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THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE
TO OVERCOMING ANXIETY
Contents
Introduction
Common Symptoms of an Anxiety Disorder
Common Anxiety Medications and why they don’t work
Groundhog Day
How come it is so HARD to change?
Is your Amygdala driving?
Anxiety Techniques
Focusing on the problem
An exciting breakthrough in the field of mental health
What is Anxiety and how does it happen?
How anxiety does not need to be who you are
Case Studies
Introduction
Experiencing anxiety can have a crippling effect on a person’s life. It can make what seemingly
‘should’ be pleasant and fun experiences turn into nothing but stress, worry and concern. There is
also the added difficulty in that a person can experience anxiety in many different shapes and sizes,
and symptoms can be mild to severe.
Mental Health is becoming more and more popular in mainstream media, and the government is
increasing funding in the procurement and supply of mental health services. Despite this, many
people have gone through the system and come out the other side still struggling, and some people
have had years of therapy and have yet to get the result they want.
Over the years there have been many different theories and approaches to what anxiety is, what
purpose it serves, and how it can be treated. Many of these have become indoctrinated into our
normal way of thinking, and the beliefs around what it is and how it can be dealt with often slip
through our radars and have an easy ride into our unconscious thoughts and feelings. This means
many people have beliefs about their symptoms that may be dictating how they respond, and yet
they may not even be aware of them.
This comprehensive guide has the intention of giving you new ways and ideas about how to think
about the experience of anxiety, how by changing your approach you can have a very real impact on
your own symptoms, or on the symptoms of those around you.
The guide will start by covering the most common signs and symptoms, what medications are
available and how they work, before moving on to exploring why change is so difficult, and what we
can do about it to take control.
The latter parts of the guide will demonstrate HOW anxiety works, knowing this can give you new
insights into how you come to feel the way you feel, and also gives you hope for how this can be
changed. We will then go through a different way to relate to anxiety in terms of how you see your
symptoms relative to who you are, which can have a powerful impact on how you live your life.
The guide will then finish with some brief cases studies of people overcoming a number of different
anxieties ranging from meeting new people, dealing with confrontation, and resolving a past trauma.
It is my hope that this can shed new light onto anxiety, and give you the drive to move forwards and
create a better life for yourself and those around you.
Common Symptoms of an Anxiety Disorder
Millions of people all over the world suffer from some sort of anxiety disorder. Whether they realise
it or not, it is affecting their lives and keeping them from reaching their true potential. On a much
milder level, anxiety is a natural response from our brains when we are dealing with a stressful
event. The feeling usually goes away once the stressful event goes away. But for some people, the
anxiety is always there, eating away at them and creating an internal struggle which many have a
difficult time overcoming.
With proper medical attention and coaching, anxiety disorders can be conquered and the client can
live a normal life. The key to successful treatment, however, is in identifying the problem in the first
place. What are some of the signs of an anxiety disorder? Let’s take a closer look and see:
Feeling Agitated- a general feeling of agitation can include rapid heartbeat or breathing, shaking and
dry mouth and these are all symptoms of an anxiety disorder. Your brain is sensing that you are in
danger, whether you are or not, and it goes into fight or flight mode.
Irritability- the more anxious you get, the more agitated you might become and that leads to
irritability. Irritability is a common symptom of an anxiety disorder and if you feel irritated most of
the time for no apparent reason, you should consult with your physician.
Restlessness- feeling restless is normal for most people, but when you feel restless for most of the
day over a six month period, it could indicate that you have an anxiety disorder and should seek
medical attention.
Difficulty Concentrating- if you have difficulty concentrating on things that you used to be able to
focus on without issue, it could be related to an anxiety disorder. Although a lack of concentration
could also indicate other health issues, a proper diagnosis should be sought.
Excessive Worrying- one of the most common symptoms that clients diagnosed with an anxiety
disorder experience is an excessive amount of worrying. If you find yourself worrying more than you
should, or for most of a six month period, and the worrying seems to consume your day, you could
seek the help of a professional.
Chronic Fatigue- for many people, fatigue is just another part of their day. With work and family life,
we can become very tired and our bodies will feel weak. If you feel fatigued for no apparent reason,
it is a clear sign of an anxiety disorder. Many researchers believe that the feeling of fatigue is
brought on by muscle tension or an anxiety attack.
While there are many more signs and symptoms of an anxiety disorder, these are some of the most
common ones. If you feel you have an anxiety disorder, consulting with a professional can help and
it is something you should do right away so you can begin feeling like yourself again.
This guide is designed to help you discover what is really happening when you are experiencing
anxiety, so you can take this learning forwards and change the way you view what you are feeling.
Common Anxiety Medications and Why They Don’t Work
If you have been diagnosed with anxiety, chances are, you have been prescribed a series of drugs
that might work, but they might make you feel worse in the process.
Typically, when you are diagnosed with chronic anxiety disorder, your doctor will skip right to a
pharmaceutical solution while overlooking your diet and other health factors. As ‘patients’, we
accept the diagnosis and the medicine with the hopes that it will make us feel better.
Unfortunately for many, it doesn’t.
Common Anxiety Drugs
SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) - these can include generic names such as citalopram,
escitalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine and sertraline.
SNRI (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) - SNRI’s include venlafaxine and duloxetine.
Tricyclic antidepressant- these include amitriptyline, imipramine and nortriptyline.
How They Work
SSRI’s, SNRI’s and Tricyclic antidepressants all work by blocking the reabsorption of serotonin or
norepinephrine by certain nerve cells in the brain. They can improve your mood dramatically which
“covers” the symptoms but don’t usually address the underlying cause of the anxiety.
Success Rate and Side Effects
For many people diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, the success rate of pharmaceuticals isn’t very
high. With the best anxiety medications only seeing a 75% success rate, most anxiety drugs are much
less successful with recorded results being as low as 20% for some patients. When you factor in the
side effects, of which there are many, a pharmaceutical solution isn’t a good solution at all.
