Massacre in Norway triggers lessons in bereavement, grief, trauma and mental health
The massacre in Norway raises many points about mental health, bereavement, grief and trauma.
Let’s look first at Anders Behring Breivik whose actions resulted in 76 people being killed or, as we write this, unaccounted for. While it might have been legally judicious for his lawyer to label Breivik “insane”, using that word says more about prejudice than it does about understanding mental health.
When people retreat from the norm – behaving anti-socially, whether by withdrawing from others or behaving inhumanely towards themselves or others – it is often because they feel out of kilter with the world, or misunderstood by it, or because they cannot manage their emotions. This is not a defence of Breivik’s behavour (clearly extreme and exceptional) but it is an example of what can happen if mental illnesses are not recognised, diagnosed or treated.
While the majority of our clients are well-informed and self-aware, mental illness remains a taboo. Talking about mental health issues with partners, family, friends – or with colleagues at work – is not something everyone has the chance or inclination to do. Keeping concerns private does not often lead to extremes of behaviour – but it can cause significant shifts in behaviour or personality, turning people in on themselves. And that could lead to self-harm, eating disorders, mis-using drugs or alcohol, an over-reliance on smoking; it could cause anxiety, panic, stress, phobias, sleep issues. It can also affect behaviour and performance at work and relationships. Anyone feeling they do not fit in, that others are against them, or that they cannot cope deserves support and encouragement. Yet, as our human instinct is often to shy away from exposing what we think of as private weaknesses or inadequacies, support is often hard to seek.
The Norwegian tragedy also shows how others can be affected, directly or indirectly.
We’ve heard about the guilt that some survivors of the incident feel – that they escaped his attention or were just of out range so they lived but others didn’t. There is anger at the police – for taking what the public considered too long to respond to the incident, and for not having the right means to get their fast. Many who witnessed the incident were immediately traumatised and may remain affected by the trauma for some time. Some parents felt relief on learning their child was safe, but their relief was tinged with sadness at others’ loss. We saw the tearful response of the King and Queen of Norway at the memorial service, shocked and saddened by the individual deaths and by what was the country’s biggest loss of life since the second world war. And we noted the stunned expression on the Norwegian prime minister’s face as he took control of the incident, balancing his emotions with his responsibilities to set a lead for the country and protect its reputation as a tourist destination.
Paramedics who reached the scene described the people they found as traumatised. Those paramedics are likely to have built up resilience that helps them manage their reactions to traumatic incidents but they might need continuing support to maintain that resilience.
And we’ve experienced our own reactions, at a distance from the incident, trying to make sense of it from our perspectives, with many of us reliving grief at lives lost years ago or recently.
All of these reactions are normal – grief is a complex emotion even when a death or loss occurs naturally and is expected. Sometimes it takes an extreme act for people to notice the extent of their own or others’ mental distress – and to give themselves permission to seek help to overcome it.
If this traumatic incident has triggered difficult emotions, changed behaviours, or reopened issues you thought were under control, do get in touch with us for professional, therapeutic support. We offer a range of therapies including EMDR (recognised by NICE as particularly effective for recovering from trauma), CBT, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and counselling - and often recommend a blend of therapies so each person receives the form of therapy that is best for them.
29/07/2011 | Posted in Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic therapy, Psychoanalytical therapy, Person-centred counselling, NLP, Integrative counselling, Hypnotherapy, Humanistic psychotherapy, Gestalt therapy, Existential counselling, EMDR, EFT, Counselling, CBT, Sensorimotor psychotherapy,
What is counselling?
To many people, the term “counselling” is a catch-all phrase, a generality that encompasses all the talking therapies without singling out any one form of therapy. This is not necessarily wrong – but counselling is also a talking therapy in its own right.
Many people have innate counselling skills – good friends, for example, who have a knack for listening to what you are saying, posing questions about what you have said and giving you a chance to consider your own thoughts. And so it is with a professionally-trained counsellor, with the essential element of being dispassionate, standing apart from what you are saying and posing more-searching questions without fear of risking a friendship or damaging a long-standing relationship.
A trained counsellor will also not give advice – many friends can’t resist doing so – although a professional counsellor is likely to suggest courses of action for you to consider and might also recommend exercises for you to do between sessions. Professional counsellors will also guarantee you time in private – so you can speak openly – as well as confidentiality – there is no chance of gossip between friends. The structure of formal sessions with a professional is also more beneficial than ad-hoc chats.
