Things we can help with

Anxiety and stress

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is usually associated with feelings of fear, panic, nervousness or unease and can be a reaction to stress or may occur where someone can’t recognise what the stressors in their life are.

In moderate amounts, stress and anxiety work to motivate us to do things i.e revise for that upcoming exam, practice for the speech you are going to deliver or they can help you overcome a challenge or a dangerous situation.

The trouble is if these symptoms begin to interfere with your daily life or if they stop you from doing everyday things. If you find yourself avoiding situations and being unable to sleep or constantly worrying about things it may be time to seek help.

So what is stress?

Stress is usually characterised by the feelings people undergo when the requirements placed upon them are more than their ability to cope. Stress can be experienced by anyone young or old and it is completely normal to be stressed at certain points in life.

Stress and anxiety can affect us in many ways both physically and mentally.

Some of the more common physical symptoms can be:

Muscle tension – especially in the neck and shoulders
Stomach tension, aches, pains
Faster breathing
Sweating
Shaking
Change in appetite, eating more, or less
Fatigue
Trouble sleeping
Persistent need to urinate
Diarrhea

Mental and emotional symptoms can include:

Increased irritability
Anger
Lack of concentration
Depressed
Memory loss
Clouded judgement
Inability to make decisions
Disengaged from social activities or avoiding social interaction
Restlessness

If stress and anxiety go untreated and are experienced over a long period there may be a negative impact on health and people are more likely to develop high blood pressure, heart disease, panic attacks and depression.

Here at Harley Street Consulting we can help you deal with these symptoms without the use of prescribed medication. We work very carefully with you to make sure we understand the nature of the problem and then we create a specific plan of action for you.

Depression and low mood

At some points in our life we all feel down – sometimes this can be described as ‘feeling blue’ or ‘down in the dumps’

Low moods generally pass after a short period of time and small changes in our lives can help such as getting a good night’s sleep, talking about the problem, or resolving a situation.

If a low mood persists for more than two weeks then it could be viewed as a sign of depression. Depression is normally a long term condition and can be brought on through various events in our life and our perception of those events. Some of the symptoms of depression can be:

Feeling lethargic – can’t be bothered to do anything
Not enjoying anything anymore
A feeling of hopelessness
Continuous tiredness or lacking in energy
Not being able to concentrate on everyday things like reading the paper or watching television
Comfort eating or losing your appetite
Sleeping more than usual or being unable to sleep
Having suicidal thoughts or thoughts about harming yourself
Not socialising or wanting to be around people
Finding work difficult
Neglecting hobbies and interests

Here at Harley Street Consulting, we have the experience and the ability to help you feel better and happier. Contact us for further details

“There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.”
― Laurell K. Hamilton, Mistral's Kiss

Low Self-Confidence and Self-Esteem

What is the difference between low self-confidence and low self-esteem?

Self Confidence can be described as the ability to trust in yourself and your ability to be able to engage with others successfully.

Self-confident people are ready to take on new challenges, deal with difficult situations and take responsibility for the outcomes of those decisions even if they turn out to be wrong.

Self-confidence grows with success. Every successful experience helps to build our sense of confidence, and it is possible to be highly confident in different areas of our lives, for instance, someone may be confident at writing but unconfident when it comes to public speaking.

We work with our clients to improve their levels of self-confidence so that they can take on new challenges and deal with less favourable situations. We also work to improve confidence in specific areas where people feel insecure i.e. public speaking, taking exams

Self-esteem

Self-esteem can be described as how we value ourselves. What do we see as our level of self-worth and it is this which then goes on to determine how we think, feel, and act. It reflects and determines our relation to ourselves, to others, and to the world.

People who have healthy self-esteem find it easy to treat themselves with respect, take care of their health and their internal and external environments. They are open to new experiences and can engage in meaningful relationships and can forgive themselves and others if mistakes are made.

People with low self-esteem find it very difficult to establish close personal relationships; they can be vulnerable to becoming reliant on external props for support such as alcohol, drugs or sex. We have seen this with certain celebrities who may be able to perform in front of others but go on to damage themselves using drugs.

