One to one specialist help for anxiety and depression in Bristol and Bath.
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Anxiety and depression are subjects which deserve to be dealt with thoroughly and for this reason I have created a sibling website to offer resources and information specifically aimed to meet this need. For more detailed information specifically about Anxiety and Depression, I invite you to visit my sister website at www.anxietyspecialist.co.uk . At present some of the sections on the sister site mirror the information contained here, but over time the new website will be continually updated with new articles and information. For now the new website contains enough information to make a visit worthwhile, so please do take a look if you have time. In the meantime the following will give a nice overview of some of the considerations one might make when approaching a solution to anxiety and depression. |
This is an article I originally wrote for the website www.nomorepanic.co.uk. This site is a wonderful resource for anybody looking for help with panic, depression or anxiety. I include this article on my website as a number of people have commented that they found it extremely helpful, and it offers some understanding as to how and why hypnotherapy can be a very valuable tool in dealing with these states. Even if you are not based in Bristol or Bath, or are not considering hypnotherapy as a form of treatment, I hope you will still find this article to be useful to you.
I'd
like to share with you a little of my knowledge and experience in the hope that
you might take something from it that you can use towards recovery.
Anxiety and depression is fighting talk. There's no doubt about it. Being
chronically anxious or depressed is about the most miserable thing a person can
encounter in a lifetime, and to a greater or lesser degree, most people will
have a brush with these states at some point during their lives. Mercifully, for
most, it's a short lived affair, but for others the battle deepens….weeks turn
into months and months into years. It can seem as though there is no way out. It
can also seem like you're the only one who ever felt "like
this"….but rest assured, you're far from being the first, or the last to
have these feelings. It's interesting to me how many people have such similar
symptoms even when those symptoms seem to be so personal and unique.
Allow me to offer a new perspective. First of all, let's just challenge the
assumption that you are a "depressed" or "anxious" person
(By nature). A much more accurate and hope inspiring description is that you are
a "normal" person who is suffering with an inappropriate depressed or
anxious response, either to life in general or to a given situation. Depression
and anxiety may be viewed as a learned behaviour (albeit an unconscious learned
behaviour) rather than an affliction which is imposed upon us from the
outside-in. There is an important distinction to be made here.
Acceptance
of the belief that you are a "depressive type" is immediately
disempowering to you. It implies that you accept your role as a depressed or
anxious person, and it also implies that depression or anxiety is a permanent
state …a part of your nature. Though still a contentious subject, modern
research (See Michael Yapko/ Joe Griffin), strongly suggests that the idea that
depression is purely genetic is flawed. The picture is actually a lot more
complicated than that. Genetics may have a small part to play but no
"anxiety/depression gene" has been identified, and the research
suggests that such a gene will not be found. If this is so then we must search
for other reasons. We don't have to look too far. Where anxiety and depression
runs in families, it's easy to recognise that it will be difficult for children,
or even husbands and wives, to emerge from such families with good coping skills
and a strong sense of confidence.
Put
simply, we learn a great deal about our environment from those around us, and if
we are around people who continually see the worst in things, then it will be
very difficult for us to find a positive focus in our own lives. If we are
continually told that "it's a bad world", it will be difficult for us
to believe any differently. Repetition of any idea be it good or bad will create
a programme in the mind which will colour all of our experience. The idea that
depression or anxiety is handed down purely genetically largely overlooks this
factor. In the same way, modern medicine also offers us a view of depression or
anxiety as a dysfunction of brain chemistry.
Whilst
it is without question that anxiety and depression will produce very powerful
changes in brain chemistry, what is not commonly recognised is that these
changes are at least in part the RESULT and not entirely the CAUSE of depression
or anxiety. Understanding this means that we have a little bit of leverage in
approaching a solution to anxiety and depression, because it means that we are
not at the mercy of our chemistry. In fact, we can go further and recognise that
our brain chemistry actually responds very readily to the way we think and feel
about life, which means that we do have a way in, to break the cycle. You can
see therefore that if your fundamental belief about your life is that you are a
depressive or anxious type then this is the message you will send to your
subconscious mind.
