Anxiety 2 Calm

Anxiety Treatment - Testimonials, can you trust them?

2008-07-26T15:19:00.001-07:00

Look anywhere on the Internet for information on mental health or anxiety and you will find people telling you that what they think is best. More often than not there is some kind of financial advantage waiting for them if you follow their philosophy - it could be by buying their ebook or visiting them for treatment. The question is, how on earth do you know if what they are saying is true - can they really help your anxiety?

Most people who suffer from things like anxiety and low self esteem have a habit of thinking negatively. They would tend to look for reasons why treatment won't work, rather than look for reasons why it might. Add to this the fact that many of the treatments on offer for anxiety have not been ratified by proper scientific study and you have recipe for skepticism.

There is one important tool in the armoury of marketing and information: the testimonial.

More Info on Overcoming Anxiety - click here.

Testimonials try to circumvent the problem of statistical proof by providing empirical evidence, that is to say word of mouth endorsements. There is no substitute for rigorous statistical analysis and scientific study but empirical evidence does have its uses. For one they allow you to hear what someone who has experienced the treatment has to say about it. There are possible drawbacks, such as the fact that no one publishes negative feedback about what they are trying to sell. There used to be a site called remedyfind.com that allowed users to rate therapies and drugs. Of course it wasn't 100% scam-proof but it did give some fairly interesting information. It's major drawback was arguably the fact that people don't normally go on the Internet to talk about success unless they are making money from it! People with really effective anxiety cures get on with their lives.

I think testimonials on websites are worth reading, but be careful! I found some cases where remarkably similar or even identical testimonials are used by more than one site! Some organisations, like the IAPH, have created ways to certify testimonials as authentic. I think this is a good thing.

Ultimately, any anxiety cure worth it's salt will stand up to statistical analysis in the long run.

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,low self-esteem,testimonials,treatment,cure

What Hypnoanalysts Believe about Anxiety, Panic, Depression and Low Self-Confidence.

2008-07-15T10:37:00.001-07:00

As I have said elsewhere, looking for a solution - dare we say Cure - for anxiety and other mental health problems through regression is controversial. At the moment, hypnoanalysis (also called pure hypnosis) is at the cutting edge of addressing anxiety, panic, depression etc through releasing emotion attached to past trauma, especially in terms of guilt and shame. Let's look at the treatment of these anxiety and self esteem conditions through the eyes of a hypnoanalyst.

They believe that anxiety, depression and other common mental health (and many physical) problems arise from trauma that occurred in very early childhood. They believe that the trauma is ring-fenced off in a part of the brain where they are probably unconscious but sort of seep out - poisoning the rest of life by supposedly protecting us from perceived threats or causing low self-esteem and low self-worth.

More Info on Overcoming Anxiety - click here.

Through the process of hypnoanalysis we are able to use free association to link memories and move back on a paper trail through our memory banks. The mind is not guided in this, it is allowed to free associate between memories and thoughts old and new. Some of the memories might be from very early childhood, others from school and even some from adulthood - nothing is "wrong". Eventually, the trail will lead back into that ring-fenced area, where all the anxiety and depression come from. When a memory in that area is remembered and to an extent re-experienced it is like lancing a boil. The trapped emotion is released, it is a massive relief and all symptoms of anxiety and depression and whatever else was bothering the client is cleared up. This is normally achieved in about six to twelve sessions.

Hypnoanalysis for anxiety.

Anxiety and Hypnoanalysis.

del.icio.us Tags: hypnoanalysis,anxiety,depression,low,self esteem,self worth,guilt,shame,cure,panic attacks

Phobia Treatments - Desensitization

2008-07-10T07:29:00.001-07:00

Phobias are treated in many different ways. Some people favour a Flooding technique where someone is subjected to what they are phobic of until their symptoms subside and they learn, the hard way, that there is no danger and therefore nothing to be afraid of. Another popular treatment is desensitization, either with or without a Cognitive element (where faulty negative thinking is challenged).

Of course the alternative healthcare brigade come out in force for phobia treatments, with everything from EFT to Zero Balancing being touted as a instantaneous miracle cure.

Desensitization is the most common approach however, so let's examine it in more detail. The theory goes that for some reason (and in desensitization the reason for the initial fear, the cause of the phobia, is not considered at all important or relevant) a fear response has become attached to an object or situation. They theory states that if the subject can be persuaded to confront that situation and accept that there is no danger then they will remove that fear response, and no longer have the phobia.

The good news is that it does work well for lots of people, especially those with non-complex phobias, ie phobias of specific things like spiders or colours or types of weather. The bad news is that it doesn't treat any hidden causes or deal very well with secondary gain - so people with more complex phobias, like agoraphobia, may find that it causes their condition to change rather than improve - perhaps they will get back some of their mobility but not actually get over their anxiety disorder which has its roots in negative self image or trapped emotion. I should point out that many modern psychologists don't believe in repressed emotion as causes for anxiety or phobias and see exposure with cognitive therapy as the only worthwhile treatment for phobias and anxiety disorders.

