Honesty and Anxiety – two strange bedfellows – why would I even mention them in the same sentence. And that is what I thought too, until I started to think about it.
I am currently reading Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke. It is all about addiction (another branch of my work in hypnotherapy), explaining how the neurotransmitter dopamine effects the brain, and what happens when we become addicted to something. I can relate to it, as I recognise a time when I was addicted to coffee. (Thankfully, I managed to get over it.)
I was surprised to find a chapter of the book on honesty. As Lembke points out, honesty is one of the tried and tested mantras of alcoholics anonymous (step 5 in AA’s 12 steps). It turns out that being honest about an addiction is a very important point in overcoming it. Being honest means being honest with your family, friends and above all, yourself.
So I set to thinking, how does this relate to my anxiety clients. I realised that many of my clients are more honest with me than they are to even their closest friends and family. They tell me about their thoughts and feelings as well as the awful things that have happened to them in their lives. And telling me about all the bad times they have had seems to give a cathartic sense of relieve – even if just for a short time.
And I always encourage them to be honest about where they want to be (indeed, who they want to be) in the future. This has an even greater effect on reducing anxiety levels.
For those who are embarrassed by their anxiety, or who don’t want to burden their family with it, or who simply follow the social convention of not telling other people about our own problems – hiding their anxiety feelings simply adds another layer of stress. They have to make excuses; they find themselves forcing a smile and engaging in social chit-chat while their insides are in turmoil. Hiding anxiety simply adds to it.
Why the Photo?
Why the photo at the start of this blog? … No reason other than it’s a plant called “honesty”!!
And Finally …
In this blog, I usually try and encourage people to find a way forward by themselves, but if you are struggling with anxiety and want to some help – I help people like you get back in control of their lives. I use the power of hypnotherapy to help my clients get back to a state of normality. You can Contact Me if you want my services. I work in my clinic in Fleet, Hampshire and also online.
References
Dopamine Nation
https://www.annalembke.com/
AA Twelve Steps
https://www.aa.org/the-twelve-steps
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