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Anxiety, Sleep, Thoughts...

  • anonymous Asks ...
    anonymous

    I have bad GAD. I normally have a very hard time at night because whenever I stop moving is when my thoughts explode and intrude all over my brain. I am thinking about buying some night time self hypnosis cds. You’re supposed to let these play over night and after a month you’re supposed to feel better. It has something to do with penetrating the subconscious when we stop awareness thought just before we fall to sleep. It’s like a crack in the door at that moment and if you let in these messages at that time, for enough nights in a row, then you actually change the way you think. And they are also supposed to help you sleep better too. Do you agree that these subconscious hypnosis tapes are a good idea? Or is it a waste of time and money?

  • Loren Gelberg-Goff Says ...
    Loren  Gelberg-Goff

    It sounds like you've done some research, and some of these sleep aids can and do help, however, given your brief description of your problems, I would recommend incorporating some additional therapeutic interventions to your line-up.  You say that your anxiety gets worse at night, so yes, having some sleep meditations can be helpful to block some of the anxiety producing thoughts.  Have you been in therapy or are you now in therapy to help you to understand the root cause(s) of your anxiety? There are a number of very helpful interventions for dealing effectively with GAD.  1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)  Allows you to talk through the things that trigger your anxiety, understand what your reactions are and modify how you handle the anxious feelings to give you more control over your triggers.  2. Hypnotherapy By using hypnotherapeutic interventions you can get to the root causes of your anxiety and eliminate them from your life.  3. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) 4. Neurofeedback which can mitigate many anxiety reactions. 5. Tai chi, yoga, Chi-Gong (Quigong)... all these modalities help to mitigate anxiety and stress and can be beneficial in helping you to feel better in your life.  6. Self-hypnosis... listening to meditations can be very helpful in both getting to sleep, staying asleep and going back to sleep should you awaken. 

    Many things can be improved by changing your thoughts, and there are a number of ways to do this, so don't just start and stop with one modality... Allow yourself to be open to the many possibilities that are available. I wish you all the best, and please let me know if you have any additional questions that I help to clarify for you. 

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