At the beginning of my final year at university, I experienced a very quick decline in my mental health. I was suffering from panic attacks and anxiety which made it hard for me to leave the house, and even harder to concentrate or get any uni work done. I somehow managed to get myself through the year (with a lot of help from my parents, friends, boyfriend and the uni wellbeing hub) and come out of the other side with a 2:1, but once I had graduated I decided that it was time to seek help to enable me to manage my anxiety and panic attacks better so I felt more confident and in control in preparation for my graduate job hunt, which can be a triggering situation. (I would like to put a disclaimer here, that although hypnosis worked for me, every person reacts differently. I just thought it would be helpful for me to share my experience in case anyone has considered it or is looking for something different to try). My dad did some research and found some local counsellors, one of which was Absolute Mind, a practice based in Milton Keynes run by Paula and her husband. This was unlike anything I had ever tried before as it was centred around hypnosis, which scared me a little. I went to a consultation with Paula and we discussed how I was feeling, and she pointed out some of the areas that she thought hypnosis could help with including controlling panic attacks, building confidence and releasing stress. I asked lots of questions, one of the main ones being what it felt like during a hypnosis session as I had seen people being 'hypnotised' during magic shows and the idea of that freaked me out! She explained that it wouldn't be anything like that but instead I would just feel very relaxed, heavy and a bit sleepy. As I regularly practised meditation and was familiar with this feeling and knew I benefited from this type of therapy, I thought I'd give it a go! What is hypnotherapy?Taken straight from the Absolute Mind website, Paula explains that hypnotherapy is "a natural state of deep relaxation which allows easier access to the subconscious mind and so assists the process of changing from within. Hypnotherapy is chosen whenever a person feels like they have consciously tried many ways of overcoming an issue without success". From my understanding, hypnosis speaks to your subconscious mind, which is where the anxious thoughts were being created and causing the conscious mind to react (in my case, panic attacks). My experience IBefore the session, I was really nervous. During my drive over there I felt like I really didn't want to go, but I tried to reassure myself by remembering that Paula was trained, and that I would never know unless I tried. During the session, I felt exactly how Paula had said I would - relaxed, heavy and sleepy. I couldn't stop my heart from racing a little due to nerves but time went really quickly, and the fact that you can let your mind wander was actually easier for me than meditation sessions where you have to clear your thoughts. In this session, my hypnotherapy consisted of me listening to Paula talk about a situation that was metaphorical to my current mindset, where a small rabbit in a forest reacted to fear by running away. After the session, Paula warned me that I might have a bad headache due to the fact that my mind had been so relaxed, and I really did. I took some ibuprofen and had an early night. A few months onI had three sessions with Paula, who recorded each tape for me to take home and use before I went to bed. I would listen to these tapes 3/4 times a week depending on the level of anxiety I was experiencing, and I could pick between a hypnosis that focused on stress relief, panic attacks or confidence. The improvement to my mental health was gradual so I didn't really notice it at first, but one day I realised how much all the thoughts in my head had slowed, and how much better I was at dealing with a panic attack to the point where I could process it and return to a calm state within a couple of minutes. Again like I said, every person is different, but I was very lucky that hypnotherapy worked so well for me. I still suffer from anxiety, but I have a better understanding of how to deal with it, and having my hypnosis tapes gives me a sense of relief as it feels like I am doing exercise for my brain and making an effort to try and make myself feel better. Now when I listen to my tapes, I even fall asleep before the end!
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AuthorThe Blue Graduate is a career and wellbeing advice and guidance blog for students and graduates experiencing post-uni 'blues'. Archives
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