Anxiety is a common experience characterised by unease, worry, or fear. It is a normal emotion that everyone may encounter at some point in life. However, for some people, it can become a persistent issue.
In certain situations, a mild level of anxiety can even be beneficial. For instance, feeling a little anxious before an important meeting may heighten alertness and enhance performance. However, excessive anxiety can result in fatigue and difficulties with concentration.
The symptoms of anxiety can manifest both psychologically and physically. Psychological symptoms may include persistent worry, difficulty sleeping, trouble concentrating, irritability, heightened vigilance, restlessness, reassurance seeking, and fearfulness.
When anxiety arises, the body releases stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These can cause physical symptoms like an increased or irregular heart rate, rapid breathing, nausea, chest pain, headaches, sweating, loss of appetite, dizziness, increased urge to use the toilet, and butterflies in the stomach.
Anxiety can also indicate other conditions, like post-traumatic stress disorder, which stems from distressing events, or panic disorder.
While a certain level of anxiety is normal, chronic anxiety can lead to more severe health issues like hypertension (high blood pressure) and increased susceptibility to infections. If anxiety persists and significantly impacts daily life, it may indicate anxiety or panic disorder.
Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy is a therapeutic approach that effectively addresses anxiety. Through its focus on identifying and building solutions rather than dwelling on problems, Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy can help you manage and alleviate your anxiety symptoms.
One of the significant ways Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy aids in managing anxiety is by promoting relaxation and reducing stress. Hypnosis techniques used in Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy help calm the mind and body, lower stress hormones, and induce deep relaxation. This is particularly beneficial for individuals with anxiety.
Furthermore, Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy helps to shift your focus from the negative aspects of anxiety to exploring and reinforcing positive coping strategies and solutions. This approach encourages you to envision a future where you have overcome your anxiety and engage in desired behaviours and activities. It frees you from the cycle of anxious thoughts and worries.
Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy is empowering and helps you tap into your inner resources and strengths. By exploring your capabilities and building on your strengths, you can develop confidence and resilience in place of anxiety.
Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy provides practical tools and strategies to manage anxiety and move towards a more fulfilling and anxiety-free life. If you’d like to discover more, get in touch. The path to increased confidence is only a mouse click away.
]]>One of the most significant benefits of a hypnotherapy mp3 is its convenience. You can listen to a hypnotherapy audio track anytime, anywhere, without booking an appointment or leaving your home. This flexibility makes it an ideal solution for busy individuals who do not have the time or resources to visit a hypnotherapist in person.
Hypnotherapy audios allow you to relax in the comfort of your own home. You can listen to the audio in your bed, on your couch, or in your favourite chair, which can help you feel more relaxed and at ease during the hypnotherapy process.
Hypnotherapy audios are easy to use, even if you have never tried hypnotherapy before. Simply press play, close your eyes, and let the audio guide you through the hypnotherapy process. All you need is a quiet space and a pair of headphones.
Perhaps the most significant benefit of a hypnotherapy audio download is its effectiveness. Research has shown that hypnotherapy can effectively treat many issues, including anxiety, depression, phobias, and addiction. When used regularly, a hypnotherapy mp3 can help you overcome your challenges and achieve your goals.
Hypnotherapy audios offer a convenient solution for those looking to access the benefits of hypnotherapy. With a hypnotherapy audio track, you can overcome your challenges, achieve your goals, and improve your overall quality of life. If you want to improve your mental health and well-being, check out our hypnosis audio, Rest & Relax.
]]>One of the key ways that nutrition can help anxiety is by reducing inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation is associated with several mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression. Incorporating anti-inflammatory foods into your diet can help reduce inflammation and promote better mental health.
Some of the best anti-inflammatory foods to include in your diet include leafy greens, berries, fatty fish, nuts, and seeds. Leafy greens like spinach, kale, and collard greens contain nutrients and antioxidants that help to reduce inflammation and promote overall health. Berries like blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries are also high in antioxidants, which can help to protect the body from oxidative stress and inflammation.
Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammation and improve brain function. Omega-3s can help to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, making them an essential addition to any anti-anxiety diet.
Nuts and seeds are potent sources of healthy fats and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Walnuts, chia seeds, and flaxseeds are all high in omega-3s. Almonds, cashews, and pistachios also hold a wealth of healthy fats and antioxidants.
