Hypnotherapy for Stress in London & online
Hello, I’m Susannah. I am a fully qualified clinical hypnotherapist and coach with over 22 years of experience helping people reduce stress and feel calmer, more in control, and better able to cope with everyday life.
Many of us don’t realise we’re living in a constant state of stress until it starts taking a toll on our mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.
Stress can impact our sleep, our energy and our ability to focus. It can feel like you’re running on adrenaline all the time, making you irritable, anxious or depressed. Sometimes it can be silent, creeping up slowly but impacting your ability to cope with normal, everyday life.
When stress becomes chronic, it affects everything: your ability to switch off, your mood, your resilience, your immune system, and your self-worth.
Stress hypnosis can help you to reset. It works by calming the part of your brain that’s been living in survival mode and provides you with the coping strategies you need to solve problems, navigate challenges and feel calm and in control.
My stress reduction hypnosis sessions are tailored to your specific needs. After your initial consultation, I will create a personalised treatment programme that uses a blend of NLP, coaching and solution-focused hypnotherapy for stress and anxiety symptoms. If you would like to learn more or book an appointment, please get in touch.
Are you constantly stressed and anxious?
- Feeling constantly on edge or wound up
- Struggling to switch off or relax
- Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
- Waking up tired, even after a full night’s sleep
- Racing thoughts or difficulty concentrating
- Frequent headaches or muscle tension
- Changes in appetite or digestion
- Feeling irritable, low, or emotionally flat
- Overthinking small things or imagining worst-case scenarios
- Avoiding people or feeling disconnected from others
- Life feels joyless
Susannah Saunders
Hello, my name is Susannah. I am a clinical hypnotherapist and life coach in London with over 20 years of experience helping people to enjoy a happier, more fulfilling life. Get in touch to find out more or book an appointment in London today.
NLP, Coaching and Hypnotherapy for Stress Reduction
When you’re feeling stressed, it can be hard to see a way forward. Everything can start to feel overwhelming, and you may end up relying on unhelpful coping strategies.
In our sessions, we will begin by creating a picture of the life you want for yourself, and then we will work together to move towards that preferred future. I use a combination of hypnotherapy, NLP, and solution-focused coaching to help calm the mind, address limiting beliefs and negative thought patterns, and build emotional resilience.
There are many ways we can use hypnosis to reduce stress, and there’s no one way I work. Everyone is unique, so I will create a bespoke plan for you, often working together over 3-5 sessions.
Stress hypnotherapy and coaching can help you:
- Feel calmer and more at ease in daily life
- Sleep better and wake up feeling more rested
- Stop overthinking and ruminating
- Handle pressure and respond calmly
- Rebuild your confidence and emotional resilience
- Bring some balance back to your day-to-day life
- Feel more joyful, connected and present
How Does Hypnotherapy for Stress Reduction Work?
Hypnosis is simply a state of deep focus and relaxation, which many of us experience naturally in our daily lives, like daydreaming or driving on autopilot. You’re still awake, but your conscious mind wanders, and your subconscious becomes more open and receptive to new ideas.
We use this natural state to work directly with the subconscious part of your mind, as this is where your stress response originates. When your mind is calm and relaxed, it becomes easier to create more helpful ways of thinking and feeling.
The process is gentle and collaborative. I’ll guide you through visualisations and suggestions that help you feel more in control and more resilient, and I will teach you techniques to cope better with life’s challenges. I will also provide you with a stress reduction hypnosis recording to listen to at night to help clear your mind and improve your sleep.
To find out more or to book an appointment, get in touch.
If you would like to find out how I can help, let's talk
The Science Behid Hypnotherapy for Stress
Your brain is wired to protect you. It has a built-in survival system that’s designed to keep you safe from threat or danger. Thousands of years ago, this system helped us survive predators, hostile environments, or rival tribes. But in modern life, we’re not usually in physical danger. Instead, we’re worrying about mortgages, bills, deadlines, childcare, relationships, world news, and a never-ending stream of notifications.
The problem is, your brain doesn’t always know the difference between a real, physical threat and something that just feels overwhelming. So it responds in the same way by activating your stress response. Your heart rate increases, your breathing becomes shallow, and stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline flood your system. Over time, this can keep your brain stuck in survival mode; catastrophising, overthinking and obsessing about problems.
Hypnotherapy for stress reduction helps interrupt that stress loop by calming the anxious part of your brain. When you’re in hypnosis, your nervous system relaxes, and your brain starts to shift out of fight-or-flight and into a calmer, more balanced state.
In this relaxed state, your mind becomes more open to new ideas. That’s where we can start to rewire those unhelpful patterns and instil better coping strategies.
Healthy Coping Strategies
When stress becomes chronic, many people turn to quick fixes just to get through the day. Common strategies include doom scrolling, comfort eating, alcohol, gambling, online shopping or pushing through on caffeine and adrenaline. These might give you a short-term boost, but they often leave you feeling more drained in the long run.
