Pinnacle Psychotherapy London

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,

Dad quits smoking for children using hypnotherapy

One father of two was featured in the media this month after he quit smoking using hypnosis for his two young children. Fifty-six year old Chris Carter from Woodley has two children aged two and six years old and, having been a cigar smoker for 35 years, he decided it was time he put his family first and improved his health.

Methods such as chewing gum, nicotine patches and going cold turkey using willpower alone do work for some smokers but for many, these just mean bad moods for days on end before finally giving in to the pull of smoking again.

Using hypnosis, Chris Carter quit smoking with the help of a clinical hypnotherapist. Quitting smoking is one of the most well known reasons for using a hypnotherapist although other issues it can help with are becoming better known nowadays, especially now it is available on the NHS.

Curing someone of their smoking habit can be done in as little as one session using hypnotherapy - but only if the smoker has decided they really do want to quit, because hypnosis cannot make you do anything you don’t want to. As the recession continues, hypnotherapists are seeing more clients who want to quit smoking because it is such an expensive habit as well as being dangerous to your health.

31/05/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Hypnotherapy helps mum lose four stone

We have talked in previous articles about how hypnosis can be used to assist weight loss and, indeed, celebrities such as Lily Allen have dropped dress sizes using hypnotherapy.

According to reports in the media this week, one mother has had hypnosis to help her believe she had had a gastric band fitted. It took five sessions with a hypnotherapist to help Marie Corns after she had ballooned in weight to 15 stone and 6 lbs. After hypnotherapy, Marie found she felt full following small portions of food and, in the space of only four months, she lost just under four stone and went from a size 22 to a size 14.

Marion, 35, from Whiston, Merseyside, said: “I have tried every other diet and exercise plan the world has to offer. I’ve tried tablets, Weight Watchers, Atkins, SlimFast, even a personal trainer but none of them helped me. I can remember every part of the ‘procedure’, including being wheeled into theatre, the clink of the surgeon’s knife and even the smell of the anaesthetic. Now if I try to eat a large portion I feel a pulling sensation in my tummy.”

Marie decided to try hypnotherapy after her friend had hypnosis to help her stop smoking. Naturally, when having hypnosis for weight loss it is important that people do follow dietary advice and see a properly qualified hypnotherapist.

25/05/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Company alternative treatment plans

Many businesses are coming round to the idea of alternative treatments and recognising that, although they do not replace conventional medicine or seeing your GP, they can have beneficial effects and are useful in many aspects of health and wellbeing.

Over the last few years, employers have started to add healthcare programmes to their benefits packages - and many include alternative treatments. Employers benefit from healthier, happy employee and a lower sickness or absence rate. Employees gain access to alternative treatments, or faster health treatments, than they may otherwise have done.

One such company is Avanta which specialises in providing office space to small and medium sized businesses. It has introduced a range of improvements to its staff benefits since it reviewed its entire benefits structure earlier this year.

Amongst new benefits such as salary sacrifice pension contributions, increases to maternity and paternity pay, and medical insurance, is an innovative offer to help its staff to quit smoking. For any member of staff who wants to stop smoking, Avanta is offering an incentive to reimburse them on aids to quitting, and this includes any hypnotherapy treatment.

Not all companies recognise alternative therapies in programmes such as this, but those that do know it is worthwhile, not least because hypnotherapy, for example, is recognised by the NHS as being a valuable aid for many people.

21/05/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Does it matter who pays for my hypnotherapy?

Some clients may be surprised when a hypnotherapist asks how they are paying for their hypnotherapy session, but money is an interesting topic when it comes to motivation for hypnosis.

In earlier articles, regular readers may have noted that we often talk about how the hypnotherapist is only a guide and the real work for hypnosis is done by the client themselves. Because of this, it is important that clients really do want to resolve their issue; so motivation is therefore key.

In terms of money, if you consider two separate clients who have come to a hypnotherapist to help them quit smoking: one saved their money for the smoking cessation session and another was given the money by their parents. From this simple example, who do you think would have the greater chance of success from the session?

For psychological reasons, the chances are that the client who saved money for the treatment probably has the better chance of success. Self-paying clients generally are more motivated and want the results more. A hypnotherapist wants the results for their client too, and it is not in their interest to take your money if the hypnosis is unlikely to be effective so, usually, if a client who is not paying for their own hypnotherapy comes for treatment, the therapist will ask additional questions to find out whether they really want hypnotherapy.

19/05/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

What does a trance feel like?

Many people feel nervous at the thought of going into a hypnotic trance, probably because of the hype it gets in the media and on television. Much of it is exaggerated. So how does it feel to go into a trance?

Trance is something we all experience regularly, perhaps daily: you go into a trance whenever you focus your attention solely on one thing or one feeling, for some time. Examples of when you may experience a trance include:

being absorbed in reading a good book or watching a great film - the phrase "getting lost in a book" says it all; it demonstrates when we are in trance
being immersed in exercise - again, we have a phrase to demonstrate this trance; we describe it as being "in the zone".
daydreaming - we can experience vivid images and feelings; this is a form of trance.

These are just a few of the normal, every day, things we do whilst experiencing a trance-like state. As you can see, being in a trance is not some mystical dreamy state of mind; it is influenced by what you are focusing on. Being in a trance is a really nice feeling and having a hypnotherapist to guide you into one is no different. A hypnotherapist will help ensure you feel safe and relaxed when you are in a trance.

17/05/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

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,

Mandy Moore had hypnotherapy for tension

The singer and actress Mandy Moore was reportedly so nervous when she released her new album, Amanda Leigh, that she decided to seek help from a hypnotherapist to help overcome the mental tension she was feeling. Last weekend on Sunday 26th April, Mandy Moore also held a special concert in Los Angeles for 300 fans to mark the release of the album. Before taking to the stage, Mandy underwent hypnosis to overcome her nerves.

Stress management is something that we all have to cope with in some way or another, whether it is through stress of special occasions like Mandy, family problems, issues at work or with finances or anything else. Hypnosis can help people to take time out and relax.

If stress management is something you feel you might need help with every now and then, a good hypnotherapist will be able to teach you some self-hypnosis techniques to help you relax and manage your stress yourself. We don’t all release new albums and have to take to the stage like Mandy Moore, but our modern day lives means we all have our own levels of stress to cope with.

01/05/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

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,

Checking hypnotherapist details

Thanks to the popularity of complementary therapies, hypnotherapy is considered a popular profession and therefore quite lucrative. With the recession and redundancies, many people are looking for a new career and it is expected that the recession will show an increase in the number of hypnotherapists as people see it as a way to retrain to a new profession. Naturally, there is nothing wrong with this, however, when you want to see a qualified hypnotherapist to help you overcome your phobia, increase your confidence, quit smoking, lose weight or any of a wide number of issues that hypnotherapy can successfully help you with, you want to make sure that who you are dealing with is both properly trained and qualified. It is important therefore to use a hypnotherapist you are comfortable with.