The problem is, some people have phobias eve thought they never had a bad experience which attached a negative feeling to the situation. For example there are people who have never had trouble flying, but suddenly develop intense fear before a flight out of the blue. One wonders if this could be a case of someone attaching a negative experience from the past to a current event. If this is the case then that would seem to lend credence to the belief that we need to deal in some way with negativity from the past.

del.icio.us Tags: desensitization,anxiety,phobias,treatment,exposure,cbt

Massage for anxiety and stress relief

2008-07-05T10:06:00.001-07:00

Is massage therapy any good for anxiety? Massages have been around for years. It is one of those treatments that like acupuncture can be traced back through the ages. In fact it is probably even older than acupuncture - after all to place your hands on some part of your own or someone else's body that is in pain or trauma is one of the most natural thing. Research on the therapeutic efficacy of massage is fairly thin on the ground. Of course practitioners swear by it and certainly so do some clients. There is no doubt that it can be helpful for muscular injuries, but is it any good for anxiety, stress or any other mental health problem?

The answer is that temporarily speaking it probably is of some use. Research has found that the touch of another human being is calming and so in times of stress and anxiety this is likely to be helpful. And of course feeling a hand on your back, especially when it belongs to someone who cares about you, is bound to make the horror of a panic attack feel less bleak.

But what about long term? Is there any curative effects of massage vis a vis anxiety disorders? I personally was certainly once promised a cure by an ayurvedic expert. Of course it didn't work at all and no doubt the therapist went on to promise the next unsuspecting client the same miracle. In truth there is no scientific or psychological reason why massage should provide any long term solutions. I would be inclined to look at it as a topical, symptomatic treatment that might make you feel temporarily better. It doesn't help with any faulty thinking or core issues and is unlikely to bring about any lasting biochemical changes in the brain that might reduce anxiety, such as Serotonin or Dopamine stabilisation. That said, as short term treatments go it is much better than self-medicating alcohol or drugs!

Don't expect miracles from massage, and don't believe therapists that promise too much unless they can back it up with peer reviewed research or allow you to speak to a client they have helped.

del.icio.us Tags: massage,anxiety,stress,cure panic attacks,avurvedic,efficacy

The Power of the Subconscious - Anxiety

2008-06-29T04:51:00.001-07:00

Hi! Just a quick post because I came across something that might be useful for anxiety. The other day I was browsing in a bookshop and I came across a book called The Power of Your Subconscious Mind: One of the Most Powerful Self-help Guides Ever Written! by Joseph Murphy (also available in the USA - click here). Like many self-help books it promises the world, almost literally. It is not specifically aimed at anxiety sufferers, more at people who are unfulfilled and unhappy. I was intrigued, as I am interested in how we manifest our life and how what we believe and what we are conscious of effects our reality. And also of how what we are unconscious of is reflected on those around us. I have heard it said that we can achieve what we want by focusing on it.

I didn't buy this book, because I have kind of vowed never to buy another self-help book again. If they are worth their salt they are probably available in the library anyway.

As luck would have it, I googled around the idea of the power of the subconscious and found a site where, presumably legally, they are giving away the same Joseph Murphy book as a free download. The site is livethepower.com, and you do need to register before they email it to you. But still, it's probably worth it if you want to save some cash - and as i say, it's presumably a legal download!

Is this book any good for people with anxiety and phobias? Well, I must admit that I haven't read it yet...but getting more of what those people who "seem to have it all" get is probably a good thing. And maybe the book will work for that!

Anyway, it's free!

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,subconscious,power,mind,joseph murphy,ebook

Relationship Anxiety

2008-06-27T16:59:00.001-07:00

I recently received a comment on a blog which I think needs to be dealt with in some detail. The comment was on a blog post from some time ago which dealt with the effects of anxiety on sexual health, intimacy and impotence (especially performance anxiety). You can read the full post and the comments, entitled Anxiety, impotence, Male Sexual Health and Performance by following this link.

The comment I am referring to is the sixth one from the top. To summarise: a relationship has developed in which a man is pushing his partner away in terms of intimacy, saying that he "can't give love" and worried about "the loss of freedom" that a relationship brings with it.

These problems, it seems, are not that uncommon. What's more they are common amongst people who suffer from anxiety and depression and also common amongst people who are unhappy in life even if they aren't really aware of their emotional situation. I would argue that this goes far beyond sexual performance anxiety, it is far more complex than that. A man may well feel unable to perform or unconfident in bed as part of an anxiety disorder, but this seems to be about a fear of relationships, not a fear of impotence.

Why would someone fear a relationship? Especially someone who has issues involving anxiety and/or depression? Well, the reasons could be many-fold, but the truth of the matter is that there are many many people out there that can not handle the idea of committing to a serious relationship. Of course there are those free spirits who want to play around and not settle down, but this is a different thing; such people seldom shy away from intimacy, instead they seek it and then move on with no pretence of relationship longevity.

What I am talking about more is people who get stuck in anxious ambivalence. Wanting a relationship but not thinking they can cope with it. More often than not this is likely have its roots in past relationships both romantic and familiar. It has been mooted that people whose parents got divorced and who felt neglected can go on to have great difficulty committing to a relationship. Likewise those who have been treated badly by a previous partner can have equal difficulty. It is not that surprising that people with a history of anxiety and depression can have difficulty forming attachments and committing for various reasons.