That’s because the brain is wired to seek reward. When you feel stressed, your brain looks for quick ways to feel better, and it’s drawn to whatever gives you that little hit of dopamine, the brain’s “feel good” chemical. The problem is, dopamine from things like sugar, social media, or overworking wears off quickly. It doesn’t help your brain feel calm or safe and often fuels the stress cycle even more.
What we want instead are sustainable, healthy sources of dopamine that help your brain regulate naturally. In our sessions, I’ll help you identify practical, everyday ways to reset your stress response, using small changes that can make a big difference. We will work together to develop realistic and sustainable strategies.
Training Your Brain to Handle Stress
Stress evolves over time. Your brain has simply become accustomed to firing those same stress pathways repeatedly. But just like muscles, these responses can be retrained.
With hypnotherapy for stress, we work directly with the part of the brain responsible for those automatic reactions, so you feel calmer and more resilient. Your internal alert system is currently set too high. Once we recalibrate your system, you will feel more balanced, and you will be able to respond in a healthier way.
Stress reduction hypnosis is about helping you build emotional fitness. Over time, your default response becomes calmer, your thinking becomes clearer, and stressful moments feel more manageable. Like any kind of training, it takes practice, but with the right support, change is possible.
Reconnecting with Joy, Pleasure, and Play
When you’ve been living with stress for a while, it can be easy to forget what joy actually feels like. You might be getting through the days, ticking things off your list, keeping everything afloat, but you’re not really living, just surviving.
Stress has a way of eroding pleasure and connection. Even things you used to enjoy can start to feel like chores. You might stop making plans, stop laughing as much, or feel disconnected from the people around you. It can be hard to feel joy or excitement, because stress hormones like cortisol suppress the production of serotonin – the chemical that helps you feel calm, happy and content.
That’s where hypnotherapy for stress reduction can make a real difference. We’ll work not only on reducing cortisol but also on helping your brain produce more of the feel-good chemicals that allow you to experience pleasure again. When the mind feels safe, serotonin levels can rise, helping you reconnect with the people and experiences that bring you joy. A happy brain is a brain that feels calm, balanced, and able to enjoy life again.
Stress Reduction Hypnosis in London & Online
My private London hypnotherapy practice was founded in 2003. I have been awarded the Senior Qualification of Hypnotherapy Practice (SQHP) from the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council (GHSC) and the HPD from the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH).
For more information on how I use hypnotherapy, NLP and coaching to help reduce stress at my London hypnotherapy clinic, get in touch. We can talk through your symptoms, and I can explain how I might be able to help.
If you would like to find out how I can help, let's talk
FAQs
Can hypnotherapy really help with stress?
Yes, hypnotherapy can be a highly effective way to reduce stress and improve emotional resilience. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s often because your brain is stuck in survival mode. Hypnosis to reduce stress helps calm the nervous system, making it easier to think clearly, feel more in control, and respond to life’s challenges in a healthier way. Many people find it to be a powerful tool for both immediate relief and long-term change.
What happens during a stress hypnosis session?
Each session is tailored to you. We start by talking about how stress is showing up in your life and what you’d like to be different. Then, I’ll guide you into a relaxed, focused state where your subconscious mind becomes more open to positive change. In this state, we can begin rewiring the brain’s automatic stress response so you feel calmer, clearer and more resilient.
How many stress hypnosis sessions will I need?
That depends on your goals and how long the stress has been building. Most people notice positive change after the first session, and I typically recommend 3 – 5 sessions for stress reduction hypnosis, but we’ll always go at a pace that feels right for you.
Will I still feel in control during hypnosis?
Absolutely. Hypnosis is not about being “under” or unconscious. It’s a natural, relaxed state where you remain fully in control. Think of it like a guided daydream where you will only take on board the suggestions that are beneficial to you.
What’s the difference between stress hypnosis and other therapies?
Unlike talking therapies that focus on analysing the problem, hypnotherapy for stress works directly with the part of the brain responsible for your automatic responses. This means we can bypass overthinking and self-criticism and get to the root of the stress response. I also use NLP and coaching tools to help you create new thought patterns, build healthier habits, and feel more equipped to handle everyday challenges.
Can hypnotherapy help with burnout or emotional exhaustion?
Yes, in fact, many clients seek help when they’ve been stuck in chronic stress for so long that they’ve hit a wall. Hypnosis for burnout can help you feel calmer, sleep better, and restore resilience.
Do you offer online sessions?
Yes, sessions are online via Zoom. Many clients find it easier to relax in their own familiar surroundings, and hypnosis works just as effectively over video. You’ll also receive a hypnosis audio to listen to at home between sessions to help reinforce the benefits and improve sleep.
What My Clients Say
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