For many therapists, straightforward counselling is one of the first therapies they study. They then go on, as have our therapists, to study other forms of counselling, expanding their skills to provide a broader range of services. In our case, we offer a blend of therapies to suit each client, always first discussing options with the client before agreeing an approach.
This holistic approach is called integrative counselling.
Counselling helps people deal with and overcome challenging emotional experiences such as depression, relationship difficulties, redundancy, bereavement, low self-esteem, eating disorders, the rollercoaster that is parenthood, stress – anything that affects your emotional well-being.
In addition to counselling, the therapies we provide at our London therapy rooms are: cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR), emotional freedom technique (EFT), existential counselling, Gestalt therapy, humanistic psychotherapy, hypno-birthing, hypnotherapy, integrative counselling, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), person-centred counselling, psychotherapy, psychoanalytical therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and sensorimotor psychotherapy.
There is more information about each of these therapies on the What we do section of our website.
If you would like to explore whether counselling for depression, or any other emotionally challenging issue, would be right for you – and which form of counselling is likely to have the greatest effect, do get in touch. We provide counselling in London in two locations : Twickenham and central London (on Oxford Street).
16/05/2011 | Posted in Counselling,
Eating disorders: What the statistics tell us
It’s not hard to find statistics on the Internet about eating disorders – but it is hard to find statistics that mean something to anyone who might be in the grip of an eating disorder, or to people who might be worried that a friend or family member might have an eating disorder. The information they are looking for is not just “so I’m not alone”; it is also “so what do I do about it?” and “how can I get help without others finding out?”.
That is because, for many people with an eating disorder, whether anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or any other form or disordered-eating, a major part of the illness is a need to keep it secret. Finding reasons to eat alone (which means not eating alone) or not to eat when others are eating (perhaps saying they have already eaten and so aren’t hungry) provides them with the privacy to hide their illness as well as a method for staying in control. It is another unjust twist in this illness that makes people hope others will have gone public on their behalf so they can benefit – without disclosing any information themselves.
As for the statistics, is it reassuring, or worrying, to know that the number of people with an eating disorder only reflects known cases – in the context many people are not open about it and so won’t be counted in the stats? Does it help to know that the majority are young women (typically between the ages of 14 and 25) when you are an older woman (who might have had the illness for decades or weeks) or, indeed, a boy or man (roughly 10 per cent of all cases will be men)?
From a therapist’s point of view, the only statistic that matters is the person he or she is with at the time. To a therapist, this is not a numbers game; it is a serious issue with deep underlying causes, affecting that one person in the clinic right now. The therapist knows it can be overcome with therapy; his or her role is to find the best form of therapy for each individual. Everyone is different so, although there will be similarities in the generalities, the precise cause of the illness will be different for each person; the form of therapy will be specific to each person; the length of time the therapy will last will be specific to each person.
Trawling the web for facts is, however, important as it often indicates that the person looking realises that he or she needs professional help and support – and wants it. So, a second search through the web is often for information on eating disorder symptoms (for reassurance and confirmation) and then for an eating disorder clinic or a counsellor/therapist specialising in eating disorders. As always, and regardless of the underlying issue, it is important to choose a therapist who is well qualified and whose work follows professional guidelines – and who you can trust with your innermost thoughts, feelings and fears.
Our next post will look at the symptoms of eating disorders and the therapies that are most effective at helping people overcome their disordered-eating.
31/03/2011 | Posted in Psychotherapy, Counselling,
Pain - is it ever all in the mind?
Two blogs ago I looked at the issue of medically unexplained symptoms. Linked to this is the issue of pain. Pain can, of course, be caused by structural damage (such as a broken bone). Often it has a psychological basis – there is no physical reason; it is driven by emotions. The jargon for this kind of pain is tension myoneural syndrome or TMS.
This raises two important issues for the person experiencing pain: the need to rule out a physical cause (so do consult your GP) and then to accept the diagnosis. For many, dealing with a diagnosis of TMS is extremely challenging – because it often strikes people who feel emotionally well and who, because of the way they feel, are convinced that the pain has a physiological cause. Furthermore, research shows that people with TMS focus so much on the physical pain that it stops them from focusing on the psychological pain. In effect, the pain is a way of drawing their attention away from their difficult emotions. It’s not that different from people who comfort-eat when angry – the eating distracts them from their anger, but a long-term solution is to work out the cause of the anger and how to manage it.
