Even when life is running smoothly, chronic worriers focus on unknown disaster looming around the corner. If you are a worrier, you suffer on three levels: cognitive, emotional and physical. Cognitive anxiety shows up as the worried thoughts you experience – the host of “what ifs” that plague you. On the emotional level, you may feel [...]
With the reality of a new school year upon us, a number of students I see are understandably a bit anxious. They worry about their academic success, being accepted socially and, for those going off to college, leaving home. And one of the things that I have observed is that anxious people tend to be [...]
It’s back to school time. Do you have a child or teenager who gets nervous about school? It’s a common problem. There are many reasons for their fear. Some kids have performance anxiety and are afraid of the pressure of being called on. Many other kids worry about being judged or bullied by their peers. Others [...]
Healthy relationships require trust, intimacy, effective communication, and understanding. However, if you suffer from chronic anxiety you may have trouble dealing with everyday conflicts and tensions that can arise in relationships. In this podcast with Laura Reagan, Carolyn talks about the chasm that often happens when one partner suffers from anxiety and doesn’t feel understood by [...]
Preparing for medical procedures, including surgery, can not only lead to considerable distress prior to surgery but also can affect post-surgery outcomes. Using the split screen hypnotic technique, Dr. Carolyn Daitch successfully helped a patient reduce pre-surgical anxiety prior to brain tumor surgery on a benign brain tumor. She also helped the patient focus on postsurgical [...]
Integrating hypnosis and exposure therapy, Dr. Daitch helped one patient transition from being terrified of driving to tooling around town in a red sports car. Learn more about her techniques for treating adults and children with anxiety in this interview with Meg Rottweil.
In her award winning book, Affect Regulation Toolbox: Practical and Effective Hypnotic Interventions for the Over-reactive Client, Dr. Daitch provides 31 distinct tools to help highly reactive patients learn to combat over-reactivity, reduce anxiety and navigate relationships. With the right tools, therapists can help highly reactive clients stay calm in stressful situations. With the right tools, [...]
It is natural to be distressed if you are a parent watching your adult child make decisions that seem to be unwise. Further, it often seems to makes sense to feel that some action is urgently needed to change unhealthy behaviors. Particularly, with alcohol or drug addiction, it is tempting to think about an intervention. And [...]
Everyone has had a fight with a good friend. It is a most unpleasant experience, because suddenly, someone close, trusted and well-meaning becomes a threat, a source of fret, confusing feelings and hurt. Anxiety, in normal valence, is a good friend. It helps us stay aware of potential danger, dead ends and a variety of tripwires [...]