Depression

Perhaps the most common psychological disorder presenting in the Western world, Depression can range from very severe where the person becomes almost totally dysfunctional to have some symptoms associated with the illness. Symptoms generally include:

• depressed mood sometimes accompanied by fearfulness
• loss of pleasure or interest in usual activities
• disturbance of appetite
• sleep disturbance
• loss of energy
• anxiety
• difficulties in thinking
• concentrating, etc.

Some of these symptoms can be treated specifically. Insomnia, Eating disorders, Lack of concentration are examples.Often depression is exacerbated or even caused by substance abuse: alcohol, drugs, cigarette smoking.

With proper and appropriate hypnotherapy depression is one of the most treatable disorders. It has a dramatically lower rate of relapse than anti-depressants alone and is now considered the most effective treatment, even with severe cases, enabling the client to focus on solving problems and engage fully in life again.

Average number of sessions required:
Sometimes change can be dramatic, however a period of 5-8 sessions is usually required.

David Newton Workload 2006: 54% of clients presented depression or associated disorders.

Anxiety

Anxiety is synonymous with Stress. It manifest itself in various form. In its most obvious form we suffer from what might be called free floating anxiety where our general anxiety levels, often throughout the day and sometimes during the night, are abnormally high.

This general anxiety can result in Panic attacks which might occur in particular situations or for no specific reason at all. Panic attacks are frightening events with our "flight" machanism being activated with the accompanying fast heartbeat, hot or cold flushes, fast breathing, wanting to run away or being rooted to the spot. Often the fear of panic attacks becomes the major issue. Panic attacks will often become associated with our environment and will then become the trigger for future panic responses - supermarkets, crowded rooms, buses, crowded streets, even sometimes open spaces. As the noose becomes even tighter we ultimately become agrophobic, cla in an resultustrophobic or panophobic (fear of almost everything).

In addition to panic attacks, heightened anxiety can result in a whole range of symptomology associated with our flight or fight response. We could suffer from Irritable bowel syndrome and its associated pain and worries. It is well known that stress will often affect our skin condition and can cause Eczema and Psoriasis.

Two to three people in every hundred suffer from OCD. As with panic attacks the triggering factor often seems to be associated with raised stress levels. OCD can take many forms but is most often seen in repeated washing and checking behaviours.

Sress and anxiety will exacerbate and sometimes cause Migraine or severe headaches. Anxiety can be the cause of many physical conditions including Blood pressure and Ulcers. It can affect our libido and ability to conceive.

Anxiety and depression will affect our ability to control pain. Hypnotherapy can help enormously with Pain relief and control.

Many people suffer from childhood from irrational Fears or phobic responses: needles, heights, knives, fire, death, darkness, water, spiders, driving, travelling, flying, blood, snakes etc. Anxiety can often bring about these traumas in later life or can increase the intensity of childhood responses. These responses can often be associated with people causing quite severe difficulties in social situations; giving presentations, attending interviews etc. Emetophobia, the fear of being sick or others being sick is sadly quite common, as is Erenthophobia, the fear of blushing.

Anxiety inevitably erodes a person's confidence and self-esteem. Often an anxiuos person will sustain innappropriate habit responses such as Nailbiting, Thumbsucking, Hairpulling etc.

The average number of sessions required to help anxiety disorders is 5-8 sessions. Minor phobias can usually be helped in 2-3 sessions.

In 2002, 48% of clients presented Anxiety or associated disorders.