In addition to incorporating anti-inflammatory foods into your diet, avoiding foods that can exacerbate anxiety is also important. Items to leave off your shopping list include processed foods, sugary drinks, and refined carbohydrates. These foods can cause spikes in blood sugar, leading to anxiety and mood swings.
Caffeine is another common culprit when it comes to anxiety. While caffeine can give you a quick burst of energy and focus, it can also trigger anxiety symptoms in some people. If you are prone to anxiety, limiting your caffeine intake or switching to decaf coffee or tea may be helpful.
In addition to dietary changes, certain supplements can help to reduce anxiety. For example, magnesium is a mineral that helps reduce anxiety symptoms. Many people do not get enough magnesium in their diets, so taking a supplement can help to boost levels of this vital mineral.
Other supplements that can help with anxiety include:
These supplements can help to reduce inflammation, balance the gut microbiome, and support your body's stress response.
While nutrition can be a powerful tool in the fight against anxiety, it is just one piece of the tranquility puzzle. Exercise, sleep, and stress management is crucial for managing anxiety symptoms.
Exercise, in particular, is a great way to reduce anxiety and promote overall health. Exercise reduces inflammation, boosts mood, and improves brain function. It can also help reduce anxiety symptoms by providing an outlet for stress and tension.
When it comes to reducing anxiety symptoms, getting enough quality sleep is essential. Lack of sleep leads to irritability, mood swings, and increased anxiety. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night, and establish a consistent sleep routine to help promote better sleep. You can invest in a hypnosis audio to improve sleep and reduce anxiety.
Stress management is another vital component of managing anxiety. By developing healthy coping mechanisms for stress, you can help to reduce the impact of anxiety on your life. Coping mechanisms can include meditation, deep breathing exercises, and hypnotherapy.
Get in touch if you'd like to discover more about how hypnotherapy sessions can help you overcome anxiety.
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Solution-focused hypnotherapy is a relatively new form of psychotherapy. It has demonstrable benefits for those struggling with well-being issues, and its influence on the health community is increasing. This article explores the benefits of solution-focused hypnotherapy and why it may be the right choice for you.
Solution-focused hypnotherapy is a psychotherapeutic technique. It is based on the idea that people can find their own solutions to life problems and combines some aspects of cognitive-behavioral therapy with hypnotherapy.
In solution-focused hypnotherapy, the therapist helps you focus on the positive aspects of your life and develop achievable goals for the future. You are guided into a relaxed state through hypnosis, where you can access your subconscious mind and begin to make changes at a deeper level.
One of the primary benefits of solution-focused hypnotherapy is that it is a fast-acting process. Clients frequently notice improvements after only a few sessions and start to achieve their goals. Traditional forms of therapy can take years to see any real progress. With solution-focused hypnotherapy, you can identify your issues quickly and work towards resolving them.
Anxiety and stress are common problems. The hypnosis component of solution-focused hypnotherapy helps you to relax and access your subconscious mind. This calming process leads to a reduction in worry and tension.
Many people struggle with sleep issues. Solution focussed hypnotherapy helps improve sleep quality. Clients achieve better sleep by addressing the underlying causes of sleeping problems, like anxiety or stress.
Solution focussed hypnotherapy is effective in managing chronic pain. By accessing the subconscious mind, clients can reduce the perceived level of pain they experience. This change in perception leads to reduced pain medication use and improved overall quality of life.
Another benefit of solution-focused hypnotherapy is that it increases confidence and self-esteem by helping clients focus on their strengths. Goal achievement builds self-assurance and self-respect. This increased confidence will positively impact all areas of your life.
Solution-focused hypnotherapy can help improve your mental health and quality of life by focusing on the positive and developing achievable goals. Solution-focused hypnotherapy is effective in relieving a variety of mental health issues. Depression, anxiety, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are just a few of the conditions that solution-focused hypnotherapy can help you overcome.
Motivation is a vital aspect of achieving goals. The hypnotic process increases enthusiasm to accomplish objectives, boosting motivation and assisting in developing further attainable goals.
