Hypnotherapy for Anxiety

 

 

 

 

 

 Anxiety

Do you have feelings of nervousness, fear, continuous worries? If so, you may be suffering from anxiety. 

 

Some degree of anxiety is healthy.

It keeps us on our toes, it keeps us safe and prevents us from taking risks, but for some people anxiety is so much more than this.

Isn't is normal for most people to become anxious before meeting new people? Doing a presentation? Or having a job interview? Well to a certain extent yes. A shot of adrenaline to ensure that we perform at our best and don't become complacent. Anxiety extends beyond this, for some feelings of nervousness and worry can have a huge impact on their day to day life.

You may find yourself avoiding situations or people that make you anxious, you may have a continous stream of negative self talk that drives you to distraction and prevents you from enjoying the moment, you may even have morbid thoughts which are really scary to you.

And what about physical sysmptoms, insomnia, sweating, diarrhoea or changes in appetite?

Hypnotherapy can really help to give you confidence in dealing with stressful situations such as driving tests or exams - help for situations where you would expect to be anxious - and for many people this is exactly what they need.

Many people without anxiety don't realise these worries can be on going - not just exam nerves or slight concern for the future. For anxiety sufferers, these feelings dominate and can be there much of the time. Anxiety can really affect wellbeing, health, employment, relationships - it can impact on all aspects of life.

Hypnotherapy can really help you to understand why anxiety is there and to help you become much more calm in thought and feeling as well as physically at ease. The hypnotic trance alone will help to support your para-sympathetic nervous system by relaxing deeply and learning autonomic breathing techniques.

If you are feeling anxious, the first place you may turn is to your GP. I would always, always recommend seeing your GP whenever you have health concerns. It is the unfortunate that anxiety can not be 'cured' in a 10 minute appointment - though your GP may diagnose it and signpost you in the direction of further help.

The hypnotherapist is there to facilate change, but all changes come from within. Hypnotherapy sessions will give you the time to explore your anxiety in a safe environment and will help you to reframe your fears and put thoughts into perspective. No credible therapist would ever guarantee results, but hypnotherapy can be very successful if you are motivated and have a true desire to change.

For more details see No more anxiety

Childbirth Classes, Blackpool & Fylde, Preston

How Important are Childbirth Classes?

"Research has found that women who attend a class to prepare for the birth of their baby use pain medication less often, have shorter labours, and have a more positive outlook on their birth experience. Women who take a class before the birth of their baby are more likely to have confidence in their own bodies and in their ability to give birth. This confidence leads to better outcomes. With fear of the unknown process women can experience anxiety during labour and birth which can lead to birth interventions, including caesarean births"

Charlotte Sanchez CPM is a Certified Professional Midwife.

A 'well-chosen' childbirth class offers so much more than simply providing birth education. It is an opportunity to really focus on your forthcoming birth and think about the birth choices that are right for you. In additional to practical and mental skills for coping with actual labour, Natal Hypnotherapy™ workshops help address underlying anxieties and fears before your birth unfolds.

Natal Hypnotherapy™ childbirth classes support both mums-to-be and their birth partners. Workshops are personalised for the couples who participate, and can provide a very bonding and positive start to family life.

For more information for classes in Blackpool & the Fylde Coast and Preston please see:

www.calmandcontented.co.uk


http://www.pregnancybeat.com/how-important-is-taking-childbirth-classes/

Hypnobirthing Lancashire

Lancashire Self-Hypnosis for Birth Trials

 

Dr Soo Downe at the University of Central Lancashire is running SHIP Trials (Self-Hypnosis for Intrapartum Pain management).

Summary of Hypnosis Trials

 

"Self-hypnosis is a way of training the mind and body to experience things differently.

It usually involves listening to a voice on a tape or CD which gives hints and suggestions about how to change unhelpful ways of thinking.

By listening to the CD regularly the belief is that the listener will ‘absorb’ the suggestions and their experience will change. 

It is sometimes used by health professionals to help people give up smoking or to reduce their fear of flying. 

Recent studies have shown that self-hypnosis can be used successfully to treat the pain associated with chronic gastro-intestinal complaints like Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Crohn’s Disease.

In this study we would like to find out if self-hypnosis could help women to deal with the pain associated with labour and childbirth.

Our theory is that if women feel more relaxed and in control during labour then they are less likely to experience intense pain and less likely to need medical assistance or even surgery. 

So far there have been few studies conducted in this area and most of them have been small or of poor quality. 

However, the results have been encouraging and we would like to find out if this would be an effective way of providing pain relief to pregnant women in the UK."


The proposed completion date for these trials was June 2013 so results should be expected into the public domain soon.

'Just Relax'

The following article was published by the telegraph at the time the trial started.

