To celebrate the launch of her course created as part of the No7 x AllBright SHECovery Collection, The Confidence Toolkit, we spoke to hypnotherapist, coach and author, Chloe Brotheridge, on moving outside of her comfort zone, embracing her feelings, and overcoming 10 years of panic attacks to find her true purpose.

Speaking to Chloe, you wouldn’t think twice about assuming that she was born with a confident, relaxed persona. But surprisingly to some, she hasn’t always been this way, having experienced 10 years of anxiety and panic attacks which ultimately led her onto a new career path. “I help people with anxiety, confidence issues and low self-esteem, because I’ve really struggled with those things myself. Having had horrible panic attacks since I was a teenager, social anxiety really held me back in lots of ways. These days, I’m in a much better place and I get to help people that have experienced similar things,” she told AllBright.

The author of bestselling books, The Anxiety Solution and The Confidence Solution, and host of The Calmer You podcast – which has had over 750,000 downloads – sat down with us to share more on her journey.

1. We’re really interested in what it was that led you on this journey, your experiences with anxiety and panic attacks, and how you navigated them?

I started having panic attacks when I was 15 and my experience was like that of many others - you think you’re dying. So, when I experienced one for the first time, I thought I was having a heart attack. After that, I had a sense that this panic could come at any time and felt very out of control. I went to see the school nurse, and she said to me, “what have you got to panic about?! Just don’t panic!” which was really unhelpful advice.

When I was 25 my anxiety began to really affect my relationships. It was causing me low self-esteem, and I knew I had to make some changes. I went on a mission to become a calmer person: I tried a lot of different types of therapies, I went on retreats, I read a lot of books and got into meditation. Slowly but surely, things started to change. It’s an ongoing process and something I’m constantly working on, because life always throws you different challenges.

2. A lot of us know what it feels like to battle with feelings of self-doubt and imposter syndrome, which we know is something you’ve experienced, too. What was the first step you took that opened the door for you to make changes?

For a long time I was telling myself that I’m just an anxious person, and there’s nothing I can do about it. That no one understands me and I’m a unique case that can’t be helped. I did so without having any proof of that, which I know a lot of people that struggle with anxiety experience; the idea that you’re going to feel like this forever. In turn, that becomes part of the anxiety.

I started to try things that I actually found helpful and realised that, maybe, I wasn’t completely broken. One therapist in particular really helped me get past the shame of talking about it, because I was a very closed person at the time. I started seeing things changing, which gave me more hope that things could get better.

3. What are your key tips for tackling these feelings and battling your inner critic?

We often think we’re the only ones that don’t feel good enough, and feel like imposters, but depending on which survey you look at, between 60-100% of women experience imposter syndrome at one point or another. If we know that the majority of people don’t feel good enough, then we can realise that it’s not really about us, and that it’s a normal part of being human to doubt yourself.

The inner critic can come along for the ride, but it doesn’t need to stop us from doing things. If we can start to change our internal dialogue, we can bring in more positive self-talk to drown it out.  

4. Tell us a little about your own coping mechanisms now in your day-to-day life and work? How has your attitude towards ‘coping’ changed over time?

I might do things like write down how I’m feeling. Once you can see things in black and white it’s easier to process them for what they are, and to recognise when they’re not true. I might step into the perspective of a friend and think about what they would say to me in the same situation. I practice coming back to the present moment, and focusing in on my breathing to bring awareness back to my body. This helps to quieten the inner critic, because when we focus on our breathing, we can’t be overthinking, too – its impossible to do both at once!

5. We love hearing about your work as a coach, your podcast and your books. What inspired you to want to share your journey with others?

I always wanted to be in a job that was having a positive impact on people. Previously, I worked as a nutritionist for the NHS before retraining. I remember what I was like back when my anxiety was at its worst, and I know that if I can overcome a lot of these things, then others can as well.

6. How can our readers take their very first steps to becoming calmer and more confident?

Sometimes, trying to calm ourselves down isn’t the right approach. Often, embracing your feelings, going with it, and telling yourself that you’re excited to meet a challenge can actually be a better option. Changing the way that you’re speaking to yourself about challenges can be really interesting!

7. Finally, as we begin to emerge from a year of pandemic restrictions, do you have any advice on entering the new normal feeing re-aligned?

Be kind to yourself about whatever you’re feeling, because everyone is going to be experiencing this in a different way. Some people are going to be really excited, while other people may not feel ready to come out of lockdown, and that’s OK. Tune in and listen to yourself. I think there’s a balance between challenging yourself to go outside of your comfort zone and taking care of yourself.

Ask yourself ‘is this a healthy challenge? Or today, do I just need to focus on taking care of myself?’ Confidence is one of those things that if we don’t use it, we can lose it. Some people have found that they’ve lost theirs over the last year, so it’s OK to take your time to build it back up.

Ready to tap into your inner self-esteem? Learn more with Chloe, in her No7 x AllBright SHECovery Collection course, The Confidence Toolkit.