OK, well here’s my personal story. I suffered from minor anxiety issues for 8 years! I couldn’t speak or read in public. Whenever it came time to speak or read in public I would feel like collapsing. This is because my body and mind was adapted to creating fear and anxiety in these worthless situations, almost as if it were instinctual. So I got fed up with my anxiety and went on a search for a cure. So I meet a wonderful Hypnotist named, Suzanne Haik-Hynes, at A Natural Journey, llc Hypnosis Center. We went through a hypnosis session which felt as if I was sleeping, to tell the truth. In the session we went into my subconscious mind in order to get to the root causes of my concerns about these things. In the end, after uncovering some of the possible early underlying reasons for my anxieties, and reviewing my personal characteristics, we came to a true conclusion, that I am smart, articulate, brave, and have much to share with others. We have a purpose and there’s is nothing that can bring us down. This is what needs to be going through our minds 24/7.
So after the therapy I felt like I made no progress, but was NOT going to give up. Whenever an, “I can’t”, came to mind. I immediately changed it to an “I CAN”, as Suzanne had guided me. So I practiced it for a couple of days and then had to face my fear. The second I heard that I had to speak in public, I instantly panicked, instinctively. I kept telling myself positives and kept my breathing in sync. I told myself “I am aware of my panic and I know it’s something I programed myself to do by mistake. I am safe. More importantly I am smart; I speak well, I am grateful for this opportunity to share with others; I am brave; and, many other true things. This was very easy because I have practiced it for a while, and now trained my self to believe it!! So when I got up to speak I was calm and the idea of panicking vanished.
It was great to know that I’m in control. This is a practice that will ultimately become a walk in the park. I do still feel the panic at times, but I am in control and can make it come and go as I wish. It is only fair that this process takes time, due to the reason that I had, unrealizingly, programmed my mind for such a long time. What we NEED to do is constantly feed our self “I can’s” and other positive statements. This sounds too simplistic but it’s the truth, we are able to keep feeding ourselves positives, until ultimately it becomes an, automatic, subconscious act. Almost like breathing, but breathing is also important. I found breathing to be a huge contributing factor to overcoming my anxiety.
I hope this helps others because this realization helped me. We have the power to change our minds and ultimately our live. But CHANGE is the hardest thing we can do, but it’s vital for a better life and future.