Alcohol Treatment & Recovery Using Hypnotherapy

Alcohol treatment and recovery from alcoholism using hypnosis can be a very effective and affordable method for  individuals to get their life back from their drinking habit.  When using a well-designed and comprehensive hypnotherapy program, it’s possible to quit drinking more easily for about 10% of the cost of most in-patient rehab programs. If your drinking problem does not require medical detox, hypnosis can be a great solution.

When a person’s alcohol consumption begins negatively affecting one’s quality of life, it’s time to stop drinking.  Alcohol can destroy your:

Once, you have made a decision to try and overcome alcoholism, you need to find the right program that can help you achieve long-term sobriety.

What is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is a method of using hypnosis as a tool to improve the effectiveness of therapy.  Hypnosis is a natural state of mind that most people enter many times throughout the day.  Those times when you feel a little zoned-out, you are probably in a light state of hypnosis.

A popular definition of hypnosis is that it is a natural state of mind, occurring when an individual’s critical and analytical mind is partially by-passed. In that state, their unconscious or subconscious mind becomes receptive to new learning’s and the power of suggestion.

The Hypnotherapist guides the subject into a deep state of relaxation.  You are not asleep or unconscious, but the general feeling is one of being awake in a dream.

In this state of mind, a person’s motivation to want to stop drinking can be greatly enhanced.  New beliefs can be created to cause an aversion to the taste and effects of alcohol.  But this is just a small part of the therapy used by the InstaCalm® Alcohol Treatment Program in San Jose, California.

This program is an example of a well-designed, step-by-step process to overcome a serious drinking problem.

How the InstaCalm® Hypnosis Alcohol Treatment Program Works?

Alcohol recovery requires many facets to be effective and long-term. The InstaCalm Alcohol Treatment Hypnotherapy Program focuses on five of these areas over 8 private sessions. They are:

1. Alleviate anxiety, stress and any form of PTSD during the first 3 sessions. This is often the root cause of the problem from self-medicating with alcohol to deal with these mental health issues.
2. Increase the desire to give up drinking with focus on the subject’s primary motivation to stop drinking.
3. Create a dislike (aversion) to the taste of their preferred drink (beer, liqueur or wine) and its’ effect.
4. Promote the belief and behavior to not drink and say, “no thank you’ in social and professional situations.
5. Improving the individual’s self-confidence and self-esteem.

The issue of self-esteem and the repairing of a person’s self-worth can be a critical step in an alcoholic’s recovery. Many experts believe that “shame” created during early child hood experiences of fear and abuse, is often a primary cause of addictions and alcohol abuse.

The popular speaker on this topic, John Bradshaw, has given many televised lectures on what he calls, “Toxic Shame”.  He believes that these stressful memories from childhood, create a deep feeling of worthlessness which negatively affects the individual for the rest of their life’

During the first session of the InstaCalm Treatment, a technique is used to desensitize these memories. This help facilitate the giving-up of alcohol and other addictive substances.

Rehab Centers Are Expensive

There are many alcohol recovery and rehab facilities throughout the country. They offer medical detox, counseling , support groups, in lovely facilities.  The price tag on these programs can be as much as $25,000.  They are, however, sometimes partially covered by some types of health insurance.

An alcohol treatment hypnotherapy program, conducted by an experienced hypnotherapist  specializing in this area, costs around $2000.

Unless the patient really needs the features of the rehab centers, hypnosis and hypnotherapy can be a much more affordable option.

How to Get Started Overcoming Anxiety

When anxiety symptoms begin to interfere with your personal and professional life… IT’S TIME to Take Action!

Overcoming anxiety can be quick and easy when you use proven methods in a step-by-step process. These steps begin with self-help techniques and tips. Later, depending upon the severity of your symptoms, you may require help from a therapist or coach who specializes in treating anxiety.

If you are suffering with anxiety, you’re not alone. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, over 40 million men & women are dealing with anxiety disorders in the United States. Unfortunately, only 30% of those individuals decide to get treatment, besides the fact it is easily treatable.

Get started overcoming your anxiety, as soon as you’ve ruled out any physical causes. Since, many feelings and symptoms of anxiety disorders mimic signs of some serious medical problems… you should get yourself checked-out by your primary medical doctor. Once you have seen your physician, begin with the following steps…

Step 1: Get Started Overcoming Anxiety by Calming Your Nervous System

Listen to a relaxation recording early every morning. You will benefit the most by doing this within an hour upon awakening. Anxiety symptoms are often the worst in the early morning. This is because your levels of the brain chemical, cortisol, are usually the highest when you wake up.

I recommend listening to a hypnotic relaxation recording before breakfast, such as “Deep Calmness”. You can download this free MP3 recording from the home page of //instacalmanxietytreatment.com . It can also be accessed and played from the “InstaCalm Stress & Anxiety Relief“, mobile app.

Step 2: Modify Your Life Style

Avoid or significantly reduce stimulants such as; caffeine and tobacco. Providing you are physically able, exercise and be as active as possible. Go for walks and vigorously exercise aerobically if you can.

Step 3: Learn How to Quickly Stop an Anxiety or Panic Attack

Anxiety attacks are quite different from panic attacks. But, a simple breathing technique, if performed correctly, can halt either in about one minute. You can learn how to do the 5:7 Breathing Technique by watching a video.

The greatest cause of triggering a panic attack is a conscious or unconscious fear of having one. Once you become confident in your ability to stop one, they usually completely end.