Seeing a hypnotherapist in their home is not something everyone is comfortable with and this is why many people choose to go to a company that employs hypnotherapists for this sort of work, provides the therapy rooms and also completes the proper checks on a hypnotherapist. There is little regulation in the UK and anybody can set themselves up as a hypnotherapist. It is therefore important that you seek ease of mind by using a hypnotherapist who has done a certain number of hours training, continues to train and keep up to date and has had the proper checks done.

06/04/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Vanessa Raw on hypnotherapy

British triathlete Vanessa Raw was recently featured in The Times in an interview about her being named a member of the British Olympic triathlon academy squad. The triathlon is a gruelling event consisting of a 1,500-metre swim, then a 40km (25 mile) cycle, and finally a 10km run and is certainly not for those faint of heart.

Vanessa Raw told the Times she has great expectations for the Olympics in 2012 and is using hypnotherapy to help her focus and improve. She said:

“I’m in hypnotherapy at the moment and I get to visualise London already. The more I think about it, the more excited I get. I’m pretty fired up now. My plan is to win the event. I think it’s a reasonable expectation.”

Using hypnosis to train for sporting events is not unusual. Many footballers, boxers and athletes have used it in the past. Using mental imagery and goals helps them to focus. Most athletes will admit that the mental attitude is just as, if not more, important than the physical aspect and it can make the difference between winning and losing. So, let’s see if hypnotherapy works for Vanessa Raw.

01/04/2009 | 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,

Using psychotherapy to solve alcoholism

Alcoholism is a fast rising problem in the UK - as the culture of binge drinking seems not to be reducing, despite the government's efforts to tackle the problem.

Alcholics affect not only their own lives but also the lives of their friends, family and others around them. Factors contributing to the problem of alcoholism include a person's personality and character traits, suffering from depression and loneliness, shyness and also inheritance. People born to alcoholic parents are reportedly much more likely to suffer from alcoholism themselves than are adopted children. Being raised in a broken home and the early years, including teenage years, has a huge impact on whether or not a child is likely to suffer.

Psychotherapy is part of the government's plans to tackle depression and anxiety, and is also a method to help people cope and recover from alcoholism. Talking therapies, like CBT and psychotherapy, encourage the patient to look at how they can resolve their problem rather than how they came to suffer from it. Hypnotherapy has also proven successful in helping people to challenge and change their relationship with drink. In helping to understand and combat this rising issue, the profile of psychotherapy is being increased.

23/03/2009 | Posted in Psychotherapy, Hypnotherapy, CBT,

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,

Cure your phobia for your child

Not all parents may be aware, but it is incredibly common for a child to inherit their parents' phobia as mum or dad unwittingly passes on their anxiety and fear of one thing or another. It is not uncommon to hear somebody say that their parent is also afraid of the same thing but this fear is not genetically passed on as some may mistakenly believe, but rather this generational fear is passed on because the parent shows it to their child in their earlier years. Even if a fear is just a fear, and not the more serious phobia that can affect your daily life, it can grow to affect your child's life in a much more serious way, so if you really cannot hide your fear completely, then perhaps you should consider tackling your fear before it affects your child.

One of the best, and fastest, ways of tackling a fear or phobia is by using hypnosis. Hypnosis in a therapeutic sense is called hypnotherapy and is nothing to be afraid of. Hypnotherapy is delivered by a professional, qualifed hypnotherapist and can usually rid a person of a fear, even a lifetime phobia, in just one or two sessions.

17/03/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Quit smoking on No Smoking Day

It has arrived, the 2009 National No Smoking Day, the day on which hundreds of thousands of people across the UK will pledge to quit smoking for at least one day - and, for some, it's the day after the last cigarette of their lives.

According to the New Scientist, hypnotherapy has the highest success rate of any method to quit smoking, which is quite a claim. Using hypnosis, a hypnotherapist can help a person to:

stop feeling the desire to have a cigarette;
stop their physical body from craving nicotine;
have a feeling of being in complete control.

They say that it takes just a few weeks to change a habit but, using hypnosis, many people stop smoking in as few as one session. In times of recession such as these that will save a person a lot of money as the price of cigarettes continues to rise.

It is not as easy as reading the information on how smoking affects your health or watching the adverts broadcast by the government because, to stop smoking, a person has to really want to quit smoking. Hypnotherapy works because if a person does want to stop, the hypnotherapist helps that person to make sure that their unconscious self agrees with their conscious being. We've all had that feeling where we don't want to do something but somehow just cannot help ourselves and this is when our conscious and unconscious selves are not in sync. Using hypnosis, we can make sure this inner conflict does not happen and that is why it can feel so easy to give up smoking after hypnotherapy.

11/03/2009 | 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,

Get fit with hypnotherapy: Part 3

In earlier parts, we discussed how hypnotherapy can help with sports performance for athletes and even for people who simply wantto get more from their workout. We also talked about the different benefits that can come from hypnotherapy sessions with a hypnotherapist or sports psychologist, and subsequently from ongoing self hypnosis techniques. So, if this is an area you feel you might be interest in, where should you start?

There are many CDs and scripts available for purchase, however, although it is possible that hypnosis can be induced in this manner, it is a much better choice to begin by seeing a professional hypnotherapist. The hypnotherapist can tailor a hypnosis session to an individual, whereas a script or CD is designed for the masses. Everyone is different. A hypnotherapist can help you to reach a deeper level of hypnosis, suitable for your needs, and is able to make sure the session is right for you.

In the hypnotherapy session, the therapist will first of all have a chat with you to talk about what you want to achieve from the hypnosis. The first stage is then what is termed an ‘induction’, which is when the hypnotherapist helps you reach hypnosis. This is very calm and relaxing; there is no swinging watch or swirling image to watch as you might have seen in the media. Once in hypnosis, you are given a few suggestions to help you. You are likely to be aware of every word, few people actually reach deep hypnosis where they don’t hear every word and in most cases it is not necessary anyway. Generally, you’ll need a few sessions but you should continue to get the most benefit in sports performance, although this can be done through self hypnosis techniques that your hypnotherapist can show you.

