Reduce Anxiety & Stress Using This Simple Daily Process

If you suffer from anxiety then you may find it hard to believe that it actually serves a positive purpose. The symptoms you feel are your minds way of signalling to you that you need to avoid some perceived threat. Anxiety becomes a problem when your mind magnifies a potential threat, or perceives a threat where none exists. Appropriate levels of anxiety are actually beneficial, help motivate you, and keep you safe and on your toes. Prolonged stress and anxiety however can have the opposite effect. It can seriously impact your health, and reduce your resourcefulness, effectiveness, performance and decision making abilities.

Step By Step Process

Learning a simple way to quickly rebalance your mind and body on a regular basis can have profoundly positive effects. Practised regularly, it can help you to feel much more positive, more emotionally balanced, feel less stressed and can improve your mental clarity. This simple but very effective process, comes from a blend of ideas from meditation, HeartMath and NLP.

Practice the process at least once a day for several weeks and remember, you are learning new habitual ways of thinking so be patient with yourself. The more you practice the easier and more automatic your new positive thoughts will become. It is also a particularly useful thing to do before anxiety and stress provoking events like meetings, presentations or interviews, or any time you just want to feel more calm and positive. Practice it regularly for at least 5 to 15 minutes at a time, or longer if you can.

1. Heart Focus

Hold your attention on the centre of your chest around the area where your heart is.

2. Slow Deep and Rhythmic Breathing

Bring your awareness to the area around your chest and imagine you are breathing in and out through that area.

Begin to allow your breathing to gently slow and deepen, so that you breathe into the abdomen then the chest area. As you breathe out let the air leave the abdomen first then the chest. Your breathing should never feel forced or overextended. Let your breathing gently slow and deepen, until you are comfortably breathing in for 5 seconds and out for 5 seconds. It may take some practice to get to the point where your deep breathing feels smooth and natural. Once a smooth and natural breathing rhythm is established you can go to the next step.

3. Positive Emotional State

Recall when you've felt a really good strong emotion. Some examples are compassion, confidence, success, appreciation, happiness, a favourite place or activity. Re-imagine the experience again as though you are actually there. See it, hear it, feel it. Immerse yourself fully in it again and allow the good feelings to flow over and through you. Notice the detail in each of your senses. Make the mental images brighter, closer and bigger. Allow any physical sensations to intensify and spread through your body and around you. Turn up the sounds. Imagine doubling and trebling the feelings and sensations. Remember to continue the breathing from the first steps.

4. Anchor those good feelings into other areas of your life

As the good feelings from the previous step continue to intensify and flow throughout your body. Let them spread around you and form into a translucent protective bubble with you safely inside looking out. Notice the colour of this bubble, and let that colour slightly tint whatever you look at outside of the bubble. Imagine looking out through your bubble of positive feelings as you consider some of the stresses and anxieties in your life. Ensure that you maintain the positive emotion as you do this. You may need to cycle between steps 3 and 4 to keep the positive emotions feeling intense. Next spend some time imagining experiencing the day ahead in the most amazing way possible whilst staying inside your positive bubble.

Author details: Nigel Magowan is an Integrative Psychotherapist, Life Coach, NLP Master Practitioner and Advanced Hypnotherapist. He specialises in treating the various anxiety disorders and stress related issues. Frequently dealing with stress, fear of public speaking, social anxiety, generalised anxiety, IBS and phobias. Read more about his Anxiety Treatment in Manchester. He is also a consultant at the prestigious Harley Street Clinic in Central London. United Kingdom Telephone: 0161 881 4333

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Nigel Magowan

Nigel Magowan BSc(Hons) UKCP(CIT) DABCH MCAHyp GHR SQHP MHA AMPM
Solution-Focused Integrative Psychotherapist, Life Coach, Licensed NLP Master Practitioner, Advanced Hypnotherapist, Ecotherapist, Accredited Supervisor and Natural Awareness Therapist

About Nigel Magowan

Nigel Magowan is a well regarded professional and experienced Solution-Focused Integrative Psychotherapist. In his work he integrates psychotherapy with hypnotherapy, NLP and Life Coaching. He holds a Diploma in Contemporary Psychotherapy, is a certified Master Practitioner of NLP, an Advanced Hypnotherapist, Life Coach, and Ecotherapist. His psychotherapy training was with the UKCP accredited Beeleaf Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy in London.

He combines his wide range of training, skills and experience to produce a comprehensive treatment that is tailored to your exact needs. He has also received additional specialist training in working with addictions, anger, IBS, managing pain, stress management techniques, and ecotherapy. Nigel is also a fully trained and accredited supervisor and is able to offer supervision to other complementary therapists.

Since 2002 he has run his own busy private practices in Chorlton, South Manchester, and on Harley Street, London. He is also available online.

He specialises in helping people with anxiety, panic attacks, stress management, addictions, anger, IBS, pain management, confidence and self esteem, insomnia, public speaking and performance anxiety, fears, phobias, smoking cessation, weight loss, and study techniques.

He is a a UKCP Candidate in Training; a full member of the Community for Contemporary Psychotherapy; an Approved Anxiety UK Therapist; a senior member of the General Hypnotherapy Register, full member of the Hypnotherapy Association; member of the Corporation of Advanced Hypnotherapy; a professional member of the Association for Neuro-Linguistic Programming (ANLP); the NHS Directory of Complementary & Alternative Practitioners; the UK Register of IBS Therapists

As a full member of the Community for Contemporary Psychotherapy he abides by their code of ethics as defined by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).

He holds an enhanced CRB certificate and has full Professional Indemnity Insurance.

In his personal life Nigel has a keen interest in the natural world and outdoor activities. He practices aikido, bushcraft, meditation, nature-awareness, mountain biking, tracking, hiking, wild camping, kayaking and primitive living skills.

Qualifications & Training

Continuing Professional Development
Current and on-going training and supervision, keeping my skills fresh and at the cutting edge

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

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