• ADRENALIN AND CORTISOL Adrenaline and cortisol are two of the most powerful chemicals in the human body. They are capable of increasing our physical strength and speed to extraordinary degrees, and can sharpen our senses to unbelievable extremes and all within a split second. But too much of these chemicals can have serious effects on […]

  • I’m not a Buddhist by any means but I have always been attracted to the wisdom in the books written by Buddhists. If you ever want to learn about the mind then read a Buddhist book – these guys knew the crack in the sixth century more so than the current western ways of treating […]

  • When it comes to overall health it’s saddening to see in our society how little credit is given to the ‘mind’ and instead the focus is mainly on improving the ‘body’, generally through diet and exercise. It is well understood in psychology that the content of our mind can have detrimental effects on our body […]

  • “Knowledge is power” Francis Bacon In my experience, complete recovery from anxiety disorders can only be achieved by gaining a thorough understanding of your condition and by applying complete acceptance I remember when I was a kid and my dad suggested we watch this old black and white horror movie called ‘The Haunting’. He said […]

  • *First and foremost you must understand that it is worry and rumination that ultimately cause anxiety disorders – it’s as simple as that! REMEMBER THAT! What to do when you ‘catch’ your worry and rumination (second fear) Worry and rumination are types of thinking styles, which, although people engage in for a reason, are ultimately […]

So as we approach the end of yet another year I’d like to wish you all a more happy and peaceful 2016. You know its never too late to bring about change and one should never think that they will never recover, no matter how long you have been ill! I have helped people who have suffered with anxiety and depression for the best part of there lives. It is never too late. The only difference between someone who has been ill for a week and someone who has been ill for forty years is that the person who has suffered longer has had more time to build up more memories of suffering, that is all. As I bid you all farewell to 2015 I would like to remind you of some famous people who have been affected by anxiety and panic attacks. I always think its quite nice to know that some of the people we see on our television screens have struggled and still struggle with anxiety. So from me all the very best!

Merry Christmas everybody! I wish everybody a more peaceful 2016 and remember it’s never too late to learn the tools needed to recover from anxiety disorder. As I always say, understanding is key in recovery, without the right understanding you can so easily keep going round in circles (as I did!)….for understanding and a full programme of recovery contact me to book some new year sessions. Wish you all the very best!

Acceptance really is the only ‘permanent’ cure for all anxiety/depressive disorders, but most people do not understand the concept of it. This is where understanding is paramount. Understanding allows the sufferer to accept more willingly. Whilst accepting willingly the sufferer must allow enough time to pass (without adding agitation) to allow mental fatigue to lift, emotional reaction to calm and offer the mind enough’ flexibility’ to successfully reason with any situation that usually causes suffering. Have a wonderful Christmas people

Christmas can be challenging time for the anxiety sufferer as indeed can any situation where the expectation is that fun ‘should’ be had. It’s difficult for the none anxiety sufferer to comprehend this and easy for them to think negatively about these people, “oh, he/she’s a right miserable so and so and never happy!” Even the slightest expectation can have devastating consequences in a severely ‘sensitised’ person. With this in mind I encourage anybody who suffers over Xmas to understand simply that it is because of the ‘expectations’, that they often feel more anxiety during these periods. See them for what they are, understand it and more importantly ACCEPT it as a normal part of recovery. The more acceptance the quicker recovery. Merry Xmas

Very interesting article explaining why drug companies are pulling out of producing more ‘anti’ anxiety meds. Professor Ledoux explains that the “drugs are doing exactly what they’ve been designed to do, targeting the ‘fear circuit,’ but not fear itself. And it’s all because of the language”. Ledoux believes more money and time should now be spent on further developing psychotherapy…..good news for all anxiety sufferers!

A Neuroscientist Argues That Everybody Is Misunderstanding Fear and Anxiety

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has some fantastic analogies that really helps people to understand how to relate to there thoughts. After all, the way in which people relate to their thoughts is the gateway to recovery, hence why understanding is paramount. ACT offers some great cartoons to help understand how to deal with intrusive thoughts.

When anxiety is particularly bad sleep is often affected and this in turn can further prolong the suffering. Getting quality sleep can massively help you to speeden up recovery. There is a mobile app called SLEEPBOT which allows you to record your sleep. It gives you feed-back in the morning about your movement and sounds from the night. From that data you can see how much sleep you were getting; when your fidgety, having nightmares and in total stillness. By analyzing your sleep you can begin to see patterns and by applying different methods to your day and night time pre-bed routine you are able to compare results. This helps empower you and makes going to bed a bit more appealing. Give it a go!

Meditation can be very useful for people who suffer with anxiety disorders but it is important you know exactly what you are doing. Many people who try meditation do it wrong and give up quickly. From someone who has had anxiety and used meditation I can tell you if done correctly it can be extremely helpful. one of the best meditations to do is on ‘compassion’. Here is a great link explaining how to do it.

I have noticed an increasing amount of research into the possible links between bacteria in the stomach and anxiety, this is an interesting article.

Probiotic bacteria may aid against anxiety and memory problems

Here is great little cartoon depicting how to deal with intrusive thoughts. ACT (gotta love the ever increasing use of acronyms) offers some pretty useful tips in anxiety recovery. This video is one of my best (I think everyone knows a Brian!