Christy Barton
Homemaker
Austin, TX
I've had problems with anxiety since childhood. It affected my sleep because I was acting out my anxiety at night, I was tired and it was interrupting my husband's sleep as well. I am a people pleaser and I focused on things that weren't important, which raised my anxiety. I was stressed out as a mother and wife and, ultimately, not as happy as I could be. Sometimes things would get to be too much and the anxiety was more intense. I had unrealistic expectations about all the things that I wanted to accomplish. I would jam pack my to-do list and get everything done, but it was at a cost. If I got it done, it was a boost for my self-esteem and if I didn't, it was an attack to my sense of self. I knew that others had expectations of me and I wanted to be up to that standard, so it was pretty stressful. I've used yoga and knew that it helped with anxiety, but I think it would have helped a lot more if I had done it more regularly, so I wanted to try something else.
I heard about A New Day Hypnosis from my good friend Kelly. I came to my appointment with the impression that I would get a nice little relaxation CD to listen to before bed and all would be well. After meeting with Laura I realized that my sleeping habits weren't really the issue. It was a little bit hard at first. I didn't want to change, but once I got my head around it, it wasn't that difficult. I was ready to listen and I trusted Laura's judgment.
My main goal in life is to be a good role model to my girls. I've always known that what you don't get over, you pass on to your children, so the most important benefit for me has been the realization that my choices and behaviors were causing stress that was going to affect them. I was going to leave my daughters the legacy of stress and anxiety and I didn't want that.
I'm sleeping better now and I feel like my blood pressure is lower. I'm more relaxed and I'm able to calm myself down a lot faster. I feel more in control. My daughter's birthday parties have always been a big thing for me in what I want to do and how I come across to others. I realized that if I didn't have time to do something, it wasn't going to 'make or break' her birthday. I just lowered my expectations and still did the things I wanted to do for the right reasons. Everyone had a nice day, it was a success and I wasn't stressed about it. I don't think externally that people would notice the difference, but I'm more internally confident now. I know that it doesn't matter what other people think and I don't let it bother me.
I've been boasting all over Austin about A New Day Hypnosis. Laura tells you what you don't want to hear and helps you to find out why you are actually doing something. She's very straight and to the point, she will not waste time showering you with pleasantries. A lot of people are afraid to hurt people's feelings and be honest, but then you don't really get the job done. I think honesty is good and her honesty has really helped me.