Anxiety

Anxiety is extremely common and can range from being a minor affliction to something overwhelming and debilitating.  It most often expresses itself as tension, worry, and physical changes like increased blood pressure. Clients I see with anxiety disorders usually have recurring thoughts that they have difficulty in turning off. Worries may be limiting their work and personal life.

Anxiety can manifest in many ways – it can be that uneasy, nauseous feeling in your stomach, it can be a drop in your confidence and self-esteem, a desire to retract not want to socialise, a feeling of dread or unease upon waking, a drop in or loss of libido. It can be as simple as standing in the supermarket and being unable to decide over whether you should buy apples or pears…….an inability to make simple decisions. It can be crippling, debilitating or it can have just a touch on your life.

It’s important to understand that it is not just a mental state, it is a feedback loop of worry, fear, apprehension and tension that has been switched on and that cannot be switched off regardless of what is happening around the person. Often it is something that people need help with and my clients come to me looking for support and guidance.

I work on breaking the feedback loop in the body which allows for the mental and physical state to be reset. It can be simple or complex to reset depending on the factors that are involved e.g. hormones, fears and worries, lifestyle factors, diet etc. It can be a physiological short circuit and is self-perpetuating as the body and mind lock on to the same thing and form a never-ending loop.

I help clients by calming the physiological aspects using a range of massage and acupressure TCM techniques. The centre of thoughts is not the brain as lots of think but in the solar plexus and stomach area which is why when people are worried or fearful or have an anxiety or panic attack they feel discomfort in that area. By releasing tension through abdominal massage, it allows opening in the area which creates space between the mind (thoughts) and the body which creates a sense of calm.

If clients have been dealing with the stress of anxiety for a long time their general overall condition can become weakened leading to adrenal fatigue and poor absorption of food which results in weight loss or gain. I look to help them back to a stable foundation including a basic routine and nutrition allowing the body to tip the balance back to feeling grounded and more in control.

Sometimes there are life factors that cannot be changed for a variety of reasons, so I focus on what we can improve, strengthen and ground to help support them with engaging in life better.

The benefits my clients talk about include:

• Feeling calmer
• Back in control
• Able to go out in the world
• Reduction in social and work anxieties
• Better digestion and appetite
• More sustained energy
• Better sleep
• Having tools to use as needed