Solution-focused hypnotherapy can be effective as a complementary therapy when combined with other therapeutic approaches. It can enhance the effects of medication used to treat mental health issues and complement traditional therapy forms.
Solution-focused hypnotherapy is a powerful form of psychotherapy. It benefits people struggling with emotional, life, and mental health issues. It can reduce anxiety and stress, improve sleep, manage chronic pain, increase confidence and self-esteem, improve mental health, and increase motivation.
If you’d like to know more, book a free telephone consultation today.
]]>When a man experiences erectile dysfunction (ED), it can have a strong negative impact on his sense of self-esteem. For some men, sexual ability equates with masculinity. When ED affects them, they feel as if their whole identity is suddenly at risk.
This article explains how hypnosis can help you overcome erection problems.
]]>When a man experiences erectile dysfunction (ED), it can have a strong negative impact on his sense of self-esteem. For some men, sexual ability equates with masculinity. When ED affects them, they feel as if their whole identity is suddenly at risk.
If you are experiencing erectile dysfunction, an essential first step is to consult your GP so that physical causes can be ruled out.
ED can be a symptom of severe health issues, including:
Also, the GP will check whether any medication you are taking might be causing the problem.
Many men find approaching their GP to discuss erection issues embarrassing. However, GPs regularly review these matters and will not be surprised – for your doctor, ED is just a routine medical problem.
With physical illness and medication ruled out, psychological and lifestyle causes can be addressed. It is here that hypnotherapy can help you overcome erectile dysfunction.
Our bodies release cortisol and other stress hormones when we are under pressure. Financial, work or relationship problems can cause this response. So too will trauma, a lack of confidence and low self-esteem. Cortisol has been described as the body's anti-Viagra. Increased stress reduces libido and can shut off a man's sexual response.
My previous article, Three Wise Monkeys? discusses the evolutionary background to stress: how the stress responses of anger, anxiety and depression served to keep our ancestors alive. Consider the sexual response from an evolutionary point of view. If our primitive ancestors stopped to make love when a predator was nearby, they would not survive very long! Similarly, during times of deprivation – when food was scarce – bearing children would be undesirable. Food stocks would be further depleted, and the child would be unlikely to live. Thus, the body's ability to shut down sexual responses during high-stress periods helped our ancestors to survive.
In today's high-pressure world, when the threats are more subtle and elusive, we live with a constant drip of stress in our lives. In Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, we often discuss the concept of a "stress bucket" - every anxious thought or experience is stored in our internal stress bucket. Inevitably, if we don't change our thinking and lifestyle to address the constant accumulation of stress, the bucket will overflow and, for men, one symptom of this can be ED.
The initial onset of erectile dysfunction might have been related to a stressful life event, negative thinking, relationship problems or a physical health challenge. However, further episodes of ED are often caused by the anxiety that the initial incident itself provoked.
In other words, having once experienced an episode of ED, a man begins to fear that it might reoccur. Rather than looking forward to periods of intimacy with his partner, he thinks: ‘What if it happens again?’
And with this question comes an increase in stress and a significant increase in the stress hormones that contribute to the shutting down of sexual response.
Our minds are wonderfully powerful. We can picture a future scenario so vividly that our brains will not differentiate between reality and this imagined future. A man who has experienced ED might ruminate on the unhappy event, turning over possible consequences of its re-occurrence. When an opportunity to be intimate with his partner presents itself, he has built up such a dread and expectation of failure that this is the only thing he can think of. Rather than being in the moment enjoying the physical proximity, he is in a state of agitation and anxiety - fearful - and, in this state of mind, sexual response is utterly inhibited.
So how can hypnotherapy help a man to set this performance anxiety aside and begin to enjoy healthy erections and a happy sex life?
Firstly, over eight to twelve therapy sessions, the 'stress bucket' can be emptied. Hypnotherapy helps to process our negative thoughts and experiences naturally. Changing them from short-term, emotional memories into narrative memories that no longer provoke a stress response. The solution-focused aspect of the therapy helps the client to imagine what a less stressful life might look like. It reveals the steps they can take to reach that wonderful goal of living a more carefree existence.
Also, many stress-related issues like obesity, alcohol misuse, substance abuse and fatigue have an impact on a man's erections. The therapy will help a man build a healthier and happier lifestyle that can eliminate these impediments.