Since
you will have accepted the idea that you are an anxious/depressive type at a
conscious level, then the subconscious mind, being a non-deliberating mind will
accept this idea and implement what it believes to be an appropriate response.
Our biofeedback systems, being the adaptable systems they are, will respond
accordingly, and oblige us with the internal chemistry which matches that belief
(i.e a depressed or anxious state). Viewed this way, we can understand that the
chemical states we experience when we are depressed or anxious are at least
partially a result of our beliefs and perceptions rather than the cause of them.
Whilst pressures upon us may well be overwhelming at certain times in our lives,
at some level, chronic depression or anxiety is a result of that modality being
accepted as the norm rather than the temporary extreme…the driving factor
being that the mind has taken on board the erroneous belief that life in general
is filled with danger and that the organism must therefore be protected at all
costs. Prolonged exposure to highly stressful living is a major factor in
creating these states.
Thus we have our two symptoms. Depression requires that we withdraw from life,
minimising our chance of being damaged by life, and anxiety requires that we
engage with life but that we remain on Red,
Our ancestors endured unbelievable hardship to get us here. Droughts, famines,
ice ages! In a world of much fewer people, the primary consideration was
survival and the continuation of the species. This meant shelter, food, and
procreation was paramount and securing these all important facets of existence
was never without its dangers! And so we have our instinctual responses. These
can be roughly summarised as follows:-
· Fear - The flight (run away) response
· Anger- The stand fight and protect response
· Depression- The withdraw and conserve energy response
These responses are instinctual. That is, they take precedence over our ordinary
"will" because they are programmed in to us at the most fundamental
level of our being. They are designed to ensure the survival of the species and
the individual and as such will naturally override the rational logical thinking
mind. So, beginning with anxiety- A human being coming face to face with a wild
hungry tiger will need to act instinctively if there is to be any chance of
survival. This means that this person will move into a high alert mode without
any conscious effort at all. This person will move immediately into a
trance-like state. Adrenalines (powerful chemically stimulating hormones) will
flood his nervous system. Blood supply will be maximised to the limbs as they
are primed for fight or flight with extra oxygen. He will become hyper-vigilant.
His hearing will be fine tuned to pick up on the slightest changes in the
environment. The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck may stand up. His
peripheral vision will switch to high alert and he will be sensitive to the
slightest movement. In short he will be primed to perform physically and
mentally to the absolute edge of his capabilities….and all without ever giving
the process a single thought. All of these changes are completely
automatic…..instinctual!
Now,
we can be grateful for this. Should we ever find that we have wandered into a
dangerous situation, we can be sure that these responses will serve our survival
just as powerfully today as they served our ancestors, but the problems come for
us when these responses are triggered inappropriately.
Living as we do in the modern Western World, it is rare for us to run into any
truly life threatening situations, but we have lived in this relative security
for only a short period of time in evolutionary terms, and adaptable as we are,
we are still honed to respond instinctively to danger in the environment. In the
absence of wild tigers, we have found a different danger in our
environment…..at least as far as our survival mechanism is concerned- Stress.
Why stress? Well…let's get back to basics. Again, at the most basic level, we
are programmed to seek to have our needs met.
The
most basic of these needs can be roughly summarised as food, shelter, security,
happiness, companionship, love, adventure, freedom, etc etc. Stress is a result
of any one of these (or other) needs being either removed, or challenged in a
way which threatens to rule out future access. We can see that there are many
situations which will directly relate to these issues. If we are ending a
relationship we are losing companionship, community, belonging, safety. If we
are having trouble finding a job, we may feel threatened by the possibility that
we will not be able to obtain food. Being stuck in a traffic jam can be
perceived as a threat to our freedom!
