When is failure a success?
The news that Wimbledon High School for Girls, one of the country’s top independent schools, is holding a Failure Week brings neatly into focus what many of us feel about failure. It has a knack of hanging around in our minds far more than do our successes. And many of us see failure only in negative terms
Yet, without failure as a comparison, how would we know what success was? And if we didn’t, as the school suggests we should, take calculated risks would we spend our lives wishing we had done differently, hearing that persistent internal refrain “if only” echoing in our ears?
Building resilience – which includes developing a way of managing our feelings about failure – is an essential life skill. Everyone is likely to face numerous setbacks and knocks in their personal and professional lives – in families, amongst friends or in business relationships – which affect not only those relationships but also their behaviour, self-esteem and confidence. Their feelings about failure might also cause anxiety, worry or depression; it might increase their fears; or lead to irritability, mood swings or insomnia.
What would happen, though, if you were to reframe failure, or setbacks, as feedback? You tried something; it didn’t go as hoped; the result was that you learned why it didn’t work – gaining valuable insights that can guide you towards approaching challenges differently. Looking at some simple examples:
- at school: not passing an exam also indicates what you are better at or that one way of revising is better than another;
- at home: not achieving everything on your weekend to-do list could be a sign that some things are unimportant and should rightfully be dropped;
- at work: not winning new business or losing a client provides a chance to identify strengths, show where training would reduce weaknesses, improve internal processes, or build dynamic teams.
As the headmistress of Wimbledon High School says, it is “acceptable, and completely normal, not to succeed at times in life”. She wants to encourage her pupils to be courageous and learn the positives that come from failures.
We agree. Many people define themselves by their perceived failures rather than viewing them simply as part of life’s learning or refining process. By actively encouraging people to see their failures differently, whether at school, at home or at work, they might be able to expand their capacity for growth and resilience instead of being limiting by the negatives.
If you would like to learn how to build resilience, through counselling or therapy, so you can face failure from a different viewpoint, do get in touch.
08/02/2012 | Posted in Psychotherapy, Counselling, CBT,
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,
Are men more afraid of embarrassment than of phobia?
Most people have a fear of one thing or another. And a certain level of fear is perfectly healthy. However, when that fear starts to interfere with day-to-day life, or prevent someone from living a normal life, then that fear is generally known as a phobia.
Hypnotherapy is a very swift way of helping people manage their phobias - often in as little as just one session. And hypnotherapists see many people every week for a fear of one sort or another. The most common fear in the UK is of spiders (otherwise known as arachnophobia) but other common phobias include a fear of heights, needles, dogs or insects.
A few of the treatments available to cure phobias include counselling, hypnosis and psychotherapy. If you were to ask any therapist (whether psychotherapist, hypnotherapist or counsellor) most would say that they see more women than they do men. Is it possible that men are more embarrassed or afraid of being seen to be afraid that they are of their phobia? Or is it that men are less afraid of anything than women are?
Perhaps we will never know, but one thing is certain; phobias are nothing to be embarrassed about, whether you are man or woman. So, if there is a chance of curing a phobia in just one session and your phobia is impacting on your life, then you should make an appointment with a therapist.
09/05/2009 | Posted in Counselling, Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy,
Hypnotherapy at London Zoo
London Zoo has been offering help to arachnophobes through its Friendly Spider programme. The programme uses hypnotherapy and information to help cure those afraid of spiders in just one session. A fear of spiders is one of the most common phobias in the UK.
Dave Clarke, the zoo's head keeper of insects, said:" "The Friendly Spider programme is a great course for anyone with a fear of spiders. Every year we help more and more people to conquer their phobias, and every year we receive really positive feedback from those who are pleasantly shocked by how much it changes their lives".Hypnotherapy for fear of spiders, and many other phobias, works in just one session and is one of the reasons that hypnotherapy became so well known. After just one session, most clients go home searching for spiders in their bathroom or house to discover that they are no longer bothered by them - and are able to move them by themselves without the usual feeling of panic or fear.
03/05/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Curing a fear of clowns
In recent articles, we have discussed the media's latest coverage of fears and phobias. One surprisingly common phobia that recently gained a mention in the Mirror is the fear of clowns, otherwise known as coulrophobia.
