Events or situations that provoke anxiety can often lead to repetitive thoughts - a normal reaction.

However these thoughts can become so repetitive that they interfere with our lives and our ability to complete certain tasks.

This in turn causes us more anxiety, which further interferes with our ability to perform at our best. It becomes a vicious circle that an individual can find difficult to break.

Fortunately, we do have a great deal of control over the thoughts that we have, and these repetitive thoughts can be stopped through a technique that is called 'Stopping' !

The idea behind stopping is that if the thoughts that make you nervous become associated with relaxation, they will be reduced.

So by pairing anxiety provoking thoughts with relaxation their repetitiveness can be reduced, so that they become less frequent, and this helps you to reduce your anxiety level, as you convert the negative vicious circle into a positive virtuous circle !

For example, when you start you might have a repetitive thought that interferes with your daily thoughts 600 times a day. However, by using this technique you can usually cut it in half on a daily basis. This means that the frequency of your repeating thoughts can be reduced, over seven days, from 600 times a day to just 5 times a day.

The technique for thought stopping is quite simple. 

1. When experiencing a recurring thought that causes anxiety, you should first detect/identify the thought and say "Stop" This introduces the idea to yourself to stop having these thoughts. You can say it either out loud, or to yourself, but this is a very necessary first step.

2. Negate the anxiety provoking thought that you are having on a recurrent basis. "I will not..." or "I can not..." is how this statement usually starts. Take that recurrent negative statement and negate it by making a positive self statement about a feeling which instills confidence. "I will..." or "I can..." is how this statement usually starts.

In this way a negative thought can be converted into a positive thought of something that you would prefer to think instead - and ideally also include something that will help to assure your success.

e.g. you could change "my presentation will be a disaster" to "my presentation will go well because of my extensive preparation beforehand and I know my subject". 

3. To further instill the positive thoughts take a deep cleansing, relaxing breath. It is important to note that mastering the breathing technique is key, when using the Stopping technique, in that it helps to pair the anxiety provoking thought with relaxation and a positive thought. 

4. Do steps 1 to 3 EVERY time you have the recurrent thought in order to achieve maximum benefit from this technique in the shortest time period possible. Failure to do this may reduce the effectiveness of the thought stopping technique. 

With practice, the frequency of your reccurring thoughts will be reduced by incorporating this technique into your daily routine. Again, practice makes perfect.

However, it is important that you use this technique each and every time that you are having an intrusive thought that you would like to get rid of. Again, failure to do so will reduce the effectiveness of the technique.

At first it will take a little effort but after just a short time it will become second nature to detect your negative thoughts and then swap your thoughts over - from negative to positive.

Repetitive and Intrusive thoughts are indicative of an anxiety disorder. Six major anxiety disorders have been identified, each with their own distinct symptom profile. You can read more about the anxiety disorders here:

• Anxiety Disorders - General
• Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Panic Disorder (Anxiety Attacks or Panic Attacks)
• OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
• Phobic Disorder (Phobias)
• Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)
• PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

For professional, caring and confidential help, advice, therapy or treatment for, or about, any of the above issues or topics, or similar, just contact Peter, preferably by e-mail, to arrange an appointment for your free initial consultation.

Or maybe instead read Peter's Website Welcome Letter, or go to the home page and view The Surrey Hypnotherapy Clinic's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Video Girls and their Website Welcome Video.

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