8.3 million people were recorded as suffering from anxiety in the UK in 2013* and many more will have been suffering in silence. A Government study examined 58,700 fit notes issued to 25,000 patients between October 2011 and January 2013 and found that more than one in three absences were due to stress and anxiety. So if you suffer from anxiety, you are certainly not alone and just by making your way to this page, you have started your journey to getting the real you back again.

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A phobia is an extreme form of fear which is excessive in comparison to the level of threat posed by the situation or object which triggered it. It can be triggered by a wide variety of objects and situations – at Bon Accord Hypnotherapy I have helped people with phobias about flying, dentists, dogs, heights, even fish to name but a few. For those of you who like lists and names click here!

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Many people assume that sleep comes naturally – it’s just one of those things that happens, isn’t it? But for an estimated one in three people in the UK, or one in two over the age of 65, sleep becomes a dreaded battle. Restless tossing and turning, wakening in the early hours with little hope of getting back to sleep – it’s a description that is all too familiar to those who suffer from insomnia. It can be frustrating, depressing, stressful and can significantly impair health, work performance and quality of life

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Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) was formally recognised as a variant of depression in the 1980s, although The Royal College of Psychiatrists suggests that records of people suffering from low mood in the darker months go back as far as the 1800s.

It typically begins and ends at the same time each year and tends to deteriorate as the winter months progress. It affects an estimated 7% of the UK population every year, 6 – 35% of sufferers requiring hospitalisation at some point and many spending over 40% of the year struggling with significant symptoms of depression. Both children and adults can be affected and it can run in families. It affects women more frequently than men and is more prevalent in populations further from the equator.

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In our everyday lives we meet people who exude confidence and self-esteem, whether it be work colleagues, friends, family members or professionals we meet along the way. They smile, they laugh and approach situations and challenges in a relaxed way, comfortable in their own skin and happy. They just seem to take everything in their stride and succeed in whatever they turn their hands to.   For many of us however, that confidence and positive self-esteem can seem totally alien and an unachievable dream.

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Those who smoke are invariably well aware of the advantages of giving up smoking – increased health, fitness, reduced risk of life limiting illnesses not to mention the financial benefits.  What many don’t realise however is that research into smoking and stress reveals that far from relaxing you, smoking actually increases anxiety and tension over time, leaving smokers 80% more like to experience a significant anxiety or depression.

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According to the NHS, an estimated 2 million people in the UK are fighting addiction. That’s approximately one in three of us, so if you are one of them you are certainly not alone. They are generally defined as compulsive and repetitive behaviours linked to a reward, despite negative consequences.

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Motivation is the ability to think about what we want or need to do, decide we are going to do it and then actually do it. Often we can have the desire or need to do something, we can even really want to do it but when it comes to the point of actually doing it, our willpower and motivation fails. It can affect us in all sorts of areas of life, whether its completing that report in work, phoning the friend you’ve not spoken to in ages, starting your healthy exercise plan or getting on with that hobby you love.

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Irritable bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a relatively common condition in the UK, affecting approximately 20% of the population.  Symptoms can develop at any age but often are first noticed between the ages of 20 and 30, with women twice as likely to experience it than men.  One study indicated that 23% of IBS sufferers had not told anyone about their symptoms, only 50% had told their doctor, 66% carried a change of clothes and 3-% regularly used incontinence pads.

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