Hypnotherapy for Anxiety & Stress Relief
Stress and anxiety are natural responses to challenges and perceived dangers, serving important purposes in our lives. However, in today’s fast-paced and demanding world, they can become overwhelming, impacting mental well-being, daily routines, and overall quality of life.
Stress and Anxiety: Find Relief with Hypnotherapy
A healthy level of stress and anxiety can keep us alert to real-world dangers and motivate us to take necessary actions in life. When kept in check, they help us stay focused, get out of bed in the morning, and move forward with our goals.
Our minds are naturally designed to experience stress and anxiety infrequently and for short bursts, enabling us to take action and close the “stress loop.” However, modern life often triggers these responses constantly, leaving little opportunity to reset or close the loop.
When stress and anxiety take over, they can become overwhelming, leading to persistent worry, self-doubt, and a sense of fear that disrupts daily life. This can feel like a hypnotic trance, with the subconscious mind trapping you in a cycle of tension and unease.
A solution-focused hypnotherapy approach can help you regain control over stress and anxiety, empowering you to move forward with calm, clarity, and confidence.
Types of Anxiety We Can Help You Overcome
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
GAD often involves persistent and excessive worrying about various aspects of life—work, health, relationships, and daily tasks. Symptoms can include restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and muscle tension.
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety creates intense fear or discomfort in social situations, making it difficult to connect with others or speak confidently in public. This can lead to avoidance of social gatherings, isolation, and feelings of low self-worth.
Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder
Panic attacks are sudden and intense surges of fear, often with physical symptoms like shortness of breath, a racing heart, or dizziness. Panic disorder is when these attacks recur unexpectedly, leading to fear of future attacks.
What Does Stress & Anxiety Feel Like?
Common Symptoms of Stress and Anxiety Include:
Excessive Worry: Persistent thoughts about challenges or potential problems.
Restlessness: A feeling of being on edge or unable to relax.
Fatigue: Mental and physical exhaustion caused by tension.
Poor Sleep: Difficulty falling or staying asleep due to worry or tension.
Irritability: Increased sensitivity and emotional volatility.
Muscle Tension: Tightness or aches in the body caused by stress or anxiety.
Difficulty Concentrating: Trouble focusing or staying on task.
Rapid Heartbeat: A noticeable increase in heart rate during stressful moments.
Avoidance: Steering clear of situations that feel overwhelming or stressful.
How Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy Works
Solution-focused hypnotherapy blends relaxation techniques with a positive, goal-focused approach, helping you:
Identify your desired outcomes
Break negative thought patterns
Increase resilience and mental clarity
Sessions focus on the future you want, rather than past problems, creating a tailored plan to help you move forward without anxiety.
How Can Hypnotherapy Help With Anxiety & Stress
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help calm the anxious and overwhelmed primitive mind, bringing stress and fear under control. We'll explore why you feel anxious or stressed and identify practical ways to address these feelings. Together, we’ll create an empowering alternative narrative, helping you visualize a preferred future free from anxiety and stress, while taking small, manageable steps toward that vision.
For specific triggers of stress or anxiety, we use quick, safe techniques to calm emotional reactions and restore a sense of balance. Finally, through hypnosis, we engage the subconscious mind to reinforce your desired calm and focused future.
These techniques are grounded in proven brain science, utilizing a natural process to effectively neutralize stress and anxiety responses.
Stephen Hardy
DSFH, HPD, AfSFH, MNCH (Reg.), CNHC (Reg.)
I’m a clinical solution-focused hypnotherapist and coach.
My mission is to help people have more fulfilling, fun lives and careers.
As a clinical hypnotherapist, I work with both the conscious and subconscious minds, using a combination of Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, CBT, and Neuroscience, mixed in with my experience of working in senior corporate positions.
The goal is to enable rapid positive change, through helping clients reframe their thinking, and creating new patterns of behaviour. It’s a positive, fun approach.
Testimonials
Free Discovery Call
We'll spend 30 minutes exploring your current challenges and establishing whether Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy is a good fit for you.
The relationship between a therapist and a client is fundamental to the success of any engagement. This is an opportunity to get to know me and find out if my style of engagement would work for you.
You will gain a fresh perspective on what's been holding you back, and confidence in your ability to move forward in life.
An opportunity for you to ask me any questions or address any concerns you may have.
FAQs
What is Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy? How does it differ from more traditional therapy?
Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy is a proven, fast and effective agent for long term change, and has been successfully deployed in several organisations including Northumbria Police.
I take a holistic approach to supporting clients, addressing the cause of their problems, not just the symptoms. Unlike some other therapies, I don’t focus on a client’s issues beyond gaining an initial understanding. I also don’t perform any regression work or focus on past trauma. Sessions are conducted in a solution-focused manner, helping clients move forward with their lives. I use a combination of NLP, CBT, neuroscience, and hypnotherapy to facilitate rapid change in our clients. The goal of solution-focused hypnotherapy is to enable rapid, sustainable change.
Is Hypnotherapy safe? Will I lose control?
I use an element of trance in sessions to accelerate the therapeutic process, with solution-focused hypnotherapy being a core element of sessions. Trance is a very familiar state. All of us go into trance many times every day, for example, when we’re focusing on something we love doing, driving a regular route, or jogging. Trance is when the conscious and subconscious minds come together in focus, allowing you to access the vast resource library in your subconscious and helping you to get the very best out of yourself. It’s a myth that anyone can make you do something against your will in trance. You’re always in control, and your mind will “wake” you if it doesn’t feel safe or if there’s something you need to address. Typically, clients find this part of the process very relaxing and enjoyable.
Do you provide online sessions, and if so, are they as effective as in-person sessions?
Yes and yes!
Since Covid, many people have developed a preference for online interactions. The bulk of my sessions are now conducted over Zoom, giving clients the opportunity to relax within the comfort of their own homes.
The only request is that you ensure you have access to decent WiFi and are in a place where you can comfortably relax with minimal distractions.
Are there any conditions you can’t treat?
I specialise in working with clients who have mild to moderate anxiety or depression and related disorders. As a solution-focused hypnotherapist, I also work with individuals with high levels of anxiety or depression; however, clients need to be aware that this can be a longer process, and they may need to do this in conjunction with taking medication as diagnosed by their medical professional.
Suffering from a psychotic episode can mean that hypnosis is contraindicated, therefore hypnotherapy should not be received in that scenario. Those with a history of psychosis but who aren’t currently suffering from a psychotic episode can benefit from hypnotherapy to help address anxiety-related disorders.
Some physical ailments can be psychosomatic, but it’s important that they are properly assessed by a medical professional.
How many sessions does it take to overcome anxiety?
Everyone is different and I take a client led approach. You know how you feel and how many sessions you need to get to where you want to.
From experience, roughly 10-12 sessions is probably a good rule of thumb, however some people have significantly less, some a few more.