Some of the more common side effect associated with anxiety medications can include:
Nausea and Vomiting
Weight Gain
Diarrhoea
Sleepiness
Sexual Problems
Side effects that are uncommon, but do still occur can include:
Thoughts about suicide or dying
Attempts to commit suicide
New or worsening depression
New or worsening anxiety
Feeling very agitated or restless
Panic attacks
Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
New or worsening irritability
Acting aggressively, being angry, or violent
Acting on dangerous impulses
An extreme increase in activity and talking (mania)
Other unusual changes in behaviour or mood
The list alone is enough to give anyone anxiety and it should, some of these side effects can be life
threatening!
When you learn about how your mind works, how anxiety happens at a below conscious level, and
the process our mind has in place to keep those processes running until they upgraded, you can
appreciate why the drugs don’t work, and how there is a better way to get relief from the effects of
an ‘anxiety disorder’.
Are you living with the same problems day after day?
If we consider the Hudson Mind Theory ‘Map of the Mind,’ when we are in any given context, we
have a certain identity. For example, in the office environment at work, the person giving out the
orders may be adopting ‘An employer’ as their identity. That identity is supported by the individual’s
current beliefs and values. Beliefs are convictions or acceptances that certain things are true or real,
and our values are the unconscious evaluation filters we use to decide whether our actions are good
or bad or right or wrong.
Our unconscious mind is primarily there to keep us safe, to ensure we survive, and as we are
currently alive, our unconscious knows that if we continue to keep our current identity, with our
current beliefs and values, we will continue to survive…
The ‘system’ as it were, will live!
As a result of this, our unconscious will systematically and unerringly do all it can to keep the status
quo. It will generalise or distort any new information that comes in so as to only further support our
current identify, and it will simply delete any information that contradicts those beliefs and values.
At its most extreme, the unconscious thinks ‘if we change…we could die.’
So whenever we ‘try’ to change we are met with a big dose of fear. This fear can manifest itself in
many ways. How about that little voice inside your head that whispers to you ‘I can’t do that’, or ‘I’ll
fail if I do that’, or any number of other negativities can creep in.
As the fear grows, we retreat, we stay where we are, and we stay in that identity with those same
beliefs and values.
The overall result is that the unconscious keeps running the same programs over and over again,
which lead to the same behaviours, the same type of choices, the same internal dialogue and us
having the same feelings.
But what happens if we aren’t happy? What happens if our current identity is causing us pain? What
happens if those programs lead to feelings of anxiety or depression? What happens if those beliefs
and values, that were probably set up and installed when we were only little, are keeping us trapped
in a life that causes us dis-ease or distress?
Much like in the film Groundhog Day, we end up living the same day over and over again. Becoming
more frustrated, and locked in by fear.
So…What if there was a better way to approach change?
Through language and nonverbal communication (the bits other than the words) you can shift from
your current identity, where you have your ‘problem’, expand your map, which then provides you
with options, flexibility, and resourcefulness.
When your unconscious and your conscious mind are in alignment, you can move systematically and
unerringly towards your goals, what a happier life that could be!
With all the possessions and technology we have in our world today, and our ongoing desire to have
the best things, the newest things, or the most recently updated things, it’s easy to get lost in it all.
We commonly continue with our old behaviour patterns and continue wishing our feelings would
change, because we aren’t aware of HOW these things can be changed.
How would you feel about investing a bit of time in becoming the best version of yourself that you
could possibly be? How might that change the way you feel? How may that change your outlook on
life? Is that something that appeals to you?
If you were nodding along in that last paragraph, then you are ready to know more about how you
can overcome anxiety, and change those behaviours that are keeping you feeling ‘stuck’.
How come it is so hard to change and overcome anxiety?
Okay so you are a normal man or woman, and you maybe have a thought pattern, behaviour, a
feeling, a certain emotional response, or one of the many other possible things that you would like
to change to about yourself.
You’ve had one or many negative experiences with it in the past, you are acutely aware that it does
not work for you, you remember how you felt because of it, and with all your conscious energy, you
have come to the decision you would like this ‘thing’ to change.
Despite all your positive intentions, despite your action plans, despite you reading up about it to
further understand it, and despite trying your best, it seems to come back time and again.
So how come it is so hard to change it?
If we were to pause for a moment, and consider what our mind is ‘composed’ of, that may help us in
our endeavour.
We have the conscious mind, which is our objective or thinking mind, which helps identify incoming
information, helps us to compare things, analyse things, and to make decisions. The conscious mind
is where we utilise our creativity, and it can only hold one idea at any one time.
Then we have the unconscious or subconscious mind, sub meaning ‘below’ conscious, which may
include information out of our awareness about our identity, our beliefs, values and attitudes.
The unconscious mind is an incredible resource; it can store a vast amount of information, and
encode it in such a way that it can be recalled in seconds. It controls the many unconscious
processes that go on outside of our awareness, such as regulating our breathing, heart rate, blood
pressure, digestion, healing, and cell regeneration, to name but a few… WOW!
If we were to summarise its main objective, or its main task that it never strays too far from, the role
of the unconscious mind is to make sure we survive. To make sure we keep on living.
In order to promote the best chance of survival, our mind wants to keep things the same. The
unconscious mind LOVES the status quo.
If we do exactly the same as what we did yesterday, again today, and again tomorrow, we will
continue to live.
What better way to ensure survival than by doing the same things as yesterday, as after all, in order
for you to have gotten to this point today, you must have survived yesterday – JOB DONE!
The only problem is… what happens if ‘yesterday’ wasn’t very pleasant? What happens if yesterday
something negative, emotional, or traumatic happened?
What happens then?
Well unfortunately, this is not of much concern to the unconscious mind, as after all, you did survive,
you did keep living, and so those same programs run again, “let’s do the same again” says the
unconscious mind. Before you know it, those negative responses you know oh so well, are up and
running again, with you left to rue all the effort you put into understanding the whole thing.
And if we try to make the change – our system will engage ‘safety protocols’, and will kick in with a
big dose of fear (False Evidence Appearing Real), and maybe some chaos too, just enough to
encourage us to retreat back to where we were, where we will continue to get, what we have always
got.
This then sheds a little more light on how achieving change on your own is difficult, because from an
unconscious point of view, survival is the goal, and as there is already hardwired experience of how
to do it, the unconscious will roll out that successful programme day after day. That’s not to say
change on your own is impossible, it’s just bloody hard work!
