SELF COACHING
Breakthrough Anxiety
High levels of anxiety in college students can compromise academic performance and psychological well-being (Fernández-García et al., 2023, Garatt-Read et al., 2018; Rozental et al.; 2022).
Solutions to fit your time, your lifestyle and your budget
Secondary school students eagerly enter university expecting they will perform well academically, adjust socially, and successfully graduate. Similarly, higher education institutions expect the students they admit to have the capability to earn a degree. Yet reality often collides with these expectations. Last year some UK universities lost up to 32% of students in their first year.
I’m a University of Cambridge trained Psychologist. I’ve run tests, surveys, and interviews with 100s of students which has strengthened my coaching approach (I’m also a fan of Positive Psychology which feeds into most of what I do). Take action now to take back control over your future!
What's Included
- 9 step-by-step video and audio trainings (a total of 5 hours of instruction)
- 5 demonstrations of techniques to reduce anxiety for you to immediately practise.
- Downloadable timetable and reflective journal
- Scripts and templates for exactly what to do when you’re struggling
- Reminders and instructions for you to download and follow
Module 1
Decoding your Brain
I know, I know, you just want to get rid of your anxiety, not get bogged down in the science…but I assure you, by understanding the “why” you might think differently. The amygdala and prefrontal cortex (both important parts of your brain) are key players behind the cognitive science of anxiety. We find out how they interact and how they’re triggered, and this becomes very handy when we start to apply tactics to reduce stressors in the brain, and try to relax it.
Module 2
Change your Mindset
So, now we know what is happening in our brains when we get anxious. And, when triggered, this loop of rumination or anxious worry feels unbreakable. But, it is, in fact, just our learned response to the trigger. And, like any learned response when experienced multiple times, it has become a habit. If we take a leaf out of Dr. Carol Dweck’s book, and work from the belief that your abilities can be developed and improved over time, we can reframe anxiety as something that is not immutable, but rather something which can be overcome.
Module 3
You are not your Thoughts
Now you’ve adopted a growth mindset, we learn how to see our thoughts for what they really are. By gaining an awareness of our thought patterns, we can stop avoiding, denying, and struggling with our inner emotions and, rather, accept these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations. Together we recognise our responses ought not prevent us from moving forward in our lives. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), developed in the 1980s by psychologist Steven C. Hayes, a professor at the University of Nevada, forms the basis of this session.
Module 4
You Can’t Think your Way Out of Anxiety
So Clare, I can already hear you saying, let me get this right, to get rid of anxiety you need to change the behaviour of becoming anxious (sounds obvious, right?). But, if all you need to do is to think your way out of being anxious you would, you’d just tell yourself to stop, and bingo, result! it would work. But it doesn’t. As Dr. Judson Brewer points out, no amount of willpower can get you there. The only sustainable way to change your behaviour of being anxious is to update its reward value, and make that a new habit. That’s why it’s called reward-based learning.
Module 5
Retrain your Brain with Mindfulness
Yes, you’re right, mindfulness does have something to do with meditation, but this is not some mystical cure! Mindfulness changes greymatter in our prefrontal cortex which is the area of our brain related to memory and decision making. Mindfulness is not about suppressing our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations…as Dr. Shauna Shapiro suggests, it is about changing our relationship to those thoughts and emotions. So together we explore and practise Dr. Kabat-Zinn’s method of mindfulness-based stress relief. I picked up my own practice from time spent with Gurus in India and Nepal.
Module 6
Retrain your Brain with Self Compassion
There’s no doubt learning new habits, like learning new languages, isn’t easy. And learning to be with your anxiety to overcome it, means you’ll likely fight it (ALOT). But embracing this learning journey is the key to your success. Whilst it comes naturally to most of us to care for our loved ones when they are hurting. Being our own best friend seems to come less naturally. Using Dr. Kirsten Neff’s cutting-edge research, we find ways to show ourselves compassion when we’re struggling.
Module 7
Retrain your Brain with Yoga
Since the pandemic everyone seems to own a pair of yoga pants! And the science indicates there might be a good reason for that.. During Covid, when we felt isolated and afraid, there were lots of reasons to be anxious! Broota and Sanhvi’s (1994) experiment on students showed a clinically significant improvement of students’ anxiety during examination periods when routinely practising a controlled set of yogic poses. I’ll be teaching some easy to fit into your timetable yoga practices which can literally change your brain!
Module 8
Retrain your Brain through Art and Creativity
Art therapy has been used as a positive stress reliever for years. Nowadays, its benefits are becoming more recognised in the field of neuroscience. Through drawing and colouring exercises you allow your mind to focus on something else. When distracting and unhelpful thoughts pop up, your attention remains on your artwork, so you don’t engage with the feelings, and they drift away. Trust me no artistic experience is required for this Module (aka don’t skip step#8)!
Addendum:
Daily Habits for Breakthrough
Well done! Now you’ve learned the critical criteria for breakthrough! This session helps you to put it all together, so that these practices become habits, and these habits become a daily routine, and that daily routine becomes a weekly schedule…you see where I’m going with this! Informed by Dr. Scott Glassman’s Positive Psychology, I’ll give you practical tips to help to make these habits stick, and offer you effective ways to manage these new additions into your already hectic timetable.
To work on a unique breakthrough program for you, schedule a call with me to start 1:1 coaching. It is one thing to know what to do, it is another to maintain the practice and to have a cheerleader to be with you on the journey!
Breakthrough
Retreats
When I was struggling at university I felt like there were no solutions, and that I had nowhere to go. So, I’ve designed a GAP program to reboot your brain, and to get you back in the driving seat! Sign up here to be the first to hear when we’re live!
About you…
The past few months haven’t been easy. Maybe you’re feeling stuck within the discomforts of change with your transition to university. Maybe you’re unsure how to take those first steps to kick off your life’s next chapter, or perhaps you’re going through intense feelings of anxiety or isolation. Maybe you feel lost, or you’ve been considering changing your course, or contemplating dropping out.
About Xsrted retreats…
Xsrted retreats offer research-led programs designed to optimise your recovery time, and focus on delivering positive long-term learning outcomes. You’ll find structured support on your specific problem areas, and take part in a curriculum which focuses on the body and the mind to increase balance and wellness into your life.
Keeping it authentic, fearless and compassionate
Get involved, and by receiving coaching from me you’ll be contributing to the design of our MVP for Xsrted to optimise programs to reduce student disengagement, and improve positive learning outcomes for all.
