In Tune Hypno

I am a Clinical Hypnotherapist working in Brunswick, Melbourne. I love to help people change! www.intunehypnotherapy.com.au

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10 Effective Ways to Manage Anxiety

We all feel anxious sometimes and being careful and cautious has served us well as a species to survive. Anxiety only becomes a problem when the physical reaction to a stimulus is intense, out or proportion or constant.

What happens in the body when we’re anxious?

When we experience a potential threat or danger our body starts to react by activating the flight/fight or freeze response. Having these effects on the body:

Acceleration of heart rate and breaging

Paling or flushing

Indigestion slows down or Stopps

Constriction of blood vessels in many parts of the body

Dilation of puils

Loss of hearing

Tunnel vision

Shaking

All these physical reactions are meant to prepare us to fight or flee. Even though our world today is a lot safer than 10.000 years ago we are still constantly on the lookout for danger. Thoughts can trigger this process with all these uncomfortable emotions. Many of my clients fear these physical changes so much that they have developed an anxiety aboutthe anxiety.

Hypnotherapy and mindfulness can re-train your brain to focus on positive things that create wellbeing and calmness.

The first step is not to fight against these emotions.

Have you ever tried to NOT think of the pink elephant with purple spots? Right, it doesn’t work. So trying to NOT be anxious will make you focus on your anxiety. I teach my clients to sit with their feelings, to notice where they are in their bodies and to learn to „breathe“ into them until they change and diminish over time.

Here are some other useful techniques and tips that will help you cope better:

Take some time-out. Practice yoga or listen to music, do something you love and enjoy. Stepping back a little helps clear the head.

Drink less alcohol and caffeine, these substances can worsen anxiety and even trigger panic attacks.

Get enough sleep. Rest is important for restoration.

Exercise every day to help you feel better and maintain your health.

Practice deep breathing - breathing in to the count of 3, hold the breath to the count of three and exhale to the count of three.

Count to 10 slowly. Repeat, if necessary.

Accept that you cannot control everything. This sounds easy but is probably quite hard, talk to a professional for some advice and help.

Laugh more!

Learn about the triggers for your anxiety. Look for a pattern.

Talk to someone - this can be your friends or family. Consider talking to your GP or therapist for professional help.

Hynposis is a powerful tool to re-learn behavioural patterns and to re-lease underlying emotional causes. If you would like to learn more please get in touch.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Nina

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Podcast with me (in German) regarding HAES (Health at Every Size)

Check out the podcast here - https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/german/de/audiotrack/wohlbefinden-jetzt-health-every-size?fbclid=IwAR3Ot1a-OtvTqyOyLcCevcMR2wQK3vNqmXBXAUO1jeNnw8-aVKBywuI2AKw

Enjoy, Nina x

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I was interviewed by SBS German about my work - listen here to the talk I had with Pamela Rauleder about anxiety

Pamela Rauleder interviewed me for the SBS German podcast Wohlbefinden Jetzt about my work. This is the first episode where we talked about anxiety and how to interrupt the patterns of anxiety in our brains.

Warning: it’s in German :)

https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/german/de/audiotrack/wohlbefinden-jetzt-angstzustande?language=de&fbclid=IwAR0a00NZ0bxSX5fxosjBTnG_8T2pLiVDDVnzricP4hVxbx2I-g6NtVP0N84

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Open Mind Meditation

I have not shared much on my blog lately as I have been busy with work and life and all the other things that take up our time. When I opened my email inbox this morning though I felt inspired to share what I came across in one of the newsletters that I have subscribed to.

I have been practicing mediation for a few years now and I have times when I meditate very regularly and other times where I forget about it or tell myself that I don't have the time to meditate. Sometimes I meditate with the help of an app like smiling mind or headspace and other times I just "sit". Sitting has become my favourite way of meditation quite naturally though and I was pleased to read this morning that what came to me quite naturally has a name and is also rooted in Buddhist tradition. This form of meditation is called Open Mind Meditation.

Steven Handel of The Emotion Machine writes about open mind mediation the following:

"Most meditations are focused on a particular “object” of meditation. For example, focusing on your breathing (“Breathing Meditation”), or walking (“Walking Meditation”), or a particular mantra (such as in a “Loving-Kindness Meditation”). However, the “Open Mind Meditation” is different because it is an objectless meditation. There is no particular “object” to focus on.

In this way, there is no telling where your awareness may bring you, and every “open mind meditation” is going to be different. At times, your mind will shift to the sensations in your body, perhaps an itch on your nose, a pain in your lower back, or the growling of an empty stomach. Other times, your mind may shift inwards and reflect on passing thoughts, such as “What am I going to eat for dinner?” or “I need to put out the garbage tonight.” Or, perhaps your awareness will shift toward a sound in the room, a smell, or a gust of wind against your skin."

Giving yourself permission to feel the full range of human emotions, learning to practice equanimity - acceptance of the present moment - and learning that everything flows and changes and eventually also fades away is a very useful skill. 

