Hypnosis consultations for managing Anxiety
Anxiety has one cruel particularity: it does not need anything to actually happen (whereas stress answers a real pressure and leaves once that pressure passes).
Anxiety runs on empty: it anticipates, it imagines, it prepares for the worst of a danger that is not there.
You can feel anxious on a perfectly quiet Sunday afternoon, and that is exactly what makes it so exhausting, and so badly understood by the people around you.
Our hypnotherapists see clients in Paris, Brunoy, Marquette-lez-Lille, Strasbourg, Saverne, Voiron, Montpellier, Saint-Gilles, or by video anywhere in France. With one clear aim: to leave you self-sufficient, self-hypnosis included.
What is Anxiety?
One essential distinction, before anything else
- Anxiety as an emotion is normal and universal.
- It is an anticipation system, useful by nature: to prepare for an exam or check that the door is locked. It is that lived experience — the tension, the rumination, the broken nights, the anticipation that spoils the good moments — that our support eases.
- But when anxiety becomes invasive, persistent, out of proportion and gets in the way of daily life, you are in medical territory, with recognised forms described by health institutions (INSERM, Ameli). These situations are a matter for your GP, a psychologist or a psychiatrist: they can be looked after, often very effectively.
Our position, without ambiguity
Well-being hypnotherapy supports the symptoms and the lived experience of anxiety. It diagnoses nothing, treats no disorder and never replaces follow-up. If your situation calls for proper care, we will tell you from the first conversation and point you in the right direction. And our work will then come alongside it, with the agreement of your health professionals.
For the full mechanism: our guide on solutionshypnose.com.
Start with your GP, and remember that psychologist sessions can be covered
A useful point in France, and we would rather tell you than leave it out: your GP is the pivot of the care pathway — they assess, they point you in the right direction and, where needed, they refer you to a psychologist or a psychiatrist. There is also a national scheme under which psychologist sessions are covered by the French national health insurance, on referral: ask your doctor or check ameli.fr, since the conditions change regularly. If you have not yet seen anyone, that is where to start; our support adds on very well afterwards.
Anxiety or stress?
- Stress answers a real, present pressure: a deadline, an overload, a conflict… and settles once the situation is resolved (see Stress management).
- Anxiety anticipates a vague danger and carries on spinning even when everything is fine: it is the mind manufacturing "what ifs".
Each one feeds the other, and many people live with both.
Our first conversation is there precisely to work out which one dominates for you.
How Anxiety shows itself
Anxiety is more than "worrying"
And that is worth saying, because many people do not recognise themselves in the word even though they live it fully. Here are the symptoms of anxiety you are most likely to meet:
- In the head: rumination going round in loops, systematically expecting the worst, being unable to picture the future calmly, hypervigilance (scanning everything, watching for danger), difficulty deciding, the need to control everything, and that mind that restarts the moment your head hits the pillow.
- In the body: a knot in the stomach, a tight throat, chest tightness, a racing heart, short breath, muscle tension, clammy hands, digestive trouble, permanent tiredness. These are real — anxiety is not "all in your head" (MedlinePlus, NIH).
One absolute rule, though: never put a physical symptom down to anxiety without medical advice. Palpitations or chest tightness deserve a check-up — often reassuring, sometimes revealing something else that can be treated.
- In behaviour: avoidance, above all. You turn down an invitation, you do not take that train, you put off that call. Every avoidance brings relief in the moment and strengthens the anxiety in the long run: it is the central mechanism that makes the problem grow — and one of the most useful levers in the work.
Anguish attacks
Some people go through sharp surges of anguish: a racing heart, the breath cut short, the feeling of losing control or that something serious is happening. It is striking, often terrifying — and these episodes, uncomfortable as they are, are not dangerous in themselves; they do subside.
A first anguish attack calls for a medical consultation (to rule out other causes and set the right frame).
After that, learning to stop being afraid of the fear changes a great deal.
Video transcript
Hi, Anxiety is one of the most frequent reasons for consultation in therapeutic hypnosis. In fact, it is a word that covers quite different realities depending on our clients: - For some, it means intense mental stress, the hamster that keeps spinning, and is often associated with sleep disorders, as well as great mental and physical fatigue. - For others, it’s closer to the classic definition of anxiety. It’s about fears about the future, the imagination that takes over with negative "what ifs", and sometimes even disaster scenarios. - And then for some, the experience of panic attacks where the body and mind go haywire. The symptoms described by our clients are impressive, and I feel for you if you experience this at times.
And of course, if your situation is difficult to bear, or is getting worse, please consult a doctor or a psychologist. Depending on the intensity of the stress, the fears, and the associated symptoms, the hypnosis techniques will be different. The very first thing you need to know, and this may be a disappointment for you: hypnosis is not magic. To help you better manage your anxiety, you will probably need several sessions, and a combination of different approaches. But again, if you are suffering, your doctor will be able to guide you. Having said that, the first hypnosis session is often very impacting for our clients, because the state of hypnosis is one of great physical and mental relaxation.
They rediscover a state of relaxation that they had not experienced for a long time, and they also gain the confidence that their situation can improve. Depending on your symptoms and your goals, you’ll work with your hypnotherapist on how to: - Lighten your life when you feel overwhelmed, physically, or emotionally - Change your perspective - Identify your inner dialogues and scenarios that are making you feel stuck, as well as the limiting beliefs that are associated with them, to undo your negative thought spirals - Practicing breathing techniques, to help you focus on the present moment and regain calm when stress increases. Each person is unique, and we will work together to find the right keys for you.
If you want to better manage your stress and anxiety, the Solutions Hypnose team of hypnotherapists is here to help you. Either in person, near you, or on video, which also works very well. Make an appointment now to create the life you desire with hypnosis! See you soon.