Essentially,
all of today's modern stresses can still press the basic primitive
necessity/survival buttons. Stress is also created when there is unresolved
conflict present in our lives, particularly where that conflict is internal, so
thinking and perceiving negatively can also be included as a major factor in
creating stress. So we can see that there are many ways in which stress can be
created. Now when there is too much stress in a person's life, this will be
interpreted by the subconscious mind, at an instinctive level, at the survival
level, as danger in the environment. We can see that not having needs met, and
negatively forecasting (thinking/assuming the worst) can be interpreted as a
threat to the continuation of the individual and of the species as far as the
mind is concerned because we will be feeding an image of future misery
(helplessness) to the subconscious mind.
When
the future is considered to be filled with danger (helplessness) then the mind
decides that it's not safe and obliges us with anxiety as a means of helping us
to remain physically and mentally prepared to deal with hostility or depression
as a means of withdrawal from life altogether. These states are nicely self
perpetuating with anxiety creating more anxiety and helplessness and depression
deepening as life becomes ever more meaningless as we continue to
withdraw……and so the cycle continues!
So….what is to be done? Well…..the good news is that as there is a way in,
so too is there a way out. Both anxiety and depression can be successfully
treated when approached with the right kind of understanding, which involves
essentially working backwards using the understanding given above. We will all
be familiar with the saying that we can't see the wood for the trees. This is
especially true in relation to being depressed or anxious. Being adrift at sea
for a long time with no sight of land could lead one to form the erroneous
conclusion that there is no land, but rationally, it is always possible to
remind oneself that there IS land.
So, it
is important to remember that even though things may look very dark now, it is
fundamentally incorrect to assume that things will remain that way indefinitely.
Indeed to do so is the surest way of ensuring that things don't improve! We know
that when we are anxious or depressed we can lose sight of the higher
intelligence we have access to when we are calm and relaxed and start to think
in very literal black and white modes of thought. This means that we see things
as good or bad. Light or Dark. Safe or Dangerous. Since we are negatively
focused anyway, the majority of the time we will find the worst in things. It
also means that we are unable to see clearly all of the possibilities of escape
from our situation. If we don't recognise that we are thinking in this black and
white style, then we can make the mistake of believing that the negative
conclusions we have arrived at are complete and correct. If we believe our own
negative introspections, then we continue to make it impossible to move out of
the cycle of anxiety or depression.
Somebody who is anxious or depressed will find it difficult to cope with
ambiguity. This means that it is difficult for that person to be able to put an
issue aside and say "I don't know how this will turn out…..and I will
choose NOT to worry about it in the meantime….." So it is necessary to
take a leap of faith in the beginning. One has to say "I know I cannot at
this moment in time see clearly all of the options available to me, but despite
the negative images and thoughts which are coming in, I can still choose to know
that re-engaging with life will be positive for me, even if it is difficult
right now" The leap of faith here is the faith that you will emerge from
the woods by moving towards that life of security and joy REGARDLESS of whether
you feel depressed or anxious; hence the expression "Feel the fear and do
it anyway".
Giving-in
to anxiety sends the wrong message. It tells the subconscious mind that we agree
with its assumption that our life is endangered and reinforces the inappropriate
response. In order however to be able to challenge our own black and white
styles of thinking and false assumptions it is first necessary to dissect the
issues so that we fully understand them at a rational level. It should be noted
here of course that we know that the responses themselves are irrational, that
is, they are neither conscious nor necessary, but we take the first steps
towards healing by at least having the knowledge about our issues readily
available in order that we can challenge our false assumptions as they arise
rather than placidly accept them as truth, thus compounding our difficulties as
is so often the case.
Typically, negatively focused people will think hurtful things and then make the
mistake of believing them themselves. Often this will be in the style of
sweeping generalisations such as "The World is a terrible
place"……"I'll never recover from this
illness…."…."Ten years I've wasted…." I'll never pass my
exams"….."If I had only …….then I'd never be in this mess"
etc.
As an example, using the above. "The World is a terrible place…."
