Do you feel like your inner world is about to explode when you see, hear, or experience anxiety or panic attacks? The anxiety starts bubbling up, making your heart race, and the only thought in your mind is: run, fight, or shut down. Hypnotherapy is an effective method for relieving anxiety.
Anxiety and panic attacks can be triggered by many things – a traumatic event in the past, certain situations, or even a specific sight, sound, or smell.
What is the difference between a panic attack and an anxiety attack? The difference lies mainly in the severity of the symptoms. When anxiety attacks are not addressed, they can turn into full panic attacks. Panic attacks are usually very unexpected because their triggers often exist in the subconscious mind. With anxiety attacks, we usually know that we are under chronic stress, extremely tired, or overwhelmed.
If you Google panic attacks or anxiety, the first five to ten results will often include the word “disorder” in the headline.
But is it really a disorder? As a hypnotherapist, I am very careful with the words I use, both out loud and in my own mind. Words have a direct impact on our bodies. It has been scientifically proven that negative words cause the body to tense, while positive words help it relax. The word disorder is certainly not a positive one. For many people, it carries associations of fear, disability, something being wrong, hopelessness, and malfunction.
Panic attacks and anxiety are labeled as disorders by medical professionals because they can be chronic and feel out of control. A disorder requires treatment and research, and that is the role of doctors and healthcare experts. For me, however, they are symptoms – much like a runny nose or a cough, except ongoing. The primary purpose of anxiety and panic attacks is to protect your psyche: to warn you and get you out of danger as quickly as possible, even if that means shutting your system down completely.
Here is a case study from my hypnotherapy practice:
A young man experiences a panic attack every Friday and Saturday just before a family dinner. During the dinner, he is tense, highly anxious, and has no appetite. He pushes through it, and by Sunday he feels emotionally and physically drained. He needs at least two days to recover, and by Monday evening he finally feels okay. However, when Friday evening comes around again, the crippling feeling returns – first causing anxiety and then a panic attack.
During multiple therapy sessions, he learned coping and breathing techniques. He became capable of pushing through the experience, so he felt that things were better. In reality, they were not – it was simply that he was managing the symptoms more effectively.
He came to me hoping to resolve the problem because the panic attacks were causing relationship problems, intimacy issues, and communication difficulties at his job.
When we went into hypnosis, we discovered that at every family dinner he encountered his older cousin. Although they now have a good relationship, this cousin had emotionally and physically abused him in childhood. These memories were buried so deeply that the only way they surfaced was through anger outbursts and intimacy issues. When my client asked me, “Why is this still bothering me? I’ve already forgiven him. I don’t even remember it in detail anymore,” I explained that even though he felt he had forgiven, his eight-year-old mind was still with him. That part of him – often called the inner child – was still hurt and still in pain. In the session, we reframed the beliefs and integrated that isolated experience into the present.
Did it magically heal my client? No. But it gave him a clear understanding of why he was having panic attacks. Within four weeks, he stopped attending family dinners and created space for healing. Two months later, he confronted his cousin. Their relationship did not suffer; in fact, it turned out that his cousin had been tormented by his actions as well and had not found the courage to bring up the topic even 20 years later.
Some time later, I received a follow-up message from my client. He was free from panic attacks, had found a new job where he felt valued and appreciated, and was opening up to his partner about his trauma. As a result, their relationship improved dramatically.
I am a great believer that every healing starts with understanding…
Let’s get back to the triggers
Now you can understand how we can be triggered by almost anything—a phone call from an old friend that brings back memories of the past, the smell of a perfume your mother used to wear when she only saw you twice a month between her busy schedule, or even a face on the street that reminds you of someone who hurt you in the past.
The story of the root cause will be yours and no one else’s. You don’t have to listen to other people’s experiences and decide that you have the same issue. The most effective way is to find the answer within yourself and for yourself.
How RTT Hypnotherapy can help you solve your problem with panic attacks and anxiety?
- Finds The Root Cause
- Reinforces Positive Suggestions
- Helps you stay in the moment and appreciate “the present”
About the author of the service
Kate Semeniuk
RTT Therapist, Certified Hypnotherapist
I know how it feel to not know the answers and be in constant cycle of worries and anxiety. Hypnotherapy changed my life, and now I want to change yours.
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