Do you suffer from anxiety? If so, you’re not alone. The National Institute of Medical Health estimates that over 19% of the population in the US (over 60 million people!) has had an anxiety disorder in the past year.
If you’re unsure whether you have anxiety, people with anxiety disorders frequently have intense, excessive and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. Often, anxiety disorders involve repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes (panic attacks).
These feelings of anxiety and panic may interfere with daily activities, are difficult to control, are out of proportion to the actual danger and can last a long time. Someone with an anxiety disorder may avoid places or situations to prevent these feelings. Symptoms may start during childhood or the teen years and continue into adulthood.
Examples of anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder (social phobia), specific phobias and separation anxiety disorder.
Whatever form of anxiety you have, hypnosis can be helpful in dealing with anxiety. In fact, studies have shown this to be true. In particular, one study has shown that hypnosis is an effective treatment for anxiety including state anxiety (e.g., prior to tests, surgery and medical procedures) and anxiety-related disorders, such as headaches and irritable bowel syndrome1. Another study of 217 patients that were diagnosed with clinical anxiety, showed that following the hypnotic intervention 160 (74%) were no longer clinically anxious. A further 51 patients (23.5%) inproved but remained in the dysfunctional range, and only 6 patients failed to show any reduction in their Hospital Anxiety and Depression scores after therapy2.
Left untreated, anxiety can affect performance, relationships and overall well-being. If you’d like to learn more about how hypnosis can help, please call 210-325-1567.
1 D Corydon Hammond, Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, Pages 263-273, Published online: 09 Jan 2014
2 L Brann, J Owens, A Williamson, The Handbook of Contemporary Clinical Hypnosis: Theory and Practice, Wiley-Blackwell 2015