Founders Intro

I’ve read that public speaking is one of Britain’s greatest fears—right up there with house spiders and perhaps even divorce!

I used to be pretty good at it. Years of practice meant I was often called upon for those dreaded stage appearances. But then, decades into my career, it happened—I completely bombed a presentation.

I didn't understand what had happened, but I recognised it as Panic and knew I had to act fast to prevent these feelings from taking hold. That’s when I reached out to Chrissy. Her approach, with me, focused on resetting the negative inner monologue that had crept in, helping me rebuild the confidence I needed to thrive at work and in life in general. It worked! As such, it made perfect sense to revisit this topic here. 

A few sobering facts on Anxiety:

• In 2022/23, an average of 37.1% of women and 29.9% of men in the UK reported high levels of anxiety.
• By March 2023, 20% of UK adults polled said they’d felt anxious most or all of the time in the previous two weeks.
• Even more concerning, 2023-24 saw 204,526 new referrals for patients aged 17 or under where anxiety was the primary issue.

Ultimately, anxiety can affect us all in different ways and at different times, especially as we navigate life's plentiful challenges. My 10 pence worth… Take deep guttural breaths (in through the nose) ahead of any task that has the potential to cause stress or anxiety. It will help regulate your heart rate and calm those nerves. Google ‘Box breathing’.

Overcoming anxiety: small steps to big change. 

By Chrissy Reeves

Introduction – The facts

For those who’ve never considered themselves anxious, the onset of anxiety can be a real shock. It’s like worry on steroids. While everyday worry is a normal, human response—something we all experience and generally manage—anxiety is a different beast altogether.

Anxiety can be extreme and, importantly, it manifests differently for everyone. You might not even realize it's creeping in until you're already in deep. For some, it shows up as racing thoughts, overthinking, or rumination. For others, it triggers physical symptoms like sweating, palpitations, or shortness of breath. No matter how it appears, anxiety can be genuinely debilitating.

But why does this happen? Essentially, anxiety is a survival technique—just not a very effective one for modern life. You’ve probably heard of the “fight or flight” response. This is your nervous system’s way of preparing for perceived danger. Back when humans were at risk of becoming a sabre-toothed tiger's lunch, this reaction was lifesaving. Adrenaline surged, blood pumped, and we either fought or fled to survive.

The problem is, while we've evolved in countless ways, our nervous systems are still operating on ancient settings. Our fight or flight response has even expanded to include "freeze" and "fawn."

Fight: You recognize this easily—your adrenaline spikes, your voice rises, your stance becomes defensive.

Flight: You feel that same surge of energy but directed towards escape rather than confrontation.

Freeze: This is trickier. You might find yourself unable to move or speak, almost like playing dead to avoid a threat.

Fawn: Perhaps the most subtle of all, this response involves appeasing others, keeping the peace, often at your own expense.

No matter which response is triggered, the toll on your body is real. Your system is flooded with hormones, your heart races, and you feel stressed—physically and emotionally. The threats may have changed, but our bodies are still wired for survival, whether we're facing a wild animal or just an uncomfortable conversation.

Real world examples

To better illustrate the process let's explore a couple of real-life examples (using pseudonyms) of people I've worked with whose anxiety symptoms were crippling their daily lives.

Alan

Firstly Alan, who knew he was holding himself back in his career and wanted to break through a self-imposed barrier to move himself forwards and upwards!

Alan knew that to take things to the next level he needed to be able to present to bigger audiences, to speak with authority, and be ready for Q&As. He was a competent speaker already. He knew his subject but was avoiding the bigger audiences, despite having been invited to take them on. To date, he’d managed to excuse himself from the task, but time was running out, having realised he was sabotaging his own ambitions of a promotion. 

We used hypnotherapy (rapid transformational therapy) to explore what was going on in his subconscious that was holding him back. Because, consciously, there was no rationale to it. He did have some physical symptoms at the thought of presenting, and then his inner monologue would talk himself out of it. 

The subconscious holds onto memories and events that happen to us and make meaning of those events. Importantly, it isn’t what happens to us but the meaning we attach to those memories that creates issues. 

Most of the meanings that we hold on to come into being before the age of 7, and anything that happens to us later is simply adding to the body of evidence that already exists.

Hypnotherapy enables us to tap into the memories from childhood and make sense of them with our adult brains, so we can detach from the meanings that our young minds made, and reprocess them so that they make more sense. 

