EFT for Performance Anxiety

From Red Carpets to Runways

jenniewarnerhypnotherapy@gmail.com (Jennie Warner) — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 13:56:25 GMT

How Cate Blanchett Faces Her Flight Fears

Award winning actress Cate Blanchett admits she copes with her fear of flying by holding her breath until the plane levels out. During takeoff she also says she thinks of her family to stay calm. This simple yet personal routine illustrates a practice that allows Blanchett to feel more secure while flying. She uses her breath and the power of visualization.

Practices around travel stem from our deep human need for comfort and security. As human beings we have an innate drive to feel safe.

Therapeutic tools like EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) and hypnosis can create simple and powerful personalized practices to provide structure and reassurance, helping to calm the mind and address fear or anxiety.

Hypnosis works to replace fear-driven thoughts with empowering beliefs. EFT offers a simple, practical way to release tension and restore emotional balance through tapping on acupressure points. Used together, they create modern, evidence-based practices that truly support emotional well-being and confidence.

I teach you how to use these powerful techniques on your own and I create personalized tapping and hypnosis recordings using your own words, thoughts and feelings. These simple skills can be used prior to or during your journey.

Imagine stepping onto a plane feeling steady and in control, empowered by your use of tools and infused with words that cheer and champion you during your entire journey. Just like Cate Blanchett, you can create a calming routine that supports you every step of the way. I’d love to explore how to build your own personalized practice so that you open up your world to a new way of being.

A Mental Sticky Note: Lessons from a Corgi

jenniewarnerhypnotherapy@gmail.com (Jennie Warner) — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 18:35:52 GMT

How does a fear start ? And what does it have to do with Corgis?

When I was young - perhaps 7 or 8 years old, I had an experience with a Welsh corgi that left an impression in my brain that’s still with me today. I was at a friend’s house, sitting on the floor, playing with this cute, stubby dog when, all of a sudden, it growled and snapped at me. It didn’t bite, but that split-second shock startled me enough to leave a lasting note of caution around corgis. It became a quiet mental “be careful” flag that stayed attached to that breed.

Since then, whenever I see a corgi, my brain reminds me of that moment. Luckily, this moment didn't grow into a generalized fear of dogs for me; my mind just put a little “be careful” flag around corgis. My brain attached a meaning to that experience: “Be cautious around corgis.” It’s as though it’s kept a little mental post-it note to protect me from potential harm.

Don’t get me wrong—I love dogs and always have. They bring so much joy and companionship into my life, and I know corgis are no exception. My reaction isn’t about corgis themselves; it’s just a small reminder of that childhood experience.

The Protective Mechanism of Fear

It’s interesting how clearly I remember that moment, even all these years later. Fear has a way of carving out details in your mind, capturing every second with detail and clarity. Our brains are wired to make these moments stick—they’re like little survival lessons, reminders of what to be cautious about in the future. Even something as minor as a corgi’s growl and snap can leave a lasting imprint.

Although this small incident didn’t turn into a fear of all dogs for me, it is understandable how one brief moment like that can snowball. Fear is a powerful mechanism designed to keep us safe. It’s the brain’s way of saying, “Remember what happened last time? Let’s avoid that again.”

When an experience like this happens, our minds often generalize to keep us “protected” from similar future situations. This mechanism is how many fears can grow: something happens, the brain remembers, and a pattern forms. Without tools to manage it, that protective pattern can expand to affect other areas—especially if other people reinforce the fear or it becomes a significant event.

How Fears Can Escalate

For some people, fears can expand far beyond the original event. A fear of heights, for instance, might grow into a fear of bridges or tall buildings. Our brains are so good at forming these protective patterns, but they’re not always precise. When left unchecked, this pattern-building can lead someone to avoid harmless situations, people, or opportunities simply because they resemble something that once made them feel unsafe.

Rewriting the Fear Script with EFT and Hypnosis

Tools like EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) and hypnosis are powerful for addressing these lingering fears. Used together, EFT and hypnosis offer profound and gentle ways to reframe these mental “post-it notes.”