22/02/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Get fit with hypnotherapy: Part 2

In an earlier article, we discussed how hypnotherapy can be used to help those who wish to improve their performance in the gym, on the field in their chosen area of sport or even in the workplace. Here are just a few of the benefits that you can get from practising hypnosis, either with a hypnotherapist or, after a few sessions, with your own self hypnosis techniques:

relaxation: this is the first point that many people make when they have had their first hypnosis session, how relaxing they found it and how nice they felt afterwards. Hypnosis is a very relaxing feeling, however, it doesn’t end there. When it comes to the area of sport, an athlete will have nerves. These feelings of nerves can be good to a certain point but they can work against you.
visualisation: perhaps surprisingly, visualising yourself achieving your goal, working harder or better and getting what you want makes a big difference between an average and better-than-average performance in any area. By picturing something, you are making that image more powerful and life-like and hypnosis can intensify this image much more than we can in our conscious mind alone.
improving performance: the one we all want. It has been shown that hypnosis can help control pain and most athletes are familiar with ‘getting in the zone’ and that sports performance is as much about mental willpower as it is about the physical aspect. Our best performances happen when our mind and body are in sync and hypnosis can help with that.

18/02/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Get fit with hypnotherapy: Part 1

When it comes to using mental techniques to improve our fitness, athletes can use a variety of methods but hypnotherapy is probably the one method that men are least likely to give a chance. However, when used properly, hypnotherapy can be a great way to improve working out, sports performance and even attitude and performance in work.

For those who may be feeling a little sceptical at this point, this is perfectly natural but take a moment to consider that Tiger Woods has reportedly been using self hypnosis techniques since the tender age of just 13 years old. A variety of Olympian athletes have made use of hypnotherapy to help them to overcome their own self-doubt and mental limitations and to visualise their success in their field.

Hypnosis is not just for the serious athlete though; if you simply want to get more out of your workouts at the gym then it can help the normal person too. Hypnotherapy is certainly not the way it is portrayed in the media. There is no swinging fob watch, clucking like a chicken or imagining you are the king of England. Sports psychologists and hypnotherapists use hypnosis techniques in a very different way.

16/02/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

One month countdown to No Smoking Day

Just one month from now, on 11th March, it will be No Smoking Day and last year, over 1.2 million people made an attempt to give up smoking on No Smoking Day. All over the UK, various promotional items advertising No Smoking Day and the benefits of giving up smoking, both to the smoker and to those around them, are appearing in places like nurseries, health centres and more.

For those who really want to stop smoking, it is worth taking a few minutes to consider their reasons why.

The reasons you want to give up smoking are what can drive you and there is no real reason for you to wait another month before you quit. There are all sorts of ways to help you get motivated and keep off the cigarettes, including nicotine patches, counselling and of course hypnotherapy.

Quitting smoking is probably one of the most famous treatments that hypnosis is known for, as it has helped people to quit smoking for life after just one session. One of the keys to its success is the client's reasons for quitting. There is little point visiting a hypnotherapist to stop smoking if you don't really want to stop. If you are doing it to keep your partner or family quiet it is unlikely to work. Hypnosis can't make anyone make life changes that they really don't want to make so, if you really don't want to stop, it will be a waste of your money and the hypnotherapist's time. However, you do not have to believe in hypnotherapy for it to work. So, no matter how cynical you are of hypnotherapy, if you really want to quit smoking then hypnotherapy could be the answer to your prayers.

11/02/2009 | Posted in Counselling, Hypnotherapy,

Hypnotherapy for self-esteem

Many people are suffering from stress, feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. It is possible that these feelings are being felt more profoundly because of the current economic crisis. When we feel this way, it is possible to feel that life is passing us by.

Self-esteem is part of feeling self-confident and, when we lack in self-esteem or self-confidence, it can be hard to look for ways to help without thinking of years of drugs or psychotherapy. Hypnosis offers one alternative to these solutions.

Hypnotherapy has long been associated with helping people to increase their self-confidence, and consequently their self-esteem. Relaxing with hypnosis can help us get away from our day-to-day troubles and help with stress management. Hypnotherapy is notorious for being a quick therapy, partly because the hypnotherapist helps the client to change the way they think or feel themselves. The results all come from the client; the hypnotherapist simply helps them to find their own way.

When stress management becomes an issue, or someone is suffering from low self-esteem or a lack of confidence, there is no reason why just one or two sessions of hypnotherapy cannot help a person to turn their life around.

10/02/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Psoriasis and hypnotherapy

Psoriasis is a stress-related problem. For many people it means red, scaly skin that can bleed easily. This skin condition is often found in the knee, elbows, back and trunk areas of the body and the toe and fingernails are often prone to pitting. It can affect almost anyone. The cause is unknown but it is thought that genetics do play a role; sufferers of arthritis are also often prone to getting it.

The problem varies wildly in its severity from one person to another and, in very rare cases, can be life threatening if huge areas of skin are open to infection. For some sufferers, other factors aside from stress are known to make the condition worse such as injury, cold weather and a low immune system. Where stress is a large factor, regular hypnotherapy can reduce the stress levels. Hypnotherapists will also often teach self-hypnosis so the patient can practice regularly at home for themselves.

04/02/2009 | 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,

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,

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,

Four years smoke-free thanks to hypnotherapy

In the Killeen Daily Herald last week, the newspaper reported the story of a gentleman called Chris Everett who started smoking with his parent’s permission at school and his addiction followed him for the next 45 years. The story is not unusual in itself as particularly at that time many people started to smoke whilst at school and have struggled to kick the habit ever since. What made the story slightly different was that Everett was a registered nurse and, despite knowing all the health and financial risks, he could not kick the habit until a doctor’s nurse made a comment during an appointment. The nurse said she had kicked her smoking habit using hypnosis. Everett told the paper:

"I looked at her as if she was an alien. I asked her if she had any info and she went into her bag and came out with this number that she told me to call. But I really just thought of it as this clock or pendulum swaying back and forth."

Despite feeling sceptical, Everett made an appointment with a hypnotherapist and went for his hypnotherapy. He listened to her speaking, closed his eyes and said he had thought that it could not possibly work. Four years on and thanks to hypnotherapy, Everett has remained smoke free for four years and is saving the money he otherwise would have spent for a dream trip to Paris and Rome later this year. Quitting smoking using hypnotherapy doesn’t mean you have to believe in it; it can still work and often in as little as one session.

19/01/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Four stone weight loss with hypnotherapy

Sixty-eight year old Maureen Foster from Tamworth, Staffordshire was featured in the Tamworth Herald earlier this week as a result of her losing weight with hypnosis. Maureen has lost over four stone in weight and reduced her dress size from a size 22 to a size 12 using the process of hypnotherapy. Maureen told the newspaper:

“I've tried all the different diets and I've lost weight every time, but I've always put it back on. This is the only one that I've kept the weight off – it's not a diet, it's a way of life. I was a size 22, I had been as low as a 14 before, but I'd never been able to maintain it – now I'm a size 12. I've always struggled with my weight, all my life. But now it just feels normal."