Firstly, they are people who are likely to have been hurt. Anxiety and depression are almost synonymous with low self-esteem, low self-worth and negativity. They are also conditions that make it hard to meet people and that tend to put off potential partners. This then contributes to a feeling of great loss when relationships fail. Also, people with anxiety and depression might have attachment issues, making breaking up that much harder. Either consciously or unconsciously that person might well seek to defend themselves by not committing to a relationship, refusing intimacy, pushing a partner away or being ambivalent, emotional distant and detached.

So what can you do if you or your (potential) partner is in this bind? The answer is to tread very carefully and to be as open and honest about feelings as possible. Some people may need to discuss past events with a trained professional, some people might benefit from relationship counselling. What a lot of people might need is space and time, especially if their relationship anxiety is based on bad adult relationships.

The first goal is for the person to recognise they have a problem, from that point onwards relationship normality and satisfying intimacy or completely achievable.

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,impotence,sexual health,intimacy,relationship anxiety,depression

Update to Anxiety 2 Calm Free Programme - Root Cause

2008-06-22T11:32:00.001-07:00

Hi!

After years of procrastination I am finally sorting out the free programme that I mean to put online ages ago, and has been partially online since summer 2006! I am so lazy and I am sorry.

Anyway, today I uploaded the first of the new pages which will suggest exercises to do. This page is all about exercises and advice for discovering root causes of anxiety.

Some people believe that finding the cause of anxiety and releasing any emotion attached to the original trigger event is the only way of truly recovering or curing yourself of anxiety. Other people, most notably current psychological opinion, suggests that finding the root causes is not necessarily helpful at all. The argument will run and run.

If you think you might have a past cause of anxiety to deal with, it's better to start now than wait for science to come to some kind of consensus!

For the main page of the Free Anxiety Programme - Click Here!

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,root cause,free programme,anxiety 2 calm

Hunger Hormone Ghrelin has antidepressant anti-anxiety effect

2008-06-16T10:56:00.001-07:00

The BBC today reported some interesting research from Nature Neuroscience which suggests an important link between Ghrelin (a hormone produced in the stomach to tell the brain to produce feelings of hunger) and depression and anxiety.

It is quite hard to tell from the report whether having higher or lower doses of this hormone might help:

"Our findings in mice suggest that chronic stress causes Ghrelin levels to go up, and that behaviours associated with depression and anxiety decrease when Ghrelin levels rise," This quote by Dr Zigman would seem to suggest that being hungry makes us calmer. Problem is, a lot of anxious people actually comfort eat and other certainly use foods like chocolate and ice cream to calm themselves down in a crisis.

Like the antidepressant Celexa, a side effect of raised Ghrelin levels would be somewhat liable to lead to wight gain, as it induces hunger. Maybe that is something that could be remedied before any potential product came onto the market.

Like all of these stories, the research seems to promise a lot but whether the product will actually ever be realised is another matter. Often these things sink without a trace (there was a similar Cortisol story a few years ago). At any rate, it would take 10 years for research and development.

Furthermore, are drugs really ever going to be the answer to psychological problems? The debate goes on!

del.icio.us Tags: ghrelin,anxiety,depression,cure,link,weight gain,drug,research,nature neuroscience,bbc

Hypnoanalysis for Anxiety - The clinical, empirical proof and evidence

2008-06-14T16:25:00.001-07:00

The fact of the matter is, there is no proof hypnoanalysis works for anxiety. That is to say that there are no rigorous scientific studies that have used acceptable research methods to prove that Hypnoanalysis is better than a placebo therapy or one of the other therapies available like CBT when it comes to treating anxiety disorders or panic attacks.

Does that mean you should avoid hypnoanalysis like the plague? It is after all expensive and won't there be some strange man messing around in your head?

Actually, I wouldn't say that at all. For while there is no evidence that Hypnoanalysis works, there is no evidence that it doesn't. The statistics have never been crunched, the experiments have never been done. It is difficult to do such research as there are many different approaches to hypnoanalysis. That said, a university psychology department that had the inclination and the funding could conduct a trial using one of the mainstream hypnoanalytical methods. It would also make sense for one of the larger hypnoanalysis organisations (that no doubt charge their members an annual fee) should pay for independent, rigorous research into the efficacy of hypnoanalysis on anxiety. These organisations tend to say things like "why should we organise research into something we know works?". This is a very silly argument indeed.

Research into anxiety treatment through hypnoanalysis would validate the treatment, lead to more clients for hypnotherapists, better recognition for the intervention and of course cure more people of anxiety - if the therapy proved to be successful. If it doesn't work then at least people know.

Also, research needs to take into account the level of efficacy. For example we are often told that CBT helps 80% of patients, but helps them how much? If, for example, hypnoanalysis cured only 25% of patients, while CBT helped 80% of anxiety sufferers to cope with the basics of day to day life then the one in four chance of a complete resolution through hypnoanalysis would like like an avenue worth exploring for most anxiety sufferers. (This is based on the claim that through a psychodynamic approach hypnoanalysis removes the cause of the anxiety, as it claims to do).

So, more research please!