EFT involves tapping on specific points on the body, helping reduce the emotional intensity of memories and beliefs. By tuning into the memory of a fear while tapping, you send signals to the brain that it’s safe to let go of the strong reaction. It’s a way of telling your mind, “Thank you for trying to protect me, but I’m safe now. I don’t need this level of caution anymore.”

Hypnosis works by guiding you into a relaxed state, where you can access the subconscious mind and reframe those deeply ingrained beliefs. In this relaxed state, you are more open to changing outdated associations and replacing them with healthier, balanced ones. The combination of these tools together produce lasting and meaningful change.

Letting Go of Unnecessary Fear

If you have a fear that’s holding you back or growing larger than you’d like, know that you’re not alone. Your mind is sometimes just a little too good at protecting you sometimes. EFT and hypnosis can help you gently step back into the driver’s seat (or onto the plane), letting you open up to life with more ease, confidence, and openness. By understanding and managing our fears, you can allow the “be careful” flags to guide you, without letting them hold you back from the life you are meant to live.

Given the right tools and mindset your mind is capable of incredible flexibility. Just because you held onto a fear for years doesn’t mean it has to define you forever.

And finally … here’s a shout out to corgis. Though that one moment in time left a small mark on me, I salute them for all of their cuteness and smarts and honor them as the beloved furry friends they are (nod to Queen Elizabeth!)

If you would like to see how these tools can help you click on Let's Talk and schedule a free consult. I'd love to talk !

Flying into Freedom with EFT

jenniewarnerhypnotherapy@gmail.com (Jennie Warner) — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 16:42:45 GMT

Flying Free ! A Client's Journey

I look around at people boarding the plane. I feel fear. I click my seat belt. I feel fear. The door closes and that means I am trapped. I know I can’t leave now. I feel fear. The plane taxis and accelerates. I feel fear. I wait for turbulence to happen. Sometimes it does .. sometimes it doesn’t. I feel fear as I wait.

These are things that my client said to me when she came to me to help her with her fear of flying. She wanted to take trips - with her husband, her family, her girlfriends. But she was afraid. She acknowledged that she wouldn’t make a hotel reservation let alone a plane reservation - because that act meant that the trip was real. Even thinking about making a reservation gave her emotional intensity. She said that her girlfriends stopped inviting her on girls weekends if the trips involved flying - they didn’t want her to feel bad. Trips to see family far away seemed out of reach because driving would take too many days.

She said simply wanted to look and feel like an ‘average person’ getting on the plane. And, she wanted to feel that the world - with travel, adventures, new experiences - was open and accessible. Specifically she wanted to bring her little boy on trips to experience new worlds with him. She knew how excited he got when he saw a plane.

She had a trip coming up within about 8 weeks. We scheduled 6 sessions. Carefully, slowly, intentionally … we worked through her fear. Together we moved through the journey from planning and booking a trip to landing at her destination … and we paused and tapped on any part of the journey that invoked that heightened sense of fear. After our sessions I gave her homework - to make the hotel reservation, to work on her playlist, to pack .. all things that she said she never would have done in advance. Each session took us further and further into the journey. We discussed and uncovered specific details to work through. We tested and re-tested - for any remaining fear.

We worked on a future vision. Seeing herself get on the plane looking calm and relaxed, seeing herself interested in other passengers, not afraid of them. Imagining herself sleeping, relaxing, reading during the flight. Observing how she was enjoying the process and excited about her destinations. We created an anchor and trigger phrase to use and remember - as she clasped her hands together she repeated in her mind ‘I am safe‘. I made a customized recording for her which reinforced that future vision. On her own, and before we were through she had put in her application for TSA pre-check. She started bringing her little boy to the airport to watch planes.

She worked hard. She was vulnerable and consistent. She said she had never vocalized her fears and even that made her feel better. Each session gave her more and more confidence that she was capable of this change. She took her trip and felt empowered by having tools.

In a message I will never forget she sent pictures. In one she was in the cockpit with the pilot. In another she was riding horseback with her husband on a beautiful beach. Those pictures are why I do what I do - to empower clients to tap into their power, to help them to open up unknown and exciting worlds, and to watch in awe and gratitude as they get on that plane and fly.