Step 4: Discover the Severity of Your Anxiety Symptoms

Take the online Anxiety Rating Test. This test rates your symptoms as mild, moderate or severe. It is not a psychological test. But rather uses algorithms that correspond to a very fast working treatment therapy available in San Jose, California, called the InstaCalm Anxiety Treatment Protocol.

This treatment was developed over 15 years of research and testing in Silicon Valley. It uses a combination of advanced techniques from cognitive hypnotherapy and NLP (neurolinguistic programing)

If your rating is mild anxiety, you only require 3 private sessions to alleviate your anxiety symptoms. Moderate Anxiety Rating is 4 sessions. A Severe Anxiety Rating is 5 InstaCalm Sessions.

The significance of this treatment lies in the contrast to the most popular recommended therapy for anxiety by physicians… Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT usually requires 12 to 24 sessions to obtain the same results for moderate to severe anxiety.

Step 5: Schedule a FREE Phone Consultation

After learning your Anxiety Rating, you can receive a complimentary phone consultation to learn more about the significance of your test results and advice on possible treatments.

By Following the above steps, it is very possible for anyone suffering with anxiety to get their lives back in the shortest amount of time and the lowest possible cost.

by Charles Beeson

Panic Attacks are intense periods of anxiety that have the extreme physical characteristics of a pounding rapid heart rate, trembling, sweating and shortness of breath. They usually last from 3 to 10 minutes, but, can subside and repeat several times in succession.

This results in the fear of having a heart attack, dying or becoming insane, which sends many to the hospital emergency room… TO BE TOLD they only had a panic attack and there is nothing to worry about.

But, the greater fear is that of having another panic attack.

This form of anticipation anxiety creates a lasting state of fear, that can easily trigger another panic attack. This on-going, relapsing – remitting condition… when lasting for 30 days or more; is called a Panic Disorder.

Here is a complete list of Panic Attack Symptoms:

It begins with a fearful thought about a perceived feeling… real or imagined. This in-turn triggers a part of the brain designed to protect you, by reacting in what is commonly called the flight or fight response. This activity is channeled through the sympathetic nervous system which engages the adrenal glands to flood the blood stream with adrenaline and cortisol.

These chemicals are your body’s natural mechanism to help you suddenly freeze, run or fight an attacker. They tighten the blood vessels, causing an increase in heart rate and breathing. This sends more oxygen to the parts of the body needed for a strong physical reaction.

All of the PHYSICAL symptoms listed above are caused by this process.  The feeling of fear is actually created by these chemicals which spirals into an intense state of anxiety and… PANIC!

No one has ever been harmed or killed by a panic attack.  It is not much different than what is experienced from a hard work-out at the gym. The feelings created are similar to the adrenalin rush from riding a thrill ride at the amusement park. The difference is YOUR PERCEPTION.  Just grasping these realities can make a real difference in overcoming the severity of future attacks.

The most widely taught method to stop an attack is to mentally consider the physical feelings you are experiencing and select the strongest symptom to focus upon. Think about moving into that feeling and accepting it for what it is.

Do not think about trying to STOP it.  That usually makes it worse. A far better technique, is to try and make it worse.  I call this the “Bring It On Baby” technique.

The MP3 download recording that can help you master this technique is available in the Self-Help Tools. It can often stop a panic attack in about 20 seconds.

Another effective way to put the brakes on an attack is to regulate your breathing. During an extreme anxiety attack you begin breathing rapidly near the top of your chest. A great method to quickly engage the “Relaxation Response” through the Parasympathetic Nervous System, is to begin slow, deep belly breathing.

Begin getting help by first seeing your medical doctor, to rule-out any physical cause. Your physician may prescribe a medication to help calm your nerves. Most of these medications have side effects. So, your best bet is to ultimately get a treatment that will help you change your thinking, perception and behavior (cognitive thought process) that’s triggering your panic attacks.

At this time, the most accepted, evidence based treatment to accomplish this… is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This usally takes about 12 to 24 weeks of “talk therapy”, at a cost of approximately, $2400 to $4800. This is a learning process involving education and self-help techniques.

The InstaCalm® Hypnosis Anxiety Treatment for Panic Disorders in San Jose, California, has demonstrated it can achieve this same outcome, in about 50% of the time and cost. *Results Vary

InstaCalm® is an alternative/complimentary treatment using Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy Techniques. The patient is coached by a Board Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, practicing within the laws of California as an Alternative Healthcare Professonal.

You can get started by taking a free Anxiety Rating Test and finding out more about the program during a complimentary, 15 minute, phone consultation or calling 1-408-656-5574.

Common Types & Symptoms of Anxiety

by Charles Beeson

Definition of Anxiety:

There are many different types and symptoms of anxiety. Anxiety is a fear based emotional state that is usually created from uncertainty about the outcome of a future event… real or imagined. It is a feeling of nervousness, uneasy tension and dread that can occur with or without a perceived reason or thought process.

This feeling is the result of an influx of adrenaline and other chemicals from a part of the brain responsible for self-preservation during an external threat or dangerous event. This reaction is often referred to as the “Flight or Fight Response”. The intensity of this feeling can range from a very mild state of uneasiness to an extreme state of what’s commonly called an Anxiety Attack or Panic Attack.

Normal Anxiety:

Everyone experiences mild anxiety from time-to-time in the form of worry or Anticipation Anxiety. Life events are full of situations in work, school, relationships, finances and social settings that create uncertainty. When we cannot imagine future events completing successfully, we often feel this very common form of anxiety. This everyday type of anxiety is actually beneficial for motivating ourselves to take action.