So, in answer to the question in the heading of this blog: no, pain caused by TMS is not all in the mind. The pain is real. Nor is its strength an indication of the severity of the emotional cause. We all respond differently and the real issue is the effect of the pain – whether intensely strong, stabbingly intermittent or nagging away in the background – on you.
If an inexplicable pain is affecting your life, psychotherapeutic treatment could well sweep it away by helping you understand and deal with its emotional cause.
15/09/2010 | Posted in Psychotherapy,
A journey into using alcohol as a prop
So, Tony Blair has published his memoirs and confessed that he fell into the habit of using alcohol to support him through the stresses of being prime minister. The revelation immediately generated a debate, among journalists and the public, about whether this was anything worth writing about – many of us think nothing of drinking a whisky or G&T followed by a couple of glasses (or half a bottle) of wine each evening.
As Mr Blair said, it was at the upper limit of what is considered appropriate but an interesting question is whether he underestimated his alcohol intake – just as many of us do when asked by our GP or in surveys.
The difficulty, in a nation where drinking is so much a part of our culture, is that it is very easy to kid ourselves that we can handle what we drink and that what we drink is not too much. I am not implying that Tony Blair was pulling the wool over our eyes or his own; he defined his alcohol intake as “not excessively excessive” and we have to take that at face value.
But what made his confession so interesting was that he recognised his drinking had become a prop. For many, this objectivity is not possible. We drink (or turn to drugs, eating, self-harm) to cover up, disguise or distract us from difficult emotions – without being aware that that is what we are doing.
The first stage on the road to recovery is to discover and unravel those feelings so we can learn how to manage and respond to them. And many of us need not a quick-fix prop but professional support to plan the best route for the journey through our complicated, 21st century lives.
03/09/2010 | Posted in Psychotherapy,
Hypnotherapy for bulimia
Bulimia is a problem that affects many young people, particularly women although men can be affected too. The actress, Natalie India-West, who has just clinched a major acting role in a forthcoming film The Goodfellow, said:
"It started when I was at school, I was getting really into my dancing in a big way, the pressure of it was huge, I desperately wanted to be thin. Because I couldn't starve myself I thought if I make myself sick then hopefully I might lose weight, because it worked I thought 'oh great', but little did I know the consequences it would have on my life".Like many bulimics, Natalie was secretive and tried to hide her bulimia but she became weak and suffered nosebleeds and, at just seven and a half stone, she finally faced her problem and underwent hypnotherapy for her bulimia and treatment. Hypnotherapy can be used to help eating issues like anorexia and bulimia, and many more.
28/04/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Agyness Deyn uses hypnotherapy to quit smoking
Queen of the catwalk, Agyness Deyn, has told the media that she is trying hypnotherapy in an effort to quit smoking for good. The 26 year old model, whose real name is Laura Hollins, has said that she is really determined to give up smoking because, as she put it:
"I feel like I'm playing mind games with nicotine. It's like being in a bad relationship."
It is always good to see stars and celebrities setting a good example for those who admire them, by quitting smoking and other bad habits, as the younger generation will follow the example they set.
Hypnotherapy is known to be particularly effective and has been made famous particularly by its success rate with smoking cessation. Just one or two sessions can be enough to help a lifelong smoker quit smoking forever without a backward glance. The only pre-requisite is for the client genuinely to want to quit their bad habit. Hypnosis can help with many other bad habits too, such as unhealthy eating habits, binge drinking, nail biting and many other issues. It is important to seek help from a qualified hypnotherapist who you feel comfortable with.
04/03/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
How can hypnotherapy help weight loss?
Many people have become much more interested in the idea of using hypnotherapy for weight loss after the media and hype surrounding Lily Allen’s recent weight loss using a hypnotherapist. The singer dropped two dress sizes and said that thanks to hypnotherapy she had found all the motivation she needed to get to the gym, enjoy her workouts and avoid the foods that had previously been her downfall. So can hypnosis really work to help people lose weight and how?
