Banishing the scourge of Anxiety

I’ve worked with people suffering from anxiety for the last 30 years and there is a clear route which will remove anxiety as an issue in your life – as long as you do the things that are required.

Now, some people will instantly stop reading when they hear that sentence ‘. . .as long as you do the things that are required’ because what they’re hearing is a suggestion that they are somehow conspiratorial in the continuing anxiety that plagues and limits their life. Others stop reading at the implication that this thing that has affected them so greatly for so many years, giving them OCD or panic attacks, an eating disorder or agoraphobia, can be ‘cured’ by ‘doing something’.

‘Are you suggesting it’s my fault?’ they say, and the answer is: No, it is absolutely not your fault, but you can stop it happening.

You can stop the early morning feeling of dread that washes over you, the butterflies in your tummy, the trembling in your muscles that makes you just want to leave. Yes, you can stop it – [as long as you do the things that are required].

What’s the difference between Fear and Anxiety?

Fear arises when you’re facing danger from a person or an event, and it is appropriate. Fear is a natural instinct that is designed to keep you safe. You can’t stop it, and neither should you, because its ultimate purpose is to preserve life, so it’s quite handy. If you’re on a cliff edge, it’s what will stop you getting so close to the edge that you fall off. If you’re travelling in a car, it triggers alertness if another car cuts you up. It causes your adrenaline to run and fill you with the ability to access fight/flight and get out of trouble – and it’s transitory. What I mean by that is that it’s in the moment. Something occurs, you notice it, escape or deal with it and the body normalises. In other words, it passes through.

Anxiety is caused by disordered thinking that is constantly looking for danger and doing a ‘what if?’ on the outcome. For example, you get up anxious and unconsciously start running through your day. What if I can’t cook breakfast, what if I go out and can’t get home, what if I go to a restaurant and can’t face the food, what if I’m in a shop and have a panic attack…? Perhaps I’d better stay here, but what if I feel a failure for not going out… etc, etc.

Thinking these thoughts are enough to trigger your adrenaline levels to rise, which will give you all the symptoms of the alert mechanism, but with no way of using it up, so you feel anxious which creates symptoms, because you have symptoms you feel anxious. In other words, it’s a never-ending loop and it stays with you.

By understanding, acknowledging and taking responsibility for the cycle, you can break it and be free.

How does anxiety show up?

We’re all different and your anxiety disorder may trigger a behaviour which becomes a problem in itself and makes you anxious. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Agoraphobia, Claustrophobia, Eating Disorders, Depersonalisation, General Anxiety and Panic Attacks are but a few of the possibilities. All have the potential to limit you.

But at the heart of all of these is an underlying anxiety disorder, a conditioned response to a trigger that can be depowered. Sometimes the trigger is a known event – as in PTSD – so we look to clear the emotions on the event before starting the programme. Other times, there’s no known event and the start of your anxiety is lost in the midst of time. We can work with that too.

Sometimes, people run their disordered risk assessment on this programme and don’t do it because of the risk of disappointment if they don’t complete it. Some people are too busy looking up theories and treatments to stay in one place long enough to do the work. Some people are lazy; there’s always tomorrow… For some people, it’s just not the right time to do it. That’s OK: it’s your choice.

How long does it take?

If you’re ready and willing to do the work, your anxiety can be gone in days. I’ve worked with people where one session was enough to do it. Others need to see evidence before they’re convinced. The choice is yours.

All you have to do is make the decision that you want to banish anxiety, pick up the phone or email me to ask about the programme. I’ll send details through for you to read, and then you decide. There’s no pressure. I just need to know you’re ready and committed to doing the work and seeing the programme through. You really can banish anxiety.

So, are you ready? If so, you know what to do.
I look forward to hearing from you and to you starting your journey to a life free from anxiety.

Kindest,
Caroline D’ay