And Sharon continued: “When I do something, I give my 100% dedication and, if possible more. But I want to ensure that whatever I do matters; I don’t want to waste my time. It needs to be meaningful to me. Otherwise, I will start worrying about whether I am doing the right thing or not.”

I asked Sharon how it makes her feel and how others close to her react when she feels like that?

She said: “ I get an upset stomach and sometimes light-headed. I want to speed up the time to know the result at that stage. And then, I am laser focused on what will happen rather than enjoying the process. My family feels I would become very obsessive and overreact about things they don’t even notice. And it drains my energy, and it ruins my day! I just want to be able to enjoy the process.”

After giving Sharon space to tell her story, I explained that most of the things she described and felt there would be another layer underneath her worries and fears. To have a more in-depth understanding of where the worries and fear come from, I asked her permission to let me get her into a more relaxed state of mind (also known as hypnosis).

As a result of that one session, Sharon achieved the following:
– Understand where her illogical, unrealistic fear and unusual reactions to things come back to the feeling that she can’t control nor predict an outcome.

– Understanding where that fear comes from helps her have more control over how she responds to those fears.

– By reframing her concerns and worries, she regained her sense of control

After one month, Sharon said to me: “Mindy, I don’t feel that fear of wasting time anymore. I am just enjoying that process without worrying about the outcome. Of course, I am not there yet, but I am getting there step by step.

Like Sharon, have you ever had a particular fear you started to become obsessed about or where it holds you back?