Hypnotherapy

del.icio.us Tags: hypnoanalysis,hypnotherapy,anxiety,panic,attacks,proof,evidence,empirical,scientific

anxiety and hypnoanalysis

2008-05-25T15:22:00.001-07:00

There are many treatments for anxiety and very little research to show what works and how. At present, if you are not taking a SSRI antidepressant like Celexa, or having CBT, then scientifically you are on dodgy ground, because they are the only officially recognised long-term treatments for anxiety. But, the thing is the SSRI's only treat the symptoms, and there are a lot of complex cases where people do not get the relief they feel they need from CBT...that leaves us in the domain of unproven anxiety solutions. Like hypnoanalysis.

It is very hard to test the efficacy of something like hypnosis, because there are different techniques and every practitioner is different. There also isn't one standard training or accreditation. Hypnotherapists tend to say they can cure everything and anything! I have seen a documentary where a renowned hypnotherapist failed to make any impact on a simple phobia. I have also seen a documentary where a man was treated with hypnotic regression and instantly got over a fear of flying!

There are two types of hypnotherapy. Suggestion hypnosis is the standard kind, which seeks to re-programme faulty thinking just by suggestion when you are in a relaxed state. Hypnoanalysis however is somewhat like a speedy version of psychotherapy, where the aim is to get to the cause and eliminate it, thus freeing you permanently.

So, does it work? Well, it's hard to tell. The practitioners say yes, and certainly there does seem to be some positive feedback around. Double-blind studies? No chance! (If you know of some, give me an email!) I do think that if CBT hasn't worked for you then maybe it would be worth a try...it is much cheaper than long term psychotherapy, has more science behind it than EFT and generally makes a good case for itself.

If you can afford it, go for it!

del.icio.us Tags: hypnoanalysis,hypnosis,hypnotherapy,anxiety,cbt,eft,cure,treat

Relationship Breakdown Anxiety

2008-05-19T10:18:00.001-07:00

Most of us have been chucked, dumped, ditched and jilted since we were teenagers. Very few lucky people have never experienced the heart-wrenching, sickening low that follows the ultimate rejection by someone you love. In a way, being chucked can be worse than bereavement! When someone you love decides that they are happier without you in their life it is impossible to comprehend. It is a great stress on life.

It is also worse for the anxiety sufferer more often than not because they tend to have lower self-esteem and tend to beat themselves up over what has happened. They also have a tendency to attach themselves to people and objects, so breaking away can be all the harder.

Normally most people who get chucked go through some phases. Firstly we tend to feel shocked - this can often manifest as insomnia, agitation, inability to relax, racing mind and worry.

Then we often go into denial in which we may have relatively euphoric episodes where we believe everything is going to be ok, that we will get back together, that they still love us.

More often than not we also feel some anger and some guilt. Eventually the "just good friends" thing starts to sour (although it may come back later!).

For the anxiety sufferer, the above may be summed up in just one word: anxiety. They may just feel lots of anxiety and depression or blackness. It might be useful in these cases to look at exactly what they are thinking - just to identify and experience the correct emotion.

It might also be useful to look at the loss. When a relationship ends, we lose something, in fact we lose many things. Let me give you an example of all the losses which might add to or cause extra anxiety in your life.

Firstly you lose the love of a person, secondly you lose the physical side of the relationship. Then you lose the comfort and company.

You also lose some self esteem as you try to work out why you were rejected.

You may well lose some social standing as you feel that everyone is talking about you, laughing at you or feeling sorry for you.

You lose control because you can not choose the way the relationship will go. And control is very important to anxiety sufferers.

Finally you lose self-respect as you see that person enjoying their life more without you than with you, and inevitable entering another relationship!

The good news is, it all comes back with time. The bad news is, it feels absolutely awful! Use this negative experience to tackle some of your insecurities.

del.icio.us Tags: relationship anxiety,chucked,dumped,split up,anxiety,stress,loss

Anxiety and Anger

2008-05-03T06:58:00.001-07:00

I have become interested in the idea that much of what we suffer as anxiety or depression is unresolved anger. Some people are of the opinion that we are carrying around "Toxic" levels of anger, from our past and present, which are making us feel anxious.

There is a whole therapy dedicated to this belief, which is called "redirecting self therapy". The therapy involves releasing anger form the past by punching pillows (or other activities) while holding a scene or a picture of a past abuser in your mind. There are a few web-sites that wax lyrical about this therapy, but it is a bit hard to find success stories. It is true though, that people tend not to publish so much good news online.

Certainly, it might be worth looking at your anxiety, depression and a host of other symptoms as repressed anger.

The big question is this: So, I've got repressed anger and I feel anxious and bad a lot of the time. I may or may not know the things that made me angry in the past. What can I do about it?

Well, the answer is, to feel the anger! To let it come to the surface and acknowledge it. I like to write down my anger, sometimes express it as a letter to the person who made me angry. At other times I say it out loud. Sometimes I think it while I rip up old newspapers. The Internet is fairly awash with ways to let anger out. I think the key is maybe not how you release anger, but when you release it.