Maureen had tried every diet in the past but, thanks to hypnotherapy, she has lost weight and hasn’t eaten a chocolate or biscuit since and has found that she no longer wants them. In this case, Maureen was lucky to find that a hypnotherapy CD worked but in many cases these aren’t always perfect because they are made to suit a broad range of people. When you see a hypnotherapist for weight loss, they can tailor the session to suit you perfectly so sometimes even if you tried a hypnosis CD and it didn’t work, seeing a hypnotherapist has a much higher success rate, often in just one or two sessions.

11/01/2009 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

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,

What if I don't know what the problem is?

Though many people worry that this question seems silly, it is a very common question from people considering treatments such as psychotherapy. If you were to speak to a counsellor, a psychotherapist or a hypnotherapist, they would all tell you that they often see people who do not know what the problem is.

A client might be a little depressed, upset or under the weather and be unable to pinpoint what is troubling them. But they know they are not happy with their life. A good therapist will be able to ask you questions, or use relaxation techniques such as hypnotherapy, to help you find the specifics yourself. If you are still concerned, try asking yourself the following questions before you visit a therapist for your first session:

if you were briefly to describe your life, how would you describe it?
how do these feelings affect your life and in particular, your home / work / social life?
what thoughts stay with you? Occasionally, small niggles stay with us throughout our life and hold us back, preventing us from meeting our true potential.
how long have you felt like this? Do you remember when it started and what was happening in your life at that time?
what are you proud of in your life and what makes you feel good? This question is important as it is necessary to remember the positive aspects as well the negative.

By thinking about these questions first, it might help you and your therapist find the root of your issue more quickly - and give you something to start with. Whether you would prefer psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, CBT or any other treatment might depend on your preference - or you can seek advice on which would be best for you.

22/12/2008 | Posted in Psychotherapy, Hypnotherapy, CBT,

How can hypnotherapy help with physical problems?

To understand how hypnosis and hypnotherapy can help people with physical issues or problems it is important first to consider how our emotions affect us. Every single person on this planet experiences emotions and has what is called a mind-body connection. Emotions come from our brain and our brain is active in creating our emotions. If the brain is working and active, then so is our nervous system so, when you feel an emotion, the nervous system is affected in some way. It follows, therefore, that the rest of your physical body is also affected as the nervous system controls our body.

Some emotions, like laughter and joy, have a positive effect on our body. Others, like jealousy and anger, have a negative effect. These emotions can positively and negatively affect our immune system and other aspects of our physical health. Think about when you get stressed; how does your body react? Some people experience skin problems like acne, others experience a tension in the neck or back - these are physical reactions to an emotion. Although the body is quite resilient, it can only take so much.

As hypnotherapy works on the subconscious level and on our emotions, it can help to negate the negative effects of our emotions on the body and help us with physical problems caused, or exacerbated by, our mind and emotions. A hypnotherapist simply helps you to help yourself.

12/12/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Quit smoking like Ben Affleck did

Ben Affleck quit smoking using hypnotherapy. The Pearl Harbour star told Oprah Winfrey on her show earlier this year that he had quit smoking after 20 years during which he smoked a minimum of one pack a day and had tried several times to give up. He said:

"I thought I would give it up at 25 and then 30, but that came and went."

Now, with his millions of dollars, there is no doubt that he had all the chances to quit smoking - and he had tried other methods. However, if was his childhood friend Matt Damon who persuaded him to try the same hypnotherapist he had used. To date, Ben Affleck has not smoked a cigarette for more than two years. Matt Damon had also been smoking for a long time – 16 years in fact – and after three hypnosis sessions, he quit without a glance back, as he told the Jay Leno show:

"I should have done it years ago. It's amazing, I didn't even want cigarettes anymore".

These two are not the only celebrities to have quit smoking using hypnotherapy, despite having millions in the bank to be able to afford any treatment they want. Ellen Degeneres, Drew Barrymore, Charlize Theron, Winona Ryder and Samuel L Jackson also stopped smoking using hypnosis. Ellen Degeneres even quit smoking live on her show as she had a impromptu session with a guest hypnotherapist. No matter how rich or poor you are, quitting smoking is difficult - but help is available if you really want it.

10/12/2008 | Posted in Psychotherapy,

Freud’s contribution to hypnotherapy

There is much debate about who invented hypnosis and how it was discovered. Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) is known for having invented psychoanalysis. He is generally credited with introducing the idea of dual consciousness to the western world i.e. the idea that we have both a conscious and subconscious mind and this underlying thought is the basis of hypnosis. Hence he made a great contribution to the development of hypnosis and subsequently hypnotherapy, the use of hypnosis for therapeutic benefit.

Nowadays, hypnotherapy is becoming more and more mainstream and many hypnotherapists do work for the NHS with referrals from GPs for patients who need to quit smoking or lose weight, although this is still fairly rare albeit often successful. Hypnotherapy is mainly thought of as a way of curing phobias and quitting smoking, but it can also be used for many other emotional and physical issues. If you are unsure if hypnosis can help you, make an enquiry with a hypnotherapist at a reputable clinic and a good hypnotherapist will be happy to answer any questions that you might have.

09/12/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Counselling and hypnotherapy

When a hypnotherapist undergoes training, a lot of what they learn comes from a wide range of counselling methods and techniques. Naturally, these skills include learning to listen properly and, in the case of hypnotherapy, listening well helps the hypnotherapist to understand what you want to gain from the hypnotherapist session, or sessions. A good hypnotherapist will form a good rapport with their client, build a working relationship where need be in the case of longer term hypnotherapy and be empathetic to your needs.

Gone are the old days of authoritarian hypnosis. Nowadays hypnotherapists have adapted to a more modern role and part of their role includes counselling methods. However, this does not mean that you should expect a hypnotherapist to use specific counselling methods as there is a wide range of methods available to them and a qualified hypnotherapist will be trained and qualified to help you feel comfortable, able to talk and enable you to feel confident about the hypnotherapy work you do to help you overcome your problem or issue. For many issues, hypnosis is a very quick technique and often just one or two sessions will be required but your hypnotherapist will be able to advise you on this.

04/12/2008 | Posted in Counselling, Hypnotherapy,

Sports celebrities and hypnotherapy

The benefit of hypnotherapy in sport is outstanding and includes helping athletes to stay calm, maintain focus, get rid of distractions in their minds, improve their mental stamina and increase their motivation. Here are just a few sports celebrities who have used hypnotherapy to help their career:

Tiger Woods has used hypnotherapy regularly and was introduced to it at just 13 years old. He has said:

"We worked on a way to visualize the target and pull it back into my hands and body and let my subconscious react. That’s what’s best for me. It is inherent in what I do now."