In other words, consciously trying to change can be futile when the unconscious is geared up to
repeat yesterday and maintain the status quo.
How could this be of help? How could this programming work for us?
As an analogy, think of your first day at school. There you are, in a somewhat scary place, no idea
what is supposed to happen, in a state of hyper alertness, scanning the environment to look for
information. You begin watching and looking around, observing what other people do, how they
manage things in this place, and begin copying them. The people in authority tell you information,
and you take it as gospel and go along with it, you get through the day…..phew...
In a place where you don’t know what you’re doing, you observe, copy, make meanings, and learn
from all those that you see and hear to help you survive the day. (Does this sound like something
that resembles how each of us comes into this world?!)
After a few days, that entire information gathering expedition has been absorbed. Without thinking
you know you need to go and register first, then go to class, do the same type of things, in the same
order, and it becomes second nature. There is comfort in the sameness of it all; there is SAFETY in
the sameness of it all.
Your system has learned what it needs to do to get you through the day, and it works, it works very,
very well!
The same thing happens in life. Where in the first 7 years, we spend a lot of time looking, observing,
copying, and most importantly…..LEARNING. Our minds are just like sponges!
So how can we achieve the conscious change we want when the unconscious has other ideas?
What would life be like if we were unconsciously set up to continue growing, learning and evolving
in a way that worked FOR us? If our unconscious and conscious minds were playing the same tune so
to speak?
Is your Amygdala driving?
What does it mean when I ask you consider the question ‘Is your Amygdala driving?’ Well, this is
clearly a metaphor, but if you are experiencing chronic anxiety, stress, depression, chronic digestive
issues, or even chronic pain, then the likelihood is, your Amygdala may be the one driving your
vehicle.
The Amygdala, or if you would like to go one step fancier, and call it it’s Latin name, ‘Corpus
Amydaloideum’, is an almond like shaped set of neurons located deep inside the medial temporal
lobe of the brain.
There is a wide range of evidence showing that the Amygdala plays a key role in the processing of
emotions. This small subcortical brain structure is linked to both pain and pleasure, and is the main
driver for both.
Anatomically it forms part of the limbic system, along with other structures such as the
hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, and cingulate gyrus. These nuclei work
together to form a harmonious and elegant mechanism to permit emotional expression.
If we were to consider your body as the ‘vehicle’, and your mind as the ‘driver’, when we are driving
well, we feel calm and comfortable; we have access to all our wonderful resources, and can take the
time to appreciate just how incredible our vehicle actually is. When we are driving well, ‘Life Just Is’,
we have the flexibility of mind to deal with all of what life has to offer, and we can do it in a way that
allows us to stay true to who we are and to be able to express our individualism to the world.
When we are driving well, we have… Infinite possibilities.
So what happens when we aren’t driving well? What happens if we haven’t actually ever been
taught how to drive this vehicle of ours in a way that gets the best out of it? What happens when we
feel we like we aren’t even driving anymore? Just a passenger watching it all unfold, and left to deal
with the consequences?
Who is driving then?
When we aren’t driving well, we will usually encounter some trouble at some point. Now for a
Ferrari, not driving well may manifest in a way such as a dint in the side, a puncture, or the
alternator going hay wire. For us human beings however, when we aren’t in control of driving our
vehicle, our body and mind will express ‘dis-ease’. This results in the physical manifestation of
symptoms, such as those in anxiety.
When an individual is involved in an event or incident, which has a strong emotional component, our
mind will create a representation of that event in the form of an ‘Emotional Memory Image’ (EMI).
This EMI is stored in a below conscious area approximately 18 inches in front of, and 6 inches above
our eyes, and this conceptual area is known as ‘The Screen’.
Although below our conscious awareness (so we don’t even know it’s there), a part of the visual
cortex of the brain, known as Brodmann Area 19 (BA19), CAN AND DOES register the image. BA19
communicates with the Amygdala, and the strong emotional component of the EMI causes the
Amygdala to initiate the stress response.
How is it that we don’t ‘see’ these Emotional Memory Images?
There is so much in this Universe that a human being is not able to perceive, and yet despite it being
outside of our awareness, they continue on without a second thought of all the things us humans
are completely missing out on.
Mother Nature is however somewhat of a tease, as for many of these things, although we are not
aware of them, a human being is able to perceive the EFFECTS of these imperceptible ‘things’.
If we were to consider light for example, which is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, it is
estimated that we are only able to see 0.0035% of the entire spectrum, with visible light only coming
in a narrow band of approximately 390-700 nanometres. So it seems we can’t see all that much!
What about sound? Well the range of human hearing is generally considered to be 20 Hz to 20 kHz,
but it is far more sensitive to sounds between 1 kHz and 4 kHz. Yet in the animal kingdom, whales
can hear sounds below 1Hz, and mice can hear sounds up to 100,000 kHz. So we can’t perceive much
of that either.
Then, there are some things that we absolutely can perceive, and yet we are not ‘aware’ of them.
That is, we are not consciously aware of them.
For example, as you are reading this, I would be willing to bet that you aren’t conscious of the
rhythm and depth of your breathing…………….until now.
Another one? I bet you haven’t been consciously aware of the rate your heart is beating……..until
now.
Oh go on then one more, I bet you haven’t been aware of that certain sensation………until now.
The point is there are some things that although you may not be consciously ‘aware’ of them, they
still carry on outside of your awareness, and you feel the effects of them, like breathing. (I’m sure
you would feel the effects of no longer breathing pretty quickly!)
Possibly the more interesting aspect, is that when someone external, or someone ‘on the outside’ so
to speak, points things out to you, you can then become aware of what you were previously not
aware of. It’s kind of cool really…
As the brain can see these images, this means that the Amygdala primes the body ready for action
by stimulating the secretion of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine and the neuro-modulating
hormone cortisol into the nervous system, resulting in one of the Amygdala stress responses (Fight,
Flight, Freeze, Flock, Fawn, Frigid, Feast, Famine, Fornicate etc.).
As the Amygdala is constantly scanning the environment for real and perceived threats, whenever
we are in an environment or context that the mind can link the EMI to, the response continues. It is
this stimulus response mechanism and resulting surges of norepinephrine and cortisol that leave the
options of potential health conditions enormous.