Hypnosis works in many instances for weight loss because losing weight is not just about stopping eating. Many who suffer from being overweight are overeating for emotional reasons. For example, many eat because they feel stressed, have low self-esteem or use it as a coping mechanism. Hypnotherapists help people to replace these negative thoughts and negative cycles with healthier ones, which help us to make healthier food choices. New, positive processes are established that reinforce feeling good about oneself, such as going to the gym or coping in other ways - taking a long bath or reading a good book. In this way, people lose weight not because the hypnosis did anything to them physically, but it stopped the emotional need to overeat.
24/02/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Diet alone may not be enough
If you, like many others this year, are trying to lose weight as one of your New Year’s resolutions, then perhaps you have already given up on the diet, switched to another diet or are steadfastly holding resolute to your guns. No matter what you are trying, if you find that you are always falling off the bandwagon after a few months and yo-yo dieting as an unhealthy consequence, then perhaps you should consider that diet and exercise alone are not enough.
Sometimes there are other factors involved, such as childhood, the way you think about food or approach it, sugar needs and emotional issues. These are not necessarily huge problems but they affect your relationship with food. In order to make sure that a diet is effective, it might be necessary to consider combining the diet with an alternative therapy such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or hypnotherapy, which can help you to examine your feelings or thoughts about food and how your life is affected by it and can help you to change unhealthy patterns into positives. For instance, everyone has vulnerable moments in their day to day lives when they are more susceptible to food. Sometimes simply identifying these can help. CBT is a good way to talk through these issues and look at strategies to help you overcome problems. Hypnotherapy on the other hand can help you to change your ways at a subconscious level so you are no longer fighting with your conscious willpower.
26/01/2009 | Posted in CBT, Hypnotherapy,
Overcoming a vomit phobia
Phobias are quite commonplace and, indeed, they affect approximately one in 10 people. However, most people hide their phobia rather than seek help to recover from their fear. In a recent article in the Surrey Comet, one 25 year old student avoids alcohol and always leaves a party early, because she has had a fear of vomit since she was aged five. Thanks to this phobia, she also refuses to eat out in case of food poisoning and will not go anywhere where somebody might throw up, such as the local pub. She told the paper:
“I realised I had the phobia after an incident at school. A child was sick, and then another was. I started to panic and they took me outside. I didn’t understand why I was so frightened. But every time from then on I would panic. I started to hyperventilate and sweat. I would feel I had to get out. Now I try to avoid social situations where people might be sick. Even seeing it on screen at a cinema can make me feel very nervous.”
This phobia has had a real effect on her life. The nameless student is too embarrassed to tell boyfriends and relationships do not last long because she is so closed. This story might sound surprising and yet it is not uncommon. A vomit phobia is not that unusual although, for the sufferer, it can feel like they are the only person in the world with this condition.
Therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or hypnotherapy have been known to cure phobias even as extreme as this in just one or two sessions, although sometimes a little longer is required for severe cases.
24/01/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy, CBT,
Lily Allen and hypno-diets
The magazines and media have been full of celebrity gossip about Lily Allen this week as the singer has been showing off her new figure. Lily Allen has returned from her New Year trip to the US looking slimmer than ever, having reportedly dropped two full dress sizes using the latest trend in America - to use hypnotherapy for weight loss. The media has named this the"hypno-diet".
Susan Hepburn, a Harley Street hypnotist, said, "It's very big in LA and New York and it's becoming increasingly popular in London. During sessions, I taught Lily to favour healthy, low-fat meals instead of junk food. And to see that alcohol isn't a confidence booster, it's just extra calories that sabotage your efforts to get a good body".
Using hypnotherapy for weight loss is not new. However, giving it a media-friendly name like 'hypno-dieting' and seeing celebrities such as Lily Allen, Geri Halliwell and Sophie Dahl promoting the benefits does bring it into the public eye, showing how people can manage their weight without developing eating disorders.
08/01/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Hypnotherapy and eating disorders
Many people who have had eating disorders say that hypnosis helps them to find out how to deal with the psychological and emotional part of the illness. Clients learn new eating habits and gain control over their life again. Binge eaters and those with bulimia feel more in control and those with anorexia learn how to see themselves and feel better about themselves. Comfort-eaters learn how to deal with their emotions instead of turning to food.
