Therapy

I was up early to get to Launceston -the ancient capital of Cornwall. However I was not going there to sightsee but to see a hypnotherapist. I'd been intending to see her for a couple of years to overcome my swallowing phobia at the dentist. I have come to realise this is just one symptom of my underlying stress/anxiety level, and incidents where I have felt the old panic attack signs have been increasing of late.  I am not calm, and it takes the slighest incident to send my emotions simmering over and of course this often translates into feelings of anger as you know! So time to do something about it! The woman I was seeing is a qualified Solution Focused Hypnotherapist as well as a Registered Mental Health Nurse. As  her blurb says "Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is a powerful and effective therapy which can help you to better manage a range of difficulties especially those caused by or exacerbated by stress." 
My stress level were way high in my latter years of teaching due to not agreeing with anything the Head and deputy did, which is why I finally decided to resign and embrace the life of leisure. Unfortunately a month after I was officially no longer in employment Friend was diagnosed so along with a load of other stuff that happened in the last 10 years this was  a new one and whilst my life has been so much better, the stress has remained and things I feel I ought to be over seem to linger and it doesn't take much to make the old feelings surface if the subject of parents, work,  let alone politics and the state of the world generally comes up! I am also getting quite anxious about my inability to keep up with comments on my Journal and keeping up with others - I know everyone experiences this but it doesn't make me feel less guilty - so an apology to all and at some point I hope to be more on it but I don't think that is going to be anytime soon and will be hit and miss :-(
So the session was very informative in putting all I knew into perspective - I am operating in the Primitive not Intellectual Mind - I am therefore negative, obsessive, angry, irritable, anxious, vigilant and non-innovative! Her answer is to put you in a state of "Trance" - similar to doing a familiar journey on automatic pilot, you suddenly realise you are near home and the intervening miles have just slipped past! It is also the state you achieve in REM sleep when anxieties of the day are dealt with. 
Typically I was feeling so emotionally raw by the end of the session I could not face the thought of being put into this state whilst there - it made me anxious!!!! But I have the CD to put me into the state in the comfort and safety of my own home and will be returning for a proper session in 2 weeks time!
So after this I went for some photographic and retail therapy! I went round the 13th century castle that I have never done before - amazing views from the top and even a rainbow! Then I hit the town and the clothes, interior furnishings and  antique shops - came away with 3 cups and saucers in 3 colours so you can mix and match, a dress in the sale, two pairs of long socks up to my arse and some sour dough bread! 
Photos of the castle and atmospheric birds on the ruins, and a gorgeous feather light shade here - the latter suddenly made me wonder what happened to the birds. possibly chickens, these feathers came from!