Most importantly, hypnotherapy can help a man change his negative future forecast into a positive future outlook. Rather than imagining the embarrassment and frustration of ED disrupting his sex life, the client has a mental picture of the future in which intimacy is easy and enjoyable once more.
With the stress of the past, present and future under better control, with a lifestyle that promotes good health and tranquillity, and with positive expectations in place, you can put ED in the past.
Jon Creffield (HPD, DSFH, DHP, MNCH (Reg.) AfSFH) is a member of the National Council for Hypnotherapy, the Association For Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. He is also an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist. Jon provides sessions of solution-focused hypnotherapy by telephone, video-link or at therapy centres in Bristol.
]]>We are pleased to say that Anuj Agarwal, the founder of Feedspot, contacted us today. The Feedspot panellists have selected Hypnotic Healing as one of the Top 100 Hypnosis Blogs on the web.
Feedspot has a team of 25 experts who discover and rank popular blogs, podcasts and youtube channels. We checked out the Top 100 Hypnosis Blogs list. It includes well-regarded hypnotherapy organisations, like the Hypnotherapy Directory, and respected hypnotherapy practitioners. We are delighted that this blog is one of their number.
Earlier in 2020, Hypnotic Healing won Hypnotherapy Practice of the Year in the Bristol Prestige Awards. That recognition, combined with the inclusion on the list of top blogs today, is hugely welcome.
Jon Creffield (HPD, DSFH, DHP, MNCH (Reg.) AfSFH) is a member of the National Council for Hypnotherapy, the Association For Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. He is also an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist. Jon provides sessions of solution-focused hypnotherapy by telephone, video-link or at therapy centres in Bristol.
]]>We all feel stressed from time to time. A little stress can be a constructive motivational factor. We call this challenge stress. Imagine an athlete about to compete. He feels a sense of stress about the competition. This stress will motivate him to do his very best. Spur him on to exceed his expectations.
But let’s imagine he has additional sources of stress in his life: family, work or other issues. Now the added stress of the competition overwhelms him. Challenge stress turns into defeat stress. Rather than spurring him on, this overload of stress actively inhibits his performance both in body and mind. He is now unable to do his best.
Stress affects us, mentally and physically. As a consequence, stress affects how we behave, too.
So how do we know if we’re overloaded with stress? How can we tell if our behaviour and feelings are stress-related?
Hypnotherapy is a combination of psychotherapy and hypnosis. It reduces stress and calms the mind. In solution-focused hypnotherapy, we liken the accumulation of stress to a bucket catching drips of water until it eventually overflows. We experience that overflow as the stress-symptoms outlined above.
Deep relaxation and guided imagery relax the amygdala, the part of our brain most responsive to stressful thoughts and events. This hypnotic process helps you make positive changes in the way you think and is highly effective in relieving the physical, mental and behavioural symptoms of stress.
Jon Creffield (HPD, DSFH, DHP, MNCH (Reg.) AfSFH) is a member of the National Council for Hypnotherapy, the Association For Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. He is also an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist. Jon provides sessions of solution-focused hypnotherapy by telephone, video-link or at therapy centres in Bristol.
]]>Panic attacks induce intense fear. No danger is present, but the body and mind react as though it were, triggering frightening physical responses. Sufferers frequently believe they are experiencing a heart attack.
Some people may experience this condition once or twice, perhaps during stressful periods in their lives. For others, it is a recurrent challenge. The fear of sudden, unexpected panic attacks leads to a constant dread of another attack occurring.
Although panic attacks are not life-threatening, they are terrifying. Panic disorder has a significant impact on a sufferer’s quality of life.
The good news is that therapy for panic attacks can be highly effective.
With a sudden onset, panic attacks can occur at any time. The fear of this makes a trip in the car, shop visit or a work meeting profoundly worrying for a sufferer. Panic attacks may be frequent or occasional. Even if the attacks themselves are infrequent, the knowledge that one could occur weighs heavily on a sufferer’s mind. Panic attacks can also occur during sleep.
Commonly, a panic attack will have some of the following symptoms:
While symptoms may vary, panic attacks typically reach their peak in a matter of minutes, leaving a sense of extreme fatigue afterwards.