"A new trial into ‘hypnobirthing’ will assess whether women can give birth happily without painkillers. But will expectant mothers will ever forgo the epidural and learn to 'just relax'"

Hypnobirthing Lancashire

The Results

The SHIP trial should give an excellent clinical insight into the effectiveness of self-hypnosis. It should be noted that antenatal classes such as Natal Hypnotherapy™ and Hypnobirthing give much more than hypnosis alone.

Natal Hypnotherapy ™

 

Hypnosis for birth is just one powerful element included in Natal Hypnotherapy™. The course teaches many other tools and techniques for managing birth and labour - thus empowering a woman to have a positive birth experience.

For more information see Natal Hypnotherapy™

Deep Relaxation for Birth

Deep Relaxation for Birth

 

Listen out for the interview with Maggie Howell - Founder of Natal Hypnotherapy with Beverley Turner. Sunday 7 July 2013 11am BBC 5 Live.

Beverley Turner (TV & Radio Presenter) on Natal Hypnotherapy :

"Try it. You have nothing to lose and it will give you relaxation skills that you will have forever. Must go – there’s a beach waiting for me..."


Deep Relaxation Article

5 Live Bump Club

Royal Birth Hypnotherapy

 

Natal Hypnotherapy for Birth

As the royal birth draws closer more bloggers are relecting on their own birthing experience. Writer and Journalist Fran Benson thinks it is a good thing that the Duchess of Cambridge is considering the use of hypnotherapy for her birth. Below are extracts of her opinions and experience - for more on Fran Benson's Natal Hypnotherapy annd Birth experience see Fran Benson. (There are also other great articles about Pregnancy, Birth, Children and Family)

"The royal baby is due anytime now and rumours have abounded in the press that Kate is using hypnotherapy to prepare for the birth. I think this is fantastic and if the Kate effect influences more mothers-to-be to try this gentle technique then the world of birthing will be a better one."..........

"Just like Kate is rumoured to be, I too was preparing for my birth with hypnotherapy. There are two types of birth hypnotherapy: Hypnobirthing, the US version that was developed by Marie Mongan and Natal Hypnotherapy, the UK version, developed by Maggie Howell, which I was using.

It had started off with a pregnancy relaxation cd when I was just five weeks pregnant.  As I became more relaxed and confident I decided on a homebirth and ordered the Home Birth Preparation cd.
Like Kate, my baby was due in mid-July and as I listened to the gentle words every day I was transported to a soothing place."...........

"There’s no magic to it. It’s just the voice of the practitioner – in this case Maggie Howell – talking the listener into a hypnotic state a bit like a day dream.  She instils positive messages about pregnancy and birth and every time – if I hadn’t fallen asleep – I would rouse at the end feeling energised and happy and excited about the birth.".........

"There are no guarantees in birth.  Nature will take its course.  But if Kate can maintain the composure she has shown during the last eight months she is enhancing her chances of the natural birth she seems so keen to achieve."..........

8 Considerations for Home Birth

Our birthing environment is one of the most important factors in having a comfortable and satisfying birth. A place where we feel safe to birth our baby.

 

The most common choice is hospital: women feel comfortable in a place where medical assistance is on hand - should there be an emergency, historically Mothers and Sisters have given birth in hospital and that's the norm, for some women their midwife may have advised that this is the best option.

There is no 'correct' place to birth, only a place that's right for you.

Natural or Medicalised Birth?

Women who want a home birth tend to favour natural birthing, they choose to stay away from hospitals as they feel once they are admitted into the hospital system they are drawn into medical policy & procedure and that they will have a greater chance of medical intervention - induction, forceps, c-section and so on. That said, there is an effort by many midwives to become more women-centred, especially in midwife-led birthing centres.

Some women like to 'nest', in order to make their birthing environment as perfect as they can - using lighting, music, oils, bedding and other home comforts. Hospitals can be accommodating, but there is no getting away from the fact it is a medical setting with strip lights, uniforms, clip boards, medical equipment etc...

Question: What comes to mind when you think 'hospital'?

Answer 1: Emergency, pain and panic - for this woman, a far from relaxed response.
Answer 2: Safety, reassurance and support - for this woman, medical security.

8 Considerations for Home Birth

A few questions to consider when you're weighing up Home V's Hospital Birth...

What type of birthing experience do you want?
Where would you feel the most comfortable?
What does your birth partner think? Does s/he support your choices?
What does you midwife say?
Is it safe?
Do you want pain relief?
What is the transfer time to hospital?
Do you already have children? Would they be present/Do you have childcare?

Every woman in the UK is entitled to request a home birth and for normal, low-risk pregnancies a home birth option is entirely possible - if you want it.

Any Comments welcome xx


Further Information:

Sky News Homebirth Debate Video

Aims

Homebirth.org 

6 Ways to manage Labour Pain

An interesting article by Victoria Moore who writes for Natural News:

Six ways to manage labour pain

1. Hydrotherapy
2. Essential Oils
3. Accupressure
4. Movement
5. Relaxation
6. Use a Doula

All of which encapsulate the essence of Natal Hypnotherapy.