
Caroline Cavanagh shares how anxiety cost her opportunities and trapped her in an abusive relationship, then walks through a five-step program called Anxiety Alchemy, drawn from her hypnotherapy and NLP training, to transform anxiety into confidence.
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Hi, welcome to Anxiety Alchemy. My name's Caroline, and my life has been affected by anxiety. As a child, I had potential to get into the British Olympic gymnastics team, but I didn't realize that potential because of anxiety. I had a place at university, but I didn't go there because of financial fears. I also stayed in an abusive relationship for fear of being on my own. Now a lot of people can relate to these sort of situations, but there are other symptoms of anxiety that are less obvious than the sweaty palms and the panic attacks before a gym competition, or the self-talk that stops you from doing what you want to do or indeed actually need to do, like leave that abusive relationship. There have been periods of my life also where I've woken in the morning with that, what I can only call a heavy heart, that kind of sick, heavy feeling, and felt no motivation to actually get out of bed and get on with the day. Times where also I've comfort eaten. These feelings are also related to anxiety, but they're much harder to deal with because the cause is not so readily obvious. Anxiety in these forms are much harder to get help with. Most people would find it difficult to go to a doctor and say, oh, I find it hard to get out in the morning, or I have a heavy heart, or I just need to eat the contents of the fridge every now and again. Similarly, I've spoken with many people who struggle with phobias that they have literally lived with for a huge part of their lives because they've been embarrassed About it or felt again that it's not something that a doctor could cope with. They just have to live with it, get on with it, deal with it. But it really reduces the quality of their life. And what I want to get through to you today and through this website is it doesn't have to be like that. I can't get the opportunities or that time back as a youngster that I lost due to the anxiety that I was feeling. But I now feel that I have a very bright future because of what I've learned about anxiety. Through my training in hypnotherapy and NLP, I've learned about the power of the mind and how you can use that power to really enjoy life to the full. Through my own experiences and through the hundreds of clients that I've worked with, I've created Anxiety Alchemy to help others to change their futures also. Anxiety Alchemy is a 5-step process that you can tailor to your own situation. This really isn't a sausage machine where you put in anxiety at this end and churn out confidence at the other, because I don't believe that's real. We're all individuals, and these steps that you need to take will be individualised to you. You're unique, so your progress through the alchemy will also be individualised. You'll learn about some of the steps that lead you from anxiety to confidence. Some of these steps may feel quite small. Some of the steps will feel as if they're a massive leap of faith. But all of the steps take you forward. They are progress, either in small forms or big forms. But each piece of progress moves you forward. Each piece of movement forward gives you momentum. and takes you closer to confidence. I named the process Anxiety Alchemy because alchemy is linked with this concept of changing lead into gold. Now, I recognise this feeling that anxiety is very heavy, a bit like lead, and it's like dragging a heavy weight around when you're constantly feeling in an anxious state. However, confidence is a much lighter feeling, and confident people tend to shine, just like gold. Also, alchemy is a lot about chemistry. It's about the chemical reaction of changing lead into gold, and our bodies are bags of chemical reactions going on all the time. And all of those chemical reactions are being managed and controlled by our minds, by that subconscious part of our brain. We don't have to think about about our heart beating or about our blood cells recreating. All of those things are just going on. And that relates to our feelings as well. The chemistry that's going on has an output as a feeling. So when you understand what's behind some of that chemistry and you change it, it leads to a different feeling. So by understanding the chemistry, you can start to mix the elements in a different way to achieve the feeling that you want to. On the Anxiety Alchemy website, you'll find lots of resources that contribute to a greater understanding of how your subconscious mind works. And I'll be continually adding to these over the course of time and also sharing stories of people who have created that transformation. So you know, it's not just me that's achieved this. There are many, many people out there that have done it too. So take a look around the site. Get involved. Let me know what you like, what you don't like, what questions you have. The book is available on the site, also available on Amazon too. So become a chemist, become a chemist of your own body, of your own mind, and start that transformation today. And I would love to be part of that journey with you. I'll speak to you soon. Bye-bye.
More from Caroline

Diary of a Hypnotherapist, Episode 41 | @caroline-cavanagh | The Anxiety Alchemist

The Psychology of Comfort Food & Control | @caroline-cavanagh | The Anxiety Alchemist

Unlock Your Mind for Subconscious Healing | @caroline-cavanagh | The Anxiety Alchemist

Overcome Insecurity with Hypnosis | @caroline-cavanagh | The Anxiety Alchemist

Diary of a Hypnotherapist, Episode 40 | @caroline-cavanagh | The Anxiety Alchemist