Countless research has shown the effects of long term over exposure to norepinephrine and cortisol,
affecting the circulatory system, endocrine system, muscular system and digestive system, and
having an overall negative impact on the immune system.
Due to this mechanism, the internal chemistry of the brain and body changes, setting up the internal
conditions that ‘wires’ a brain to be in a constant state of readiness (Van Der Kolk 2016), with the
Amygdala priming the body ready for action as a consequence of the aforementioned EMI. The
knock on effects are a decrease in blood flow to our ‘smart brain’ or Prefrontal Cortex, which
prevents us from thinking things through clearly.
So if you are experiencing a chronic anxiety, feeling like your body is always primed for action and
won’t relent, or have experienced these symptoms for so long that fatigue is now your everyday life,
your Amygdala may be driving.
Fortunately, just like when we are driving on the road poorly, we can learn to drive better.
The human mind is the ultimate learning machine, and with a little help, you can learn to get back in
control of the driver’s seat.
The Hudson Mind Theory© is an educational and therapeutic tool that helps you to learn how your
mind works. It helps you to learn how you can clear Emotional Memory Images from your screen. I
can help you to interact and engage with your screen, to help you set it up ready to really take this
vehicle for the ride of your life!
The therapeutic benefits of this process are clear. The resolution of an EMI episode allows the
Amygdala to disengage the stress response, halting the chemical surges, allowing for optimal blood
supply to return to the brain, and to allow the nervous system to return to balance.
When the mind, brain and body are in sync with each other, or put in other words when you are
driving well, this creates the internal conditions for health to be restored. And when we are in that
state of balance, or state of grace for want of a better term, it is then that the infinite possibilities of
a human being can begin to unfold.
ANXIETY TECHNIQUES: How can you help yourself?
There is a lot of research and advice on the internet about anxiety techniques and ways to reduce
anxiety, but which techniques are the most effective? And could there be a better solution?
Anxiety can be broadly described as "an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and
fear often marked by physical signs".
As anxiety is an issue that affects many people across the world, there any many different schools of
thought about what causes it. Moodjuice suggests a number of factors that contribute to a person
experiencing anxiety, primarily “Life events”, “Thinking styles”, “Evolutionary reasons” and
“Biological reasons”.
LIFE EVENTS: anxiety may develop after a stressful life event, or it could be the result of a number of
different pressures all occurring in the same period of time, leaving us to feel that we cannot cope.
They also suggest that people can learn to be anxious if in the past they suffered life events which
created anxiety previously.
THINKING STYLES: people that suffer with anxiety have a tendency to think about and predict the
worst case scenario, also known as catastrophizing. This can lead people to find it difficult to switch
off.
EVOLUTIONARY REASONS: Anxiety is an unpleasant experience that can put us in a state of fight or
flight. This can ready us for immediate action in the face of a threat or help us survive in the case of
an attack, and so over many hundreds of year’s feelings of anxiety have been crucial in our ability to
survive.
BIOLOGICAL REASONS: It has also been suggested that there are familial ties and that if someone in
your family experiences anxiety; there may be a genetic component to it although this is more likely
learned than inherited.
SELF HELP TECHNIQUES
There are many possible ways in which you may attempt to help yourself deal with anxiety, Below is
what Mind.org recommend as a list of the most common and effective ways to reduce anxiety. See
if any of these options may be worth you investigating with…
1. FACING YOUR FEARS
2. TALK TO SOMEONE YOU TRUST
3. BREATHING/RELAXATION EXERCISES
4. MUSIC
5. DISTRACTIONS WITH GAMES/PUZZLES
6. ACKNOWLEDGING FEELINGS AND WAITING FOR THEM TO PASS
7. PHYSICAL EXERCISE
8. KEEP A DIARY
9. HEALTHY DIET
10. COMPLIMENTARY THERAPIES
STILL STRUGGLING?
Many people have tried all of the above techniques and yet are still significantly struggling with
feelings of anxiety, so what if there was a better way?
There is a fantastic argument for the benefits of identifying and recognising when there is a problem
of some description in any given environment, and once that problem has been identified, clearly
marking its properties can also be very helpful in leading to a resolution.
As John Dewey elegantly stated “A problem well-defined is a problem half solved.”
Once the problem has been defined however, the next part is shifting your attention to the solution.
As a video clip from the film Patch Adams highlights, focusing on the problem only serves to narrow
down your options, focusing on the problem encourages you to become more and more specific,
until it appears that there is only one possible solution.
If that one possible solution then does not work – there appears to be no way out, and no way to
resolve the problem. This can lead to hopelessness, and if you have ever experienced hopelessness
in a situation, you will appreciate it is not a pleasant place to be.
Focusing on the solution on the other hand…… opens up possibilities!
Focusing on the solution allows you to create, and to generate multiple options, multiple
perspectives and leads to a more positive approach to problem solving.
As a simple example, let’s imagine your ‘problem’ was the way in which you get to the other side of
the road.
You have identified the problem, and you have decided you need to get across the road to solve it.
You begin to put all your energy into figuring out how to get across the road. Following this
definition of the problem and your specific solution, you realise that there is a constant, unrelenting
flurry of traffic.
Red cars, yellow Lorries, black motorbikes. Constantly moving past one after another…
So you begin to try to understand the movement of the traffic, focus on understanding the timing of
the cars, the size of the lorries, the speed of the motorbikes, and you begin to feel that there is no
way you will be able to cross this road. You start to feel hopeless.
Before long you are sitting in a negative spin by the side of the road, with seemingly no route out,
and stuck with your problem.
Now…
How about if we were to approach that differently?
Upon identifying that you need to get to the other side, you focus on the solution.
You focus on HOW can you get to the other side?
Your approach of focusing on the solution, leads you to realise you could go across the road, you
could go over the road, you could go under the road, or you could go around the road. After
generating these possibilities, of which there are many, you notice the flurry of traffic, you see
‘across’ is not a good option, so you move on, you consider if you could go over the road instead.
You use your flexibility to scan the area and low and behold 50m down the street, there is a
readymade overpass that will easily take you to the other side.
Then, with a smile on your face, and energy in your limbs, you can stroll over the road and
appreciate being on the other side. Job done.