WBC heavyweight champion Frank Bruno has used hypnosis to perform at his peak.

In 1996, Steve Collins defeated WBO Super Middleweight title champion Chris Eubank, which he said was due to using hypnotherapy in his mental preparation work. He said he had worked on his mental attitude to programme himself to throw two punches to every one punch from his opponent and statistics from the fight show around 300 punches from Eubank versus more than 600 from Collins.

If you want to be at the top of your game, whether sports or business, hypnotherapy can help you get the results you want, making you a winner.

30/11/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

How does hypnotherapy help with the menopause?

For many women, the menopause is a particularly difficult phase of life. Some turn to hypnotherapy to relieve symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, hot flushes, stress and more.

It works because hypnosis helps people put mind over matter. Because the mind is capable of telling the body how it should and should not feel, it can help alleviate symptoms.

For example, in the case of hot flushes, oestrogen has been proven to play a part in setting the temperature of the body in the brain. So, when oestrogen levels are low, the brain believes the body is getting hot and starts to cool the body down through sweating and releasing that heat. As hot flushes are just a small malfunction in the brain, hypnosis can help train the mind to influence the body to cool down the hot flush.

As reported recently in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a group of 51 women took part in a trial. For the 26 (half the group) who received hypnotherapy, they had a 68 per cent decrease in hot flushes and most of them also foundthey had fewer uncomfortable side effects f(such as loss of sleep and difficulties in social interaction). The study's lead investigator, Gary Elkins, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor, said:

"This study validates that this type of treatment is effective in decreasing hot flushes. There is a real need to study emerging mind-body interactions to treating these ailments because many times, medications are not an option".

After the success of this research, the researchers now intend to recruit 190 post-menopausal women to take part in a five year study so that they can analyse the physiological response to hypnosis.

23/11/2008 | 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,

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,

Mark Owen has hypnotherapy

Mark Owen, of Take That stardom, is having hypnotherapy, to help him quit smoking, as he is desperate to give up his smoking habit before his second child is born. Mark, aged 36, has smoked since his teenage years but now wants to stop smoking for his two year old son Elwood and his unborn child with his fiancée Emma Ferguson. After 20 years of smoking, Mark has found it very difficult to give up. Mark said:

“I was on 15 a day, more when I was working. The first two days were the hardest [but] I keep getting angry and snapping for no reason. I keep eating too, anything, just so I can put something in my mouth.”

Hypnosis is one of the best ways to give up smoking as it can help you at a subconscious level. Many stars have turned to hypnosis for help with phobias, weight loss and to quit their smoking habits. For the change to work, you must really want it and sometimes a life-changing event such as the birth of a new child can give you the incentive you need.

03/11/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Top tips for stress management

Everywhere we look at the moment, people are feeling the strain of everyday life. It might be family troubles, pressures at work or something completely different. But more and more therapists are seeing clients for anxiety or stress-related problems.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and hypnotherapy are both useful when it comes to handling stress. But here are a few tips to help you handle stress:

a healthy lifestyle: there are not many of us who really have the time to fit in hours of exercise every week, but to adopt a healthier lifestyle means making small changes to our diet and our exercise levels, as well as getting enough sleep. This helps our bodies to cope with stress.
avoid taking on any more: if you are feeling anxious or stressed, try to avoid taking on any more. All of us wish to please and do not want to let anyone down. However, this can only add to your stress so learn to say no without offending or upsetting anyone.
take time out: it is important to find a little time to relax, even if it is only 10 minutes to chill with a cup of hot tea and a magazine. If you can, find time to meet up with friends for a cuppa; having a break will mean you are more productive afterwards and make you feel better. Laughing also helps boost your immune system, helping you cope with stress and anxiety

These are just a few general tips to help you. A therapist will be able to help you spot recurring patterns of behaviour and responses, helping you to prioritise things, look at your situation from a different point of view and learn how to cope.

27/10/2008 | Posted in Psychotherapy, Hypnotherapy, CBT,

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,

Post-surgical hypnotherapy

A common problem with surgery is the pain we feel afterwards. Recovering from surgery can be painful and take some time. Other side effects could include infection or bleeding.

A hypnotherapy study was published in the Anesthesa & Analgesia journal in 2002 to determine if hypnotherapy could play a role in handling the side effects from surgery. It talked about how past research had only focused on the pain element but this study looked at how the hypnotherapy was given and whether it could help with other side effects. It involved researchers analysing results from 20 studies, all of which were controlled and all of which used hypnosis with patients having surgery. It concluded that hypnotherapy was very effective at treating post-surgery side effects and, from all the 20 studies, those who received hypnosis had a better outcome after surgery than 89 per cent of those in the control group that did not have hypnotherapy.

The study concluded that hypnotherapy is beneficial when it comes to helping people deal with post-surgical side effects and their healing and the researchers involved in the study were said to

“strongly support the use of hypnosis with surgical patients”.

10/10/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Can hypnotherapy improve my finances?

Hypnotherapy can do and help an awful lot of things, but directly improving your finances is not one of them. However, it can improve your finances indirectly.

How much money you earn and the way your finances are organised depends on things such as:

how you approach money and feel or behave towards money
how you feel about yourself, your self-image and how you deal with your self-image or try to improve it
your ability to motivate yourself in order to learn new skills, try new things and develop beliefs
your level of self-confidence
the amount of control and self-belief you have and how you believe this affects your lif.

Each of these affects the others and the most important one is the final point. How much control you believe you have over your life will directly impact on what you do and your finances and hypnosis can be used to help you develop your self-belief and self-perception. For example, clients have improved their self-belief and used this to gain more job interviews and opportunities than they had ever done, or believed they could do, in the past. Their self-confidence has shone and they have been able to share this with others.

08/10/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Improving sports performance

Hypnotherapy has been used by famous athletes to improve their sports performance. This seems to be backed up by a new Australian study, whose results suggest that the faster speed achieved by athletes when they take performance-enhancing drugs is in their mind.

The research compared athletes on a placebo with those given a growth hormone drug. Those who had taken the dummy pills ran faster, jumped higher and managed to lift heavier weights than those who were on the hormones. The results suggest what hypnotherapists say is true – if you think that you will perform better, then you will.

Many professional athletes have used creative visualisation to boost their performance for years and one of the methods that hypnotherapists use is visualisation. However, visualisation in hypnosis is much stronger, because the person is completely relaxed and focused on the visualisation - so they concentrate harder and the memory is stronger. Dr Aimee Kimball, the director of mental training in sports medicine from the University of Pittsburgh, said:

"If you visualise being stronger, running faster or winning, you are priming your nervous system to do just that. Studies have found that the method can enhance physical performance significantly, sometimes by 20 per cent or more".