A common method in hypnosis, used for many things, is mental imagery. Hypnosis is when your mind is in a heightened state of concentration, with the hypnotherapist guiding the client towards helping themselves. Mental imagery is used to allow the client to envisage themselves improving throughout the hypnosis sessions.
Often, self hypnosis is helpful, too, and the hypnotherapist will teach the client how to use self-hypnosis so the client can use it whenever needed, when the hypnotherapist is not there.
Clients often need four to eight sessions, though some might benefit from more depending on the severity of their eating disorder. Each session lasts around 50 minutes. Before having hypnotherapy for an eating disorder it is best to seek advice from a medical professionals - to ensure that a client is doing what is good for them. There are no side effects with hypnosis.
20/11/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
What can hypnotherapy help with?
As regular readers will know, hypnotherapy is a powerful tool using hypnosis for therapeutic purposes. But many people still associate hypnotherapy with stopping smoking and curing fears and that is it.
Hypnotherapy can be used for so many different things that the list is almost endless and hypnotherapists are finding new uses for it all the time. It can be used for almost any problem or situation where the body and the mind both come into play. Here are just a few of the issues that hypnotherapy has been used to help:
- sports – improving performance, anxiety, coaching, overcoming concentration problem, increasing focus, motivation;
- business – stress management, assertiveness, motivation and direction, problem solving and communication, public speaking, confidence;
- education – increasing concentration and focus, improving memory, exam nerves, study techniques;
- personal – increasing confidence or self-esteem, curing phobias and fears (whether of spiders, flying, heights, thunderstorms), anxiety and depression, insomnia, habits, addictions and other unwanted behaviour (nail biting, bedwetting, smoking, alcohol, drugs), sexual or relationship issues, eating disorders, shyness and blushing, pain management;
- health - chronic pain, hypno-birthing, IBS, snoring, dermatitis, asthma, nausea from pregnancy or chemotherapy.
Hypnotherapy promotes better health, well being and better life. For years, it was helped thousands of people in their every day lives.
22/09/2008 | Posted in Hypno-birthing,
CBT fighting bulimia
Bulimia nervosa is characterised by binge eating, ie eating unusually large amounts of food and then purging oneself, usually by making oneself vomit or by using laxatives or diuretics.
Unlike anorexia, where the weight can fall dramatically, those suffering from bulimia can have a normal weight for their age, however, they do have a similar fear to those with anorexia - they fear gaining weight and are unhappy with their size. Their behaviour is often done secretly because they feel disgusted or ashamed, and hence bulimia can be difficult to spot. Also like anorexia, bulimics often have psychological issues like depression or anxiety.
Bulimia nervosa often results in physical problems such as oral or teeth-related problems, or issues with electrolyte imbalances and gastrointestinal issues.
Psychotherapy has proved effective in handling bulimia nervosa, especially cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT. CBT can be tailored to treat bulimia in an individual case and can change the binging and purging cycle, slowing it down and eventually removing it completely as a result of changing the person's attitude to eating.
19/09/2008 | Posted in CBT, Psychotherapy,
New study reports hypnotherapy can help arthritis sufferers
The findings of a study from Bangor University were presented on 11th September 2009 to The British Psychological Society's division of health psychology annual conference. It stated that people suffering from arthritis can alleviate their pain by using hypnotherapy and mental imagery.
Rheumatoid arthritis is progressive and a disabling disease affecting just under one per cent of the adult population in the UK. It is very painful and can affect a person’s ability to do everyday tasks. Despite medical treatment, many still suffer with high pain levels and often turn to alternative treatment - including hypnotherapy - to lessen their fatigue and pain.
The study from Bryan Bennett and colleagues at Bangor University asked 42 patients to visualise their pain and attempt to manage it. The results showed that the imagery techniques and hypnosis were effective at reducing pain and tiredness. Bryan Bennett commented:
"All the participants were asked to identify what areas of their life were important to them but were negatively affected due to the rheumatoid arthritis. By doing so they were taking an active part in their own therapy. By employing the techniques they were taught, they were able to self-treat when necessary - allowing them to control their pain and enabling them to get on with enjoying life".
Pain is not the only side-effect of arthritis. The diagnosis itself can be devastating, leading to people feeling many negative emotions such as anger and depression. This in turn can lead to insomnia, mood issues and a lack of appetite. Furthermore, many wonder what their future may be like, and what medication they'll require, and this can lead to losing the self-image they have held of themselves.