Every time we think about the ramifications of doing or not doing something, it’s normal to feel a subtle, fearful feeling. An example would be; “thoughts of getting fired if you don’t get to work on time”.

Anxiety can be the primary cause of having difficulty in sleeping (insomnia). You lay awake thinking about an unpleasant situation or future event. This everyday worry and anticipation anxiety can be found in many common activities. These situational fears affect large segments of the general population. Examples are: public speaking, job interviews, work performance reviews and other situations when we perceive we are being judged by others.

Stressful and overwhelming situations during times of loss; such as death, divorce and loss of one’s job, will usually create normal anxiety. Major life changes in our job or where we live, and, having too many commitments and deadlines, can cause this normal form of anxiety.

Performance Anxiety:

The term, Performance Anxiety has many different meanings. When a person fears or becomes nervous about ones ability to attempt an activity; such as in sports and athletics, musical performance, stage performance, couples sexual performance, as well as, taking tests and exams; it is often referred to as Performance Anxiety.  Each one of these types of activities may have multifaceted, psychological issues that generate anxiety, such as:

1. Stage Fright – The fear of being the focused attention of an audience that is judging your performance.
2. Fear of Failure – Hating the idea of not meeting one’s own expectations or the expectations of others.
3. Anticipation of messing-up by making a mistake during the performance activity.

The most common Types of Performance Anxiety Situations are:

Competitive Sports

I’ve had the privilege of working with many collegiate and professional athletes to help them overcome fears.  My experience has been with competitive swimmers, golfers, NFL football and soccer players. Every case involved the 3 issues stated above, as well as, the fear of a specific person; that intimidates them in competition. The InstaCalm Treatment for Sports Performance is a 4 or 5 session program.

Musical Performance

Singers and instrumental players may develop performance anxiety from the fear of making a mistake.

Acting & Stage Fright

Movie and dramatic actors often fear forgetting their lines.  Fear of audience judgement sometimes affects the most experienced actors. Stage Fright Performance Anxiety is easily treatable with the InstaCalm Anxiety Treatment

Test & Exam Anxiety

The experiencing of dread and terror before (anticipation anxiety) and during the taking of a test or exam.  This type of anxiety affects the ability to mentally focus and recall information needed to correctly answer test questions. This type of performance anxiety occurs with students of all ages and professions requiring competency testing; CPAs, Attorneys, etc.

 Sexual Performance Anxiety

Fear of not pleasing a sexual partner during intercourse; fear of premature ejaculation can create anxiety that can result in sexual dysfunction. The physical physiology manifest in men as psychological erectile dysfunction and in women as vaginal lubrication dysfunction.  Past memories of bad sexual experiences and religious belief s can compound the problem.

Anxiety Disorders:

When anxiety becomes extreme and affects how you function throughout the day, or, persists over long duration’s of time (many months), it is possible that you may be diagnosed by a physician or mental health professional with an Anxiety Disorder.

The following Anxiety Disorders are considered to be the most common:

•   Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) also referred to as Free-Floating Anxiety

GAD is a (seemingly) uncontrollable disorder with excessive worry, fear and tension exhibited throughout the day… without a rational reason. It is characterized by frequent thoughts of

disaster and worse-case outcomes of one’s: safety, safety of loved ones, finance. health, work, and relationships. It lasts for at least 6 months or more, exhibiting symptoms of the inability to relax during the day or sleep at night, shortness of breath, chest pain, irritability, nausea, trembling and lack of mental focus. It can seriously impact personal relationships and job performance. It is now possible for all of the most severe symptoms of generalized anxiety to be alleviated  in just 5 sessions with the InstaCalm Anxiety Treatment for GAD.

•   Panic Disorder

Panic Attacks are intense periods of anxiety that have the extreme physical characteristics of a pounding rapid heart rate, trembling, sweating and shortness of breath.  They usually last from 3 to 5 minutes, but, can subside and repeat several times in succession. This results in the fear of having a heart attack. dying or becoming insane. But, the greater fear is that of having another panic attack.  This form of anticipation anxiety creates a lasting state of fear, that can easily trigger another panic attack. This on-going, relapsing – remitting condition is called a Panic Disorder which can be easily treated.

•   Social Anxiety Disorder

The most common of all anxiety disorders is social phobia, now called, Social Anxiety Disorder, (SAD). It is an intense fear of engaging with other people on a social basis or in work situations because of the perceived possibility of rejection, being judged and humiliated by others. Most individuals with SAD, also, have a severe fear of public speaking, (glossophobia). It seriously impairs the ability to make friends, have romantic relationships and participate in group discussions, as well as, perform well in job interviews and school. The InstaCalm treatment for social anxiety usually achieves excellent results in just 4 sessions.

•   Phobias

A phobia is an irrational fear that can range from nervousness to an excessive and intense state of panic. It is one of the most common mental disorders. A phobia is usually associated with the fear of a situation, such as fear of flying, fear of public speaking or fear of leaving home or going to places where you fear you might have an anxiety attack., as in Agoraphobia.  There are many different types of specific phobias. Some are listed here with descriptions.

•   Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD is a persisting mental, stress condition, resulting from a traumatic experience that is life threatening or overwhelming. This stressful memory is often emotionally charged with fear, anger, and/or sadness. Many sufferers of this disorder are victims of wartime battle, rape, or other catastrophic events .

Symptoms include memory flashbacks, anxiety and panic attacks, night-time terrors, difficulty sleeping, periodic reality and social disconnects, irritability  PTSD can negatively affect personal relationships and work. The InstaCalm Hypnosis Anxiety Treatment for Stressful Memories can often alleviate PTSD symptoms in one hour .

