London Hypnotherapy for Anxiety | Online UK
They say anxiety is the thief of joy.
If you are feeling anxious and its affecting your quality of life, you may feel stuck- but you don’t need to stay there.
Why does anxiety create such strong physical symptoms?
We all experience anxiety from time to time- that low-level feeling of dread that can show up as racing thoughts, shakiness, a sinking feeling in your stomach, tightness in your chest, or a sense that the future looks bleak. When it lingers, life can start to feel small and exhausting.
But the reality is that anxiety is not a weakness. It is a nervous system that has learned to stay on high alert.
When that alarm system keeps firing, your body reacts as if danger is present- even when it isn’t. The good news is that this pattern can be updated.
If you feel frightened by your own thoughts, unable to switch off, or constantly scanning for what might go wrong, it doesn’t mean you are broken.
Your nervous system is trying to protect you- its just doing its job too well. When this happens, it can get stuck in a state of dysregulation- a bit like a smoke alarm that won’t switch off.
What does this feel like day to day?
For many women, this shows up as a mind that won't switch off at night, or a body that stays braced even when nothing's actually wrong.
You might notice yourself over-preparing for conversations, replaying things you've said, or having a feeling of dread that doesn't attach to anything specific. Maybe you find it hard to comfort yourself, or you feel on edge.
Anxiety shows up in the body in various ways- it could be a sinking feeling in your stomach, a tightness in your chest, throat, or jaw, a jittery feeling, or being easily startled.
Anxiety is a response to feeling unsafe. It means your nervous system has learned, understandably, to stay ready for a threat that- much of the time- isn't actually there anymore.
“The time I spent with Ella has been a real game changer. I’ve been in therapy for over 15 years, and in just a few months with her I made more progress than I had in years.
I’m incredibly grateful for her support. She has helped me reach a place I didn’t believe was possible for me.”
What to expect when working with me
We start by understanding what your anxiety actually looks and feels like day to day- what triggers it, what soothes it, what you have already tried, what works and what doesn't.
Then we expand your understanding and introduce tools at a pace that respects your capacity, helping you develop greater flexibility in how you respond to stress and difficult experiences.
You don't need to have it all figured out before you reach out. Many women come to me feeling exhausted by trying to manage it alone, and after trying other things that haven’t worked. Wherever you're starting from, we begin there.
What is nervous system dysregulation?
When anxiety becomes persistent, your nervous system can get stuck in a protective state. This is sometimes called nervous system dysregulation.
This can feel like an ongoing inability to relax, constantly racing thoughts, tension in your body, or a tendency to numb or zone out without wanting to.
Your brain’s job is to keep you safe. When it senses danger, it activates the fight-or-flight response- increasing heart rate, muscle tension, alertness and breathing rate so you can respond quickly.
For some people, this alarm system becomes overactive. The body begins reacting as if there is ongoing danger, even when nothing threatening is happening.
When that protective response stays switched on for long periods, it can create the physical and mental symptoms we recognise as anxiety.
Thankfully, the nervous system is adaptable. With the right support, you can develop greater flexibility in how you respond to stress, threat and difficult experiences. So, what might that support look like?
How Cognitive Hypnotherapy can help anxiety
Cognitive Hypnotherapy helps you work with the subconscious patterns that can keep anxiety going. By working with the thoughts, expectations and learned responses beneath the surface, we can begin to change the cycle of fear and anticipation that fuels anxious states.
Somatic Therapy brings attention to what is happening in your body as anxiety arises. This can help you recognise patterns of tension, bracing and activation, and develop a different relationship with physical sensations and emotional responses.
TRE (Trauma Release Exercises) can be used as an additional somatic tool, helping you explore and release physical tension in a gradual, supported way.
Breath re-education using the Buteyko Method can help you develop a more comfortable and efficient breathing pattern. Because breathing often changes when we feel anxious, working with your breathing can be a useful part of understanding and reducing some of the physical sensations associated with anxiety.
What kinds of anxiety can this help with?
Women come to me with generalised anxiety, health anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, and anxiety that's crept in gradually alongside burnout, perimenopause, or a big life change.
Sometimes anxiety is present on its own. Often its combined with chronic pain, health issues, sleep difficulties, or the lingering effects of stress and trauma.
“I had been suffering with severe anxiety for about 18 months when I went to Ella. I mean severe. It had taken over my life and I thought I was going crazy. I had had some attacks so bad that I had been taken to A&E by ambulance with suspected heart issues.