I recently had a situation where someone I was fond of didn't want to spend time with me. I felt anxious due to being rejected. I thought it meant she didn't like me and didn't want to be with me. As I was in need of some company I really felt quite bad about this, and when I say bad I mean rather depressed and anxious and worried. I had a kind of empty feeling. So what I did was to look at what had happened as anger, instead of anxiety or depression. I tried to think of why I might be angry and the answer was obvious. The person didn't want to see me. I wrote it down: How dare you reject me! Do you think you are better than me? Who are you to do this to me? I made sacrifices to spend time with you... etc etc. It might sound whacky but soon I felt much better, I felt that I had accessed what I had actually been feeling, and I felt better about myself!

So, anger is something that is worth thinking about if anxiety and depression and panic are problems in your life!

del.icio.us Tags: anger,anxiety,depression,panic attacks,redirecting self therapy

'My Depression Is Getting Out Of Control'

2008-04-30T09:13:00.001-07:00

By Michael Cohen, founder of the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation

Sarah* experiences depression with extreme emotional patterns including: sadness, tearful outbursts, low confidence, anxiety, distress, mugginess, irrationality...hormone imbalance, lethargy, tightness in chest, indigestion, stomach cramps, diarrhoea and shortness of breath.

Sarah says, “I am experiencing the depression and the other symptoms for an average of 1 in every 3 weeks. It [the depression] is getting to the point of being out of control”.

At 34 years-old Sarah finds herself losing the ability to function in a rational and able way, both in her work and social life. The irrationality, a key symptom to her ‘depression’, is one of the most destructive elements, affecting her sanity and ability to see a way out of her black hole.

For 7 years Sarah has been suffering with severe depression. Having been prescribed with Prozac she found herself stuck and unable to move forward. She decided that she needed a different approach to tackle her ‘depression’ head on, and sought treatment with me at the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation’s Clinic in Central London.

What transpired for Sarah is a revelation on one level and a total relief on another. Most amazing for her was that she did not have to do any work…no talking about her problems, the depression, the trigger or the solution!

Moving beyond the ‘illness’

Sarah’s case history reveals that the Bioenergy Healing Treatment had the ability to rewire her brain in such a way that it was like pressing some master reset buttons. This had a major affect on her perception.

After all it was her perception that was so distorted, that it brought about her symptoms and needless to say the irrationality.

Research and treatment here at the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation have led to a heightened level of successful results on a wide range of clients with debilitating and difficult symptoms.

Michelle* flew all the way from New Zealand to come for treatment after experiencing 30 years of depression. It was so ingrained in her that she couldn’t see beyond it. A `few months after treatment she sent an email to say ‘”That the results from your treatment Michael is 100% positive”

Cases like Michelle’s helps you to appreciate that there is nothing permanent about what you think, know or experience. It’s just how your brain is currently configured. And on the basis that you haven’t had any surgery that has caused any permanent change, then it is possible for the brain to be re-wired.

Our cutting edge approach here at the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation has seen 12-year-old William* transform from being a very quiet, subdued and as his mum said “solemn” little boy to 7 months down the line being awarded a scholarship to a public school.

For William, all his shifts and improvements occur at a pace that his body’s system could cope with. Therefore, there were no major dips or steps backward. Improvements were continuous, consistent and sustained.

Post treatment, when I visited his home having not seen him for 2 months, it was like meeting a new person. He was communicative, expressive and most importantly he was alive with energy and vibrancy.

When William came for treatment his mother was not looking for a miracle cure; just hopeful that he would gain some improvements to make home and school life more enjoyable. She had no idea that she would see her boy’s life transform in such a way.

How Bioenergy Healing Can Re-wire the Brain

The Bioenergy Healing techniques uses non-invasive hands-on / off techniques that are able to work with the client’s electromagnetic circuitry system. This holistic yet scientific approach of working with this circuitry system encompasses and accesses every cell in the body as well as the mind.

The dynamic aspect to the effectiveness of the technique is the way it can pinpoint the areas in the brain (neurons) and the body’s neurological connections that are either not switched-on or need to be defragmentated (re-organised). This approach brings order to the way the mind works and how it connects to the physical body.

A key aspect to the success of Bioenergy Healing treatment is NOT having to go down the cognitive route, nor determine which issue is to be dealt with first based on the severity of the symptom or what the textbook says.

I use a unique Bioenergy Healing technique to scan your body with my eyes. It is precise and specific and enables me to pinpoint the primary points in your body on that day, without referring to your past. Moving beyond the textbook enables you to be treated individually and according to how your symptoms resonate in your body and mind. This approach has led to the heightened level of results at the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation.

Once the primary point is located, I use hands-on techniques to activate the point sending a message to the brain to release the point that is blocked. Then I use hands-off techniques to release the memory pattern on a psychological level as well as on the cellular level.

Put together, the Bioenergy Healing techniques cause a shift in your perception releasing the trigger that was the root cause of the symptom with respect to the mind as well as bringing order to the cells on a physical level. All without having to address the whys, when’s and how’s.

The results speak for themselves!

To read more about treatment, training, research and case studies at the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation visit www.bioenergyhealing.org.uk or email info@bioenergyhealing.org.uk or telephone 0845 4561336.

