Using Hypnotherapy to Overcome Exam Stress
Exam Stress is on the rise with charities like NSPCC and Childline seeing a 200% increase in calls to them raising stress around exams as an issue. When we think about exam stress we tend to think about children sitting GCSE’s and A Levels but exam stress can hit at any time and it can escalate quickly.
Jessica was a mature student in her late twenties. She had suffered panic attacks on and off since her early teens. Her anxiety had developed over the years to include panic attacks, exam stress, generalised anxiety, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, lack of motivation and sleep disturbances.
In her own words Jess would “get nervous about everything, and it would escalate into a panic attack. Sometimes after a few hours of thinking about it and sometimes almost instantly. It got to the point where if I was out of my comfort zone in anyway, and I do mean the slightest thing, I would completely panic and convince myself I couldn’t do it.”
Jess had been to see a traditional counsellor, “The counselling helped me to understand a lot about myself and the possible reasons for how I was feeling, but it didn’t change my symptoms.”
This led her to look up Ali, at our Inspired to Change Maidstone clinic. “Hypnotherapy was something I had started reading up about. I saw some good reviews for Ali and plucked up the courage to get in contact.
Getting to my first appointment was difficult. I didn’t know what to expect so I was already in a state of panic. Sweating, racing heartbeat, agitated, unable to sit still, unable to concentrate on anything thing else. But I got there, and I am so happy that I did.
Ali made me feel comfortable and has a lovely understanding nature. I felt that after I had left that first appointment, I was actually going to get control over this once and for all.”
Ali took Jess through the initial consultation, where she explained why Jess was continuing to feel the way she was, despite having a good understanding of her situation. Ali explained that knowing why was only part of the solution and the next step was to empty what Solution Focused Hypnotherapy refers to as her ‘stress bucket’; in doing so Jess would be able to get back to feeling in control and operating from her intellectual mind rather than her primitive fight and flight responses.
Ali gave Jess a hypnotherapy audio to listen to daily and simple, and often enjoyable, ‘homework’ – looking out for the positive aspects already present in her life; her positive actions, positive interactions, positive thoughts and enjoyable experiences.
Jess had 8 sessions with Ali. She admits “It was hard work at first, because my mind was in the habit of that negative thought process, but as time went on I became more aware of the changes that Ali helped me to implement.”
Life is different for Jess now, “I have been able to do things and go places recently that I felt I couldn’t before, I feel more confident in myself and not so uptight and tired, I really feel I have my life back which is awesome. I am now a very happy bunny!”
If you are still struggling with exam stress then it might be time to book in for your FREE initial consultation with your local Inspired to Change Hypnotherapist. Inspired to Change Hypnotherapists are based across the UK in Peterborough, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Devon and Kent.
Inspired to Change Hypnotherapists are all recognised by the National Council for Hypnotherapy, the UK’s leading not-for-profit hypnotherapy professional association.
To find out how you can train as a solution focused hypnotherapist click here for our hypnotherapy school information