How can I help you?

To help you let go of the anxiety and stress you have been carrying, Assisi Therapy in Salisbury offers you a range of approaches based on Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy and Counselling. By aiming to identify the causes of your particular stress and anxiety we can work together to change how you understand and react to those causes. It may be a common problem but that really doesn’t mean that you have to accept it. If you have lost control of a situation in life, or even your own health, we can change your relationship with that situation and release the tension and emotions that have built up around it. Where your coping strategies have become unhelpful or habits have become harmful, I can help you to identify the problem and change your strategies into ones that benefit you. It can also be of great comfort to know that anxiety and stress can both be relieved with deep relaxation and visualisation Hypnotherapy.

Anxiety

Anxiety is a natural part of being human. However, it can be experienced with different levels of intensity and when it runs out of control, anxiety can be crippling. As a relatively mild form of anxiety, “nerves” can help us perform in front of other people. Some people can experience more severe anxiety disorders, which can have a lasting and disruptive effect on an individual's quality of life. Another way people may experience anxiety is after a traumatic event. This focussed type of anxiety develops in ways that relate to your brain’s understanding of that trauma and attempts to avoid a repeat experience.

However you experience anxiety, lasting and unchecked reactions can have a serious impact on your health and the quality of your relationships with those around you.

Anxiety can cause you to develop a range of side-effects:

• Headaches

• Shortness of breath or breathing difficulties

• Poor concentration

• Insomnia and troubled sleep

• Restlessness

• Nausea and digestive problems

• Muscle tension and aches

• Dizziness

• Sweating and hot flushes

• Heart palpitations or irregular rhythm

• Loss of appetite or interest in food

• Mood swings and Irritability

Types of anxiety

Generalised anxiety

A level above what might be called day to day anxieties is Generalised Anxiety Disorder, referred to here as GAD . GAD feels like there is a disaster around the next corner causing you to worry about the safety of those you care about. The common experience of GAD is one which is relatively mild. However, someone suffering from severe GAD will struggle to cope with everyday tasks such as getting out of bed or talking to friends. You may have heard of this disorder, or you may feel you are experiencing something very similar in your daily life.

Social anxiety

As the impact of the Covid Pandemic recede, many people who have experienced lockdown can identify with the feeling of fear and dislocation experienced when planning or being part of a social situation. In it’s extreme form Social Anxiety Disorder (or Social Phobia) can be extremely debilitating. For fear of judgement or underperforming, sufferers will go out of their way to avoid social situations. They may be shy, easily embarrassed and may be perceived as rude. The body may react by blushing or sweating to a noticeable extent and the anxiety builds around the idea of being unable to perform social roles or '“games”. A fear of eating or drinking in social situations and even using public toilets can all be encompassed by Social Anxiety Disorder.

SAD is also increasingly associated with Online Anxiety.

Online Anxiety

A more recent form of Anxiety that may relate to Social Anxiety Disorder is that of Online Anxiety. Whilst the internet and various forms of social media allow us freedom to express ourselves in ways previously undreamt of, they also put huge and often unbearable strain on many people’s ability to experience the world . Whether it is fear of failure, an unhealthy or destructive relationship with your body image or anxiety that develops from the compulsive viewing of bad news, Online Anxiety can distort your life experience and have significant health impacts.

Understanding your relationship with the internet can be a key step in reworking your general interaction with the world around you.

Phobias and fears

Fear is the expression of your brain’s attempt to interpret a threat. However a Phobia is something that is irrational and intense and may lead you to avoid situations that have no risk attached to them. Even if you know that your phobia is irrational, the focus of that fear can often lead to panic attacks and severe localised anxiety regardless of whether you are close to your Phobia focus. It may be that phobia runs in the family and it may be that phobia is something that you move away from as you become and adult. However, if the object of your phobia is not something that you can easily avoid without impacting other parts of your life, then there are a range of approaches which can be highly effective. Whether you feel you have a common phobia such as dogs, flying, bees or needles or perhaps want help with something more specific, please get in touch.

Panic attacks

Symptoms of panic attacks include chest pain, nausea, sweating, rapid heartbeat, numbness, tingling sensation in hands or feet and feelings of smothering or choking. They can come on suddenly and you not know the cause. Although they are a consequence of your body’s adrenaline rich natural fight, flight or freeze reaction, they can often cause the sufferer to think they are having a heart attack. Sufferers of panic attacks may experience a single event or regular debilitating periods that in turn lead to more anxiety in anticipation of the recurrence.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

Sufferers of OCD develop complex rituals that extend beyond the commonly experienced urge to check the cooker is off or alarm is set. Individuals are diagnosed with OCD if these rituals are causing them distress and take over more than 1 hour of their day. This potentially debilitating disorder usually develops in the teens or early adulthood but can appear at any stage of life. Sufferers of OCD may be obsessed with cleanliness, order and fear of germs and will have developed to strands ot their compulsive behaviour. As described, disturbing images and thoughts experienced by someone with OCD are the obsessive element of the disorder, whilst the rituals and cleaning are the compulsive behaviour. People with OCD are seeking gaining a temporary relief from their anxiety through rituals they develop over time. Some adults and children may not be aware they are performing these acts, although the senselessness of the ritual can often be understood in adulthood. Some symptoms may be temporary and ease over time or they may get more severe. Individual OCD may come about from trauma or it may be linked to family members with the condition.

Stress

Stress is a natural part of the human experience and can be something that motivates or enhances us in specific situations. People seek help for stress as it becomes something that has a physical impact on their health or ability to function at work or home. It is this personal element to stress that makes it such a varied experience. A situation that could be traumatic for one, may cause another person to thrive under that pressure. You may feel that you have no control in your life or that things just “happen” to you. So if you are feeling crushed or held back by your stress then it is important to seek help.

You may feel physical symptoms such as chest pains, crushing feelings, head aches or shortness of breath or you may be experiencing poor memory or inability to focus or interact with others. You may feel some or all of these reactions and carry them with you without knowing. Our personal reaction to stress can often lead us to be angry with those we care about. However, in all cases, your stress is a reaction that your brain has developed in an attempt to cope with a perceived threat. So, because stress is a reaction to a situation, you can change that reaction and manage the way you experience life.

What is Therapy & Counselling?

Many people have an idea of what therapy is like because they have seen it depicted on television or in films. You make have seen someone lying on a couch or talking to an “Expert Therapist” who nods knowingly. This can be a reality for some people, but the truth is that the only expert on how to be you, is you. Your therapy at Assisi Therapy in Salisbury can include Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy or Counselling and the only thing that influences the balance of these approaches, is what is best for you.