Alan was holding onto meanings that gave him a fear of rejection (which is common. Again, related to the risk of death, as we humans lived in tribes and if we were rejected from the tribe… However, this did not make sense to his adult self. Look at the evidence: he was an expert in his field; he was invited to speak; he was a senior leader; and he was well thought of in his organisation and beyond. 

We can see here that his younger self was attempting to keep him safe by activating his nervous system so that he would flee from perceived danger. 

I’m happy to say - not anymore!

Christopher

Christopher was made redundant in January of this year.

He knew it was coming, as the company had been making redundancies the previous year, and he’d only just kept hold of his role through those cuts.

His reaction to the event was a whirlwind of mixed emotions. For 20 years, his career had provided a comfortable life. He was the oldest on his multinational team, likely the most expensive, and had been there longer than anyone else. The job felt safe—he earned well, received good bonuses, paid the mortgage, and supported his family.

But deep down, he’d never really liked the job. The problem was, he didn’t know what else he could do.

When work ended, he found himself at home with a generous payout and a golden opportunity to reassess life. He could finally focus on things he’d put off: tackling house projects, getting fit, maybe even finding a new passion.

But instead, he did nothing.

He sat. He worried. His mind raced with panic. Outwardly, everything seemed fine—there was no rush, he was just pottering in the garden. But inside, the anxiety built up until, one day, it showed up as chest pain.

After a Sunday night visit A&E he got the all clear, and the very next day is when I heard from him.

Again, this was rejection rearing its ugly head, but there’s more to it. He was facing existential worries too - who am I? Who’s going to want me? Redundancy is massive!

The approach for Christopher, who you’ll be glad to hear is doing great now, was different. Coaching was needed to explore loss (of role, friendships and his fears) and yoga to support his mind/body connection. – This was critical as he thought he was coping okay, but his body was communicating something different. 

I’ve since dealt with another patient that came to me following an all clear by A&E, but not as a result of his redundancy. This was empathy-based, being a manager having to let team members go, whilst coaching them through their own worries and anxieties. Again, he felt fine, but his body said otherwise.

What this reminded me is that men do exhibit anxiety in different ways than women. Yes, I’m generalising, but women do tend to internalise it emotionally and then find someone to talk to - men can feel it more physically, before they can acknowledge what else might be going on.

Solutions

Of course, I would recommend therapy or coaching of some kind. Adding experience in these fields will only accelerate your own resolutions. Couple that with the better understanding you can get from talking things through with someone outside of your own headspace.

Alternatively, you can go and see your GP, and request support through the NHS, but the lead times can be very long around mental health in today's climate.

I wouldn’t recommend a specific type of treatment upfront because, as I’ve tried to explain, anxiety is different for everyone, and so are the potential causes and solutions. What works for a friend down the pub may not be the best course of action for you!

If you’re unsure I’d recommend going online to look at different types of therapy and practitioners and find someone you feel you can gel with, as being comfortable is important.

Look into hypnotherapy, coaching, CBT, all of which are solution-focused therapies and tend to be shorter term treatments. Personally, for anxiety, I wouldn’t choose psychotherapy as it’s typically longer term. 

Practical steps to do right now

1. Breath work. Try some breathing exercises. YouTube is your friend here. It will help you connect with your body and regulate those surges.

2. Yoga or Pilates. For the same reason as above. I also find that when I’m doing these practices, I am completely mindfully focused on what I’m doing - and therefore switched off from whatever it is that’s causing the problem.

3. Adaptogens. Look into taking these plant based solutions and help your body adapt to stress, anxiety, etc. Usually taken as supplements, ashwaganda, ginseng or mushrooms. Do your research first!

4. Exercise. Our bodies are built to move, and movement will make us feel better and manage our emotions. I’m not saying you have to join a gym or run a marathon (although these are not bad ideas!) but walk, dance, bounce on a trampoline, move the energy in your body, release it. 

5. Hydrate and eat healthy. Fuelling your body with the right foods, with good nutrients, is only going to be a positive move. Cutting down on ultra-processed foods and sugar will also help balance the highs and low of your blood sugar.

I realise that everything I’ve listed above is more physical than mental, but as with many aspects of life, look after your body and your mind will usually follow! They are absolutely connected. Look after both in a holistic way. Calming your nervous system will enable you to manage your emotions, energy, and ultimately your life! Chrissy.

You can contact Chrissy Reeves @ https://chrissyreeves.com