By focusing on the solution, the HOW, you create options, you create flexibility, and you were able
to solve the problem with ease.
Of course this is a very simple analogy, but how about if we were to apply this same principle to
anxiety?
If you have identified that there is a problem, you may have identified that you don’t feel the way
you would like to in certain situations, as these environments or contexts lead you to experiencing
the feelings of anxiety.
Putting work into defining the problem, you realise that this happens when you are at home in your
room and when you are thinking about what may happen the next day, the next week, or some time
at work.
You begin to notice the unpleasant symptoms that accompany this feeling of anxiety. You begin to
wonder why you are feeling this way. Why you are feeling anxious? Why this is happening? And
thinking that you just want to not feel this way anymore.
If this sounds familiar – could it be that you too are focusing too much on the problem?
What if, just like with the road analogy, you begin to ask HOW can I feel calmer? HOW can I feel
more in control? WHAT can I do to learn to think differently?
This then creates options, choices, and creates possible solutions.
It may be that you have your own strategies for coping, be that medication, meditation,
mindfulness, exercise, or a combination. But if you are needing these strategies to cope, could it be
that there is a better solution out there?
From a coaching perspective, the root cause of your anxiety will be evident within your
unconscious/nonverbal communication (the bits other than the words), and coaching can assist you
in noticing how it is that you ‘do’ your problem.
The pattern that causes anxiety was likely established long ago, maybe in childhood, and at one
point in time was an appropriate response. However, it does not serve you anymore. After defining
the problem, utilising one of the unique principles of the Hudson Mind Theory©, ‘the screen’, we
can assist you in updating and adding to your current ability to respond, and assist you in
accessing many more of your unconscious resources, some of which you may not even know you
have. But trust me – they are there!
By putting your energy here, you are putting energy into finding solutions. And finding which ever
ones works for you.
I also have a range of mindfulness and meditation tracks to help you along the way, simply visit my
shop for more details.
An exciting scientific breakthrough in the advancement of the
treatment for Anxiety.
Researchers in the Netherlands by the names of Meijer and Geesink (2017) have just released some
exciting new research that is changing the way science views how the human body works, and more
specifically, how this affects our mental health.
The researchers propose that each one of us has an Electromagnetic Field (EMG) around us that is
out of our conscious awareness. This EMG field is a quantum system and so has included within it,
our very own experience of time and space. The fact that we have an EMG around us is nothing new,
and has been around for many years, the idea of accessing quantum information through this
system is a new way of thinking.
This 4-D field, or 'Cyclic mental workstation' as they describe it, means that each of our brains are
embedded in a holographic field that interacts with our environment, and this EMG field
communicates with all the cells in our entire body instantaneously.
They propose that within this 4-D field, holographic images may appear that will then cause the
brain and the entire nervous system to respond, and as this field contains its own experience of time
and space, holographic images from your past can and do affect your entire being.
This would mean that if holographic images from your past are present in your EMG field, that have
a negative and/or traumatic origin, this could then cause a disturbance in the EMG field, which then
in turn impacts on all the cells in your body, and may lead to dis-ease.
Now, if you have been following my blogs and newsletters, you will be very familiar with what I have
been referring to as 'The Screen', as coined and discovered by Matt Hudson in the 'Hudson Mind
Theory©'.
The Screen is a below conscious area that the mind uses to inform the system as to what is going on
- does that sound like the research above?
VERY MUCH SO!
The Hudson Mind Theory© describes these 'holograms' in the EMG field as Emotional Memory
Images© (EMI).
It is hypothesised that these Emotional Memory Images© cause the Amygdala in the brain to set off
a cascade of events resulting in the release of cortisol and norepinephrine into the nervous system.
These neurotransmitters and neuromodulating hormones can, with prolonged exposure lead to a
myriad of health conditions, ranging from anxiety, panic attacks, Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder
(PTSD) and chronic pain.
How Anxiety does not need to be ‘Who’ you are...
If we consider a person experiencing anxiety through a coaching perspective using the logical levels,
it can help break it up a little bit.
In the logical levels the bottom half (environment, behaviour, capability), is more conscious, that is it
is more easily observable to us and others, and it is usually in these areas that we attempt to create
change. Everything in the upper half is more unconscious, so the things less visible to us, and the bits
I concentrate on during coaching.
So when you are experiencing negative thoughts or emotions, firstly consider your Environment.
Where are you? When is it? Who are you with? All of these factors could be either a cause of
anxiety, or something that triggers those thought patterns that lead to anxiety.
Behaviour - so what behaviour are you demonstrating? This is usually the level that most people
attempt to change. A person experiencing anxiety will demonstrate certain behaviours, this does not
mean it defines who the person is; it just means this person in this context is behaving this way, at
this moment in time.
Capabilities - we all have them! Sometimes they are tucked away or hard to access because of other
things that are going on or things that have happened in the past. We all have capabilities we don’t
access until we get some help. But also consider what capabilities you have - which characteristics
will help you, and can support you through this. Becoming clear on your capabilities can in itself
bring on a calmer state.
Then we go to the top half - the more unconscious areas.
So whatever happens below the half-way line, MAY affect what happens above, but what happens
above the line WILL change everything below it. That is why I help people work on things above the
line, and allow it to filter down.
Beliefs and Values - most of these were installed when we were very young. This may be beliefs
about ourselves, beliefs about others, and how we decide what is right or wrong. For example some
people may have the belief that every time they are in a social situation they become anxious, so
guess what - that’s what happens!! Updating and changing the beliefs and values of someone
experiencing anxiety will trickle down and affect their capabilities (give them more), their behaviour
(help them change it) and notice how their environment changes.
Identity - who are you being when you are having those thoughts and experiencing anxiety? Are
there other contexts in your life - such as at work, where you are calm and confident? Do you need
to upgrade your identify in the anxiety provoking context?
MANY people make the unfortunate mistake of taking on their anxiety as part of who they are, they
would label themselves ’I AM an anxious person’.
Or maybe ‘I AM an anxiety fighter.’
However, using the logical levels we can see how we can upgrade that. If the person having the
negative thoughts believes that part of their identity is to be anxious, then that may appear a
massive and insurmountable thing to change. It will also then direct their beliefs and values, as well
as directing their behaviour towards being anxious - not a good plan!
