For some, Covid lockdowns came as a bit of a relief.

Finally, they said, peace and quiet. With no pressure to socialise, people with elevated levels of anxiety were relieved to comply with government mandates.

However, those individuals may also experience a rebound mindset of anticipatory anxiety.

For example:

• What if I have a panic attack in public?

• After all this time, what will I talk about?

• Will it be difficult if I ask people to move away from me?

• What if I get the virus when I continue my daily routine?

People will have become comfortable inside as they no longer find social situations to be anxiety-provoking or panic-inducing. Being told by the government to “go home and stay home” may have been a fantasy come true.

However, with loosening Covid regulations, after nearly three years, these folks need help to reintegrate into mainstream society.

ANXIETY

Anxiety and fear are normal human emotions we need to prevent us from making dangerous or ill advised choices. However, when anxiety or fear become frequent, or occur in the absence of an actual threat, it can become personally disabling.

A commonsense response to feeling anxiety or fear is to immediately stop or reverse the situation that may be causing the problem.

When shopping, people just leave their cart and exit the store. I’ve had clients tell me they sit in their car for half an hour or so screwing up their nerve to go inside to shop for their families.

People are increasingly calling in sick when they have to speak at a meeting, or even go into work for a day or so a week.

Although avoidance may feel like the right thing to do, it’s the exact opposite approach to take when one’s fear is out of proportion to the actual danger. Strategies that lessen anxiety in the short term often make it worse in the long term.

Although it makes sense in the short term, avoidance or escape from anxiety only serves to maintain it.

HOW HYPNOSIS HELPS

A conscious mind counsellor will strategise that making anxiety worse in the short run by forced exposure will usually make it better in the long run.

  As Consulting Hypnotists, we know that’s not an emotional burden we want the client carry around.

In the short run, using direct suggestion, our opportunity is to guide our client to realise that they have the ability and experience to not only cope, but to happily cope.

Through regression we can then ameliorate the initial cause of their anxiety and by using Parts Therapy (aka Ego State Therapy), we can directly negotiate with the ego state causing the negative emotions to trigger.

  That doesn’t mean our clients can immediately go back to what they were doing before the pandemic. Instead, our obligation is to encourage them to take a measured approach.

RETURNING TO LIFE

The rampant success of good hypnosis is a double sided sword and post-Covid, it’s important to also suggest they follow public health guidelines.

To their daily activities, suggest your client start small and then gradually work up to more difficult situations, to vary their exposures when out of the house.

Encourage them to be consistent but not to underestimate their successes. They are learning new behaviours and you can help them own their success for continued positive growth.

Congratulate them for their new approaches. The work of re-entering the world after an unprecedented months-long lockdown is work.

THE ADVANTAGES OF HYPNOSIS DURING COVID

Dr. Sean Kidd, Chief, Psychology Division and Senior Scientist at the Centre of Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada, stated that …

“Like all facets of mental health, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for the stresses caused by COVID-19 … Some people may feel some unique stresses and be particularly concerned about what may be perceived as a too early return to the workplace …”

During Covid, employers have been forced to become more empathetic to staff and are much more willing to accommodate than ever before, making a happier employee.

People have become closer to their families and have re-evaluated their work lifestyles but still need reinforcement of their new lifestyle values.

Employers are reconsidering their mental health programmes and now is the time for us to approach them with a Hypnotic Wellness program.

Our lesson through is that good ‘ol direct suggestion is increasingly back in style to help comfort people and reinforce their life confidence who are still looking to find their place in the new post-Covid world.

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Article Researched/Written by Rev. Timothy Jones, OB,
and Published in NGH’s JOURNAL OF HYPNOTISM
In CSIG’s “DEEPENINGS” column

(Updated 2024)

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