Hypnosis is well known for being able to help people overcome their fears, even when they become so bad that they affect their going about their daily live; they are then referred to as phobias. Coulrophobia is no exception. Different people are scared of clowns for different reasons; for some, it is the colourful make-up, for others the insanely wide grin and for some it is the red nose or huge shoes. Whatever the cause of the fear, hypnotherapists are often called in and can cure a phobia in a matter of just a couple of sessions. Celebrities reported to suffer from a fear of clowns include Daniel Radcliffe and Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp is reported to have said:
“Something about the painted face, the fake smile. There always seemed to be a darkness under the surface, a potential for real evil.”Perhaps Johnny Depp should pop in for a hypnosis session?
29/03/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Coping with children's phobias
A child's fear or phobia can be difficult for a parent to assess. Sometimes it can seem like nothing serious and indeed may fizzle out. However, it is important not to dismiss them. Even those that appear to fizzle out can sometimes rear their head again in a year or two, or even as an adult, and become much more severe. So how can parents decide what action is best if any?
Children are often afraid of things like the dark, spiders, dogs or the dentist, and if left unnoticed, dismissed or ignored, these feelings can develop into worse phobias. So it is important for the parent to speak to the child and talk about their concerns. In childhood, fears are often picked up from close relatives, especially parents, or close friends so it is important to try not to show such fear in front of children or to talk to them about it. If a fear does develop or seem to be becoming a problem, then hypnotherapy is great for children because their imagination is still so active. Many hypnotherapists specialise in helping children. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is also another option that parents can explore.
27/03/2009 | Posted in CBT, Hypnotherapy,
Hypnotherapy for fear of knees
In their career, a hypnotherapist will come across all sorts of fears. One that may sound rather strange but is actually a known phobia is genuphobia - otherwise known as a fear of knees. This fear has actually been highlighted in the media recently.
An article in the Mirror featured a lady who had suffered from this fear most of her life and first recalled it bothering her in her teens. Over the years, her genuphobis got worse and worse, as many phobias do for many people, until it started to affect her daily life. She could not kneel down or go swimming and had lost many friends as a result.
Hypnosis is incredibly good at dealing with phobias, often in as few as just a couple of sessions even if a phobia has bothered a person for years.
The lady in the Mirror's article acknowledged that her auntie also suffered from the same fear of knees and it is likely that her own fear had been picked up from her relative. Many fears that we suffer as adults have been picked up from our parents, close relatives or friends, or just from a simple experience of our own that perhaps we do not even consciously remember. With hypnosis, it is not necessary to discover the reason or founding for the phobia or fear although it is often uncovered during the session.
24/03/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Spice Girl Mel B has hypnotherapy
Former Spice Girl singer, Mel B, is having hypnotherapy to help her get over stage fright, according to recent reports in the media. Mel B is due to start a new production, Peepshow, in Las Vegas next month and is reportedly having trouble with her stage nerves and has hired a hypnotherapist to help her get over them. Thirty-three year old Mel said:
"I'm getting hypnosis. I'm seeing a guy called Anthony Cool, who performs a show at Vegas too. I'm doing this just in case I get any last-minute nerves - you know, in case I can't remember the lyrics or the moves. He's going to hypnotise me as soon as I get there."Hypnotherapy is hypnosis used for therapeutic purposes, and stage nerves is just one of the fears or problems that hypnosis can help with. Confidence, stage fright, motivation, getting rid of phobias or habits, such as smoking, are just a few examples of where hypnotherapy has been known to help. Hypnotherapy is also known for being a fast therapy and often people only need only one or two sessions to get rid of everyday phobias or habits.
21/03/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
How CBT helps phobias
More and more people have heard of how phobias can be cured through the use of hypnotherapy. However, not as many are familiar with the work of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT is useful for many mental health issues and likewise phobias.
Treating a phobia with CBT usually involves a gradual exposure to the item or situation in questions, which allows the sufferer to face their fear themselves. It is not necessary to know or understand where the fear originated from in the first place. Occasionally, in severe cases, some anti-anxiety medication can be used.
Usually, a sufferer will book a series of sessions with a psychotherapist for CBT, which could be anything from six to 12 sessions although results have been seen in fewer sessions that these in some cases. The most important thing about a phobia is not to beat yourself up over it but to identify that you do have a real problem and summon up the courage to face it and to seek help, whether that is through hypnosis or CBT. You are not the only one to suffer from your phobia, no matter how rare it is.
