Creating a personal zone

In the times of tension and uncertainty, it is natural to feel anxious. COVID-19 had a significant impact on personal and mental health well-being of individuals who suffered and to some extent are still suffering from isolation, crippling financial arrangements and dubious prospect for future. 

For many, panic set in after the lockdown restrictions were lifted and they must find themselves in the new reality. Is tight chest, catastrophic thoughts, an overwhelming flow of feelings and emotions seem familiar to you? Are you coming back to the traumatic episodes from your past and for some unknown reason you are finding comfort in them? Is your tight chest and shortness of breath waking you up in the middle of the night? If you answered yes, then please familiarise yourself with a self-hypnosis technique that I am using in my practice and do seek for help from a professional as this exercise will help you with the symptoms, however, it won’t cure the condition. 

Bearing in mind that the main purpose of this exercise is to allow you to use self-hypnosis as a tool, a coping mechanism that can be used daily, without any restrictions. Firstly, allow yourself enough of uninterrupted time for this exercise. Find a comfortable space in your home where you will be able to relax. Lay or sit down in a comfortable position.

• Step 1: As you are sitting in your favourite chair or laying down, fix your eyes at any point in front of you. Focus your undivided attention as hard as you possibly can on this point. 
• Step 2: Take a few deep breaths. Remember to breathe in slowly, inhaling with your mouth and exhaling by your nose. It is important to synchronise your breathing with an ‘eye fixation’. At this point, you will notice that your eyes are becoming tired, heavy. If you feel comfortable enough, allow your eyes to close.
• Step 3: As you are breathing in deeply, slowly with your eyes being closed, bring back the memory of a pleasant experience from your past. It can be the most recent episode or the memory from your past. Experience this episode once more, and recognise the feelings associated with it. You can ‘stay’ in this memory for as long as you want.
• Step 4: When ready, come back to the present self, however, hold tight the sensation/feeling that you have experienced. Now the important and most difficult part. Allow this sensation to spread all over your body. Starting with your head, moving slowly throughout your body. From the top of your head right to the bottom of your feet. Do it as many times as required, until you will feel completely relaxed. 
• Step 5: When you feel yourself being relaxed enough, find yourself in space. Surround yourself with emptiness. This is important as later you will shape your 'personal zone' accordingly to the positive feeling that you have experienced. 
• Step 6: When comfortable, focus again on the pleasant memory from your past. Now, fill in emptiness with this positive memory. You can use your wonderful imagination and ‘design’ your surroundings. You can choose to create a magnificent garden, a place by the sun or anything else that you are finding appropriate. Put as much of your attention to detail when creating your 'personal zone'. However, you must remember to use your positive memory as a foundation for anything else that you wish to construct.

Once you finish you can remain in your personal space, or simply wake up. You must remember, however, that you can come back to your zone whenever you will feel the need to do so. Please remember to use this technique from 'start to finish' until you will feel comfortable enough to jump straight into your ‘personal zone’.

From this point onwards, you can practice this exercise whenever you feel like it. As mentioned previously the main purpose of this self-hypnosis exercise is to enable you to relax comfortably and further, to break the 'chain reaction' that anxiety may cause.