•   Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

OCD is an anxiety disorder consisting of having uncontrollable and repetitive, negative thoughts that are unreasonable; that, in-turn, cause uncontrollable and repetitive behaviors. This can lead to ritualistic behaviors that can vary in frequency, severity and type of behavior overtime. This disorder can become greatly disabling to an individual’s quality of life.

All of the above types of anxiety can be overcome with many available treatments; such as, cognitive behavioral therapy. Unfortunately, results usually require many months of weekly counseling sessions. The InstaCalm® Anxiety Treatment Program was created to achieve very fast results within just a few weeks. The program is considered to be a complimentary/alternative form of therapy and lacks the support of clinical studies.  Irregardless, hundreds of clients claim to be in-control of their anxiety after having completed the basic, 5 session program.

Personalized, one-on-one, coaching treatment is available if you live in the San Jose or San Francisco Bay Area of California.  Immediate Anxiety Relief may be also obtained with many Self-Help Tools and Techniques offered in the AnxietyBeGone.com online program.

The One Thing to NEVER Do When You’re Having an Anxiety Attack!

by Charles Beeson

You have probably heard this or read about it. It sounds nuts or crazy… so, you refuse to do it.

You might believe it… but, like most folks… are NOT ABLE to easily perform the technique.

There are dozens of internet scammers, trying to exploit the technique. They re-package this well known, fact as their own secret… “magical one-step”, or “One-move” method, for only $50 to $100. But, I will give it to you right now… so save your money!

“The harder you try and stop anxiety or panic attacks… the worse they get… So, you do the opposite!”

Dichotomy of Panic

You should never try and stop a severe anxiety or panic attack. Resistance usually causes the anxiety to spiral out-of-control. Almost, every technique that can quickly end such an episode… uses some form of re-direction of thought. By simply releasing our resistance and accepting the anxious, fearful feeling, it will quickly fade away.

The mental energy of your thoughts to “fight” the feeling will keep sending threat alert warnings to the brain.  This will continue to cause more brain chemicals to pour into the blood stream and escalate your breathing and heart rate.  As a result… all of the fearful feelings increase.

There are many methods that have proven to be effective in quickly stopping this terrifying experience. They all cause a shift in your thought process, quiet the panic feeling and begin the process to re-engage the relaxation response through the parasympathetic nervous system. Once the severity of the attack is gone,  the subject may benefit by listening to a relaxation recording, such as, “Deep Calmness“, or using the InstaCalm Relaxation Technique.  The most common techniques to begin this process include:

• Focus on your breathing. By performing the 5:7 Breathing Technique, you can end your mind’s screaming of, “stop”. You will, also, slow down your heart and breathing rate.

• Mentally, welcome & accept the “feeling”, and even tell it, or… dare it, to become worse. This is sometimes called the “Bring It On Baby!” technique.

• Become “mindful” of your immediate surroundings. Focus on the details of what’s in the room around you.

The Difficult Challenge

It’s only normal to want to fight and resist when you’re under attack. In order to be successful in calming a serious anxiety attack, it requires that you defy logic by doing the opposite and NOT try to stop it. Your mind must (some-how) think differently to turn-off this instinctive inner fighter. But, such attempts are often dismissed or blocked by the analytical & critical functioning of the mind. This is because it’s a complete contradiction in logic.

The process of learning is sometimes referred to by psychologists as cognitive restructuring. The only evidence-based treatment for anxiety and panic disorders (other than medication) is cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT is a treatment model for a form of “talk therapy” used today by most licensed therapists and psychologists to treat anxiety.

The basic problem with CBT is the length of treatment. It is typical for a patient/client to have 12 to 24 sessions to alleviate their anxiety problem. The conflict with the critical-analytical mind can interfere with this restructuring or re-learning process, slowing down the speed of recovery.

So, what can you do?

One answer is to learn anxiety relief techniques without the interference of the analytical-critical mind. This can often be accomplished by engaging the imagination through guided imagery, usually facilitated by the therapist or listening to audio recordings.

When you use your imagination, your brain activity switches from the left side of the brain, where critical thought functions… over to the right side of the brain. Your critical factor is then bypassed. By combining guided imagery with relaxation… your mind can enter a naturally occurring state of mind called hypnosis.

Practically everyone enters this state of mind numerous times throughout the day. But, because of movies and TV, many people still have misconceptions regarding hypnosis. Thousands of men and women have used hypnosis to overcome bad habits, such as smoking and overeating.

Using hypnosis to change behavior or overcome an emotional problem is called, hypnotherapy. Research, through meta studies, has shown that when Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is combined with hypnotherapy, there can be up to a 70% improvement in effectiveness.

This therapeutic method is now called, Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy. CBH shows great promise as being one of the fastest ways to cure anxiety disorders.

Even though Generalized Anxiety Disorder often has a genetic component, my personal experience has been, that CBH can help control its’ symptoms in as little as 3 to 6 weeks. This is about 50% of the treatment timeline of the talk therapy, CBT approach.

Three Absolute Ingredients for Anxiety Freedom

The bottom line is that whichever method works for an individual… is the best and most effective treatment for that individual. But, it is clear that there are three necessary components that must be combined and achieved to rid oneself of unwanted worry, fear and anxious thoughts. These 3 ingredients are:

1. Calm the nervous system.
2. Change the minds perception.
3. Effort to apply and practice the techniques learned.

Just, PLEASE… do NOT try and STOP anxiety!