How might we challenge that assumption? If we were to sit with pen and paper and
list what is good about the world and what is bad about the world, then we would
find clearly that there are some aspects to the world which are, or seem,
terrible, but that there are also aspects to the world which are clearly
beautiful and joyful (We can KNOW this even if we don't FEEL it right now….we
are looking for objectivity in this exercise since it is this rational style of
thought which we will use initially to challenge our false assumptions) Also, we
would find many aspects which could be seen either way according to who is doing
the seeing. Thus we have ambiguity in the world and the same is true of our
lives. We can see rationally that the assumption that the world is a terrible
place is actually fundamentally flawed. The truth of the matter is that it is
terrible, beautiful and indifferent. It is filled with ambiguity. The question
then becomes not "what is it?", but "how will I choose to relate
to it?"
So, you could begin by concentrating on at least one single major aspect of your
life, challenging any negative thoughts which arise in relation to that aspect.
Begin by sitting down at the start of the week and listing all the points you
can make.
· What is good about the situation?
· What is bad about the situation?
· What would be the most positive perspective you could have on this situation?
· What is the most negative perspective you could have on this situation?
· And what don't you know about the situation?
Invariably this will include the fact that you don't actually know how it will
turn out. Logically, you can reason therefore that you are much more likely to
achieve solution if you are positively focused and you can therefore decide to
take the positive optimistic view as a strategy for success…or if this is not
possible, you will at least be content with saying to yourself…"I don't
know how this will turn out….but this is no reason to assume that it will turn
out badly". Once you have rationally dissected the issue, you will have an
absolute picture of the rational REALITY of the situation in mind. Now…..any
negative assumptions which arise in relation to that situation can be
immediately challenged on appearance. Continually challenging negative
assumptions in this way will lead to the formation of a new habitual pattern of
thinking. That new pattern will be much more positively focused, and bit by bit,
as we learn to think more positively, we find that our feelings adjust
accordingly.
Learning also to deal with adversity by reminding yourself that it's transient
and that, however devastating it may seem at the time, your life encompasses
much more than that, is the perspective of resilience. Learning to distinguish
between facts and inferences and how your feelings can deceive you into
believing something that isn't really true is a vital skill to master (Michael
Yapko).
Remember that as you continually practice challenging negative assumptions and
finding instead the positive perspectives on situations you will be learning the
habit of thinking positively. Over time, you will begin to move naturally into a
positive thinking style as your efforts become habit.
Remember also that this process does not take place in isolation. In order to
maximise control in your thinking processes, it is also necessary to ensure that
you are sending a message of safety and relaxation to your subconscious mind.
This means ensuring that you are taking time out to relax deeply. There are many
ways that you can do this, Even if you are very anxious generally, you can learn
techniques which will help you to relax. Do challenge the thought that says
"I'm too anxious to relax!". It's usually an incorrect assumption. It
may be true that you feel too anxious to relax generally, but most people can
learn techniques to relax momentarily.
Hypnosis
is probably unequalled in effectiveness for creating deep relaxation, but stress
reduction techniques such as progressive relaxation or similar will be very
effective for most people. Meditation is good too. It might be worth buying a
book on stress reduction or at least searching the internet. It's important to
recognise that patience is a virtue here. In reducing anxiety generally, it is
necessary to practice stress reduction and relaxation regularly. Don't make the
mistake of doing it once, deciding that you don't feel any better generally and
so give up believing it wont work. It will work. Remember, it's a cumulative
effect, which over time, shows the subconscious mind that there is a state
available to you where things are much safer than it currently believes them to
be generally. As you work with this more and more, the subconscious mind becomes
more and more familiar with the relaxed state which sends the message that life
is becoming safe again and it begins to loosen its grip generally. The goal here
is that you are working towards having your subconscious mind recognise that the
danger is passed and that it is safe for you to resume intellectual control. If
there is no danger present (overload of stress), then there is no reason to stay
on Red Alert and therefore no need to remain anxious or depressed.
