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April 15, 2020 by Brighton & Hove Psychotherapy 1 Comment

Anxiety, Fear states, Trauma

Why do we get anxious and fearful?

The anxiety /fear response is the brain’s way of trying to keep us safe and healthy. Anxiety serves as a faithful reminder of things which the brain assesses need to be avoided, based on past experience. Most of this experience is past or learned experience. This is important in understanding the role of anxiety and fear states.

Firstly anxiety and fear are natural emotions which are built into our biochemistry in order to ensure survival. The fright flight fight response takes place in the lower ‘old brain’ and is vital to promote survival. This is the area of the brain which we probably all have had some experience of in recent days and weeks with the Corona virus pandemic. This response is what we are seeing with a frightened population stockpiling food and resources and even fighting over supplies.

Secondly alongside the biochemical response of the old brain, we each have individual mental and emotional responses which are very variable

Understanding that the brain is a pattern seeking machine is really helpful here in understanding these variable responses. The brain simply reproduces a response based on past similar experience.

In order to treat anxiety we need to look at these patterns.

Different schools of therapy  have different approaches.

Behavioural  therapy looks at how thinking influences feelings and how to interrupt that pattern.

Psychodynamic therapy seeks to understand and connect past experience (which may be outside of our awareness) with the current response. A therapist can help the client to decontaminate, to understand, and process those experiences which may be outside of our awareness.

Creative psychotherapies such as Dramatherapy, Art Therapy and Music Therapy specialise in helping the client to access, process and release, out of awareness experience in very safe non directive ways. These therapies are especially indicated where there is trauma, neglect and attachment issues which are causing or contributing to anxiety and fear states.

Mindfulness therapy is very beneficial for anxiety,  fear states and panic attacks. It works by showing the client how to learn to place awareness in the body, the feelings, sensations- to  notice the thinking and then to return to body awareness. It becomes possible to observe thoughts passing as if watching a video, and then to return to the calm still space within the body.

Over time in mindfulness therapy, a new awareness begins to develop which interrupts the fear response. The mind develops an ability to dis -identify with the thinking, the feelings and the sensations which create and support the anxiety fear response. The ability to return to the still quiet space within is a skill that can be developed with practice both within and outside of sessions.

 

Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy is a collective of experienced psychotherapists, psychologists and counsellors working with a range of client groups, including fellow therapists and health professionals. If you would like more information, or an informal discussion please get in touch with us. Online therapy is available.

 

Face to Face and Online Therapy Help Available Now

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Filed Under: Mental Health, Society, Work Tagged With: anxiety, fear, mind and body

March 30, 2020 by Brighton & Hove Psychotherapy Leave a Comment

CORONAVIRUS – How Psychotherapy can help you navigate your way through the crisis

I am writing this blog four days after the UK government imposed an effective ‘lockdown’ in response to the spread of the Covid-19 virus.  Inevitably this crisis will have a considerable impact on all of us be it emotionally, financially, physically, spiritually and psychologically. Depending on our character, disposition and ways of thinking we will experience the impact in specific and particular ways. We may be very aware of feeling lonely, anxious, frightened, overwhelmed, sick, vulnerable, frustrated, bored, angry and our unconscious fears almost certainly will be highlighted by this unprecedented situation.

From what my clients have been telling me over the last couple of weeks it seems to me that the most difficult aspect of this situation for people is the uncertainty.  We don’t how long the threat of the virus will stop us from leading our ‘normal’ lives.  We don’t know what life will be like at the end, how it will end and what the longer lasting effects will be on us, our families, our communities and the world at large.

As human beings we struggle with uncertainties and ‘not knowing’. We may not always be aware of it but the lack of certainty the ‘not knowing’ makes us feel afraid, ill at ease, out of control and so in order to protect ourselves from these uncomfortable feelings we unconsciously replace them with the illusion that we are in control and therefore we know exactly what will happen. Being certain, knowing what will happen narrows the mind, reduces the questions and makes life feel easier.  We usually forget to focus on the present moment and instead we make plans for the future, focussing on what we are going to do, where we’ll go, what we’ll buy, who we’ll see etc, confirming our illusion that we know what will happen and that we are in control.

Focussing on the future works until we are faced with a crisis or we are under threat then we focus completely on the present moment, it takes up all our thinking.  The present moment right now is frightening and for many people this is overwhelming.  Many people are struggling to bear the awfulness of it and the feelings of uncertainty they are having to cope with.

The reality is we cannot change what is happening, we cannot control outside forces we can only change the way we think about them and therefore how we feel in response to them.  In essence this is the work of psychotherapy.

Having a therapist to talk to at this time can help you bear the uncertainties of life and what feels overwhelming.  As therapists we are trained to work with the ‘not knowing’ and are therefore uniquely placed to help you face uncertainty and anxiety – it is our medium and what we work with all the time in our consulting rooms. Having a space where you can verbalise your anxieties and reframe your life so it becomes more bearable is invaluable right now.

 

Please follow the links to find out more about our therapists and the types of therapy services we offer.  We have practices in Hove and Lewes.  Online therapy is also available.

Face to Face and Online Therapy Help Available Now

Click Here to Enquire

Filed Under: Mental Health, Society Tagged With: anxiety, fear, Mental Health

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