Authors Biography

Michael Cohen

Founder of the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation

Founder of RaphaYad Bioenergy Healing Technique

Michael Cohen, founder of the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation is an acknowledged expert in the field of Bioenergy Healing. His Bioenergy Healing Clinic in London W1 specialises in treating debilitating, difficult and long-term symptoms.

Michael’s ongoing exploratory and experimental approach to his work is at the cutting edge of Bio-energy medicine and healing treatment. Most importantly they have led to the extraordinary high level of results and his work continues to push the boundaries of human: rehabilitation, development and potential.

Contact

Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation, London

Tel: 0845 456 1336

Email: info@bioenergyhealing.org.uk

Web: www.bioenergyhealing.org.uk

Complementary Medical Association

British Complementary Medical Association

*The clients names have been replaced in order to protect her privacy. Should you wish her case history to be verified please contact the administration office.

del.icio.us Tags: bioenergy,depression

anxiety, panic and phobias - what worked for me

2008-04-17T10:16:00.001-07:00

As in my last post, I am going to continue on the theme of what treatments actually work, and if any of the magical, instantaneous, easy cures actually work.

As I have talked about before, the only common remedies for anxiety, panic and phobias that have any scientific backing are the drug therapies (Citalopram / Celexa, fluoxetine / Prozac, Xanax and Valium etc) and CBT. There is also a decent body of evidence supporting the use of MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction). The reason given for the lack of data on other forms of treatment is that proper experimentation is very expensive. This is indeed true.

To try and get round this, I am devising my own experiment. Which I cannot say is really scientific, but I think it is interesting any way. I am going to use a popular search engine to look for personal recommendations. I want to see what has worked for who, how they went about it and what they said about it.

Why am I doing this? Good question...

It struck me the other day that there is a lot of hot air and hubris surrounding alternative healthcare. I was watching a BBC documentary about addictions and they featured two therapies that interested me: EMDR and TFT.

I have seen both of them on documentaries before, usually on either diet or anxiety programmes. Interestingly they almost always fails. There are notable exceptions, but for the most part the people they show on the programme do not get over their problems. And the therapist is left telling the camera how much he believes in the therapy, and how such failures are unusual. In fact for all the hype surrounding these therapies, and all the claims of the therapists, there never seems to be anyone around who will put their hand up and say "yes, it cured me!".

Is it in fact possible that these therapies are absolutely worthless - especially when you bare in mind how many people are successfully treated by the placebo effect! These treatments can be a good way, or at least are perceived to be a good way, to make money. And the therapists, blinded by charismatic gurus, can be lead to believe that something works when it doesn't. For example, when TFT or EFT doesn't work the therapists and experts are quick to blame toxicity. Toxicity occurs when a chemical such as soap powder causes the treatment to be blocked in some way. As most people can't or won't go through the rigours of removing all potential toxins it is an easy get out from the situation for the therapist.

I once read an interview with a woman who had been at the forefront of an energy therapy that involved tapping. She said that she suddenly noticed that what they had recorded as an 85% plus success rate was in fact much closer to 30%, it was just that they repeatedly removed results from their statistics that didn't make the therapy look successful. There was nothing malicious in this, she argues, they were just so caught up in the whole thing that they were certain it worked, and wanted to prove it.

So. I am going to google three phrases:

"EMDR worked for me"

"EFT worked for me"

"Hypnosis worked for me"

The quotation marks are important, they will ensure that only pages which contain exactly those phrases will be returned. There is no mention of anxiety, panic or phobias here. That is deliberate. I am trying to see if they work. I don't care if I find they work for quitting smoking or anything else. I am going on the assumption that if they work, then they work across the board. It's a dangerous assumption, but I warned you this wouldn't be perfect.

Results:

"EMDR worked for me" got 6 returns.

"EFT worked for me" got 70 returns.

"Hypnosis worked for me" got 514 returns.

Interesting results. It is also worth looking at the quality of the results. Quite a few came from sites which are obviously trying to sell a certain cure - "it worked for me - send me $100 and it can work for you too!". But there are some people out there who were helped by these three therapies. More than just the placebo effect?? Who can say without proper science!

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,panic attack,phobias,panic,emdr,eft,hypnosis,experiment,scientific,emperical,evidence,proof.

The truth about phobia and anxiety treatments

2008-04-14T11:38:00.001-07:00

I am trying to compile a small list of common treatments for anxiety and phobias which actually work. Easy, you might say, just look on Google or in a book shop. Problem is, there is a lot of rubbish out there and it's really hard to tell what's good and what's bad, and more importantly where an anxiety or phobia sufferer might best look for help.

There are two provisos that I want to make clear at the start of this post:

Firstly, I accept that no one treatment in any field however scientifically backed or esoteric works for everyone. If such a treatment did work for everyone then there would be no need for this list and everyone would be cured!

Secondly when I judge what works I want to see real evidence. I don't want to know about conventional wisdom, I don't care if it has been used for centuries, and I don't care hoe many people therapists or treatment inventors claim to have healed!

CBT

I won't say too much about CBT here because I have talked about it in general terms in the article CBT and criticized it a bit in this article: CBT - The Great Con. I will just summarize my thoughts here. CBT is good for things you can practice a lot and can make yourself do even though it is uncomfortable at first. It is bad for things you can't get into the habit of doing regularly or bring yourself to do in the first place. If you are really stuck then this won't necessarily get you going!

Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a common treatment usually offered privately. It is very hard to measure because there are many different types and many different practitioners. I have been trying to find some studies that prove hypnosis is a valid treatment for anxiety or phobias, but I can't really find any. If anyone can find some, I will edit this!

Psychoanalysis

It seems psychoanalysis might be good for general anxiety levels, but like CBT it is maybe not so good for getting you passed blocks that actually stop you doing something. Freud himself is said to have said that psychoanalysis does not remove a phobia so much as put the patient in a position from which they can face it (i.e overcoming it through behaviourism). Psychoanalysis is hard to measure because something which takes so long can't be isolated from other potentially important factors. It is not unusual for anxiety to come and go over time anyway.

Energy Therapies

By Energy Therapies I mean EFT, TFT and other meridian or tapping therapies such as TAT. They have been popular for almost two decades now but there is still very little research to support them. Advocates of these therapies claim that they work but the research that would prove this is too expensive to conduct. This is indeed true, drug companies can conduct extensive research into drugs because their end product will be protected by patent laws etc. The only hope is for university studies...which I have not been able to find! The exception is the oft-sited ENERGY PSYCHOLOGY
Theory, Indications, Evidence by Joaquín Andrade, M.D. and David Feinstein, Ph.D.

This study is very positive and makes EFT look like a really good approach. It has been criticized for not being double-blind but the statistics are interesting. For more info check out http://www.emotional-freedom.com/tapping-works.htm and http://www.innersource.net/energy_psych/epi_research.htm

I will add to this list as time goes on! Please also let me know your thoughts and ideas!

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,phobias,treatment,eft,energy therapy,psychoanalysis,hypnosis,list

Anxiety and Anger

2008-04-05T11:55:00.001-07:00

Can there be a link between anxiety and anger? Recently, the UK's Mental Health Foundation released a report entitled "Boiling Point" which describes how anger, if left untreated, can lead to other health problems, including mental health problems such as depression. I will argue that anxiety should be on that list as well.

The charity's chief executive described anger as "the elephant in the room". It is massively under diagnosed and under treated. Interestingly, in the UK, anger only tends to get treated because of a court order when someone has become so angry they commit a crime, or because the individual has sought private and/or alternative therapy. Very few people are being treated for anger having presented at their GP's surgery with it.

So what about anxiety and anger? Is there a relationship? The statistical answer is that we don't yet know. There has been some research into the effects of anger, mostly by looking at the lives of people with anger versus people without. Some very interesting conclusions have been drawn, including that those people who have anger have a higher risk of heart disease, strokes, self-harming and also depression.

Depression is the item there that I find the most interesting. It is my theory that people are like an over-filled bottle, and when the pressure gets to high the cracks begin to show - in the weakest place. Different reasons probably effect why different people have different weaknesses. It could be that people have minor genetic bents towards anxiety, or anorexia, either way. What I am saying is that repressed anger, or anger which goes unmanaged, could possibly manifest as anxiety. It seems to me that what can manifest as anxiety can also manifest as depression. I have experienced both myself.

It's just a theory and hopefully there will be more research done into the connection between anxiety and anger.

What can be done about it? There are of course anger management classes to be had in every major town or city across the western world, and of course the plethora of alternative and complimentary therapies. I will do what I often do at this point, and say that whether you are suffering from anxiety, anger or indeed depression, why not try Mindfulness Meditation.

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,anger,depression,mindfulness meditation,boiling over,link

Stress Hardiness - beat anxiety?

2008-03-25T11:49:00.001-07:00

I recently read about a concept called Stress Hardiness, which was first coined by Susanne Kobasa. To cut a long story short stress, in whatever form it enters your life, is a contributing factor to anxiety. If we can control our stress levels and respond to stress more appropriately then we can start to control our anxiety levels more. Note that I don't use "beat stress" here. That is because stress is in our lives and makes us move and act, without any stressors for a length of time life is pretty dull.

Beating anxiety come, in part, from controlling how we react to stress.

Most of us don't like stress. But some lucky blighters seem to positively thrive on it. Some people manage to use stress to promote them to great heights! Others tend to go the opposite direction, being reduced to fear, panic, insomnia and of course anxiety.

So why is it that some people apparently like stress, while others can't stand it. Well, like so much of life (and even more of mental health) it comes down to attitude.

Kobasa found that there are three attitudes that help people thrive from stress:

1. Number one is "Commitment". That means that it's ok for some things in life to cause you stress, but they need to be things you are committed to. A job you love can still be stressful, but when a job you hate is stressful you are very unhappy. In fact, we all go through immense amounts of stress for things we love: childbirth and pregnancy, bank holiday traffic, exercise programmes. These things that cause us stress but that we don't mind so catastrophically (and if you give it a few minutes thought I am sure you can identify your own in your life) are good signs, now you can tell yourself that you can take stress, instead of constantly reinforcing the idea that you can't.

2. Number two is "control". The more control you have in a situation the more stress you can take. Of course you can't control the whole lot, or everyone, but you can control some parts of situations and willfully decide to relinquish control of the other parts, this is also strangely empowering.