30/01/2009 | Posted in Hypno-birthing, CBT,
Curing a phobia
A phobia is not just a fear, but a really strong fear that generally affects someone’s life in an adverse manner. The fear could be of anything, however, some fears are more common than others such as snakes, spiders, vomit, the dark, going out, thunder and lightning, heights, needles and many more. Other less common phobias could be buttons or Velcro. A psychotherapist at the South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, Peter Kolb, recently told the Surrey Comet newspaper:
“We are all afraid of things but this is a reaction which is out of keeping with the item. The worst case I have seen was someone with a bird phobia. If she was anywhere near a bird she would perspire unbelievably. There was hair matted on her face. People have to realise that these people are petrified. Some years back there was a woman with a spider phobia who climbed out of a window and actually fell to avoid a spider. People have tried to get out of their cars while they are moving because a wasp has got in. It’s a level of fear that takes precedence over everything else. They are so afraid of that item that it overlays other things that the rest of us would say are very hazardous.”There are different methods that can be tried to overcome phobias. Sometimes a phobia can be removed completely and other times it will just be reduced to a more healthy level. For instance, a fear of snakes is perfectly natural to some degree. Methods that have had proven success rates in the past include hypnotherapy or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which have been known to cure a phobia in as little as one session.
25/01/2009 | 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,
Hypnotherapist cures Labour MP’s fear of heights
Since a visit to the Eiffel Tower at the age of 22, Labour MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey Derek Wyatt discovered he had a fear of heights that made him feel sick and, ever since, he has tried to avoid being more than about 10 feet high. This fear stopped MP Wyatt from going up ladders, using open lifts or even driving up narrow roads when abroad in France or Italy. Not only that but Mr Wyatt loved to ski and had to cover his eyes when being taken up the side of snowy hills and mountains. When the opportunity for a Christmas skiing trip in Canada came up, the now 59 year old MP decided he had had enough and made an appointment to see a hypnotherapist. He told Kentnews:
“If you’ve got children who want to be taken skiing, it’s not much fun if you can’t join in or have lunch with them at the top.”The hypnotherapist initially booked Mr Wyatt in for four separate hypnosis sessions, each of which would last around 90 minutes. However, after one session of hypnotherapy he told Mr Wyatt he was cured. When it came to the skiing trip, Mr Wyatt went on the largest ski lift in the world and did not feel even a wobble. He was delighted with the hypnotherapy and went on to add:
“I had hoped the hypnotherapy would work, but at my age I’d try anything to get over my fear. I was delighted when it did. I know people who have been helped to quit smoking and all sorts of other things, so I’d certainly recommend it.”
21/01/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
CBT for OCD
Later this month, many health professionals and members of the public who have been or are affected by OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) will meet at the Imperial College London for the 2008 OCD Conference. This annual meeting, organised by OCD Action, a UK charity, helps to inspire and educate its attendees and give an opportunity for people to realise that they are not alone.
An estimated 1.8 million people in the UK are affected by OCD and public awareness has increased recently when public figures such as Justin Timberlake and David Beckham discussed its effects on their personal lives. OCD is just one of the areas where CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) can help. CBT can help to control OCD and help people to face their fears and help them to understand their anxiety. Many people have found they can cope with obsessive compulsive disorder using medication and/or CBT.
OCD Conference 2008: Saturday 22nd November; 09.30 - 17.00; Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ Fee: £75 (health professionals), £30 (public), £20 (members of OCD Action and supporting charities) To register: visit http://www.ocdconference.org.uk or telephone 0870 360 6232
12/11/2008 | Posted in CBT,
CBT for anxiety disorders
Occasionally, it is normal and indeed healthy for a person to experience a certain level of anxiety. However, when this becomes excessive or an irrational fear that interferes with that person’s daily life, then it has become an anxiety disorder and needs treatment. Indeed, an anxiety disorder will last at least six months and may become worse if not treated as soon as possible.
Anxiety disorders are often treated with medication or psychotherapy, and occasionally a combination of both. Psychotherapy will involve talking to a professional, such as a counsellor or psychologist to discover the cause of the problem and how to treat the symptoms. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is useful when treating anxiety disorders according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Techniques from CBT can focus on changing current patterns and ways of thinking or beliefs that are associated with the anxiety.