On the other hand, if we consider that the person’s identity is, for example ‘I AM Sarah’, and up until
now part of my behaviours has been that I experience feelings of anxiety in certain situations.
How does that feel differently?
Then we work on helping upgrade Sarah’s vision of herself, to upgrade her identity, which will allow
her to change her beliefs, change her capabilities, adopt new and better behaviours, and change
her environment.
Finally the Big picture - what is your mission or goal in life, which will impact on everything you do.
Particularly if you don't have one! I can help you on your way to finding that too, as you do have all
the answers in there somewhere.
In terms of thought patterns, people who are experiencing anxiety are behaving in what is known as
a reactive state, so they are inside their own heads, running through many different possibilities of
how things could go wrong, they decide how they feel based on the information they get from
themselves, and are usually thinking about problems and how to avoid things and manage issues.
Does that sound familiar?!
All of this will lead to feelings of dis-ease, such as anxiety. So the best advice in those cases is to
change your state, do something that gets you out of your head, if you aren’t stuck on the inside,
you won’t be able to access those feelings of anxiety.
Coaching sessions aims to gently influence your system through the identification and adjustments
of 'Emotional Memory Images' (EMI), as coined by French Neurologist Hyppolyte Bernheim. Working
in this area will have a direct effect on the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, the hypothalamic-
pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis, the amygdala and the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM)
system.
The neurotransmitter norepinephrine and the neuromodulating hormone cortisol will be secreted
into the system and communicate to these parts of the brain during the EMI episode. It is believed
that it is long term exposure to Emotional Memory Images that is the basis for the myriad of health
conditions that are impacting on society today: preventing the EMI from triggering means there can
be no response by the brain, ergo no elevated cortisol levels.
What to do about all these labels???
This brings us nicely on to the topic of labels. I see many clients that have been to their GP, have
received a diagnosis, and now years later are still carrying around their badge, their label.
I’m going to be bold here… The reason there are so many different disorders is because the medical
community likes to put labels on people, and also to give people medication.
The more labels….the more medication!
As we discussed in the section above, taking on a label at the identity level causes a significant shift
throughout all of the other levels, whereas keeping them at the behaviour level chunks them down
and keeps them smaller than you.
You are bigger than any label. You are more.
How about we were to drop all of the labels and the stigmas attached to them, and just say… “I have
had some things go on in my life and now I am coping the best way I can, I would like to learn to
cope better”.
In essence, someone that experiences feelings of anxiety will have the same mechanism or process
in social anxiety as they will in avoidant personality disorder. The main difference is the scale of the
response the individuals uses to cope with the problem.
If you are someone that experiences anxiety, it is very likely the following has occurred:
At some point in your past, probably when you were little, you were involved in a situation or in an
environment that caused strong feelings of anxiety. You may be able to consciously remember this
event, you may not.
Anxiety is important for survival, the mind pays strong attention to this.
Following this ‘incident’, your mind stored information regarding what happened and it registered
the feelings you had at that time. This will be stored in your unconscious mind.
As a protection mechanism, any time in the future you come into an environment or context that
reminds your mind (on an unconscious level) as being similar to that previous negative experience,
you will fire off the exact same neurology as you did at the original event - so you will have the same
feelings of anxiety.
This all happens in a nanosecond and is unconscious - so you have minimal awareness of it, and at
present likely no control over it, all you experience is the end ‘feelings’.
All new information that we receive is filtered by our unconscious, and sometimes that response can
be generalised - so it spreads out into different contexts.
If this generalises on a large scale, your response and your feelings of anxiety will begin to fire in
environments and places that to you appear to be ‘for no reason’.
For example…
You feel anxious when in a social situation in large groups. This then is the extent of your issues with
anxiety. The trigger ‘being ‘large groups’
If this information becomes generalised in your mind for safety and protection, it may be that the
trigger expands out to ‘small groups’.
If this continues to generalise, it could become ‘a group of 2 people’
And maybe even further, to the trigger being any person!
When your mind is running this pattern, imagine that your brain initiates the same release of
hormones of panic as it did for large groups, but for ANY PERSON. That may be enough to stop
anyone leaving the house, I think it would be enough to make me think twice about going outside!
So I would encourage anyone experiencing feelings of anxiety, worry less about which label or
diagnosis you have, as having a diagnosis doesn’t rid you of the problem!
Recognise that you are currently doing the best you can, and reach out to one of my coaching
programs or go to my shop for some more resources to help you improve the way you think and
feel.
How does anxiety work?
The mechanics of anxiety are actually quite simple. This is one of those cases where being armed
with the information of how it works can give you insight into how it is very possible for it to be
resolved.
An individual has an experience that has a high emotional charge. The event provokes intense
feelings of stress, fear or panic. This commonly happens when we are under the age of 7 as we lack
the mental filters to process the information, however it can occur during adolescence or during any
significant life event.
The mind pays significant attention to this event as it is considered a threat to the survival of the
self. The mind stores aspects of what was seen, heard, felt, smelled or tasted and encodes this
information in the form of Emotional Memory Image.
Due to the intense emotions that occurred with the event, when the memory is stored, cortisol is
released, which helps delete aspects or all of the memory from conscious awareness. This EMI is
then stored in a below conscious area, so the information cannot be easily accessed through the
conscious mind of the individual, and yet the unconscious mind continually scans the environment
for any traces of a similar event.
When the mind notices anything that links back to the original event, it will do everything possible to
prevent something as painful as the original event take place again, this leads to the sensations of
anxiety. These past events are then projected forwards in time to future events, so that future
events are viewed through this lens of fear and anxiety.
This becomes a pattern, and after enough time and repetition, the person has actually practiced
doing anxiety over and over again, and they then start to become anxious about being anxious, and
a vicious cycle is created.
Understanding this cycles helps to explain why the drugs won’t work. Your mind is creating a
chemical environment to make sure a previous event is not relived. This means that if you take
medication to dull your senses, as the unconscious detects a possible threat to self, it will increase
feelings of anxiety that will far exceed any medication you are taking. Then you have the option of
increasing your medication, where the cycle will just happen again, or you can take action, resolve
the Emotional Memory Images, and move on with your life.
