From Fear to Freedom

When Alison told her employer how much stress she was experiencing, and the impact it was having on her performance, they referred her to me.

From Fear to Freedom

Posted by Diane Oxborough on

The challenge

Alison - A bright 30-something in a happy relationship, gorgeous kids, nice house, and a successful career. When she told her employer how much stress she was experiencing, and the impact it was having on her performance, they referred her to me.

Alison was clearly experiencing severe anxiety, and also had claustrophobia. When faced with the triggers she felt light-headed, dizzy, nauseous, and was afraid that something terrible was going to happen to her.

The effect

Alison said, “I was feeling very anxious, depressed and had massive issues with claustrophobia. I was unable to go into any building if I couldn’t see the exit, and unable to go up or down more than one flight of stairs anywhere.”

Her daily life had become a serious challenge. She’d avoided all kinds of situations for the previous 18 months. By the time she came to see me she was also suffering from exhaustion and hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in a long time. Things had got worse and worse, and Alison felt out of control.

Solution

In the initial session we used EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). When I use EFT I always employ NLP approaches (for example, reframing, sub-modalities, Milton patterns). Over 3 sessions of 2 hours each, we addressed the triggers and identified the experiences that had led to the issues she was having. We also used Time Line Therapy to disconnect the emotion from those problem experiences.

I also taught Alison a few ‘quick-fix-techniques’ so she was able to take control and affect her own change between sessions.

Result

After 2 sessions, Alison’s anxiety had completely disappeared. She emailed saying, “I took the kids to the pantomime and we parked in a multi-storey car park. We used the lift to go down to pavement level and back up to our level! I couldn’t believe it - no fear, no panic, no stress – I felt excited and really proud of myself. It feels sooooo good!”

After her third and final session she reported, “I am now able to realise any plans I make with the kids, I am more confident at work, and in control of my life”.

Diane Oxborough
Diane Oxborough