Overcoming Performance Anxiety: Clinical Hypnotherapy in Skipton

A clinically informed approach led by a Registered Mental Health Nurse with 20 years’ NHS experience

✓ NMC Registered Mental Health Nurse

✓ 20 years NHS Experience

✓ Fully Insured

✓ Enhanced DBS Checked

Evidence-based support for meaningful, lasting change

Evidence-based, individualised support tailored by Christopher Hardy, a Registered Mental Health Nurse of 20 years' NHS experience - to overcome performance anxiety

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Clinically informed support to build greater confidence and tackle future challenges

Clinically-informed support to help you in embedding confident approaches to managing performance anxiety.

Manage your body's natural fight-flight-freeze response

An evidence-based approach to support in overcoming performance anxiety, whether its public speaking, exam stress or interview stress, or a sporting event.

Performance anxiety can affect anyone, no matter how well prepared or experienced they are. Whether you're facing a presentation, interview, public speaking event, or professional assessment, the physical symptoms of anxiety can make it difficult to think clearly and perform at your best. At Asclepieia Hypnotherapy in Skipton, Christopher Hardy combines 20 years of NHS Mental Health Nursing experience with professional clinical hypnotherapy to offer a safe, evidence-informed approach to managing performance anxiety.

Our approach helps you understand why your brain responds this way under pressure and uses structured hypnotherapy to reduce automatic anxiety responses while building greater confidence and emotional regulation. Alongside practical techniques, such as controlled breathing exercises, we help you develop the skills to approach future challenges with greater calm and confidence, so you can perform closer to your true potential.

Ready to stop anxiety from holding you back? Get in touch today to arrange a free 15-minute call and find out how clinical hypnotherapy could help you perform with greater confidence.

Christopher Hardy, Registered Mental Health Nurse and Clinical Hypnotherapist

About Chris

Are you struggling with performance anxiety, interview stress or exam stress? Or worrying about public speaking or a first dance?

Christopher Hardy is a Registered Mental Health Nurse with two decades of experience in the NHS, spanning acute psychiatric care, crisis support, and patient safety. His extensive clinical background allows him to bridge the gap between traditional mental health care and hypnotherapy, ensuring every session is rooted in safety, ethics, and a deep understanding of psychological distress. Based in Skipton, Chris brings a warm, genuinely human approach to his practice, offering a non-judgmental space where you can work through challenges at your own pace.

Few experiences are as frustrating as the sudden grip of performance anxiety. You have prepared thoroughly, you know your material, and you have the skills to succeed. Yet the moment attention turns towards you, whether you're delivering a corporate presentation in Leeds, speaking at a community event in North Yorkshire, attending an interview, or facing a professional assessment, your body seems to work against you.

Your throat tightens, your heart races, your palms become sweaty, and your mind suddenly feels blank. It can leave you feeling exposed, frustrated, and unable to perform at the level you know you're capable of.

Professional Care Grounded in Clinical Experience

With 20 years of experience as an NHS Mental Health Nurse, I've seen how anxiety can quietly undermine confidence, limit opportunities, and affect both professional and personal wellbeing.

At Asclepieia Hypnotherapy and Wellness in Skipton, I combine two decades of mental health nursing experience with professional clinical hypnotherapy. My approach is grounded in established psychological principles, informed by current evidence, and tailored to your individual goals. Every session is designed to provide a safe, supportive environment where we work together to reduce anxiety and build lasting confidence.

Why Performance Anxiety Happens

Performance anxiety isn't a sign of weakness or lack of ability. It's a normal stress response that becomes activated at the wrong time.

When your brain perceives a situation as highly threatening or important, it activates the body's natural fight-or-flight response. Stress hormones such as adrenaline prepare you to respond quickly, while heightened anxiety can temporarily impair the parts of the brain involved in working memory, concentration, and clear thinking. This is why even highly capable people can suddenly lose their train of thought or struggle to communicate under pressure.

Hypnotherapy aims to help reduce this automatic anxiety response by combining focused relaxation with therapeutic suggestions and evidence-informed psychological techniques. Many people find this helps them develop greater emotional regulation, respond more calmly in challenging situations, and approach future performances with increased confidence.

A Simple Technique to Calm Your Nervous System Now

If you notice anxiety beginning to build before a presentation, interview or performance, a simple breathing exercise can help reduce physical tension and encourage your body's natural relaxation response.

Box Breathing

Exhale Completely
Breathe out slowly through your mouth for a count of four, emptying your lungs comfortably.
Inhale Slowly
Breathe in gently through your nose for a steady count of four, allowing your abdomen to expand naturally.
Pause
Hold your breath comfortably for a count of four without straining.
Exhale Smoothly
Slowly breathe out through your mouth for another count of four, releasing tension from your shoulders and jaw.
Pause Again
Hold your breath gently for a further count of four before beginning the next cycle.

Repeating this cycle for several minutes may help slow your breathing, reduce physical symptoms of anxiety, and restore a greater sense of calm before an important event.

Moving Forward with Greater Confidence

Performance anxiety doesn't have to define your career, your education, or your personal ambitions.

Whether your goal is to feel more comfortable speaking in public, perform more confidently at work, succeed in interviews, or simply stop anxiety from holding you back, clinical hypnotherapy may help you develop practical strategies for managing anxiety and performing closer to your usual abilities.

If you're ready to explore whether hypnotherapy is right for you, book a free 15-minute consultation. Together, we can discuss your goals and whether this approach is a good fit for your needs.

References

David Spiegel and Mark P. Jensen (2023). Hypnosis for Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. While focused primarily on pain, this review summarises contemporary evidence regarding clinical hypnosis and its mechanisms.
Patricia L. Gerbarg and Richard P. Brown (2019). Research on slow-paced breathing and autonomic regulation demonstrates that controlled breathing techniques can reduce physiological arousal and improve emotional regulation.
National Health Service. Information on stress, anxiety and relaxation techniques supports the use of slow breathing exercises as part of anxiety management.

Email

Phone

hello@asclepieiahypnotherapy.co.uk

01756 228611

Asclepieia Hypnotherapy and Wellness, The Divergent Space, 6 Victoria St, Skipton BD23 1JE

CLINIC Address

Also part of the Asclepieia family: Acupuncture by Nurse Jennie