CBT can include self talking, attention training, challenging how we think and what we fear or believe. One component of CBT is exposure, which means purposely facing the fear to allow desensitisation to take place, although this is only ever done once the client is ready. CBT is known for being a relatively quick therapy.
11/11/2008 | Posted in CBT, Psychotherapy,
How does hypnotherapy help childbirth?
Every pregnant woman wants a comfortable birth, swift recovery and a healthy baby - and many consider hypno-birthing. Here are the main ways that hypno-birthing can help with childbirth:
- relaxation – hypnotherapy will help the woman to relax and this gives greater bloodflow to the womb which helps birth.
- overcome fear – pregnant women hear a lot of horror stories about what can happen and this can cause increasing anxiety. Fear can really change a birth as it causes tension, restricts blood flow and hence increases pain; so hypnosis can help a woman to stop being so fearful and have a more natural birth.
- relaxes the baby – if mum is relaxed so is baby; on the other side of the coin, a tense mother releases adrenalin and hormones into her blood stream which distresses the baby - and, if the baby is distressed, medical staff are more likely to intervene.
- postnatal recovery – if mum is relaxed and blood flow is increased, then the blood flow will help tissue recovery and give a good milk supply; stress is known to restrict milk production so a mother who has had hypnotherapy has a headstart.
Hypno-birthing is becoming more popular with women having weekly sessions leading up to the birth.
06/11/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy, Hypno-birthing,
Fear of dentists – Part 2
Research has shown that a fear of dentists is surprisingly common. In fact, a survey conducted by the British Dental Association showed that approximately 25 per cent of the British population has a fear of dental procedures or the dentist. Sometimes, just the mention of a dentist, the sign of a dental practice or even just a simple advertisement for toothpaste is enough to give a person a feeling of anxiety. It is therefore not surprising that these people avoid the dentist so much that their oral health is suffering and they are desperately in need of a dentist. Often, a person will put up with much discomfort and real pain rather than visit the dentist, as their fear and reaction is so great they would rather struggle on.
When they come to a hypnotherapist, it is often as a last resort, because they have no alternative than to visit a dentist. Hypnotherapy can cure this dental fear in just one or two sessions - and completely release someone from their phobia.
A fear of dentists is a common condition, encountered by many hypnotherapists. Either a dentist or a doctor can refer someone to a hypnotherapist, so that they can have the dental treatment they need without their usual feelings of panic, anxiety or palpitations at the thought of, or when visiting, the dentist.
16/10/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Fear of dentists – Part 1
The origin of a fear of dentists (or dental phobia) often lies in a person’s childhood or, at least, in a past experience. Occasionally, the fear has been inherited from a parent, as is often the case with phobias. Sometimes, it may even have been caused by an unhelpful comment from a dental nurse or dentist during a dental procedure. Many people associate a visit to the dentist with a feeling of vulnerability or a loss of control, however, often they can conquer these fears with the knowledge that advances in modern technology make their fear unjustified; the vision of healthy teeth and gums is compelling.
Hypnosis can be of great benefit in cases such as these. Nobody is born with a natural fear of dentists; they have learned this fear and reaction. This means it can be unlearned and we can re-program our reaction in just one or two sessions of hypnotherapy. Although sufferers of this phobia, like many other phobia sufferers, already know in their own mind that their fear is mainly irrational and unnecessary, they are not empowered to conquer this fear. This is where hypnosis can help to rid the person of their fear forever.
15/10/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Cognitive behavioral therapy and anxiety
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, has helped many people since its introduction to the public. The cognitive part means changing thinking patterns that have been supporting the person’s fears and the behavioural part helps people to react differently to anxiety-provoking or problematic situations. CBT helps people to confront the problem situation and to desensitise themselves so that they are no longer anxious.
For example, CBT can help those with a social phobia understand that they can get past their belief that others are judging or watching them. Those with a fear of germs or dirt are encouraged to get their hands dirty and wait a little while before washing them. The waiting period is gradually increased. Once they have done this a few times, the anxiety reduces. It can also help with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by asking the client to recall their traumatic memory in a safe environment, reducing the fear it brings. CBT therapists also teach relaxation methods and relieve anxiety. Often, it can take some time for a person to feel relaxed enough to encounter the situation or object and they may have to begin firstly through only tapes or pictures. To be effective, CBT must be tailored to the individual’s needs. It is drug free, there are no side effects and therapy often lasts about 12 weeks.