These symptoms can be indicators of other health problems. Potentially heart-related. Therefore anyone experiencing them must consult their GP. Do not self diagnose. A panic attack must be identified by a qualified health professional.
For a sufferer, perhaps the worst aspect of a panic attack is the overwhelming fear they will have another episode. This fear is so powerful that sufferers may begin avoiding situations they associate with the onset of panic. This strategy is both life-changing and limiting.
Currently, there is no definitive explanation for the cause of panic disorder. However, some factors are known:
While panic attacks may arise suddenly and without warning, some sufferers discover situational triggering factors. However, these triggers may be association rather than cause. Places and circumstances in which an attack occurred are perceived to be the cause of the attack. Yet, while tension in the situation may have been a contributory factor at the time, it is frequently the mental association with the initial attack that turns similar circumstances into an ongoing trigger.
Scientific research indicates that the brain’s innate fight-or-flight response contributes to panic attacks. By nature, a human being responds instinctively rather than intellectually to certain high-stress events. The threat of attack, for instance, causes an increase in heart rate and rapid breathing. These preparations for life-threatening conditions are the same reactions that occur in panic attacks.
There is no entirely conclusive explanation for why panic attacks happen when no apparent danger is present. However, the steady accumulation of stress in our lives is a profound contribution. One useful analogy likens the mental and physical effects of stress to a bucket catching drips of water. Eventually, the bucket overflows. Just so, the steady drip of stress in modern life eventually causes an “overflow” experienced as a panic attack.
So too, in the mind of the sufferer, certain physical sensations can become associated with the onset of a panic attack. A feeling of tightness in the throat, shortness of breath or similar sensation becomes so associated with the experience of panic that the sufferer’s anxiety level spikes and a panic attack occurs. In other words, a panic attack happens because the sufferer fears that one is imminent.
Panic attack symptoms frequently manifest during a suffer’s teenage years or early twenties. The condition affects a higher proportion of women than men. Other factors known to increase the risk of developing panic disorder involve:
In addition to the above factors, smoking cigarettes and high levels of caffeine consumption increase the risk of panic attacks.
Panic disorder can spoil many opportunities in a sufferer’s life. Fear of having another attack becomes so overwhelming that it dominates thinking. Over time, a sufferer might begin to:
Panic disorder can lead to an agoraphobic response. A sufferer may avoid places mentally associated with anxiety, fearing they might become trapped if a panic attack occurs.
Hypnotherapy can help in several ways:
Panic attacks are dreadful to experience, but with a gentle therapeutic approach that builds confidence while reducing stress, a sufferer can reclaim their life.
Jon Creffield (HPD, DHP, DSFH) is a CNHC registered Solution Focused Hypnotherapist specialised in using relaxation, guided imagery and metaphor to help clients achieve life-enhancing changes. He is a member of the National Council For Hypnotherapy and the Association For Solution Focused Hypnotherapy. Jon is based in North Somerset near Bristol.… Read more
Online and telephone hypnotherapy sessions available in the comfort of your own home or face-to-face meetings in therapy rooms located in Bristol UK
To book an appointment, please get in contact:
Telephone and online therapy offers all the benefits of in-person hypnotherapy but with added convenience. Without the need to travel to a therapy centre, clients find it easy to schedule a time for their meetings. Comfortable and relaxed in their own homes, they can enjoy the therapy in a focussed frame of mind.
Advances in communication technology have made telephone and online therapy a practical and straightforward choice. It is just as easy to build a therapeutic relationship by telephone or video link as it is face to face.
One of the main advantages of telephone and online therapy is accessibility. Clients who might face challenges attending hypnotherapy sessions in person can quickly participate via webcam or phone.
It frees clients to choose from any therapist in the world, not just geographically close ones. It saves clients time and money, too, as there is no travel involved in attending.
This convenience is particularly valuable for clients that have busy work or family schedules, and also for those who have mobility challenges.
It is essential to make sure the therapist is qualified. Check that they are members of a recognised professional body. For online hypnotherapy, the therapist should be a member of organisations like the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council, the National Council for Hypnotherapy and the Association for Solution Focussed Hypnotherapy.