Hypnotherapy is a complementary form of support and does not replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns about your health, please consult a physician first.
What Hypnosis offers for Anxiety
What hypnosis eases, in practice
- Bringing the body back to calm. The hypnotic state activates the nervous system of relaxation — the one anxiety keeps at arm's length. For an anxious person that mode has become hard to reach: every session is practice at returning to it, and the capacity strengthens like a muscle.
- Making you self-sufficient through self-hypnosis. It is the heart of the approach: finding that state on your own, in a few minutes, on the train, before a meeting, at bedtime. Anxiety support that did not leave you self-sufficient would miss its mark.
- Quieting the spinning mind. Rumination is a mental habit, and habits can be reworked: learning to step off a loop, to come back to the present, to switch off the scenario projector. It is not about "not thinking" — that does not work — but about no longer being carried away.
- Defusing anticipation. Anxiety lives in the future: hypnotic work takes the charge out of the dreaded scenarios and puts back the ability to picture what is coming without dread.
- Stepping out of avoidance, gradually. In imagination first, you approach what you avoid, in small steps, until the body stops reacting. It is gentle, it happens at your pace, and it is often what makes life bigger again.
- Restoring sleep. Anxiety and insomnia feed one another — a circle to break from both ends (see Sleep and insomnia).
- And if your fear settles on one specific object or situation, another page is the one for you: Fears and phobias.
What Hypnosis does not do
Hypnosis does not remove anxiety — and that would not be desirable anyway: the aim is for it to become proportionate again and to stop running your life.
It diagnoses nothing and replaces no treatment: if you are on a treatment, it is never stopped without the prescriber — never.
And some situations call for other approaches first: a diagnosed anxiety disorder, a trauma, or significant psychological suffering belong with trained professionals, and we will point you there without hesitation.
When to see a doctor without waiting
A few clear markers:
- if anxiety gets in the way of your daily life (work, relationships, going out);
- if physical symptoms persist (palpitations, chest tightness, digestive trouble);
- after a first panic episode;
- if anxiety comes with a collapsed mood or a loss of drive that lasts;
- if you use alcohol or other substances to keep going;
- and if dark thoughts appear, speak to a doctor immediately, go to emergency, or call 3114, the French national suicide prevention line, free and open 24 hours a day. You do not have to go through this alone.
What our clients say
« I feel so privileged to have met Annie. From our very first phone call, I felt I could trust her, that I was heard and well supported. Annie helped me calm my distress and anxiety about my last trip abroad. She followed me closely for a few weeks, with frequent sessions. She is helping me grow inwardly and emotionally. I highly recommend her services. »
Edith, client of Annie Mayrand
« A very attentive professional. I felt at ease with Florence right away, and my anxiety symptoms eased from the very first session. As a first experience with hypnosis, it was a success! Thank you! »
Marie, client of Florence Aton
« During a period of great vulnerability, when I experienced capital-A Anxiety for the first time, hypnotherapy was a huge support in helping me find peace again... You have to live it to believe it! Thank you Marjorie! »
Karine, client of Marjorie Gilbert
Consult a Hypnotherapist near you
In Office or Online Across France
Offices in Paris, Lille…
And if you live far away or elsewhere in the world, online sessions work very well. Evening slots available.
Frequently asked questions about Hypnosis and Anxiety
It is the best way to go about it, especially if you have not yet seen anyone: your GP assesses, points you in the right direction and can refer you to a psychologist, including under the scheme where sessions are covered by the French national health insurance.
Our support adds on very well to that pathway; it does not replace it.
Yes, alongside it. It is in fact a common and often helpful combination.
Two rules: tell us about your follow-up, and never stop or change a treatment without your prescriber.
Our work is about day-to-day life (tension, rumination, sleep, avoidance); medical decisions belong to your doctor, who is worth telling about your approach.
Maybe, but it is not for us or for you to decide: see a doctor.
It is an absolute rule in our practice: a physical symptom deserves a check-up before being put down to anxiety.
Most of the time the check-up reassures — and that relief already brings the anxiety down. Sometimes it reveals something else, which can be treated. Either way, you gain.
No, and be wary of anyone who claims it.
First because anxiety is a normal emotion that is not "cured": the aim is for it to become proportionate again.
And because a diagnosed anxiety disorder belongs with medical or psychological care.
What hypnosis does well: easing the symptoms, quieting the mind, restoring sleep, and making you self-sufficient, alongside follow-up if you have any.
Both are practised, with different logics: sophrology is a regular training in well-being (relaxation, breathing, visualisation), often in a group; hypnosis is aimed at a result on one specific goal, over a few sessions, and works more on automatic patterns and on anticipation. Many people do both, and several of our practitioners are trained in both approaches.
Allow at least four to eight sessions for anxiety, since it is often a pattern that has been in place for a long time.
Relief is frequently felt in the first few sessions, but stability comes with practising self-hypnosis between appointments.
Your practitioner will give you a rough idea from the first conversation, and self-sufficiency remains the goal.
Going further
- Stress management: when the pressure is real and present.
- Performance anxiety: when the apprehension comes up against a specific stake.
- Sleep and insomnia: breaking the anxiety and sleepless-nights circle.
- Fears and phobias: when the fear settles on one specific object or situation.
Hypnotherapy is complementary well-being support: it is neither a diagnosis nor a treatment, and it replaces neither advice nor medical or psychological follow-up. Anxiety disorders are a matter for health professionals; never stop a treatment without your prescriber's advice. In distress: 3114 (24 hours a day).
Page written by Jean-Marie Balestrat
hypnotherapist and NLP coach
partner at Solutions Hypnose.
Published .