Case Studies
To give you some examples of how my coaching programs have helped people with varying different
levels of anxiety, here are some brief case studies.
Helping Social Anxiety... in the Workplace
Several days ago I arranged a session with a young lady who had been experiencing difficulties with
anxiety at work. She had been to see numerous people regarding this problem and was coming
towards the end of a block of counselling.
Her main 'presenting problem' was experiencing panic and anxiety when faced with the prospect of
meeting any new person. Which, given her job role, was something that she would encounter
sometimes several times a day...
As a result, you can imagine how much distress this was causing this lady on a day to day basis.
We began our 8 session coaching plan, where I explained how the mind works from a Hudson Mind
Theory© perspective.
I highlighted a few ways that an individual may cause some themselves some problems in terms of
the questions they ask and the language they use when they are talking internally to themselves.
Each of these were met with a wry smile, and then on further questioning she said... 'I do ALL of
them - EVERYDAY!'
So I suggested a few easy to manage tweaks in language and introduced her to her 'screen'.
After some more chatting and a few chuckles, I began helping her engage with her own screen, and
when discussing her 'presenting problem', she always seemed to access 'the same spot' on screen.
The literature would suggest that she was accessing something called an 'Emotional Memory Image'.
As the work we do in a session is content free, she had not needed to explain any stories, she had
not needed to share any personal information, all I had to do was guide her through the process and
help her get back in charge of her vehicle.
When accessing this Emotional Memory Image, she immediately began to feel all the symptoms she
had come to see me for. So we could be confident that whatever this thing on screen was, it had a
neurological connection to all of her symptoms.
In this case, she just described that she had some colourful, busy, and bright moving images. Any
time she accessed those images, she would experience the symptoms of her presenting problem...
FASCINATING!
After another 10 minutes of adjusting and upgrading her screen. The image was no longer there, and
her screen was clear.
With the clearing of her screen, so disappeared all of her symptoms.
Despite trying her hardest, she was unable to reproduce any feelings of anxiety, and believe me she
tried!
What was even more interesting was that the harder she tried to access those old feelings, all she
could do now is chuckle in a confused but comfortable way... That was certainly a new response!!!
We finished the session there, with her not being able to access any feelings of anxiety, and not a
single personal detail had been shared. Wonderful.
Her feedback later was...
"Had a brilliant, eye opening session with Danny Greeves about the subconscious mind. Highly
recommend him for anyone dealing with anxiety".
We continued to work on language, clearing her screen, and helped her to upgrade her identity. On
a different note, she has now finished counselling and is embarking on a new chapter of her life.
A problem that kept on running...
A lady came to see me with a problem of struggling to communicate with others, and being anxious
and nervous in those circumstances when she was required to talk around other people.
We began our coaching session and introduced her to her 'Screen', this is the below conscious area
that the mind uses to inform the system as to what is going on.
When she was talking about her problem, I noticed that her eyes were fixating on a certain spot, I
pointed this out to her and there was a slight look of confusion on her face.
Knowing that she would have to do this in order to tell me more about her problem, I asked her to
explain a little bit about what happens in those contexts where she was struggling.
Immediately, her eyes returned to that same spot on screen, and this time, she noticed it too! After
a few chuckles, and acknowledging that it was a little strange, she continued to talk, and her eyes
dashed back again, this time a chuckle and a much bigger look of confusion spread across her face!
After firmly establishing her connection to her screen, she noticed that in order to even think about
her problem, her eyes had to access that spot. She also noticed, that when did access that spot, she
would experience an increase in heart rate, and a slight sweatiness in her hands...
Interesting!
After making this connection, I was able to ask her if there was anything in that 'spot' that she kept
looking at. To her surprise, there was an image in that space.
This is what's known as an 'Emotional Memory Image'©.
An Emotional Memory Image© is a piece of information stored in the below conscious area 'on
screen'. The response that she was experiencing, in terms of the increased heart rate and sweaty
hands, was an Amygdala response. This means that her amygdala was responding to the EMI and
perceiving that image as a threat. The brain was responding to this image as if it were real, and this
was causing her entire system to enter the 'fight or flight' response.
Because of how the Hudson Mind Theory© works, we were able to work on this EMI without her
having to discuss or explain any personal information or personal details. Something she seemed
very relieved about.
She was however, comfortable to share something about what was contained in this Emotional
Memory Image©, and that was that the image was based on something that happened when she
was aged 4.
Which means this EMI had been running for over 20 years!
Using the Emotional Memory Image© and the knowledge of the time the image was formed, we
were able to use conversational techniques to transport her mind through time and space, and allow
her to return to that time. We were then able to use language to change her perception of what
happened, to drain the negative emotion from the event, and to re-frame the incident in a way that
allowed her to take the learning from the event.
And we were able to do all of this, without me having to ask, and without her having to share, any
details about the event...
Interesting!
Following this intervention, the EMI that was previously on screen disappeared. Her skin tone,
breathing, facial tone and body posture all immediately relaxed.
She then had that curious look on her face as she scanned her screen trying to access the image
again, and noticing that she could not access it!
We emphasised again that the screen isn't real, and that this Emotional Memory Image© had been
driving her problem.
Now that the brain no longer had the 'stimulus', she no longer had the 'response' of being anxious.
The Hudson Mind Theory© believes that it is this long term exposure to Emotional Memory
Images© that causes a lot of today's health issues.
If you are struggling with anxiety, coaching sessions can improve your communication skills, your
confidence, your ability to take on new information, and to lead a happier life.
Problems with Confrontation
Several weeks ago I had a session with a young man who wanted to work on the relationship he has
with his brother. With both brothers in their late twenties, he reported that they rarely speak at the
moment and when they do it becomes very uncomfortable, very tense, and so to prevent an
argument, he will surrender ground, placate his brother and try to see the situation out.
He reported that with Christmas coming up, he would like to be able to improve their relationship.
To start the session I explained that part of my role of guiding him to help him learn how his mind
works, and to show him what causes him to feel the way he is feeling, and more importantly, how he
can become the person he wants to be. I introduced him to his ‘screen’. I explained that we each
have our own individual screen, and that whatever happens on screen, will determine how the brain
responds, and this will therefore determine how he feels.
