“The panic just overwhelms me, again and again” she says, “and I can’t do anything about it to stop it; my heart races, I get lightheaded and my legs go all wobbly.”⠀
I am talking to a 33-year old woman with a constant fear of the anxiety induced sensations, resulting in daily panic attacks. She feels a total lack of control, and is desperate after trying various therapies.
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Many times, the trigger of the panic attack is an unconscious one. So we might think that the panic suddenly rushes in, while often that is not entirely the case. ⠀
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In the Rapid Transformational Hypnotherapy session we had the week after, the trigger appeared to be connected to the deep-rooted belief: ‘I am alone, and no-one will notice it if something is wrong with me, I am completely unimportant, insignificant.’ ⠀
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We explored this negative belief, reviewed it, and then: interrupted it by challenging: how much of all this was actually true in her current life? What proof could she come up with. What happened if we focused on the ‘what is’ instead of the ‘what if’ ?
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In the hypnotic rewiring audio I made for her, she would hear specific statements like: ⠀
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“You are important. You are meant to be here, and whenever you want or need help, you possess all the skills to raise your voice, and take action. ⠀
You have amazing coping skills, because time and again you show to yourself how you have resolved and overcome problems in your life successfully. ⠀
“You are an adult strong woman now, changing the words that change your reality, and by doing this every day, you are taking back control of your feelings. I am safe because I can make myself safe, and I don’t need anyone to do that for me.”⠀
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Two weeks after our session and daily audio-listening she says: ‘I stopped avoiding leaving the house or driving a car alone. I still feel a bit nervous, but ‘something’ changed. It’s like I feel some ground underneath my feet for the first time.’⠀