23/09/2008 | Posted in CBT,
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,
Eva Mendes had hypnotherapy to cure her spider phobia
Since a young age, Hollywood actress Eva Mendes suffered from a panic fear of spiders. The actress said:
“Ever since I was a little girl I had this problem. When I would see a spider, some sort of psychological blockade would activate, and my reactions were indescribable fear and I would go crazy. I would call somebody to kill it, and after that I would have to see the dead spider in order to believe that it was no longer there. When I would see a spider at night, and I could not call anybody to kill it, I could not sleep all night. In those situations, I was psychologically lost."A fear of spiders is incredibly common and is otherwise known as arachnophobia. Eva decided to give hypnotherapy a try. Eva added:
“I do not know exactly what they did, but it definitely helped. Now when I see a spider, it does not bother me at all. My life is a lot easier.”Eva found hypnosis very relaxing and after a few hours of hypnosis, she was cured. Eva said of the hypnotherapy:
“You lay down, relax, and then go through a few different kinds of relaxation. When you finish, you have the feeling that the whole process took three minutes, but in reality it lasted an hour.”This description of hypnotherapy is pretty typical of most hypnosis clients. Hypnosis is a state of relaxation and hypnotherapy is when a hypnotherapist talks to you whilst you are in hypnosis to help you for some therapeutic purpose.
22/08/2008 | 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,
What Not To Wear star uses cognitive hypnotherapy
Star of BBC's What Not To Wear programme, Lisa Butcher, started writing a new column in The Sun from July. In the column, Lisa talks about how she used cognitive hypnotherapy to help to boost her confidence when she first started working in front of the camera. Lisa said:
"When I started work on What Not To Wear at the BBC, the clothes I wore were important, but that was not enough to give me the confidence I needed. I discovered a solution in cognitive hypnotherapy/ neuro-linguistic programming... I went to two sessions and that was enough to build up my strengths and deal with my anxieties."Hypnotherapy is generally acknowledged as being more effective when combined with cognitive behavioral therapy. As Lisa discovered, it is very effective and results can be achieved in very few sessions. Hypnotherapy is ideal for use with anxiety, confidence, stress or relaxation issues, insomnia, and many fears and phobias. As we have talked about in our earlier articles, many hypnotherapists offer a free consultation to give clients the opportunity to ask any questions they may have prior to a session.
01/08/2008 | Posted in NLP, Hypnotherapy, CBT,
Using hypnotherapy for motivation
Everyone is aware of using hypnosis to help them quit smoking, increase confidence, release their fears or lose weight. If you think about all these different effects, they are all changes to your life. Ultimately, you need motivation to make a change or you wouldn't change.
However, even with motivation, even with wanting to change, change is not easy.
Hypnotherapy helps with motivating you to change - from the inside, really motivating your unconscious self so that it is easy to make that change. You may need motivation for other changes, so think of all the things hypnosis can help with simply by focussing on your motivation for the task in hand. You might need motivation to set up your own business or to work on a particular task at work. Hypnosis will focus your mind and help you to concentrate.
You can only work on one change at a time - to help your unconscious mind to absorb the changes you need.
Hypnosis helps remove those littles voices in your head that stop you from achieving your goal. Voices saying things like "you don't deserve it", "you're not good enough", "you have no time" and more - you will know which unhelpful phrases you hear yourself say to yourself.
Don't let a lack of motivation stop you getting or doing what you want in life.
31/07/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Hypnotherapy and public speaking
Hypnotherapy is known for helping with many fears and phobias such as of spiders or heights. However, it can also help with things like a fear of public speaking.
Many people may think that this is just the same as helping someone to build up their confidence. However, there are many confident people out there who would tell you that they have or had a fear of public speaking. Some get through it simply by forcing themselves and, with time and practice, they improve and feel better about it so the fear dissipates.
However, some simply cannot and will not speak in public. They may experience physical symptoms such as shaking, sweaty palms or a nervous voice, some may even throw up, so what do you do in this circumstance? Simply avoiding public speaking can be impossible, particularly in work situations. Such a fear can hold you back from getting on at work, possibly even preventing promotion. Hypnotherapy can help.
Hypnotherapy is a very quick and effective therapy and, when combined with a therapy such as CBT, its chances of success are very high. Using hypnosis, it is possible to break old habits and patterns of behaviour that seem impossible to solve.
21/07/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
