World mental health day – The steps you can take to improve your mental health.

The adult psychiatric morbidity survey of mental health and well-being 2016, as posted in NHS digital reported that one in three adults aged 16-74 are suffering with conditions such as anxiety and depression, and that overall one in six adults met the criteria for a mental health disorder .

These figures are quite staggering and it begs the question WHY? Why are these mental health disorders on the increase? Why are people suffering from anxiety and depression?

Could it be that we as a society do not spend enough time focusing on and nurturing our mental health?

Is it because there is still a stigma attached to mental health problems?

Why do we wait until it is too late? Until we have started having panic attacks for seemingly no reason, or until we have that nervous breakdown before we recognise that there may be something wrong?

There are a lot of reasons why people become depressed and/or anxious, and yes sometimes it is a genetic or physical disorder that needs to be managed with medication. But this is not always the case.

Anxiety and depression can occur for a multitude of reasons, but through years of research we now know that many mental health issues are influenced by biological, environmental and psychological factors, and not just biological factors as was thought years ago when people were committed to mental health institutions if they behaved in a manner considered to be outside of social norms.

Some of the things that can prompt depression and/or anxiety are:

• Hormone imbalances
• Stress at work
• Stress at home
• Too much responsibility
• Bullying
• Sexual abuse
• Domestic abuse
• Bereavement
• Loneliness
• Financial hardship
• Trauma past and present
• Low self esteem
• Post-natal hormone imbalances

The list is endless as to the reasons why people become depressed or anxious.

But the good news is that now we know that depression and anxiety is not always biological, there are ways that you can not only manage your own stress and anxiety and stop yourself falling over the edge of what is considered to be sanity, but also ways that you can do this without necessarily resorting to tablets.*

First of all, recognising and accepting that you are not coping is a step in the right direction.

If you are feeling panicky, irritable, dissociated, overwhelmed, then you are probably not coping with what is going on in your life.

So what can you do to help yourself once you have recognised that you are not feeling yourself?

• Take a good hard look at your life. Ask yourself these questions.
• What is it that is making me feel this way?
• Who is it that is making me feel this way?
• Are there any practical changes I can make to make my life easier? What are those changes?
• Can I get help from others to help me cope better?
• Can I get professional help to make sense of how I feel?
• Do I feel I am at the point that I need professional help?
• What changes have recently occurred in my life that may be making me feel this way?
• What changes may occur in my future life that is making me feel this way?

Recognising the initial problems and trying to deal with them in a practical way is a step in the right direction. The important thing is not to ignore how you are feeling and carry on regardless, because if you do, you will find that you will burn out sooner or later.

Further steps you can take to help facilitate positive feelings;

• Meditation – the importance of meditation cannot be underestimated. Meditation gives you some scheduled down time where you can escape your life and your mind; it has a direct effect on your nervous system and increases serotonin as well as reduces stress hormones such as cortisol. You will also find that you sleep better when you mediate regularly which is very important in reducing stress and anxiety levels.*
• Exercise – it has been proven that exercise releases serotonin and in some cases research has shown that exercise has a similar effect as taking anti-depressants. *Take a look at this interesting article on boosting serotonin levels
• https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prefrontal-nudity/201111/boosting-your-serotonin-activity
• Breathe – abdominal breathing everyday can help reduce anxiety.*
• Conscious breathing can lower heart rate, stop hyperventilation and ultimately panic attacks. When we feel anxious we breathe too fast which means we take very shallow breathes, we do not retain enough carbon dioxide and the body cannot use the oxygen it has which leads you to believe that you do not have enough oxygen in the body when in fact you actually have too much. Effectively we create an imbalance between oxygen and carbon dioxide levels when we start to hyperventilate or panic. Please take a look at this article on how to perform abdominal breathing; http://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/resources/patient-information/therapies/abdominal-breathing.pdf
• Sunshine – In the winter months we Brits can seriously lack sunshine. Many people suffer with SAD because of the lack of sunshine and ultimately vitamin D. If you are able to, on the days that you are not at work, as soon as you see a bit of sunshine, even if it’s cold, put on your coat and scarf and get out and walk, your mood will increase, your vitamin D levels will improve as well as serotonin levels with the exercise. If you really cannot manage a walk or simply do not have the time ,try taking vitamin D3 supplements along with magnesium or invest in a good SAD Therapy light.

Everything that I have talked about so far can make huge differences to the way you feel and can get you on the road to recovery. However, overcoming depression and anxiety or any other mental health disorder can be a lonely and difficult road to travel, especially where there has been trauma in a person’s life.*

Thankfully research now shows that psychological therapies are extremely effective for many if not most mental health issues.*

If you feel that you need a helping hand to get you back to ‘feeling normal ‘ hypnotherapy is a very quick and effective form of therapy that can help change your thought patterns, help you overcome trauma, and help you get on the road to recovery and greater emotional and psychological stability.*

Hypnotherapy for anxiety

Hypnotherapy for depression

Hypnotherapy for trauma related issues

Hypnotherapy for mental health issues

I am a qualified Psychologist and clinical Hypnotherapist and use cognitive behavioural therapy and cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy to help you move forward towards a happier and more fulfilling life.* I will help identify the triggers, the practical changes you can make to help yourself, I will teach you breathing exercises, I will help change negative thought patterns under hypnosis, I will teach you self-hypnosis as well as empower YOU to make changes in order to help yourself , and I will help you overcome any kind of trauma that is leading to depressive or anxious symptoms with my advanced cognitive behavioural and hypnotherapeutic techniques.*

If you are interested in Hypnotherapy to help manage stress, anxiety, or depression please take a look at my website for more information, tempsiteaddress.com/, email me on enquiries@dohypnosiskent.co.uk or call me on 01634 307030.

Please note results may vary from person to person. There are never guarantees when undergoing any form of therapy and for this reason we do not offer any guarantees for any of our hypnotherapy services. *