I tried everything. NHS counselling, private counselling, CBT therapy, aromatherapy and lastly medication. Nothing really worked. Then one day after a particularly bad anxiety attack I had a lightbulb moment- hypnotherapy! Why not, I thought. At this point I was willing to try anything. I was so glad I did.
Ella is an absolutely lovely person and really put me ease. The work we did together was amazing and she really knows her stuff. I would urge anyone to try hypnotherapy with Ella.
As well as your sessions together, Ella teaches you things you can use at home, and she sent me couple of recordings to guide me through using hypnotherapy at home. Don’t wait to try hypnotherapy as a last resort. Put yourself in Ella’s capable hands. You’ll be so glad you did.”
Its worth knowing that the same protective nervous system patterns that drive anxiety can also contribute to persistent pain, and sometimes, trauma is one of the contributing factors.
If you’d like to understand this more deeply, you can read my articles-
This one goes into anxiety more thoroughly, to expand your understanding of how and why it feels so physical.
And this blog explains why chronic pain persists and what you can do about it.
When your internal alarm system is constantly activated, sensitivity increases across the body. And this alarm can be dialled down. When your nervous system feels safer, your thoughts can settle, your body becomes more predictable and you can trust yourself again.
This integrated approach forms part of the wider Breath Body Mind Method.
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Cognitive Hypnotherapy works at a subconscious level, rather than relying purely on conscious discussion or reframing thoughts.
By combining this with nervous system and somatic work, we address anxiety at the root, not just the thinking patterns on the surface.
I do use some CBT and Counselling approaches in my work- but my methods go beyond them, to include working directly with the subconscious and nervous system patterns that have kept you stuck.
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For many people, the changes they make in therapy can continue well beyond the end of their sessions.
The aim is to change the patterns that maintain anxiety, and develop greater flexibility in how you respond to stress and difficult experiences.
Anxiety can still arise during periods of significant stress or change. The difference is that you may have more awareness, resources and capacity to respond, rather than automatically becoming caught in the same cycle of fear and avoidance.
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This varies from person to person, depending on how long anxiety has been present and what's driving it.
Some people notice real change within a handful of sessions, while others benefit from ongoing support as their nervous system continues to unlearn old patterns and relearn new ones.
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Hypnotherapy uses a relaxed, focused state to work with the subconscious mind- the part that holds automatic patterns of fear and worry, often below the level of conscious thought.
By working directly with this part of the mind, we can shift the responses that keep anxiety switched on, rather than just talking about them.
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Yes. Health anxiety often involves becoming highly alert to bodily sensations and interpreting them as signs of danger or illness.
Cognitive Hypnotherapy can help you work with the patterns of attention, interpretation and anxiety that contribute to the cycle of checking, focusing, researching and worrying about symptoms.
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Yes. Social anxiety can involve a strong anticipation of judgement, rejection or embarrassment, which can make social situations feel threatening before they have even happened.
Cognitive Hypnotherapy can help you work with the learned patterns and responses that contribute to this anticipatory anxiety, so that social situations can gradually feel more manageable and less threatening.
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Anxiety and sleep disruption form a vicious cycle- each one feeds the other. Poor sleep heightens the nervous system's threat response, making anxiety symptoms more intense the following day- you might be familiar with increased irritability, difficulty concentrating, racing thoughts, physical tension, heightened sensitivity to stress and greater susceptibility to panic.
Over time, ongoing sleep disruption can contribute to difficulties with anxiety. Hypnotherapy can be used alongside other approaches to work with the patterns that may be contributing to both anxiety and disrupted sleep.
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Avoidance is the biggest thing that makes anxiety worse. When anxiety feels overwhelming, the natural instinct is to avoid whatever triggers it, whether situations, sensations, thoughts or feelings.
But avoidance teaches your nervous system that the threat is real and that you can't cope with it, which makes anxiety stronger over time.
Avoidance is one of the patterns that can keep anxiety going. When anxiety feels overwhelming, it is natural to avoid whatever triggers it, whether that means situations, sensations, thoughts or feelings.
The difficulty is that repeated avoidance can reinforce the sense that something is dangerous or that you will be unable to cope with it.
Over time, gradually developing greater capacity to experience difficult thoughts, sensations and situations can help reduce the hold that anxiety has on your life. This is an important part of the work we do together.
If you would like tailored support to address the root patterns maintaining your anxiety, you can explore 1:1 work here.
Not ready yet? My Shop offers hypnotherapy and meditation audios to release anxiety- you can pick some that suit you here.
“Ella's approach was not only effective but also empowering.
She taught me techniques that I can continue to implement on my own, giving me a sense of control over my anxiety that I hadn't felt before.”