As an example, I explained that if he were to think of a loved one, on this below conscious screen,
there will likely be a bright happy and positive image, the brain will then respond to the image and
flood him full of chemicals that make him feel good.
If however, something happened in the past, that could be considered negative or traumatic, the
mind will store this information on screen, and the brain will respond to this and flood the nervous
system full of a different set of chemicals, and if these chemicals are flowing around the body for any
length of time, it can lead to a myriad of chronic health conditions, commonly anxiety, depression,
irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or chronic pain.
I then explained that if we could help him access his screen, he would then be able to change the
information in that below conscious area in a way that promotes him to feel the way he wants to, in
this case more confident and to be able to stand up for himself.
At the beginning, he was completely unaware that whenever he talked about his problem, his eyes
would dart off to the exact same spot each time. However, after pointing this out, the next time he
began talking about his problem, he caught himself as his eyes darted off to that same spot, which
inevitably, brought on the expression of “that’s really weird, how funny!”, which was then followed
by a big laugh.
As we continued chatting, I asked him what happened when he was in different contexts, such as at
work or with other people. His eyed that darted up to that same spot again and he reported that a
similar thing happens. From here, we managed to get more specific and found out that this
particular problem was not his relationship with his brother; it was about his response whenever he
was in a confrontation.
Interesting!
As we discussed confrontation, bingo! His eyes darted once again to that same spot, and he noticed
that he began feeling hot, a bit sweaty, and he became aware of his heart beating quickly.
Through the coaching session, we were able to help him access the information stored in ‘that spot’,
and he identified that there was an image there. This is what’s known as an Emotional Memory
Image©.
Using some simple guidance, he was able to change the Emotional Memory Image©, and after some
chuckles and laughter, the image disappeared… His screen was clear.
Following this, there was an immediate change in physiology. There was a slow deep breathe, a
softening of the face, and after just a few minutes, he reported feeling lighter and calmer.
When we were able to catch up yesterday, he was happy to report that he has been feeling more
confident, generally communicating better, and he has been able to chat to his brother and feel
more at ease. Over the coming weeks we will continue to work together to build his communication
skills, his confidence, and his self-esteem.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a movie is worth a million
2 weeks ago I had a session with a lady who wanted to work on resolving her anxiety. She had
decided that it was time to make a change and signed up for my 8 week educational program.
She entered the room and as we began chatting, I was able to observe some very interesting non-
verbal communication (the bits other than the words), and thanks to use of language and bodily
gestures, she had already given me a big clue as to what was causing her presenting problem, of
course, she wasn’t aware of it…yet!
Making a mental note of this, we discussed what she would like to achieve out of our sessions
together and how she would know when things were different for her.
We continued chatting, and as I introduced her to the ‘Map of the Mind’, there was a string of nods
and uh-huh’s, and everything was rounded off with a lovely wry smile.
The map just ‘made sense’ to her, as it does to anyone else who hears it. She then began to put a
couple of pieces together inside her mind and all of a sudden some of her past behaviours, which
she thought were silly and irrational, started to make sense… funny how that happens!
We discussed how the mind works, and how when we have the understanding of how it works, we
can begin to see how it controls a lot of stuff, including how we feel. She also began to get a sense of
if we knew how our minds worked; we could take charge again and be in control of our mind and
our body’s.
Having introduced ‘The Screen’ to her, she was starting to get to grips with how her mind may have
been causing her feelings of anxiety.
From the clue that she had unknowingly shared with me earlier, I helped her notice that she had
‘something’ on screen, and through the use of language and nonverbal communication I assisted her
to engage with her own mind and to help her access the ‘something’ that was on her screen.
As we did this, she reported that she was starting to have sweaty hands, an increased heart rate, and
the same feelings of anxiety that she had been having at work and at home were firing up – just by
accessing ‘The screen’.
To her surprise, she was able to access a ‘movie’ playing on screen of an event from when she was
just a small child, an event that she said she had completely forgotten about!
Following this, we were able to continue the Hudson Mind Theory© and assist her to clear her
screen, so that she no longer had access to the movie, it was no longer there.
As the movie disappeared, so did the sweat on her hands, so did her increased heart rate, and so did
her anxiety!
After a good chuckle we checked in with her screen, and this time there was no movie, and try as
she might, she was unable to access any of her earlier feelings of anxiety, much to her delight.
A follow up email from her yesterday reported that she had been approaching and completing
previously anxiety provoking situations with absolute ease, with almost no signs of anxiety at all. We
are now moving on to the next part of the educational program to build her self-awareness and clear
any other old traumas
Interestingly, curiosity was the overarching tone of her email, as she wondered what little piece
would be next to sort out to help her be even more of herself!
Conclusion
Anxiety can be a very unpleasant experience, and it can steal your quality of life, and yet it doesn’t
have to be this way.
To start with, drop any labels or badges you think you have around your symptoms. You are so much
more than a label, or a diagnosis. Let’s make things human again. You are a normal human being
that has had some stuff go on in your life and you are looking for a better way to deal with them.
Medications don’t work. If you have found that you are still taking medication years later, they
clearly have not resolved your condition, and they are only masking what is going on below your
level of awareness.
If you self-medicate with alcohol, drugs, gambling or sex, there is a better way to cope.
Focusing on the problem will only lead you to finding more of them, open up your viewpoint and
start focusing on what you do want, and ask ‘how’ and ‘what’ questions.
When you are experiencing symptoms, remember it is something that you are doing, not who you
are.
There is a massive difference in saying “I am an anxious person” and “I’m a normal person that is
currently doing anxiety”. The latter makes it more manageable.
Anxiety is caused by a sensitising event that is then projected forwards in time to other times and
places with the intention of keeping you safe. It is a fantastic system when you fully appreciate how
much your mind wants to keep you out of harm’s way. Approaching anxiety in this way lets you be
gentler on yourself, and takes the blame and judgement out of the equation.
My coaching programs are designed to help you clear the root cause of what is causing those stress
chemicals to flood around your system and create those feelings of anxiety.
I can help you upgrade your identity to become the ‘you’ that you want to be.
I can help you improve your communication skills, your confidence, your self-esteem and your
assertiveness.
Contact me today to book one of my coaching programs.
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