a hypnotist.
Relaxed in hypnosis, Karl rapidly became aware of the origin of his anxiety: his father had died the year before from cancer and Karl felt not only that he had behaved irresponsibly toward his sick father, but guilty that he had wished his mother had died, instead of his father.
With Karl in hypnosis, several sessions of psychotherapy on these issues calmed his responses and enabled Karl to come to terms with his feelings.
Feelings of anxiety can arise from organic and physical causes. These possibilities must be explored before you concentrate on psychological causes.
Organic reasons for anxiety can be any disease or organ malfunction that sends alarm chemicals rushing through your body.
Physical causes range from smoking cigarettes to drinking colas.
Rose wanted to be less nervous when she entered public places such as restaurants.
Her hypnotist taught her how to relax into hypnosis. Then he used one of his favourite techniques for the control of anxiety: the Comfort Measure.
He asked the hypnotized Rose to picture a measuring device such as a thermometer. She chose to imagine a ruler. The hypnotist suggested she see the ruler marked off from 0 to 10. Ten represented the most discomfort and 0 the least discomfort, or the most comfortable, that is, no anxiety.
The hypnotist asked Rose to read off the comfort level she was experiencing at the moment. She said “Six.”
Then the hypnotist asked Rose to see how far down she could push the line marking off her comfort level. When she reported the marker was down to 3, the hypnotist congratulated Rose and asked her how she was feeling.
To Rose’s astonishment, she felt quite relaxed. From then on Rose could, and did, use this method to feel comfortable in public places.
Your feelings are under your control, providing you use your imagination, and not solely your willpower. Like Rose, you can learn various techniques (such as slow deep breathing) to lower anxiety levels both in and out of hypnosis.
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Hypnosis will also help you to change the anxiety-arousing messages that float automatically into your head.
At the door of a restaurant Rose used to be flooded with the certainty that everyone was watching her enter; she would blush deep red and people would notice how much she was perspiring.
These self-fulfilling prophecies were replaced during hypnosis with positive affirmations.
When Rose enjoyed the results of these post-hypnotic suggestions she further enjoyed the increased self-control they gave her. A virtuous circle had replaced the vicious.
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Two testimonials
“I am a 35 year old male employee of the Canada Border Services Agency. Over the past two years, I have been involved in training recruits at our national training centre in Rigaud, Quebec. The job is very demanding and at times stressful. During the first few months of 2007 I had the added stresses of having to purchase a new home, applying for a permanent teaching position in Rigaud and beginning the moving process from British Columbia to Quebec. In January I began to suffer frequent and severe panic attacks. My body seemed to almost be in a state of constant restlessness and there seemed to be no way to relax. I was no longer able to sleep well nor perform my job to a satisfactory level.
I had made previous enquires into Hypnosis and had been told that it can help sufferers of anxiety and stress. I have always had in interest in hypnosis and decided to give it a try. I was hoping to avoid drug use to solve my problem. Through research on the internet I discovered Dr. Knight’s web-site. I met with Dr. Knight in his clinic and was provided with an informative and interesting information session on the benefits of hypnosis. I ended up undergoing 6 hypnosis sessions with Dr. Knight, in the privacy and comfort of my home.
I found the sessions to be very relaxing and hypnotic. My tension level and anxiety was significantly reduced. By the time I underwent my 5th session I no longer suffered any type of anxiety attack.
Besides using hypnosis, Dr. Knight also provided me with some beneficial relaxation/meditation techniques which I can practice on my own on a daily basis. They work!! The best part is I will not have to use prescription drugs use to control my anxiety. I now have the necessary tools to keep my anxiety levels under control.
If you genuinely want to take control of your stress or anxiety and make a healthy change in your life then I highly recommend hypnosis sessions with Dr. Knight.
R.O.”
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“Dr Knight:
Just a note to tell you that you are amazing. I have never been so relaxed and stress free and can just tune out all the negative thoughts and turn them into positive ones.
The fears that I did have are no longer there and if they do pop up again, I now know how to reduce them to 0.
Thank you again for all your help and best wishes for a very Happy Holiday.
Warm regards
U.E.”
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