30/09/2008 | 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,

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,

Hypnotherapy helps pole vaulter to Olympic gold

Those who were glued to the television for the Beijing Olympics might be interested to know that the Olympic Gold pole vaulting medallist, Australian Steve Hooker, had his fear of pole vaulting cured with hypnosis just a few years ago. Hooker soared to his Olympic Gold in dramatic style earning him an Olympic title and an Olympic record 5.96 metres on his final try. He is also the first Olympic champion from Australia in pole vaulting. Hooker said:

"The whole competition was mentally and physically the hardest thing I have done in my life. It was more boxing than pole vault. I should have skipped the second jumps altogether. They were not working for me. I should have gone straight to the third."

Hooker explained that dreams of Olympic competition were impossible for him in recent years as he was close to quitting in 2001. Only a few years ago he was unable to cope with the mental demands of the tough discipline and had even been throwing tantrums in training. He added:

"I would run through a lot and not take off and it got to the point, by the end of it I thought about giving it in. It was so mentally draining going to training not knowing if I would be able to jump or not. I was throwing poles, cracking tantrums, I was in a miserable bad mood. Your whole life, it really brings it down when it's really what you want to do and you can't do it just because it's not clicking in your brain.”

Hypnotherapy, combined with visualisation techniques, got him back on track. He told The Australian newspaper:

"I would talk to her at the start of the session and say, 'I want to talk about lowering the pole vault in my last couple of steps and jumping off the ground.' I would tell her the cues I wanted to work on, so she'd work it into the things that she was saying while I was under hypnosis.”

The results came gradually for Hooker but, when they came, the results were outstanding and well worth waiting for, Hypnosis ensured that Hooker now has no trouble with the mental aspects of his sport.

10/09/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

The mind-body connection and IBS

IBS, otherwise known as irritable bowel syndrome, can cause serious problems for sufferers who want to get on with their daily life. It can give bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, constipation or flatulence. Around 15 per cent of the UK population is affected, although only half tend to seek medical help.

As we accept more and more, the mind and body are intricately connected - and the gut even more so, as there are more nerve cells in our intestines than in our nervous system. IBS sufferers can testify that emotional upsets aggravate the condition and so learning to minimise stress can help them; emotional retraining can help to control it. Early studies from a small number of specialists have indicated that the mind-body approach is more effective than each singularly.

Psychotherapy and hypnotherapy have both been shown to contribute to controlling the condition and relieving the symptoms. In hypnotherapy, patients usually visualise their colon functioning properly. In cognitive behavioural therapy, or short term psychotherapy, patients can change their symptom-provoking thoughts, such as thinking that a certain situation will cause their symptoms to reappear or thinking that their colon will always cause them problems.

In a UK study of 204 patients, where over two thirds of patients were helped with hypnosis, 81 per cent maintained their improvements for up to six years afterwards. Stress reduction or relaxation techniques have proved just as helpful as avoiding certain foods.

05/09/2008 | Posted in CBT, Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy,

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,

Hypnotherapy for infertility

Around one in six couples seeks help to conceive. Just because they haven't conceived doesn't mean they can't conceive, but the more frustrated the couple feel the more difficult it can be. There are many medical reasons why a couple cannot conceive but, if medical reasons have been ruled out, then hypnotherapy is an option.

Hypnotherapy for unexplained infertility is a very popular and successful treatment in the USA. It works by focussing on the emotional aspects of trying to become pregnant, being pregnant or becoming a parent, and helps the couple deal with the stress the problem causes.

The underlying essence of it is about helping the mind to influence the body. Although we don't yet fully understand our mind- body connection, most of us have come to accept the concept and understand how powerful it can be. Our bodies are influenced by our emotions, thoughts, even our beliefs. Emotions can affect the hormones, which control ovulation and therefore pregnancy. So, if you have trouble conceiving and can't find out why, hypnotherapy is a potential solution.

29/08/2008 | Posted in Hypno-birthing,

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,

Paramedic swims Channel after hypnotherapy

After a 20 year break from swimming, 38 year old paramedic Mark Ransom, successfully swam the English Channel last month in just 12 hours and 23 minutes. In the process, he raised over £1,000 for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices.

Mark, from Bury St Edmunds, had to wait two weeks to do the challenge as the swim had to be put off due to bad weather. He had hypnotherapy before the challenge to get rid of his phobia of sharks and, following the success of this swim, he added that he wouldn’t rule out trying a similar challenge in future.

Hypnotherapy is ideal for phobias, whether they are physical habits like smoking or nail biting, something with a deeper root cause, or irrational fears such as Mark’s fear of sharks, or fears of spiders, dogs, heights or anything else. Having hypnosis to overcome phobias is relatively quick, and can usually be resolved in as few as one or two sessions.

19/08/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Hypnotherapy for stress and relaxation

There are numerous benefits to learning how to relax in our modern world, constantly exposed to noise from mobile phones, television, computers and radio. Relaxation is not just about watching television, having some me-time, relaxing in the bath or going out for tea. it is about quietening our mind’s chatter and really feeling the silence for a short while. Hypnotherapy can help us relax, when the rest of our world is driving us on, bringing us long-term and short-term benefits:

people who have lots to do in a single day usually find they are more laidback and can handle life easily and better than they had done.
stepping back and taking some real time out for yourself allows you to de-stress; without such a high level of stress, life feels happier and healthier.
hypnotherapy helps people to slow down generally and enjoy their life more, whilst still doing everything they used to; as a result life can become much easier and simpler.

When a person interacts with many other people in life, they can often unconsciously take on their problems and stresses. Hypnotherapy allowed them to stay connected to the general life flow.

17/08/2008 | 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,

Overcoming corporate stress

Many business people recognise stress as their top complaint. But they do not necessarily realise how much stress can contribute to health problems until it is too late.

Although stress starts at work, it affects home life and other areas quite quickly. For example, it can interrupt normal sleeping patterns, cause weight loss or gain, and cause a lack of concentration. This can cause issues at home for the person's partner, children, family and friends.

Hypnotherapy is often used to relieve stress and many companies have seen success by incorporating hypnotherapy into their employees' routines and corporate benefits. Hypnosis helps, not just by relieving the stress but also by teaching the patient's mind how to deal with stress.

The physical problems we feel from stress are caused by a reaction in our mind. Sometimes a patient will have no conscious or concrete idea of why they are stressed. So the hypnotherapist can work with them on an unconscious level to help discover the reasons and how best to deal with them. It is not only a case of learning how to deal with new stress but also how to release the old stress of the past. Hypnotherapy can help people to do that.

