Grace’s Story
“This is a story of one of my clients, a naturally happy person who struggled with anxiety and found her path back to happiness.
I have always described myself as a happy, extroverted person. I never had any trouble making friends as a kid; I enjoyed school and got stuck into working life with ease. While I have never been exceptionally good with change – I tend to prefer the familiar and can often resist change at first to eventually come out the other side thinking ‘that wasn’t so bad’ – I would never have considered it a roadblock to my happiness … until a little over a year ago, when somewhat unexpectedly I started to feel like my world was collapsing and I began to lose sense of myself and my position within my own life. Ironically this was the biggest change I have ever faced and with the benefit of hindsight it’s easy to see why I grappled with it so much.
When I first met Fiona I had been suffering with anxiety for about two months for the first time ever. I was extremely run down, emotionally and physically. I was experiencing episodes of anxiety, which were accompanied by physical symptoms (dizziness, headaches, nausea) and were very unsettling as it made me nervous about going places or doing things I would never had thought about twice. I felt like I had lost my sense of self and was excessively worried about what was happening to me. I was also ashamed because I had always considered anxiety to be something that happened to ‘weak’ people, and I was strong – so why was this happening to me? Even though I had plenty of support, I often felt alone and scared as I didn’t feel that people were really able to understand me.
Fiona was a breath of fresh air in the chaos of what was happening to me. She is incredibly easy to talk to and always encouraged me to speak freely about what I was thinking and feeling. She really listened to what I said and was able to pick up on little nuances that I so often missed myself and relay them back to me. By doing so she showed me how my behaviour or attitude towards myself reinforced the negative feelings I had about myself and with her guidance I became much more self-aware.
Overall I feel I have benefited hugely from seeing Fiona. She made me feel supported and understood. She taught me to accept what was happening rather than fight it, and not to hate myself for going through it and this was a really significant part of the process for me. The hypnotherapy part of the sessions were incredibly relaxing and I always looked forward to these so much as I felt an overwhelming sense of calm after each session!
Each time I met with Fiona she made me feel proud of what I was achieving throughout the process and this was significant in terms of me beginning to regain my confidence. She also gave me techniques for managing my anxiety, which I use to this day. Whether these are visualization techniques or affirmations, they have become part of my daily routine and have helped me embrace a more positive outlook. I feel I have a more balanced view of my life and my priorities than I ever did before and this is all down to how Fiona has helped me change my point of view. I am incredibly grateful for her help and would recommend her to anyone who needs help understanding themselves a bit more or shifting their perspective!”