We do not have to judge if anything is good or bad - it just is!

Give this a try and see how your relationship with life changes!

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The Essence of Wellbeing

Sometimes it is important to have a look at our (busy) everyday experience and see the bigger picture and make sure that we are doing the right things to ensure that we live a meaningful, fulfilled and well balanced life.

I would like to share with you today a useful wellbeing checklist. Take a few moments and decide in which of the areas you are already doing well and in which ones you could improve.

ESSENCE – a useful wellbeing checklist

Environment

All living things need to interact with their environment to stay alive, as humans we strive for more than just mere survival we also feel the need to grow and flourish. Poor environments inhibit growth. We need stimulating challenges, remember that we need to interact with our environment not just to be there. Simple things like going to a library to study instead of being home in your bedroom can improve your mood already considerably and might help you to focus on the task at hand.

Stress

To be constantly stressed, in a state of high emotional alert, will take its toll on our body and minds. Emotions are meant to prepare us for action, if we do not discharge the emotion (act on it) it will affect our sleep and overall mental and physical wellbeing. Stress in our modern lives very often does not get discharged, we are not running away from that tiger or fighting it. So we need to find ways of returning our bodies to their normal state. Emotion management is the key here, recognising the factors that lead to these emotions in the first place, eliminating or changing them.

Spirituality

By spirituality we mean the recognition that we are part of something bigger. Spirituality can be considered the opposite of stress – an introspect serenity that we are not the centre of the universe.

To connect with this part of human existence we can use meditation, prayer or a quiet walk through nature.

Exercise

We are designed for movement. If we do not use our bodies enough, it has all sorts of negative effects on our system. Toxic waste does not get discharged and we will start to feel tired in body and mind. Even a short walk can be a © Human Givens Australia: The ESSENCE of wellbeing 2

Nutrition

Nutrition is important as it is the fuel for our bodies. If we eat poorly we will function poorly. Highly processed food is usually the worst kind of food for us. The body has to either assimilate what we eat or eliminate it.

Connectedness

We are social creatures and our wellness is directly linked to our social connectedness. We are at our most balanced and happiest when we focus outwards.

Education

The brain is a problem-solving organ and dealing with new and unfamiliar things promotes the biggest nerve cell growth. In terms of well-being challenges are important, we are designed to learn new things and make sense of our surroundings.

(Adapted from: The ESSENCE of Health, Dr Craig Hassed, Random House, 2008) 

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You know that exercise is good for you – so why aren’t you doing it?

Does this sound familiar to you: tomorrow I will start running/going to the gym/trying out a dance class but not today because I am tired, not in the mood, too busy…It feels normal to talk about being so unmotivated to exercise but knowing that we need to do it to feel better. So how can we get motivated to exercise?

There is an interesting new study which says that mindfulness may be the key to motivation.

The researchers found that the more mindful we are, the more likely we are to be motivated and put our good intentions about physical activity into action.

In the study (link) the researchers looked at 244 students in France and asked them about their levels of mindfulness in daily life. They also asked them about their motivation to exercise and how physically active they are generally.

Focussing on people who are self-motivated (instead of feeling the pressure to exercise by peers, family or external factors )they found out that even self-motivated but less mindful people are more likely to skip sessions and not exercise. Intrinsically, self-motivated, mindful students though showed higher motivations and were exercising significantly more than their peers.

The more mindful the participants were, the stronger was the link between motivation and physical activity. Mindfulness seemed to be activate participants’ intentions, and helping translate them into action.

So how does this work? Mindfulness increases our attention and awareness, which might take us off of autopilot. Mindfulness also involves acceptance, which might protect us against feelings of failure related to exercise. Why should I start now? It’s too late anyway…I can’t lose that weight anyway…

Now, all we have to do is motivate ourselves to be mindful.

And I can help you with that. If you would like to learn about mindfulness, motivation and changing habits give me a call today!

Nina Dewar, Hypnotherapy Melbourne phone [phone]

If you would like to read more about how hypnotherapy can help you beat procrastination - the act of putting things off- my colleague Georgina Mitchell has written a great blog post about this topic on here website here: http://www.hypfocus.com.au/blog/8-tips-for-beating-procrastination

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#brunswick morning at #work #hypnosis #brunswickstyle #intune #hypnotherapy #sydneyroad #sydneyrd #coburg (at In Tune Hypnotherapy)

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Today is #antibullyingday. Regram @smilingmind #antibullying #mindfulness #kindness #brunswick #intune #sydneyroad #sydneyroadbrunswick #coburg #hypnosis #hypnotherapy (at In Tune Hypnotherapy)

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Most of us feel stressed by our busy lives and sometimes it is not easy to find time to unwind and relax and recharge our batteries. If we do not look after ourselves though our health and overall wellbeing will suffer. Mindfulness in our daily lives can help make a difference to slow down and

Listen to this short relaxation meditation to ground yourself.