How to Stop Anxiety Attacks

What Is An Anxiety Attack?

Anxiety Attacks are frightening events of intense fear, lasting for just a few minutes or up to several days. The term is often used interchangeably with Panic Attacks. This is because both types of attacks share the same physical symptoms,  including:

• Pounding – rapid heart.
• Difficulty breathing.
• Chest tightness and/or pain.
• Faintness or dizziness.

Anxiety Attacks are usually brought-on by worry about a specific future event that you cannot imagine completing successfully. It can be about a real or imagined; situation, and/or, safety to one’s self or loved ones.

The DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANXIETY ATTACKS AND PANIC ATTACKS is that unlike Panic Attacks, which are more intense, occur for NO REASON and are of a short duration… Anxiety Attacks are created by specific stressors. Once the stress element (reason) is removed, the anxiety attack ends.

Another difference, believed by many psychiatrists, is that  during an anxiety attack, the minds focus is upon the cause of this worry, while a Panic Attack’s primary focus is upon the intense, physical sensations being felt. These thoughts can create a fear of death and dying, which in-turn, can cause a long-term, Anxiety Attack, precipitating from the anticipation of the possibility of having another Panic Attack.

The specific worry or stressor is perceived as a threat. It triggers a part of the brain designed to protect you, by reacting in what is commonly called the flight or fight response. This activity is channeled through the sympathetic nervous system, which engages the adrenal glands to flood the blood stream with adrenaline and cortisol.

These chemicals are your body’s natural mechanism to help you suddenly freeze, run or fight an attacker. They tighten the blood vessels, causing an increase in heart rate and breathing. This sends more oxygen to the parts of the body needed for a strong physical reaction. All of the PHYSICAL symptoms listed above are caused by this process.  The feeling of fear is actually created by these chemicals which spirals into the Anxiety Attack.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is often characterized by periods of anxious thoughts and worry without a cognitive reason. But these thoughts can spiral “out-of-control” and become an intense Anxiety Attack. As the mind’s focus shifts away from the “worry reason”, to the feelings of the physical effects, the Anxiety Attack can transform into a full fledged Panic Attack.

How to Quickly End an Anxiety Attack

In order to stop an anxiety attack, the brain must stop engaging the “Flight or Fight Response” through the Sympathetic Nervous System, and begin engaging the “Relaxation Response” through the Parasympathetic Nervous System. Providing that the state of fear has not escalated into panic, the following techniques will easily bring about a calm state! These techniques are more fully explained in the free guide, “The Top 10 Self-Help Techniques for Fast Anxiety Relief“.

1.   Quiet Your Nervous System Through Regulated Breathing and Relaxation Techniques.

During an anxiety attack, most people will notice that their breathing becomes fast… shallow… and from the top of their chest (diaphragm). This often creates a feeling that it’s difficult to breath. When you consciously regulate your breathing, you can switch your mind from a state of fearful panic, to a state of calmness, in just a few minutes.

Breathing helps to regulate many of the natural rhythms of the body, including the heart rate. By breathing slowly and from the bottom of your chest (your belly), you can engage the “Relaxation Response” through the Parasympathetic Nervous System and slow-down a pounding heart.

2.  Refocus Your Attention to  the Present Moment.

Close your eyes and acknowledge (and accept) the Strongest Physical Feeling you notice. Take another deep breath and slowly exhale.

Now, open your eyes and focus upon the sights and sounds of the environment around you. Then, engage in some other activity, mentally or physically.  Many anxiety sufferers find it useful to schedule a post-poned, worry time for later in the day. Instructions for this technique are covered in chapter 4.

3.  Change Your Perception of the Future Event You’re Worried About with Mental Imagery.

Anxiety is often defined as; a fear-based emotion about a future event that you’re unable to imagine completing successfully. Just think about the possibility of changing, subconsciously, your perception of anything you’re anxious about into, “It’s already happened, and the outcome was positive… and WAS completed successfully!

This technique must be performed using a form of self hypnosis and a specific form of mental imagery called the “Time Line Anxiety Cure Technique.  You will learn how to perform this technique during your first private session of the InstaCalm Anxiety Treatment Protocol at the InstaCalm Hypnosis Anxiety Treatment office in San Jose California.

Personal Anxiety Coaching Available

My office in San Jose, California, helps men and women living in the San Jose and San Francisco South Bay Area. This office serves the cities of: Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Oakland, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Los Altos, Palo Alto, and Burlingame. I provide a consultation at no charge, in my office or you can schedule a phone consulltation online.

I also provide long distance coaching by telephone or Skype.

The InstaCalm Relaxation Technique®

by Charles Beeson

Stress relief using the InstaCalm Relaxation Technique is a method using self-hypnosis to create a very relaxed state in less than a minute. It’s a valuable tool for stress reduction, especially for personal stress relief and workplace stress management.

Stress Management in America

Stress levels throughout America continue to take their toll, for both adults and teenagers. According to recent surveys reported by the American Psychological Association (APA), on its website, 42% of adults and 52% of teenagers feel stress is impacting their health and happiness. Harris Polls have, since 2007, continued to show the effects of personal finances, the economy and the overwhelming pressures in the workplace and school.

The subject of stress management has been on the minds of many since the 1920’s. Then, the term,”Stress Response” was first used to describe a fearful state of mind, also, called the “Flight or Fight Response”. Its’ effects being induced by feelings caused by the brain chemicals; adrenalin and cortisol, flooding the blood stream because of a perceived threat. But, rather than reacting to an actual life threatening situation, a vast majority of men and women are triggering this danger-warning, frequently throughout their day, due to normal life events.