3. Number three is "challenge". That basically means you need to be able to see the problem you are tackling as an opportunity to grow and find out new things. If you see struggles in that light they become easier to deal with.

For anxiety sufferers the key is to try and reassess the stress in your life using those criteria, and starting with the smallest trying to reengage with that area of stress and this time, control it!

del.icio.us Tags: stress hardiness,stress and exercise,anxiety,panic attack,insomnia,control,commitment,challenge

Morning Pages - anxiety aid?

2008-03-19T14:32:00.001-07:00

I have always secretly harboured ambitions of becoming a writer. In fact when I was younger I wrote three novels....sadly none of them were published and maybe it's easy to see why. How is this linked to anxiety? Keep reading, you'll see.

Over the past few years I have dreamt of once again becoming a writer. But I found that I had no motivation and few ideas, or at least the ideas I had seemed to evaporate when they were put down on paper. Elsewhere on anxiety2calm I have blogged about Art Therapy, a form of psychotherapy where art (usually visual art) is used to let the subconscious communicate. This can be helpful in untangling problems such as misunderstood motivations and ambivalence that would otherwise manifest as anxiety. I have tried it and I can vouch that it was extremely helpful.

It was while talking to an Art Therapist that I discovered the book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron available in both the UK and USA. It is basically a book about unblocking creativity, but I think some of the exercises in it are equally helpful for unblocking aspects of yourself that are causing anxiety. The main aspect of the book, or at least one of them, is this idea of "morning pages". The details are in the book but basically you write freestyle, three pages each morning before you do anything. You can write about anything you want and the only real rule is that you write without stopping. You do tend to find that recurring themes come up and that these can guide you and educate you as to blockages in your life. I must admit I found it helpful as both a writer and someone who is prone to anxiety or depression. It felt good and was worth the struggle.

I recommend writing down all your worries big and small, setting aside some time every day. I know it's hard to find time, but make time! It will be worth it. Try it for two months, I don't think you will look back!

del.icio.us Tags: anxiety,art therapy,morning pages,the artists way,julia cameron,depression,therapy

Financial Anxiety

2008-03-16T15:23:00.001-07:00

The credit crunch, insolvency, debt, Bear Stearns, repossession, inflation, sub-prime. All of these words are enough to cause palpitations in even the toughest! As the western world deals with a financial crisis, many normal people are feeling the squeeze and what is worse, it is causing them anxiety and stress.

And I don't just mean worry, financial anxiety is very real and it can actually hinder people from making the decisions and thinking about the things they need to change.

Financial anxiety is in fact like any other kind of anxiety. Our primeval protections mechanisms are kicking in exactly when we don't need them, exactly when a cool calm head is the order of the day. This is typical of anxiety and all the normal advice for anxiety including mindfulness meditation is the order of the day.

But wait, don't fly headlong into therapy or start to spend money on get rich quick schemes are get over anxiety programmes. Instead, try and combat what your body is riling against. Often anxiety is about a lack of control, and in financial anxiety it is likely to be the same. After all, you feel that your house, your security, your life is in the hands of faceless suits in London or Washington, managers at mortgage companies and banking staff.

Your best bet is to take as much control as you can, and that means doing something not nothing. Open every line of communication you can. Seek advice from support groups like the Citizens Advice Bureau in the UK or the various debt advice agencies available in the USA (check with your local library or town hall). Become an expert, ask questions on forums, read books. And don't be afraid to ask for pay raises and look for new jobs.

The best things will come to those who are striving for them in this environment. But of course you must beware of vagabonds - vultures always prey on the desperate.

Actually, if it all goes wrong financially it doesn't mean it is the end of your life. The old sayings are true, money is not happiness, you can still go on to be happy and get back on your feet financially, if you start to live and love more mindfully.

What's more, in the course of your life financial worries will probably come and go.

del.icio.us Tags: financial anxiety,anxiety,credit crunch,insolvency,debt,Bear Stearns,repossession,inflation,sub-prime,money,finance,stress

Anxiety 2 Calm

Anxiety Treatment - Testimonials, can you trust them?

What Hypnoanalysts Believe about Anxiety, Panic, Depression and Low Self-Confidence.

Phobia Treatments - Desensitization

Massage for anxiety and stress relief

The Power of the Subconscious - Anxiety

Relationship Anxiety

Update to Anxiety 2 Calm Free Programme - Root Cause

Hunger Hormone Ghrelin has antidepressant anti-anxiety effect

Hypnoanalysis for Anxiety - The clinical, empirical proof and evidence

Related Articles

anxiety and hypnoanalysis

Relationship Breakdown Anxiety

Anxiety and Anger

'My Depression Is Getting Out Of Control'

By Michael Cohen, founder of the Bioenergy Healing Research Foundation

Moving beyond the ‘illness’

How Bioenergy Healing Can Re-wire the Brain

Authors Biography

Michael Cohen

Contact

Complementary Medical Association

British Complementary Medical Association

anxiety, panic and phobias - what worked for me

The truth about phobia and anxiety treatments

Anxiety and Anger

Stress Hardiness - beat anxiety?

Morning Pages - anxiety aid?

Financial Anxiety