We help our clients understand their experiences and work with them to make sure they can become independent, self-reliant individuals who can begin to interpret their experiences in a more positive way.

Working with you was such a great experience. It was great to try a different way of helping my anxiety and I found our sessions really useful. I still listen to the recordings to this day when I’m feeling anxious and found that working with you really helped me be able to calm myself when I’m struggling.

Client feedback from someone struggling with anxiety

Improve Performance

Recent studies in neuro science have revealed that visualisation, harnessing good memories and practising success can lead to improved performance, help tackle nerves and overcome perceived obstacles.

We have had many clients who have benefited from our techniques and have gone on to achieve better results than they expected.

Sports Performance

Everyone knows that to be successful in sport you must be dedicated, train hard and be physically fit, but there is another element and that is successful mastery of your mind, ‘The winning mentality.’ Successful athletes have often mastered the working of their mind to reduce the psychological barriers which can prevent them from attaining that success. These could include doubt, worry, negative thoughts, and emotions.

There is an unprecedented move within all sporting arenas to deal with the psychological element and sporting personalities will often use psychological techniques to gain the advantage over their competition. Tiger Woods is known to have had hypnotherapy to help him overcome his inner state and create winning outcomes.

At Harley Street Consulting, our therapies can be utilised in a unique way to help you attain those goals you want to achieve. We can help calm nerves, remove the inner negative chatter and help you to get into ‘the zone’ so that you can be ready for the competition ahead.

Public Speaking

Most people have an intense dislike of public speaking even to groups of people they know well. Many will shy away from being asked to speak in public and if they are asked to do so will experience a range of symptoms from nervousness, nausea, panic, dry mouth and increased heart palpitations.

A little anxiety is a good thing, it keeps us motivated and on track to do things, however, if you experience severe symptoms of anxiety such as those described above or you actively try and hide away so that you are not asked to speak publicly, then you may want to consider seeking help.

Our therapies help people deal with their fears and allow them to grow in confidence so that they can deal with the challenges of speaking in public – whether it is a business presentation or an informal speech such as a best man’s speech at a wedding.

Exam and Interview performance

Everyone experiences exam or interview nerves at some point in their lives, whether you are sitting a test or attending an interview, very uncomfortable feelings can arise and we can allow ourselves to become so enmeshed in these negative feelings and thoughts that they can prevent us from performing in the way we could do if we weren’t under exam conditions.

Here at Harley Street, we do understand how our nerves can affect our performance and we work with each client in line with their needs to make sure they get the assistance they require to help them overcome the obstacles the nerves present.

We have helped clients who have suffered from severe panic attacks, and after therapy they went on to succeed and undertake their finals, achieving their goals.

N.B- it is important to note that our therapies do not replace the learning that must accompany any exam situation – we work with you to make sure you can utilise that learning and access it easily when you have to without being nervous or fearful

Being relaxed, at peace with yourself, confident, emotionally neutral, loose, and free-floating – these are the keys to successful performance in almost everything.

~ Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Phobias and Fears

Fear is a characteristic built into our brain, and it serves to protect us from danger. When we are faced with a situation we perceive as dangerous; we will activate out flight or fight response as to how we deal with the threat.

People fear things or situations that make them feel unsafe or unsure. For instance, someone who isn't a strong swimmer might have a fear of deep water. In this case, the fear is helpful because it helps the person to stay safe, however, this fear could be overcome by learning how to swim safely.

Fear can be healthy as it can protect against danger, but most of the time people tend to avoid the things they fear such as public speaking. This avoidance doesn’t help them overcome the fear and can reinforce it, keeping it stronger.

We have helped many people deal with their fears and phobias with the result that they can now face those things and have also been able to succeed in doing the things they once feared.

A phobia is an intense fear of something which usually poses little or no actual danger. Some examples of common phobias are a fear of spiders, needles, dentists, motorway driving. Phobias can occur at any time although many tend to occur during our childhood.

Many people understand that their phobia is irrational, however, struggle to control their feelings, even thinking about the subject may make them feel anxious and if they are exposed to the thing that they fear the feelings are overwhelming and can cause real panic and terror.

As the sensations are so stressful that many people go to great lengths to avoid it and cause themselves great inconvenience or changing their lifestyles.