Techniques such as visualisation and positive affirmations are effective, as is self-hypnosis as it helps to focus your mind on your body and immune system. A good hypnotherapist will be able to teach you self hypnosis techiques so you can then continue to use it at home.
17/09/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Chicken nugget addiction cured with hypnotherapy
After an amazing 18 years of eating only chicken nuggets and chips, student Carla Laban has a healthy diet at least, thanks to hypnosis. When Carla was two, chicken nuggets were the only good that did not make Carla throw up violently. From that point on, Carla would skip breakfast every day and have nuggets for both dinner and lunch. This meant she was eating around 30 nuggets daily, at an average cost of £5 per day. Thanks to hypnotherapy, Carla is now starting to eat pasta and vegetables. Carla said:
"I can remember having chicken nuggets and chips for the first and thinking, 'I can eat this without being sick. Before that, I couldn't eat anything without having a panic attack and my throat tightening up. I couldn't even stand the smell of other food. I used to get ill quite a lot. While classmates would have a cold for a week, I'd have one for four. People thought I was being fussy. They didn't understand that I physically couldn't eat anything else."Despite exercise to combat the unhealthy diet, Carla was still ill. When Coventry-based Carla was preparing for university her family arranged for her to see a hypnotherapist to wean her off the chicken nuggets. Thanks to hypnosis, she now eats more varieties of food and is still improving. The hypnotherapist started by helping Carla to make a small shift from nuggets to chicken goujons. Next, she moved to chicken pizza and slowly onto other food types. All sorts of phobias can be cured with hypnotherapy, including food phobias, however, each person is different.
02/09/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Can hypnotherapy help me?
The different uses for hypnotherapy seem to be expanding every year, and we seem constantly to discover new ways of using hypnosis. Hypnosis as an alternative therapy is still new and not entirely understood, even by those who use it every day, because it deals with our minds. Our minds have always been an enigma even to ourselves, we still know so little about our unconscious mind.
The exposure of hypnotherapy seems to be increasing even more this year, as celebrities such as Chris Martin, Nicole Richie, Lily Allen and more have been hitting the headlines with hypnosis this year. People have also seen it in use on Celebrity Fat Club and Paul McKenna has now moved to LA to promote work over there.
Many people may be intrigued by hypnosis, but still wonder what it can do for them so here is a short selection:
- get rid of old habits: things like smoking, nailbiting, overeating, drinking, blushing or any other habit that we want to stop. With hypnosis, there are no drugs or side effects, just positive results;
- phobias: this isn't just creepy crawlies but also fear of dogs, needles, flying, dentists, claustrophobia, agoraphobia, water and many more;
- develop new habits: hypnosis can help you instill new habits like increasing confidence, motivation and public speaking as well as healthy eating, studying, networking, talking, even romance!
- pain management: this is a media-grabbing one. Hypnosis can be used to help stop pain, but is almost too effective. It has even been used in surgery or childbirth as an alternative to anaesthesia. It is very important to seek medical advice before using hypnosis to remove pain as pain shouldn't be removed without ensuring if there is a physical problem that needs resolving first.
Another benefit of hypnosis is that you can use self-hypnosis to reinforce benefits yourself, ask your hypnotherapist to teach you.
12/08/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Hypnotherapy helps with fear of food
There are many common phobias that people are aware of, such as a fear or needles, dogs, hospitals, heights, flying and spiders. However, another fear that affects a growing number of people is the fear of food. Perhaps this phobia is fueled by the constant exposure in the media of the perfect body with images of celebrities and skinny models.
As we have seen in recent television documentaries, even children are affected by the media, and children as young as three or four are experiencing problems with food. Some children insist on eating nothing but one or two types of food, others make themselves sick after every meal. Sometimes it is not even a conscious thing and doctors and physicians can fail when they try to tempt the youngster into eating; temptation is often not the problem.
For example, there was a case of a child who refused to eat anything but chicken and chips. WIth the help of CBT-based hypnotherapy, it was discovered that the issue stemmed back to a dairy intolerance when eating made the child, aged just three at the time, throw up. Unconsciously, the child associated eating with being sick and the first meal she ate without throwing up was chicken nuggets and chips. From then on, she refused to eat anything else for years. Hypnotherapy can help discover the origin of these habits and fears, and help alter behaviour to regain a more normal eating pattern.