Stress has been divided into two types; acute stress brought on by a temporary condition, and, chronic stress, describing, a prolonged state of extreme nervousness and tension. Chronic stress has been determined to contribute to a long list of illnesses.

Stress has been linked to cancer, high blood pressure, obesity and immune system disorders, to name a few. When not addressed and managed properly, stress can lead to depression and serious anxiety disorders that hurt personal performance and relationships .

The Relaxation Response

It has long been accepted that the practice of relaxation techniques can help counteract the problems brought on by stress. Harvard Medical School and the University of Califoria conducted research back in the 60’s and 70’s into how the practice of meditation, positively i

mproves physical and emotional states. A book was written and published in 1975, by one of these researchers at Harvard, Herbert Benson, MD. It’s called “The Relaxation Response”.  It soon became a best seller.

The book described several, step-by-step, techniques that can create a more relaxed state of mind and body. These techniques use regulated deep breathing, progressive relaxation, and, mental focus methods that are taught in the practice of Transcedental Meditation (TM). It was a new concept at the time and many psychologists began giving the book to their clients.

I first read and studied this book in 1992, while working on the development of a stress relief program using hypnotherapy. It was obvious to me, having previously been an instructor of meditation, that teaching the technique could be challenging. Meditation requires a great deal of disciplined, mental focus.

Turn Off Your Light-Switch

As a hypnotherapist, I found it far easier to guide an individual into a deep, sleep-like, state of hypnosis, called somnambulism. I would then train the subject how to quickly return to that state using self-hypnosis. I had learned about a fast, self-hypnosis method called the Light-Switch, from a teacher of hypnotherapy, Gerald Kein, in Florida.

The name of this stress relief technique comes from a step used in the beginning of practicing it, when the subject imagines turning off a light-switch, as the fore finger is raised and lowered. Once a person learns the technique, a deep state of relaxation can be achieved, almost instantly!

For several years, I taught this technique to many of my own patients and in-time, found various ways of incorporating time duration limits. This means that a person could tell themselves how long they would stay relaxed before returning to a state of being wide awake and mentally alert (example: one… three… five… ten minutes, etc.).

The subconscious mind is believed to have an inner awareness of time. This could explain why a person is able to wake up in the morning seconds before their alarm clock goes-off!

The next step was to create hypnotic recordings that teach the technique for at-home use, as well as, to incorporate a way to condition the mind with new stress-coping skills through cognitive restructuring. I use a method of cognitive behavioral hypnotherapy to  associate the feeling of tension with the triggering of:

1. Taking a deep breath.
2. Associating the feelings of calmness and confidence with the exhalation of the breath.
3. Thinking of questioning the reality of the situation to keep it in a more calm perspective, without triggering the stress response.

I named this stress relief method InstaCalm® and registered it with the US patent office. It has now become the heart of 2 programs I offer today; the InstaCalm Stress Relief System and the InstaCalm Anxiety Relief Program. I now, offer a complete Stress Reduction training program, using four,  MP3 hypnosis recordings. They work in the following steps…

Step 1   Listen to a 19 minute relaxation recording called “Deep Calmness” for one week. This completley calms the mind and body with effects, usually, lasting for one to three hours. This also helps the subject to become accustomed to using hypnosis and cognitive hypnotherapy.

Step 2.  Listen to the recording, “Learning the Light-Switch Technique”. This takes 20 minutes.

Step 3.  After completing Step 2, the subject  immediately listens to the 10 minute recording, The One-Minute Light-Switch”.  The complete technique can usually be learned in less than 45 minutes.

Step 4.  The one minute technique is then practiced for several times throughout the day. The subject is instructed to begin listening to the recording, “InstaCalm Response”, which reinforces the technique and helps deepen the relaxation. It also conditions the mind with several easy-to-learn, stress coping behaviors.

Persons suffering with Chronic Stress or Generalized Anxiety Disorder can use this relaxation system to maintain a calm state by practicing the one minute technique every 2 to 3 hours. Based on my experience, the constant symptom of tension and nervousness, usually associated with severe stress and anxiety disorders, can often be alleviated in about two weeks. *Results Vary

Everything presented in this article, lacks the scientific scrutiny of a clinical study. It is based upon my personal experience and observations, having worked with hundreds of men and  women who have come to me for help with stress and anxiety, at my office in Huntsville, AL. Further research and clincal study is invited.

The “Deep Calmness”, recording can be obtained for free with the InstaCalm Anxiety Relief App.  The complete training program for the InstaCalm Relaxation Technique is now available in a home study program called the, InstaCalm Relaxation System®

I can be reached at 1-408-656-5574.

Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy in the Treatment of Anxiety

By Charles Beeson, CHt.

Hypnosis has become an increasingly popular treatment for alleviating anxiety disorder symptoms. Although, the technique may appear controversial and suspicious to many people, hypnotherapy, when provided by an experienced practitioner, is believed by many experts to produce better results compared to non-hypnotic treatments.

How Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy Treats Anxiety?

Significant relief with severe anxiety disorders can be achieved when treated with Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy by the folowing;

1. Instruction in Self-Hypnosis techniques that sustain a more relaxed nervous system.
2. Desensitize stressful memories.
3. Faster learning of self-help techniques to manage anxiety symptoms.
4. Help change the threat perception of the thought, feeling or situation that is triggering the sympathetic nervous system’s “fear response”.
5. Help improve self-confidence.