06/08/2008 | Posted in 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,

Symptoms of depression

Depression is more common than you might think, however, it is also often misdiagnosed when people feel down or are going through a tough period in their lives. Here is a list of common depression symptoms. Many people do not experience them all but if you have a few of these it might be worth seeking some help. Depression does not always mean treatment through medication. Often, other therapies can also help, such as psychotherapy, CBT or hypnotherapy.

Low mood almost all day, every day
Loss of interest or enjoyment in activities you normally like
Feeling weepy, bursting into tears uncontrollably
Feeling guilty, worthless or useless a lot of the time
Lack of motivation, even for the simple thing sin life
Lack of concentration, even to watch tv, read or work
Lack of sleep or waking up early and unable to get back to sleep
Lack of energy, always tired
Going off sex and affection
Poor appetite resulting in weight loss
Too much appetite resulting in weight gain
Often irritable, restless and agitated
Symptoms are generally worse in the mornings
Physical symptoms such as more frequent headaches, chest pain or general aches
Preoccupation with death or suicide, thinking about it a lot

The more of these symptoms you are experiencing, the more likely it is that you are suffering from depression and should see a GP.

18/07/2008 | Posted in Psychotherapy, Hypnotherapy, CBT,

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

Many therapists like to combine CBT with other therapies, such as hypnotherapy, which often helps to speed up the process.

14/07/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy, CBT,

The origins of hypnotherapy

Many cultures claim to be responsible for the creation of hypnosis and hypnotherapy, so its exact origins are unclear. However, many attribute it to Franz Mesmer who is often credited with the technique of originally putting people into a trance - mesmerising them. The term mesmerise and hypnotise are often used interchangeably which is how Frank Mesmer's name is so strongly associated with the origins of hypnotherapy.

Frederick (Franz) Mesmer was born in 1734 in Germany and later moved to Austria to work as a physician. He believed the stars and planets had an invisible magnetic energy that affected not just the water on the earth's seas but also the liquid within humans and animals. He started by placing magnets onto clients and stroking their body to transfer his "animal magnetism" from his body to theirs, channelling the energy by using a wand. He later thought that it was his own ability to transfer his magnetism that cured his clients.

He had many medical successes that he credited to his own hypnotising ability. What many people later believed is that, during the hypnosis, he was giving direct suggestions to the client so they would heal themselves. Mesmer's healing successes and flamboyant act was popular with his fans, but his strange tactics were naturally unpopular with the scientific professions. In 1778 he was struck off the medical register and left Vienna. He moved to Paris and continued, building a greater following, including Marie Antoinette. King Louis XVI in 1784 ordered an investigation into whether Mesmer had discovered a new bodily fluid and, when this could not be proven, Mesmer was driven out of Paris. He went back to Vienna and lived out his days relatively inconspicuously. He died in 1815 aged 81.

So there you have it. This is how hypnosis, although known by a different name and in a different guise, was possibly discovered.

02/07/2008 | 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,

How hypnotherapy can help insomnia

When you are having trouble sleeping, it can affect all areas of your life. You feel tired, lethargic, can get run down and become ill, feel ill-tempered and emotional and take it out on your family, friends and work colleagues. Hypnotherapy is often a great help in curing insomnia, especially when combined with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

One common theme, usually present with those who regularly suffer from insomnia, is that they are thinkers and over-think or over-analyse situations. Hypnotherapy can help to break the over-thinking and old sleeping pattern. A good therapist will also teach you strategies to help reduce over-thinking and learn to let go. If you are suffering from insomnia or having difficulty sleeping, why not try hypnotherapy?

24/06/2008 | Posted in CBT, Hypnotherapy,

A virtual gastric band to lose weight

In the last year or so, publicity about the fitting of a gastric band around your stomach to help you lose weight has heightened and many people have undergone the procedure, despite its £7,000 plus price tag. Now imagine that if you were overweight and hypnotised, you could wake up convinced you had had the procedures and could experience all the sensations of the gastric band, including the steady weight loss without actually having had the surgery.

For one British-run clinic in southern Spain, they have been finetuning hypnotherapy combined with cognitive behavioural therapy to do just that. The patient undergoes six relaxing and pleasant sessions over a two week period, including one deep hypnotherapy session where they have the gastric band virtually-fitted. Just like when you have a real gastric band fitted, the patients even re-visit the clinic over the ensuing months to adjust the virtual gastric band to suit the weight loss rate agreed.

The use of hypnotherapy and CBT has been publicised widely as ideal therapies to combine, each underpins the other, working in conjunction with each other for some amazingly effective results in all sorts of cases. Even the BBC has run several documentaries on the use of the two therapies. Indeed, the medical profession has now come round to accept the idea of the mind-body link, and it may well be the answer to our global obesity issue.

In the case of the virtual gastric band, if nothing else, the client saves the £7,000 fee, the hospitalisation and surgery, no risks of MRSA, anasthetic or DVT (deep vein thrombosis) and more. As hypnotherapy grows in popularity and becomes more widely accepted, because people now feel it is not taboo to talk about it, we may well be seeing a real increase in acceptance from the medical profession.

23/06/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy, CBT,

Hypnotherapy cures gambling addiction

A local newspaper in Huddersfield, reported this week that hypnotherapy cured a compulsive gambler of his addiction, against all the odds. Gambler Tony Mays, aged 38, has quit his gambling habits and sold his Village Bakery business in Marsden, to move to France for a new life with his wife Zoe. Mr Mays said it took just three hypnotherapy sessions to cure him completely. After the third session, he said:

“I knew instantly that I would never bet again. I couldn’t even bring myself to buy a lottery ticket”.

Mr Mays said he started gambling, at the age of 13, in the arcades whilst living in Blackpool. He continued:

“I’d probably known since the age of 20 that I had a problem, which I tried to hide. It wasn’t the money that was a problem – I didn’t get into debt or put my career or business at risk – it was the amount of time it took up. I felt guilty that Zoe was always waiting around for me and I felt tired all the time. I must have spent around 30 hours a week in the bookies. It was compulsive to go every day.”

When his mother died from cancer one year ago, Mr Mays decided to change. During his three hynotherapy sessions Mr Mays also learned to self-hypnotise and claims it has also helped him to get fit and lose weight.

“Over a year on, my former gambling colleagues still can’t believe the change. When we went back to Blackpool I had absolutely no desire to gamble, I just wanted to tell all the lads playing the machines to get treatment".

21/06/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

The effectiveness of hypnotherapy in smoking cessation

Earlier this year, the results of more than 600 individual studies on more than 72,000 people were combined to get an overall success rate from several methods of smoking cessation. On average, each one had a success rate of about 19 per cent. As you might expect, the highest success rate was among the group of people with serious heart problems, with a 36 per cent success rate - although even that was a disappointingly low rate.

