
For many people who suffer from panic disorders, a key issue is how to react when stressful situations push them towards the instinctive ‘fight or flight’ response. But with neither ‘fight’ nor ‘flight’ the right response, proper treatment is needed – and hypnotherapy the most effective choice.
The origins of ‘fight or flight’ stretch back to early human history. For millennia, it was a vital survival strategy for mankind where daily dangers existed. When threatened, we needed to assess the danger very quickly and decide whether to stand and defend ourselves (‘fight’), or flee the scene and seek safety (‘flight’).
Though a completely natural physical response to external events, it is not as necessary as it once was. Primeval threats posed by wild carnivores, for example, are quite rare these days. But the body continues to use the fight or flight response in any case, and people suffering from panic disorders are the most affected.
Understanding The Effect of Fight or Flight Response
A considerable amount of research has been done in this area, and results suggest that the fight or flight response can be triggered by imaginary threats as readily as real ones. This is explained by the fact that the response is automatic, so regardless how ‘unreal’ or illogical the threat is, the perception itself is enough to set it off.
The effect of this response on people with a panic disorder includes a variety of easily observed physical changes. But there are actually psychological reasons behind them. It is the psychological reaction that prompts the release of stress hormones, which in turn causes a number of physical symptoms that, when considered together, are recognised as a panic attack – symptoms like:
- rapid heart rate
- rapid breathing
- dilation of pupils
- sweating and shaking
Strangely, even when no actual danger exists, these symptoms can intensify. This is because, with no apparent danger a person neither fights nor flees, but the anxiety continues to build. The result is a panic attack, with a symptoms range and intensity that can sometimes convince the sufferer that their life is in danger.
How Hypnotherapy Can Help
Just as it has been shown to greatly ease anxiety and panic disorders, hypnotherapy has been shown in many studies to be hugely effective in treating the fight or flight response. There is no doubt that the response has always played a critical role in how we deal with danger in the environment around us.
Hypnotherapy allows us to understand more deeply how it works, and therefore develop an effective coping mechanism to handle anxiety.
With an experienced hypnotherapist, properly experienced in treating anxiety and panic disorders, you have the best chance of overcoming your panic disorder.
As a rule, there about 5 stages that your therapist will take you through
- Firstly, your hypnotherapist will seek to identify the root of the problem. This usually lies hidden deep within, and is not always obvious to the patient. Once the root is found, the triggers to a panic attack can also be worked out.
- With root and triggers known, your therapist can help you to deal directly with them. Placing you under hypnosis and in the relaxed state, some positive suggestions can be made to neutralize the anxiety caused by the triggers.
- With it neutralized, a variety of positive changes are embedded in your subconscious, effectively removing the negative influence these fears have had.
- Your therapist may also utilize Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), a highly effective system that marries the leading concepts and up-to-date techniques so as to ensure the best chance of you taking back control of your mind and life.
- Finally, the therapist will replace old thought patterns with new ones forged to deliver a positive effect. This allows your mind to finally cast off the negative baggage, and reset your mind and ultimately live a more fulfilled life, free of the panic disorder that had crippled you.
These stages will help to guide you free of the impact of anxiety. What is more, armed with expert advice on aspects of hypnotherapy, you will be able to use what you have learned to calm down and relax your body whenever it is necessary. This ensures that control is always in your hands.