According to Hersen and Sturmey (2012), hypnosis improves the outcome of the treatment in light of cognitive behavioral therapy during the treatment period, as well as, the six-month follow-up period. It is important to note that Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy (CBH) has three major phases; pre-suggestion phase (induction of hypnotic state), suggestion/therapy phase, and the reinforcement/practice phase. A hypnotherapist helps a patient suffering from anxiety to relax during the pre-suggestion phase.

This phase enables access to the unconscious mind through relaxation of the conscious mind (Robertson, 2013). Pre-suggestion is followed by the suggestion therapy phase, which is carried out by a certified hypnotherapist that is trained and experienced with different severities of anxiety.

The Suggestion phase is carried out when a patient is in a relaxed mode (hypnotized). The introduction of new thoughts replaces the old ones, which might have led the patient to develop an anxious emotional state. In the third phase, the patient is encouraged to practice the “suggestions” they acquired during the hypnotherapy sessions.

Hypnotherapy Treatment Follow-Up

It is of the essence to note that the third phase is done regularly until the patient overcomes anxiety. This is accomplished by pro-actively using the anxiety relief techniques presented in the suggestion phase and listening to reinforcement recordings that replicate both the pre-suggestion/relaxation and suggestion therapy stages used during their last session.

According to Hersen and Sturmey (2012), Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy is usually practical; hence, the patient is not required to visit a therapist regularly. However, multi-step processes have been developed that can often achieve excellent, long term results, in as few as 3 to 6 sessions.

In addition, an individual suffering from anxiety and its effects can get online help from certain resources, such as, www.anxietybegone.com. This web site provides CBH recorded sessions that a patient can download to their computer or cell phone. As a result, Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy is accessible to patients dealing with anxiety disorders at a very “inexpensive cost”, without a therapist.

These online services can also be used adjunctively to compliment any psychological or medical treatment being received.

As indicated above, the patient learns in this manner, how to achieve, maintain relaxation and end their adverse anxiety symptoms. Using the availed self-help techniques, such as the ones provided through written instruction and video tutorials on “www.AnxietyBeGone.com”, the patient can learn how to manage their anxiety, end panic attacks and use self-hypnosis techniques to relax and further reinforce their self-management techniques.

As with disorders, such as Generalized Anxiety, the symptoms can eventually wane off (Hersen & Sturmey, 2012). Since recurrence of symptoms is possible, the learned self-management techniques, combined with improved confidence in their use, such recurrence can be avoided.

Overwhelming Evidence

The efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy in helping people with anxiety disorders is overwhelming. It is important to note that a Meta-Analysis study carried out by Kirsch, Montgomery, and Sapirstein (1995), showed that when Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, as typically used by most licensed mental health providers, that when supplemented with hypnosis or hypnotic instructions, were 70% more effective than the non hypnotic treatments.

The study compared 18 Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy studies and found that the method being more effective in helping people with anxiety disorders. The study also showed positive results even after the treatment. It is crucial to indicate that a similar study indicated analogous results.

Bryant and colleagues (2005) conducted an akin study; whereby, they recorded strong evidence that CBH is useful and efficient in helping people suffering from anxiety to relax for the short term and overcome anxiety on the long haul. Bryant and others (2005) showed that civilian anxiety disorder patients who were suffering from Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) benefitted more from hypnotic cognitive based treatment compared to their non hypnotic colleagues.

The two studies showed that CBH is better and more effective for treating anxiety.

A study by Golden (2012) showed that hypnosis is a critical part of treating anxiety. An individual is required to revisit principles and techniques used in cognitive behavioral treatment to understand Golden’s findings. Cognition is believed to be the crucial element. Patients can only understand where a problem lies after being cognizant of their thought patterns. Golden (2012) indicates that practitioners help the patients to understand their thinking patterns when identifying their source of anxiety.

Research by Golden (2012), indicated that the application of CBH to treat anxiety can be achieved through numerous ways. However, it is of the essence to note that the level or kind of hypnosis used can be retained at different levels. For instance, some practitioners can use practitioner-suggested hypnosis; whereby, the patient’s behavior is induced through hypnosis by the practitioner suggesting positive actions and thoughts while the patient is hypnotized. The patient can suggest thoughts and activities for the treatment.

Popular Misconceptions of Hypnosis

Kirsch, Montgomery, and Sapirstein (1995), showed that the use of hypnotherapy has been proven to produce more reliable and effective results for treating anxiety patients, unlike other techniques. As Mathur and Khan (2011) argue, individuals who doubt the reliability of Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy tend to regard hypnosis as pseudo-science.

Hypnosis is very common in pop culture and science fiction films; thus, they might have obtained their meaning from such sources. However, hypnosis, in its strictest meaning, refers to a situation where individuals are unable to control their will completely and are prone to the suggestiveness of other people (Harvey, Bryant, & Tarrier, 2003). This notion is fictional.

Conclusion

In summary, patients will not lose their willpower, which is crucial. In other words, it means that the patients will be placed in a situation of giving their chance into the suggestions of others, which in this case may refer to the hypnotherapist. By achieving this, the practitioner, or therapist, is able to induce positive thoughts and actions to the person or long distance by phone or internet video chat.Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy is effective in treating many types of disorders, including:

*  Generalized Anxiety
*  Panic Disorder
*  Social Anxiety
*  PTSD
*  Depression
*  Agoraphobia
*  Fears of Public Speaking. Driving and Flying

The British Medical Association endorsed the use of hypnotherapy in 1955 for anxiety, depression, stress and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). It is increasingly being used throughout the United States, Canada and Australia.