08/08/2008 | Posted in CBT, Hypnotherapy,
Top uses for CBT
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, is a relatively quick form of treatment, often requiring only 10 to 15 weekly one hour sessions. The exact number of sessions depends on the person and the problem, as CBT requires active participation by the individual.
Many people are unsure what CBT does. It is a behaviour therapy, meaning that it aims to correct negative or unwanted patterns of behaviour or thought. Here is a list of the top uses for CBT:
- stress
- schizophrenia
- anorexia
- bulimia
- chronic fatigue syndrome
- anger management
- insomnia
- OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
- depression
- phobias
14/07/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy, CBT,
Atomic Kitten Liz lost weight with hypnotherapy
For those who saw Celebrity Love Island, it was painful to watch as 27 year old Atomic Kitten's blonde bombshell Liz McClarnon competed with fellow celebrities Lady Isabella Hervey and Rebecca Loos in competitive weigh ins.
According to Liz, she was not short of self confidence but the competitive weigh ins left her feeling humiliated and self conscious. Liz told Now Magazine:
"I was uncomfortable the whole time and hunched my shoulders to hide my body. When I got home and saw the pictures, I knew I had to do something. It wasn't just my weight that bothered me, but my lack of confidence. I didn't want to be that hunched, shy girl."Liz turned to her mum, a qualified hypnotherapist, for help and to stop her old junk food addiction. Before the hypnosis, Liz said she used to eat lots of chocolate and around four packets of crisps each day. She said that after just the one hypnotherapy session, her food habits started to change and it was easy to do so. The hypnotherapy helped her to lose more than one stone and she has now dropped from a size 12 to a svelte size 8 figure. Hypnotherapy can really help with weight loss as it can help you to change old habits.
08/07/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Combating bulimia with CBT
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is generally thought of as being one of the most successful psychotherapies for bulimia, or bulimia nervosa. Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder where the sufferer will often binge on extremes of food and then force themselves to throw it up to prevent themselves from gaining weight. Many sufferers report a feeling of loss of control whilst bingeing and the purging is often their way of gaining back that control.
CBT, especially when combined with hypnosis, is a very effective and quick therapy. When dealing with bulimia, CBT aims to interrupt the old thinking processes associated with the issue, such as the preoccupation with food or weight, the 'all or nothing' thought process and the low self esteem that generally comes with bulimia. It also aims to interrupt the 'binge-purge' cycle.
Many therapists will ask their patients to keep a food diary and give feedback on the meal plans, triggers of thought processes, etc. CBT and hypnosis are used to challenge these old patterns. Around 50 per cent of bulimics are able to stop the binge-purge cycle using CBT. From the remaining 50 per cent, many show partial improvement and only a small minority do not respond. Sometimes, bulimia is a symptom of a food-obsessed family background so occasionally, family therapy is also recommended to decrease the chance of a relapse.
26/06/2008 | Posted in CBT, Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy,
Obesity in 2010
In recent years, obesity has become a favourite topic in the news, with many articles and much publicity on the damage it can do to our bodies, our nation and our children.
A government report published earlier this year predicted that, by 2010, more than 12 million adults and a million children will be classed as obese. The problem is getting worse and we need to do something about it now.
Just going on a diet does not usually turn out to be a permanent solution for many people; to combat obesity requires a change in lifestyle. However, willpower and motivation play a huge factor.
Hypnotherapy is often used for weight loss and obesity so hypnotherapists are likely to see an even larger increase in the number of clients wanting hypnosis. Over-eating is an emotional need or want, rather than a physical one, so it makes sense to tackle the problem emotionally.
Many people associate eating with a comfort or habit or they overeat when they experience emotional turmoil of some kind, or a regular emotion such as boredom or upset. For this reason, other therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) are ideal as this therapy focuses upon habits and behaviour and works to replace them with more positive habits.
Many people like to find a hypnotherapist who is able to combine the best techniques from more than one therapy to suit the individual. For example, CBT can be combined with hypnotherapy and has proved very effective.
17/06/2008 | Posted in CBT, Hypnotherapy,
