Session 2 | Al | In Therapy with Alex Howard

41-year-old Al has come to In Therapy to work on a range of issues, predominantly health anxiety. This week you’ll see Al’s second session with me, where we delve deeper into his health anxiety. I highlight how some of his coping strategies are making his condition worse, and how the only way to deal with background anxiety is to bring it to the forefront and begin to process it.
Alex Howard is a London-based Therapeutic Coach dedicated to helping break the stigma around mental health and helping people make real, positive changes in their lives. Alex is also the creator of Therapeutic Coaching and founder of The Optimum Health Clinic and Conscious Life.
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Website: www.alexhoward.com
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Content is produced, directed and edited by Oliver Halls (Instagram: @oliver.halls) and Rachel Forbes (Instagram: @rae_forbes).

[@suzannax]

Well done to Al for being open about his anxiety. It's never too late to learn new ways to improve your quality of life.

[@cristianmezei1700]

I have a hard time commiting to the helpful strategies, like meditating, breathing, exercising and journaling, because when i feel good, i don”t use them anymore and my achiever patterns burns me out.. so, yeah, i quess responsability and discipline are the only cure for anxiety

[@Sara-es6iq]

This is so useful for me, it could be me sitting on that couch saying exactly what Al is saying re his health anxiety my experiences are exactly the same even down to the same medical anxiety at the moment. I can really learn from this.

[@naomiclark4367]

I'm really liking these longer sessions.

[@lisadennys6045]

I really like the full episode vs. reduced time. I’m continuing with The Reset tools and my OHC sessions to interrupt some lifelong similar patterns that Al described ( eg. to move into body & out of head as I recognize I’m just winding myself up by over analyzing to try to calm my anxiety… can’t “ think my way to a feeling of safety”! )

[@sandjblake75]

Great episode. Thanks Alex and Al.

[@parisaforpeace]

This is a better format. More comprehensive. For me, nurturing, soothing and parenting the younger self is a big part of the healing journey. Ultimately, we need to develop new patterns of thought and develop new positive emotions. So, it helps to create feelings of warmth, empathy and acceptance towards the self as opposed to try and deal directly with the fear and self-judgement which involves an ongoing struggle. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy touches on this. Thank you for these videos. Very informative.

[@YugeYun]

This is immensely helpful. I feel like my therapists never really knew how to help with my health anxiety. I have multiple health problems and it's been a major struggle for me to not worry about them. I felt like my therapist just wanted to convince me I was completely fine and stop making a fuss about it. In reality there were actual health problems that needed to be treated. One time I got angry and said to her, "I don't know what I need to do to take me seriously. I can show you the epicrisis that states the diagnosis, if that's what it takes". Alex is beautifully separating the actual physical illness that is very real and the need to address it and the excessive worrying related to it. Luckily I got later a better therapist afterwards who did believe me. That validation itself helped me a little, but I even she didn't know how to actually help me to worry less about my health. The problem for me has been that the worrying has actually helped me to find the treatments I needed. It took many hours of researching on my own, and if I hadn't done it I wouldn't have been as good as I am today. I find it that most of the help I've received has been actually from people suffering from similar things and from health conferences. I have C-PTSD, fibromyalgia, dysfagia and gut problems. Most of the physicians had no idea what was going on with me. They just send me home with antidepressants. It really has helped me to find the right information online to explain my symptoms, to get into trauma therapy and psychophysical physiotherapy. But I feel now we're at a point where the only problem left untreated is the turmoil caused by stress and anxiety, and that can only be healed through inner peace. So, I need to trust the process and give up a little bit of that control, I suppose.

[@joanneking2889]

Love the full episodes, my coping habit is to talk to others (not great plan) and to myself. Just have stop short of ruminating. I’m really finding watching helpful. Thank you Alex.

[@victorlujan6186]

I like the longer episodes. Great job Alex!!

[@NarelleLowe]

Love the full sessions Alex, thanks so much 🙏

[@thisinenglish]

Great. Al said “I need that discipline enforced on me”, but wasn’t that the sort of thing he said in Session 1 he had endured from his mother? So is that a younger part of him needing his mother? Is not his lack of/difficulty with discipline in that area also an aspect of the rebellion he never expressed?

[@dianedrummond2624]

I get this my brain obsesses that I’m suffocating not breathing it’s horrendous you doubt your dr tests results nothing wrong just anxiety but your brain still doesn’t believe it it’s horrible I so get you with health annxiety

[@natgreen5903]

Very useful 😊

[@natgreen5903]

Thank yoi

[@natgreen5903]

I see myself here

[@Mrmorusek]

Can someone please share link to the Reset tools? I struggle with a very similar pattern as Al. Ps. Al, hope a year later you’re well and happy !

[@AlexHowardTherapy]

Details at reset.alexhoward.com

[@Mrmorusek]

@@AlexHowardTherapy many thanks !

[@ginagina73774]

Take up golf.

[@saram5659]

This man looks way too anxious to do so much homework. Also, saying you have a Choice to act different when you are aware of the problem, is so often not true, only making people feel more guilty and worthless if they fail to make that right choice. The nervous system is so much stronger than our minds, not always, but definitely for people that suffer the most.

[@deborahtapper3917]

I think all the anxiety has depleted his magnesium. This happens. So start taking magnesium glycinate. Learn how to BREATHE properly, into the belly. Yoga nidra…instead of meditating. He has the ‘nowhere to run, nowhere to hide’ thing, poor man.

[@sandramedina9482]

Everything i do makes it worse

[@ginagina73774]

Quit drink drugs and smoking?😮