Some examples of this are:

If you have a fear of dogs, you may cross the street or walk in a completely different direction to the way you need to go to avoid seeing or meeting a dog that may be being walked.
If you suffer from a fear of heights, you turn down a job where you must work on the 25th floor.
If you suffer from claustrophobia, you may never stay in a hotel if you have to travel in a lift.

Here at Harley Street we help you to overcome your fears and phobias no, matter how out of control things may feel right now.

The only thing we have to fear is fear it'self - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

FDR - First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933

The only thing we have to fear is fear it'self - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

FDR - First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933

Insomnia

Many people experience lack of sleep at times, but insomnia is a persistent condition where sleep is very intermittent or where people have regular problems with sleep.

Everyone needs different levels of sleep and the NHS guidelines on the number of hours of sleep we need are:

Adults – 7 to 9 hours

Children – 9 to 13 hours

Toddlers and babies – 12 to 17 hours

If we don’t get the amount of sleep, we need we often feel constantly tired.

Some of the symptoms of insomnia are:
Finding it difficult to go to sleep
Lying awake at night
Waking up and being unable to go back to sleep
Tiredness after waking
Feeling tired and irritable during the day and restless at night
Difficulty concentrating

Everyone needs different things to help them sleep, and here at Harley Street Consulting, we have a 100% success rate of people reporting at least one good night’s sleep after just one session.

How many hours sleep do you need?

9-13

12-17

7-9

ADULTS

CHILDREN

BABIES & TODDLERS

Weight Loss

Struggling to keep up weight loss and maintain an ideal weight comes down to behaviour and habit. People can often diet and lose a couple of pounds, but are unable to keep it up because their behaviours and habits don't agree with the new agenda.

Do you want to lose the weight permanently and gain control over:

what you eat,
how you eat,
emotional, addictive or compulsive eating
exercise patterns and motivation

If so then come and see us. We work with you on an individually tailored programme to help you overcome those obstacles that are getting in your way, and we help you think in a way that will benefit your eating patterns and behaviour. Using a combination of hypnotherapy, NLP and coaching techniques, we will help you ditch the diets and live your life well.

“No one wakes up in the morning and says, 'I want to gain 150 pounds and I will start right now!”

Tricia Cunningham, The Reverse Diet: Lose 20, 50, 100 Pounds or More by Eating Dinner for Breakfast and Breakfast for Dinner

Grief

Grief is the way you react to loss. We all have different ways of behaving when we lose a loved one. Some of the more common symptoms are anxiety, helplessness, and anger. Over the course of time, these symptoms tend to ease, but there are times when no matter what we try and do the feelings of loss just don’t go away.

If you are feeling the absence of a loved one then try and find avenues where you can talk about it – this often helps the healing process, and allowing yourself the time to feel sad is a natural and healthy part of recovery. Try and stick to your routines as much as you can, as even doing simple little things can help take the strain away for a while. Keep your food intake up as not eating will affect your moods and try to sleep.

Keep away from drugs and alcohol as they may have a numbing effect for a while, but they will make you feel worse after the effect has worn off.

Here at Harley Street, we listen very carefully to what you tell us and we use a variety of different strategies to help people deal with grief and loss

"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear."
C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

Stop Smoking

Many people want to stop smoking as they know of it's health effects and high cost, but find it difficult to do so due to the very nature of the addictive substance. Help is available for this on the NHS and through your GP, and while many people have tried this route, they find that it is still difficult to quit.

Here at Harley Street, we specialise in stopping smoking and have worked with people who have been smoking for over 40 years. If you are committed to stopping, and are willing to work with us, then there is no reason why you cannot stop.

We have successfully worked with many clients and have helped them to stop smoking completely.

Please note that this will only work with you if you are sincerely committed to giving up.

Tobacco is the single biggest cause of cancer

"Smoking increases the risk of at least 15 cancers, including cancer of the lung, larynx (voice box) oesophagus (gullet), mouth and pharynx (upper throat), bladder, pancreas, kidney, liver, stomach, bowel, cervix, ovary, nose and sinuses, as well as some types of leukaemia"

Cancer Research UK website August 2016