Across the board, however, the most successful treatment was hypnotherapy. Patients were given suggestions whilst in a relaxed hypnotic trance and the success rate was 30 per cent.

Next was combination therapy with a success rate of 29 per cent. More than one therapy, such as exercise and breathing methods or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) combined with hypnosis, was used. Old fashioned methods, such as having stale cigarette smoke blown in your face, was surprisingly successful at 25 per cent. Acupuncture followed with 24 per cent. GP advice was the least successful. Some people were successful with just sheer willpower - at six per cent. Self-help books or magazines came in at nine per cent and nicotine gum at 10 per cent.

Hypnotherapy can be very effective when giving up smoking and many people are surprised at the level of success that can be achieved in just one session. According to the British Society of Medical & Dental Hypnosis, the latest hypnosis techniques have been up to 60 per cent successful from just one session.

However, for hypnotherapy to work on anything, you must want it to work and want it enough. For example, if you really love smoking and you are only going along to hypnosis because your partner asked you to, then it is not as likely to work.

20/06/2008 | Posted in CBT, Hypnotherapy,

Hypnotherapy and weight loss

Even if you don't believe that hypnotherapy can help you to lose weight by itself, there is no doubt that many people find it difficult to stick to a diet or exercise plan. This is where hypnosis can help. It can help to retrain your mind to increase your motivation, make that motivation feel more real for you and keep it in your mind.

Hypnotherapy can help you to think like a leaner person and develop new habits as well as discard old ones. This does not, however, make it the easy option and you should be wary of wild and exaggerated claims that it is some sort of magic. It is a shame that there are not more scientific, properly monitored studies into hypnosis and its effect on weight loss. Mott (1982) said:

"although hypnosis is sometimes referred to as a method of treatment, it is more accurate to regard hypnosis as a facilitator of a number of different treatment methods".

Previous studies have shown that hypnotherapy works best when combined with a behavioural weight management program and works best when the hypnosis is tailored to the individual rather than just a group programme, which is why many people prefer to visit a hypnotherapist rather than use a CD recording. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) helps to identify problematic behaviours and retrain and adopt new behaviours. If you are interested in how hypnotherapy can help you to lose weight, ask for details.

19/06/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy, CBT,

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,

Hypnotherapy for achievement in sport

When you take part in any physical activity or sport, many people start to find reasons for failing before they've even set out. Your mental state is an important factor in anything that you do, and that includes sport or athletics. Yet, it is still one of the most neglected areas in sports training.

Is it really possible that hypnotherapy can be used to help train your mind to help you achieve your physical goals?

We need to learn to use our minds in a positive way and we tend to get what we focus on. We need to learn to expect success rather than failure and this makes a key difference in anything we do. Hypnotherapy can help you to change your focus and your approach, to make you feel more confident, set realistic goals, reduce anxiety and maintain a positive attitude.

Hypnotherapy has been used in sports therapy for many decades and is still little known. Famous sports stars have used hypnotherapy: for example, Tiger Woods had hypnotherapy for his golf. Many of them, however, prefer to keep their use of hypnotherapy quiet because of the myths and misconceptions about hypnosis.

Hypnotherapy is a highly effective method of improving your mental attitude and focus. Like anything else, and just as it is in sport,practice and preparation improves performance. When times are tough, when you're feeling mentally or physically exhausted, your hypnotherapy sessions will kick in. You will be able to shake off discouragement and anxiety and focus on the matter in hand. Concentration and technique will be easier to find. A hypnotherapy session for sports enhancement can be customised to the individual and, when combined with CBT techniques, it can be even more effective.

13/06/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy, CBT,

Cognitive behavioural therapy

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, otherwise known as CBT, is a form of psychotherapy most effective in a face to face consultation with a therapist. It is a form of counselling based upon individual assumptions, beliefs and behaviours and modifying those by developing new behaviour. The technique is easily adaptable to individual clients by identifying key areas, associated feelings and thoughts. It is commonly used in conjunction with relaxation methods and distraction techniques.

For this reason, it is an ideal therapy to combine with something like hypnotherapy. By doing this, the client gets the advantages of both therapies. Hypnotherapy, when combined with cognitive behavioural therapy, is incredibly effective and many clients feel the benefit after as little as just one single session. The use of hypnotherapy and CBT separately have both been shown to work very well with children and adolescents as well. CBT is commonly used for anxiety disorders, mood problems, trauma and post traumatic stress disorder. Cognitive behavioural therapy can also be used as a stand alone therapy if necessary.

11/06/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy, CBT,

Hypnotherapy cured bedwetting

This weekend, the Times told the story of one boy's experience with bedwetting and how it was cured using hypnotherapy. The boy, aged nine, grew up with a normal background but was still wetting the bed at the age of seven. The problem was causing him embarrassment and making him withdrawn, at school and socially, as happens with many young children.

Using hypnosis, the boy was cured within three months after years of suffering and many different treatments.

Bedwetting, also known as nocturnal enuresis, is very common in children, especially in boys under seven years old. Children are particularly receptive to hypnotherapy because they are still used to using their imaginations. To them, guided imagery can be a little like storytime.

When looking for a hypnotherapist, be sure to use someone who has experience of working with children. Most hypnotherapists offer a free initial consultation for you to assess whether you and your child feel comfortable with the hypnotherapist, and for you to ask questions about the process and its suitability for your child.

09/06/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Top five hypnotherapy myths

The publicity of hypnosis has been poorly presented over the years and as a result many people have misconceptions about hypnosis and confuse hypnosis with hypnotherapy.

Hypnosis is the state of relaxation achieved. Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis for therapeutic benefit.

Many people feel apprehensive when they go for their first hypnotherapy appointment because they aren't sure what to expect. Here is a list of five common myths about hypnotherapy:

The hypnotist can make you do anything. False. Hypnotherapy relies on you being willing and a reputable hypnotherapist would not want to make you do anything you did not want to do.
You are asleep or unconscious. False. You will not be asleep or unconscious. In fact, you are only relaxed and will hear everything that is said.
You won't be able to open your eyes. False. You can open your eyes at any time you want to.
It is dangerous. False. Hypnosis is a safe, controlled method of relaxation and therapy, and a safe way for you to access your subconscious mind.
It is guaranteed. False. Hypnosis is not magic and, although it has a very high success rate and works quickly, like anything in life - and every form of therapy - it is not 100 per cent guaranteed.

If you are considering hypnotherapy, be sure to choose a qualified hypnotherapist with a reputable company and feel free to ask questions so you are reassured that hypnotherapy, and the hypnotherapist, are right for you.

07/06/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,

Therapy rooms in London and Twickenham

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