Working with the inner self to reduce stress and anxiety

Hypnotherapy aims to allow you to tune into your inner psychological landscape and your inner or true self. The authentic part of ourselves deep within is sometimes referred to as our gut reaction or higher self. 

Our subconscious minds are responsible for all of our automatic functions, such as breathing, our hearts beating and moving our limbs without any conscious awareness on our part. Everything we have ever experienced and learnt is also stored in the vast capacity of our subconsciousness. The inner self is where the majority of our unconscious thought occurs.  

What is the inner self? 

Your inner self is the very essence of who you are. Your inner self is at the core of your identity. A combination of all of your beliefs, values and characteristics. The inner self varies from person to person, we are all individual and unique. We may not always be aware of our inner self, although it plays an essential role in our lives. At the centre of who we really are, the inner self determines our identity and what we do. We cannot always control the inner self which can lead to stress and anxiety as a result. 

Unless we try to change something, our inner self operates with very little conscious effort. 

How we view ourselves, our interactions with others and our approach to situations in life are affected directly by the inner self. If we make decisions in response to others’ opinions of us, peer pressure or external factors, the self can manifest feelings of shame or pride. Feelings of self-consciousness, our self-esteem, our sense of humour and emotional intelligence are all examples of ways in which our inner self manifests itself. 

Why is it important to recognise our inner self?  

The inner self affects our behaviour, emotions, decision making and self-esteem as well as our level of happiness and well-being. Our values, beliefs and characteristics are at the very core of who we are. Recognising our inner self is fundamental to our well-being in the busy lives we lead. We are bombarded by external influences, from social media to constant images, information and news reports that we have constantly flickering in front of our eyes on our screens (especially our mobile phones). To be happy we need to find a sense of peace within. Understanding and working with the inner self can help us to accomplish happiness.  

Working with the inner using hypnotherapy 

Research suggests that being able to access the true self ‘leads to an enhanced sense that one’s life is meaningful’, Rebecca J Schiegal, et al (2009).

Reaching and working with the inner or true self can go far deeper than this. The authentic core of who we really are that resides deep within us, in our unconsciousness, often has the answer to almost everything we seek. Decisions can be made based on our core values and we can work with the inner self to try to make beneficial changes for our own well-being and happiness.

Hypnotherapy is an amazing technique to use to reach and work with the subconscious mind. Experienced hypnotherapists can help you to go deeper and deeper within to tune into and communicate directly with your inner or true self at the very core of your essence. Doing this can help you to understand yourself, to trust yourself and to use self-hypnosis to ask your inner true self for answers you seek in the future too.

We often have the answers we seek within, yet often we seek external help. Some even become addicted to using psychic online readings or telephone psychic hotlines in order to make the simplest of decisions, even though they have the answers they seek if they tune into their authentic self.

Indeed, tuning into our inner true self can be a spiritual experience for those who have a belief in spirituality. It can be a profound occurrence providing understanding, a sense of peace and contentment from going within. When something resonates with us or we feel we can make sense of things, stress and anxiety are reduced, giving sensations of inner calm.

For those who want to delve deeper, our life purpose can be discovered from deep within. Again this depends on the beliefs of the individual, we can neither dismiss spirituality or life purpose nor can we prove indefinitely of their existence. The subconscious is providing messages to help us and whether it is sent from a higher source or not is not really of significance, it is the learning that is key and the calmness that comes from truly knowing who we are. 

Journeying to the inner self

When working with clients journeying to the inner self it is a unique encounter with each client I work with. We are all individuals and have differing beliefs. It is not unusual for some of my clients to see or sense an animal or angelic guide during inner journey sessions. One of my clients sensed a female black panther was standing behind her protecting her wherever she went. Another saw a white horse who was there to guide him through some difficult life situations. These could be metaphors supplied by the subconscious mind to provide comfort and reassurance or have a more spiritual meaning. Working with these guides in further journeys gave more insight as they often brought messages and answers which resonated with the client. 
 
Susie (name and details changed to protect the client’s identity) struggled with decision-making regarding her career path, and personal life too. She came to me for numerous hypnotherapy sessions over a period of time in order to deal with each of her issues individually. As soon as we embarked on journeying into her inner true self she began to experience change.

At first, some of the change was uncomfortable because it involved past hurts and these were processed using the most appropriate technique during our sessions. As her adult self, she imagined comforting and talking kindly to her younger self as part of her journey.

Having a strong sense of spirituality, like myself, Susie viewed the hypnosis journeys as spiritual where she gained guidance from her higher self. We worked together to explore the life-changing decisions she needed to make by imagining a signposted crossroads and going down each pathway in turn. Each pathway was a different possibility for the decision she needed to make. Each one was imagined and her higher self provided her with visual clues or a sense or feeling of how it may turn out if that path was taken. These were often symbolic, trees with fruit of pure gold at the end of one of the paths and a pond of stagnant water at the end of another path.

Her inner self was giving her guidance that helped her to reach a decision she felt at peace with. The overwhelming feelings of stress and anxiety had dissipated. She no longer sat and cried alone in her room feeling overcome by the magnitude of the career path decision options she had and the expectations that other family members were expressing to her. Her decision soon reaped rewards, finding her new position easy to navigate. Further promotions quickly followed with substantial pay increases that allowed her to obtain a mortgage to buy her very first home.

Susie told me she would have continued to dither and sit and cry alone if she had not taken the hypnotherapy journey into her higher self which was facilitated by myself. She felt far more confident and able to trust her ‘gut instinct’ and uses self-hypnosis on a regular basis now. 

I always find this type of inner true self-journey work with my clients to be illuminating and satisfying. We can meditate, practice self-hypnosis and tune into our true selves independently but sometimes even the most experienced of us can need someone to facilitate, guide and ask the right open-ended questions to move forward. Helping a client to discover and trust their inner self to help them with any and every aspect of their life is deeply rewarding. 
 
If you would like to try hypnotherapy please reach out to me or another qualified hypnotherapist listed with Hypnotherapy Directory.