Changing anxiety

Anxiety is a normal, if unpleasant, part of life, and it can affect us all in different ways and at different times. Whereas stress is something that will come and go as the external factor causing it (be it at work, relationship or money problems, etc.) comes and goes, anxiety is something that can persist, whether or not the cause is clear to the sufferer.

Anxiety can make a person imagine that things in their life are worse than they really are, and prevent them from confronting their fears. Often they will think they are going mad, or that some psychological imbalance is at the heart of their woes. What is important is the recognition that anxiety is normal and exists due to a set of bodily functions that have existed in us from our cave-man days.

Back then, we were equipped with an internal alarm system designed to protect us from the dangers surrounding us in the wild. This system would make us hyper-alert by giving us a boost of adrenaline that would increase the heart rate and boost the amount of oxygen going to our limbs so we were better able to fight or run from danger. This is known as the 'fight or flight' response. The 'butterflies in the stomach' feeling that many associate with anxiety is this mechanism kicking in, but instead of being used to avoid immediate danger, it is often wrongly and inappropriately activated in a person during normal, everyday situations when stress has built up, often unknowingly.

The good news is that these feelings can be changed and the process of how you do 'anxiety' can also be changed.

I have been a volunteer for Anxiety UK for over five years and have facilitated change with many people, who now have the freedom to do things that they could never have imagined in the past.

The workshop

I have designed a day where I will work with a small group of you who would like to feel and think differently about things and to change the old feelings and learn new behaviours.

The day will be fun and I will demonstrate and teach you different techniques which, for some of you, may be life-changing.

The venue

Copthorne Hotel Gatwick, Copthorne Way, Copthorne, West Sussex, RH10 3PG.

The hotel is set in 40 acres of Sussex countryside and is very easy to get to as it is a turning off the M23, Crawley Exit.

What you need to bring

Please bring a notebook with you if you would like to take some notes.

Please dress comfortably in layers so that you can adapt if the temperature fluctuates.

Refreshments

I will provide refreshments on arrival and at morning and afternoon breaks.

Please either bring your own lunch or you can eat at the hotel and receive a 20% discount as a Thoughtitude delegate.

There is also Acorns Gym next door that do a range of inexpensive and healthy lunch snacks.

If you would like to have a chat about the day, please feel free to contact me June 07876 578 055, or email june@thoughtitude.co.uk