Coping with performance anxiety.

It is not unusual for a man who suffers from MPSA to experience issues with erectile functionality, and have mixed feelings of anger, sadness, frustration, and insecurity. These feelings need to be acknowledged and dealt with, as they can sometimes lead to clinical depression which may need medications whose side effects can make anxiety even worse.

General anxiety, of which performance anxiety is a symptom, is a psychological condition, whose triggers and traumas are lodged in the subconscious mind. However, even if you are able to remember almost every detail from your life, you cannot really recall how many of the events may have influenced you – nor how you may have been affected.

Research has shown that the depth of memory and imagination differ from person to person, but with each person, the mind automatically filters out certain experiences from normal memory.

Repressed memories.

These are the memories, which remain in the subconscious mind, that can cause harm in the present. One of the issues, which a sensitive trigger can raise in the conscious mind, is to increase your risk of bouts of anxiety and stress. These can be traumatic, bad memories which have been repressed and hidden in the subconscious mind. Even if you can recall some of the events, you may not realise how your response affects your behaviour.

The most common response is that of anxiety, which can manifest in many different ways. However, if you already have anxiety issues, then sexual performance anxiety may be one of the major issues which are due to repressed memories.

Mental health experts agree that the mind is actually programmed to be in the present time. However, emotional feelings, are more likely to keep you stressing out about what has happened the past, and what may happen in the future. This can especially apply to someone who is having a problem with MSPA, and who will always be reminded of the last upsetting occasion.

Learning to stay in the present.

Learning to stay in the present, is also known as mindfulness – which will allow you to live life in the moment just where you are. It is not difficult to do, but requires practise, and a specific mindset. You can actually choose any task to practise mindfulness, whether you are eating, walking, interacting with a partner, or even playing with a child. You will need to focus completely on the task at hand as you proceed. If you notice that your mind begins to wander, take a deep breath and bring it back to the presence of the moment.

Here are some ways you can benefit from mindfulness:

·        Helps to clear your mind and slow down your thoughts.

·        Can improve your memory, concentration and learning abilities.

·        Improves your mood and helps to keep you emotionally on an even keel.

·        Stabilise blood pressure.

·        Reduce chronic pain by shifting the focus to another mindful presence where there is no pain.

·        Ease digestive difficulties by slowing down the eating process and focussing on the taste and flavour of the food, instead of hurrying to get finished.

These are just some of the benefits you can claim from being mindful and present in the moment.

Achieving the state of mindfulness.

The world we live in is filled with people rushing to and fro. There never seems to be enough time or hours in the day to do everything you want to do. Slowing the pace, and focussing on the present moment only, might seem like something impossible to achieve. However, with perseverance, practice, and the creation of a new mindset, it is entirely possible.

Advice to slow down the pace of life has resulted in the erroneous idea that everything has be done in slow motion. But it actually increases your capacity for mindfulness, which will enable you to lead a more satisfying life, as you take one moment, one step at a time, instead of being stressed out about yesterday and tomorrow. This is not moving in slow motion.

Healing the subconscious mind.

The subconscious mind is the home of all the repressed memories, which nevertheless affect our lives almost every day. These are the memories which need analysing, because some are responsible for the anxiety which plagues one’s life.

For example, you may have issues with male sexual performance anxiety – MSPA, which if not dealt with, could lead to erectile dysfunction – ED, which is a more difficult problem to deal with. Healing the subconscious mind is a process of eliminating unwanted and unnecessary problems in the mind, which can block you from enjoying a healthy, happy and fulfilling life. Anxiety levels, which may previously have made you feel that you were not actually in control of your life, and even your behavioural responses, will begin to drop significantly.

Repressed memories and unresolved trauma may be adding to your lack of sexual confidence. Most of the memories may not be tragic or horrific, but until they are brought out into the open and eliminated, the process cannot help heal the wounds and anxieties you experience in daily life.

How hypnotherapy can reveal and eliminate hidden memories.  

Hypnosis is able to access the subconscious mind, and make positive suggestions to help you begin a process of reducing anxiety and stress. Mental health experts have suggested that a technique, known as hypnosis regression, is one of the best ways to help people access buried memories.

Regression can be used in any time frame, from just a few days ago, to any point in your life you choose. Once the door to the subconscious mind is open, it can help you to understand the meaning or importance of certain events. These can include conflicts, hidden pain, and other obstacles keeping you from a fulfilling life, free of anxiety and trauma. Hypnotherapy is also able to reveal to you how the invisible connections in your mind can influence your conscious behavioural responses and feelings to any situations which may be difficult for you to handle.

The mind – body connection.

Anxiety begins in the mind, and then it grows into a tree with many branches, affecting each person differently. Some folk are anxious about their health, others about money, worrying about the past, or are uncertain about the future.  Many of the anxieties manifest in physical issues, such as panic attacks, migraines, digestive problems, moodiness, fatigue, and high blood pressure.

For a man whose libido has been affected by anxiety, his chief concern might be that he is suffering from MSPA – male sexual performance anxiety, a condition which eats away at self-esteem and self-confidence. For any man, this is a scary situation. The key to success is to allow the body and the mind to connect, and with the help of hypnotherapy, keep your mind focussed on being in the moment of a successful sexual response.

For more information contact Matthew Tweedie at Matthew Tweedie Hypnosis.au.org