Glasgow Anxiety Therapy

Where anxiety has been with you for a long time, professional help is useful. I practice cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy, and this gives rapid results. Or your doctor can offer you cbt through the NHS.

Anxiety is physiological arousal triggered by the Stress Response. Powerful hormones are released when your body senses danger (real or imagined) and these hormones generate arousal and anxiety. Elevation of the chemical stress pathway (glucocorticoids - mainly cortisol) tends to be associated with depression, whereas elevation of the electrical stress pathway (epinephrine -mainly adrenaline) more frequently is correlated with anxiety.

But there is also a Relaxation Response. When you are relaxed, the hormone balance is changed to include naurally occurring benzodiazapines (sedative and relaxing) and cannabinoids, which work a bit like dopamine, and result in good feelings. Also released are  melatonin, which can help you sleep at night and be alert during the day.

You might wonder if all that is really worth knowing. Most of us who get anxious are getting into a routine of filling our bodies with stress hormones. These can build up in our bodies and cause long-term damage. There is quite a lot of information on this. But there is less talked about the real physiological benefits of deep relaxation.

If you are relaxed, you just cannot be anxious. The hormones won't let you do it. Learning deep relaxation is the first step to managing your anxiety. It is easy to learn. (I teach this and most of my clients are astounded at the impact). Just 5 or 10 minutes a day will do the trick. If you think about it, you probably spend hours a day feeling anxious.

Get started now on managing your anxiety. Learn how to really relax with hypnosis. Give me a call.

This is a brief psychological intervention that has been shown to be effective in the treatment a broad range of emotional disorders and for depression. The therapy helps you to become more confident overall and less prone to anxiety. Like other cognitive behavioural techniques, PST focuses on the here and now, rather than a dwelling on past experiences and regrets. It is a useful skill for anyone who tends to ruminate, worry or suffers chronic anxiety. Most of us need to be good problem solvers.

The underlying perspective is that when we don't recognise and face up to our problems, they are never resolved properly. They just hang around, making us feel bad about ourselves, insecure and fearful and this can perpetuate emotional problems and disorders. PST has a good track record in dealing with depression.

Problem-solving is traditionally divided into five main component skills, which can be taught and practised in therapy sessions,

1. Problem Orientation.  This is about seeing problems as a normal part of life, to be dealt with routinely. It is about learning to approach problems in a systematic and efficient way.
2. What is the problem?  How to define problems,  sticking to the key facts and identifying  what it is that makes the situation a problem.
3. What would be better? Identifying some goals. These need to be achievable, bearing in mind allthe circumstances.
4. What action can we take?  The skill to look at a problem in the round and come up up with a range of possible ways of dealing with the problem..
5. Which are the best plans?  How to evaluate the solutions and rank them in terms of both short and long-term consequences and the effect upon yourself and other people.  How to identify the best mix of solutions to develop a realistic plan of action.
6. Trying them out.  The ability to test your action plan out in the real world, putting it into practice and evaluating the outcome, in an “experimental” manner.  How to flexibly adapt the chosen plan and when to use Plan B. How to persist until the problem has been resolved.