Are You Struggling with Anxiety?
An Effective Alternative to Conventional Treatments and Medication That Addresses the Root Cause
by Pati McDermott, CHT
NLP & TPM Advanced Master & Health Practitioner
Certified Hypnotherapist
Anxiety Specialist
If you are struggling with anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, or phobias, it may help to understand that these problems often follow identifiable patterns that can be resolved.
This article explains why anxiety develops, why many approaches provide only temporary relief, and how deeper unconscious patterns can be addressed so the mind no longer continues producing anxiety.
If you have felt stuck, overwhelmed, or discouraged, I hope this offers both understanding and hope.
Anxiety can be a mild, occasional challenge that passes with a quiet moment and a few deep breaths. But for many people, it becomes something much more: persistent, overwhelming, and at times debilitating.
If you are experiencing anxiety at any level, there is a reason for it, and there are approaches that can help you move beyond it.
You have options that go beyond coping with and managing anxiety, including approaches that address the underlying cause.
Anxiety can take many forms, including panic attacks, insomnia, and phobias. Not everyone experiences all of these, but they are often connected. Over time, anxiety can begin to affect multiple areas of life, sometimes gradually and sometimes all at once.
What many people discover is that anxiety rarely goes away on its own. It often continues, or becomes more disruptive, when the underlying cause is not addressed.
Why Anxiety Is Not a Simple Problem
In over 30 years of working with anxiety and panic, I have found that this is rarely a simple or isolated issue.
Anxiety is typically the result of patterns that develop over time, often outside of conscious awareness. These patterns may be connected to earlier life experiences, or to an accumulation of difficult or stressful experiences in adulthood, such as challenging relationships, work situations, or ongoing life pressures. Low self-esteem and self-doubt can also play a significant role.
At a certain point, the mind becomes overwhelmed. What may seem like a small trigger can produce a strong response, sometimes leading to the first major experience of anxiety or panic.
Sometimes it happens while driving, standing in line at a store, speaking in front of people, or even while trying to relax at home. A person can suddenly feel trapped, overwhelmed, disconnected, or physically unsafe - even when there is no immediate danger.
For some people, this happens after years of holding things together. For others, it seems to come out of nowhere, often at a time when life already feels demanding.
Anxiety is not random. It follows a pattern, and that pattern can be identified and resolved.
Why One Technique Is Often Not Enough
Anxiety is rarely caused by a single issue. And it usually does not resolve through a single technique. Many approaches rely on one primary method, applied repeatedly, and while that can be helpful in some cases, it often does not fully address the complexity of what is happening.
My approach is to systematically work through the layers of the problem, resolving the underlying patterns step by step until the mind no longer produces anxiety.
Each person's experience is unique, so the process is tailored specifically to you.
An Approach That Addresses the Cause
Many of the people I work with have already tried other approaches, sometimes for years, without getting the results they were hoping for.
It's not unusual for someone to say, "I've tried everything, and nothing has really worked."
Some have tried therapy that focused primarily on analyzing and talking through the problem. Others have practiced breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, mindfulness, or coping strategies that helped temporarily but did not fully resolve the anxiety. Some have tried medication, which may or may not have helped, and often came with unwanted side effects.
We focus on resolving the underlying cause of anxiety so that the pattern no longer continues to repeat.
Rather than working only at the level of symptoms, we work at the level where these patterns are created - in the unconscious mind.
This is not about learning to live with anxiety.
It is about changing the internal patterns that generate it.
The goal is to resolve the cause, not manage the symptoms.
This complex problem often requires accessing deeper levels of the mind that are not available in everyday thinking.
How This Work Happens
Using Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Thought Pattern Management (TPM), we identify and resolve the deeper mental patterns that are producing the anxiety.
This is a guided internal process often described as "dreaming awake."
You actively explore your own inner experience, with guidance, while accessing the deeper levels of your mind where these patterns are stored.
You remain aware and in control throughout the process as we identify and resolve the underlying causes, whether they come from earlier experiences, accumulated stress, or conditioned emotional responses.
Because these patterns are often interconnected, resolving them can create positive changes not only in anxiety, but in other areas of life as well.
What Is the Result?
When the underlying cause is resolved, the mind no longer produces anxiety.
Some people notice meaningful shifts early in the process. Others experience gradual changes as we work through the layers involved. In either case, the focus remains on resolving the problem at its source.
In many cases, people begin to feel relief simply from understanding what has been happening, often for the first time.
Over the years, I have seen this approach work consistently, including for people who felt they had tried everything and were not getting better.
I also work with people who are experiencing anxiety more recently and want to address it before it becomes a long-term pattern.
Moving Forward
If anxiety is affecting you, or someone you care about, I invite you to contact me for a free initial consultation.
We can talk about what you've been experiencing and explore how this approach can help you move beyond it.
My goal for you is simple: to help you reach a point where you no longer need professional care to manage your anxiety.
Contact Pati at NLPPati.com
Telephone appointments throughout the U.S. and Canada
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Pati McDermott, CHT
Anxiety Specialist
Certified NLP Master Practitioner
NLP Health Practitioner
TPM Advanced Master Practitioner
Certified Hypnotherapist
Certified Nutrition Coach
References
- 4 Simple Steps to End a Panic Attack by Pati McDermott, CHT.
Stop a panic attack within 3 minutes. Many of my clients have enjoyed great success using this method. - Helpful Strategies for Resolving Insomnia by Pati McDermott, CHT.
Practical strategies for resolving insomnia and sleep disturbances. - Agoraphobia: Afraid To Leave Your Comfort Zone by Pati McDermott, CHT.
I have been successfully helping people with agoraphobia, anxiety, and other phobias since 1990. - What Is NLP?
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a way of understanding the neurology of our experiences, such as memories, emotions, and responses. Our brains store information in patterns made by our five senses. By understanding this neurology we can change or enhance those patterns if we wish to. - What Is TPM?
Thought Pattern Management offers powerful techniques and approaches for educating the mind and communicating internally to create changes at the unconscious level of the mind - the level that runs the body, stores memories, and produces mental and emotional states. - Robert Fletcher (1932-2017), Founder of Thought Pattern Management (TPM).
Developer of advanced approaches for communicating with and changing unconscious mental patterns, habits, emotional responses, and conditioned behaviors.
© 2026 by Pati McDermott