References

Bryant, R., Moulds, M., Guthrie, R., & Nixon, D. (2005). The Additive Benefit of Hypnosis and Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy in Treating Acute Stress Disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(2): 334–340.

Golden, L. (2012). Cognitive Hypnotherapy for Anxiety. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 54(4): 263-274.
Harvey, G., Bryant, A., & Tarrier, M. (2003). Cognitive behaviour therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder. Clinical Psychology Review, 23: 501–522.

Hersen, M., & Sturmey, P. (2012). Handbook of Evidence-Based Practice in Clinical Psychology, Adult Disorders. Hoboken, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Kirsch, I., Montgomery, G., & Sapirstein, G. (1995). Hypnosis as an Adjunct to Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 63(2): 214-220.

Mathur, S., & Khan, W. (2011). Impact of Hypnotherapy on Examination Anxiety and Scholastic Performance among School Children. Delhi Psychiatry Journal, 14(2): 337-343.

Robertson, D. J. (2013). The practice of cognitive-behavioural hypnotherapy. London, UK: Karnac Books

by Charles Beeson

Stressful memories can affect anxiety in many different ways and can often times be the ‘root cause’ of many anxiety disorders.

The most obvious example is Post Traumatic Stress. PTSD involves experiencing or witnessing a life threatening event or sexual attack, as well as, a severe reaction to a personal loss.

PTSD is usually diagnosed by symptoms of severe fearful feelings triggered by:

The Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) used by psychologists, lists 17 symptoms that are divided into 5 types of severity levels. Many of these same symptoms are also shared with the diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety, Social Anxiety and Panic Disorder.

These other anxiety disorders are usually considered; not caused by trauma because they don’t have the severity of symptoms and the nature of the root-cause experience was not life threatening. Although, many who suffer with PTSD are often diagnosed with other types of anxiety disorders, as well.

It is the purpose of this article to explore the effects caused by lesser severe, stressful events. These memories would not be considered traumatic, but, life altering… nevertheless!

Significant emotional events can often connect a memory to a feeling of fear, sadness, hurt, anger, shame and guilt. These feelings range in intensity from simply remembering how you once felt… to the most severe flashback of that significant emotional feeling.

Serial Stressful Events

When you have several stressful events that occur within a close time-frame, or experience a string of severe losses, it can often result in the development of anxiety that can affect one’s life.

An example of this is a woman whose Mother recently died. A month later, she had to put her beloved cat to sleep, and a few days later, lost her job. She soon began experiencing severe nervousness and anxiety attacks.

The symptoms of this anxiety often appear as a lesser form of PTSD. In fact, these sufferers are sometimes diagnosed by mental health practitioners as actually having had a trauma. These symptoms are often moderate to severe and fall within the categories of:

These symptoms are usually diagnosed as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) if they last 6 months or more.

My Personal Experience with Anxiety Coaching

Over the last 15 years I have worked with hundreds of clients that fit this description.

In about 80% of these cases, the individual states they had a stressful event occur before the onset of their anxiety symptoms. Upon further investigation, they often had many stressful life events over a span of many years. These stressful memories affect anxiety.

What I discovered was that if these stressful memories could be completely DESENSITIZED, the severity of the anxiety symptoms are often reduced by about 50%. These memories, when combined with any genetic factors, are the root cause of many anxiety disorders. Desensitize, in this case, means a complete removal of the emotional charge connected to the memory.

I learned in my experience, that just a partial desensitization of these feelings may NOT achieve this positive outcome. This is often the case when a therapist tries to use techniques, such as EMDR, without training in advanced hypnotherapy or NLP techniques.

Most Common Methods Used to Desensitize Bad Memories

Psychotherapy:

This is a broad spectrum of many different methods. It generally includes forms of Exposure Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This form of treatment can last from about 12 weeks to beyond a year.

Group Therapy:

Group discussions, led by a therapist, allows for the recall of past events in a calm and collaborative environment. This can allow for a slow desensitization of stressful memories. This approach is used often by the Veterans Administration and many HMOs.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing):

Very popular method with many counseling therapists where the subject recalls the traumatic event, while watching the moving finger of the practitioner. This eye movement pattern is born from the study of Neurolinguistic Programming,

This technique usually just partially desensitizes the memory, and usually requires many sessions depending upon the severity of the trauma and the skills of the therapist.

Time Line Therapy®, (TLT):

My favorite technique and most valuable tool in my tool-box. In literally 90 minutes, almost all negative emotional charges of fear, sadness, guilt and anger, can be completely desensitized in significant past memories.

Instead of performed as psychotherapy, TLT is conducted in a couching session using a guided imagery process.

I really like the technique for remote online-couching, over a video-chat format, such as Skype. I usually conduct this technique for all of my anxiety clients participating in the InstaCalm Anxiety Treatment Program.

InstaCalm Anxiety Relief System

The InstaCalm program is a 3, 4, or 5 session hypnotherapy treatment for mild, moderate and severe anxiety. This severity level is determined by a self-help, rating test (not a psychological test) that uses proprietary algorithms designed for InstaCalm.

All three programs begin with the TLT technique in the first session. This usually removes the root cause of the anxiety. This session usually takes about 90 minutes.

Free 15 Minute Phone Consultation

I would be happy to discuss your situation during a confidential phone call. I can then, better determine if this approach is right for you and explain more about how Time Line Therapy® can help you get your life back fast!

Click Here to schedule your no obligation, consultation.

Its very possible that in just a single 90 minute session, in my office or online using skype, you can get significant anxiety relief.