Now, since I am a hypnotherapist, I am naturally biased, but it should be noted
that hypnosis is uniquely effective in this regard because the hypnotic state
allows us to get in "underneath the radar". This means that
ordinarily, the mind, especially the anxious mind is extremely untrusting of any
messages coming in which do not match with its preconceived ideas of how things
are. When a person is extremely relaxed however, the subconscious mind decides
that the incoming data is from a safe source and may be considered. It is
important to note here, that the incoming data is only considered, not
automatically accepted. This is why it is not possible to absorb negative
suggestions. The mind will automatically reject a suggestion if it cannot be
used towards a more positive outcome than the picture it currently holds.
Hypnotherapy does its best work when there is strong agreement at a conscious
and unconscious level that the change being envisioned is strongly desired and
can be realistically implemented. Then wonders can happen. If the subconscious
mind decides that what you are presenting (in this case that it is safe to
engage fully with life again) is a good idea and backs it, then you are pretty
much assured success with your efforts.
A good hypnotherapist will also have a number of highly effective tools
available to deal with trauma. Obviously, some anxiety and depression results
from trauma and it may be that there is difficulty with letting go for some
people. Therapy is a good idea for anyone who is anxious or depressed. It can
help enormously to have an impartial shoulder available who knows the territory.
Do be aware though, that certain forms of therapy can actually be
counter-productive. When choosing a therapist, please do recognise that any
therapy which encourages continued negative introspection can actually make you
feel worse! These styles of therapy are the ones where you go and tell your
therapist all about your problems week after week and their role is simply to
listen. This focuses on the problem, but doesn't offer solutions, and for
reasons that should be obvious will often deepen anxiety or depression.
Effective modern therapy should be positively focused, that is that it creates
new perspectives and finds solutions to problems, hence the name- solution
focused therapy.
Taking care of yourself physically is obviously important. Good diet, a clean
environment, regular exercise, and care with drugs of any kind is essential to
overcoming anxiety or depression. Smoking and Caffeine (Coffee, Tea, Red Bull)
are both powerful stimulants which increase anxiety and stress your nervous
system. Remove them from your menu if you are able to (buy decaffeinated). Keep
your alcohol consumption to a minimum. Alcohol affects your ability to produce a
healthy flow of serotonin which is a key factor in our ability to cope and feel
happy. You will note that depression is worse when we have a hangover, and it
can take up to 3 or 4 days for our serotonin production to return to normal
following a bad hangover. If you drink heavily twice a week therefore, you will
not be giving yourself a chance to ever fully recover and we need sufficient
serotonin to feel good. Long term therefore, it is important to recognise that
excessive alcohol consumption will interfere with the therapeutic process and
should be avoided. By all means socialise, but do take care to note where your
limits are. Everything in moderation. We also will note that moderate daily
exercise can make a great deal of difference to the way you feel on many levels.
It can improve your sense of self esteem, your sense of control, keep your
weight steady and increase your serotonin and endorphin (feel good chemicals
within your body) levels. The mental health charity MIND have published a free
booklet on the benefits of exercise on emotional well-being which you can view by
clicking here.
In summary, to tackle anxiety and/or depression, it is necessary to:
· Remove as many of the major stressors in your life as it is within your power
to do.
· Learn to be kind to yourself. (Meeting your needs).
· Have faith that there is a way out of your difficulties even if that's not
clear to you at present. It will become clearer as you make progress.
· Challenge negative thinking as it arises.
· Learn to relax deeply and practice this regularly. Self hypnosis will work
well as will stress reduction techniques. Keep at it! Be patient and persistent.
· Seek professional help for any issues or traumas you feel unable to deal with
alone.
· Look after yourself physically. Take regular moderate exercise. Avoid drugs of any kind wherever possible.
I am a
trained and certified anxiety disorders specialist with plenty of experience in
helping people successfully overcome depression and anxiety. If you would like
to meet me to discuss your difficulty and a way forwards please do feel free to make
an appointment for a consultation.
John Crawford- DHP, HPD, MAPHP, MHS, MNCP - Registered Clinical Hypnotherapist -
Written 3rd
April 2004
Please feel free to copy this article. If you do reproduce this article in part
or whole, it should be credited by an acknowledgment to myself and a link to my
website: www.hypnotherapyforlife.co.uk