A potential challenge for a therapist is that telephone work offers no visual insights into a client’s situation. Body language and facial expressions are valuable communication resources. However, this is not an impossible challenge, and an experienced telephone therapist learns to read peoples voices keenly. Online therapy via video-link and webcam allows for such non-verbal communication, of course.
For some clients, holding a phone for an hour-long session can be tiring or uncomfortable. This challenge is easily remedied with headphones or by using a speakerphone.
Clients should choose a quiet, private and above all, comfortable room in their house—a place where they will not be disturbed. For telephone and online hypnotherapy, the room should have a comfortable bed or chair where the client can lie back and relax. A chair must offer support to the neck and shoulders.
In addition to the scheduling and travel advantages that all clients enjoy, some suffers of anxiety, agoraphobia and depression might find leaving the house challenging. They can engage more readily with telephone and online therapy sessions. Many clients prefer the privacy of phone and online therapy too.
Absolutely. Where travel is not a factor, some clients prefer a combination of face to face and telephone or online therapy appointments.
The flexibility of telephone and online therapy gives clients a choice to alternate in-person sessions with phone and webcam appointments. But most clients find the opportunity to have their hypnotherapy at home relaxing and liberating.
Jon Creffield (HPD, DSFH, DHP, MNCH (Reg.) AfSFH) is a member of the National Council for Hypnotherapy, the Association For Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. He is also an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist
To support clients at this difficult time, he is currently offering a package of four 1-hour online therapy sessions for £200, saving £80 from the usual fee. These are available via video call or conventional telephone call.
]]>Hello, my name is Jon Creffield. I’m a hypnotherapist based in Bristol with practices in Clifton and Westbury on Trym. I also provide therapy sessions by phone and online via video link.
In this short article, I am going to give you some information about hypnotherapy, the experience of hypnosis, and why it can help you overcome anxiety, depression, phobias, stress and a whole host of other issues. Hypnosis can help you reach your goals, whatever they might be.
Hypnotherapy is a combination of psychotherapy and hypnosis. The type of psychotherapy I practice, Solution Focused Therapy, is designed to reduce anxiety and calm the mind. As the name suggests, it focuses on solutions for the future rather than analysing problems of the past. This approach is intrinsically beneficial, and the application of hypnosis enhances its effects. In combination, they enable your subconscious mind to make valuable changes.
You might wonder what hypnosis is like. Many people don’t realise that we all experience the hypnotic state in our everyday lives. Have you ever driven home, become lost in your thoughts, and not remembered the journey? Begun painting a wall only to ‘zone out’ and find you’ve nearly finished? Or become so engrossed in a book that you weren’t aware of the world around you? If so, you’ve been in a state of focused attention, not unlike the feeling of being hypnotised.
Hypnosis is simply a state of focused attention. In this relaxed state, your mind is more responsive to suggestion. In a therapeutic setting, the suggestions are beneficial and facilitate the development of helpful thought patterns.
Solution Focused hypnotherapy is a cooperative process between client and therapist. Together, we look at your daily experiences in a new and positive light and discover simple steps you can take to improve the quality of your life and thoughts. The hypnosis encourages and empowers these changes in thinking and action.
Solution focussed hypnotherapy does not involve analysing painful memories from the past. If you have experienced unpleasant events, we acknowledge they happened, recognise your current situation, and help you to take the necessary steps to get from where you are to where you want to be.
During the first part of each session, we’ll talk about the progress you have made, and I’ll be encouraging you to express yourself positively, focusing on solutions rather than dwelling on problems.
I’ll help you to imagine your preferred future, one where you have a more useful perspective on the quality of your life. I’ll then guide you into a relaxed state of hypnosis so that that beneficial suggestions can be directed towards your subconscious mind, consolidating what we have discussed.
This hypnotic process will help you to make changes in the way you think and is highly effective in relieving the symptoms of anxiety and stress.
Clients often comment about how relaxing and pleasant hypnosis feels – it’s not unlike daydreaming while in a deeply relaxed state. You could think of it as guided daydreaming. But a daydream that produces positive changes in the way you act and feel.
To support clients at this difficult time, I am currently offering a package of four 1-hour online therapy sessions for £200, saving £80 from the usual fee. These are available via video call or conventional telephone call.
Jon Creffield (HPD, DSFH, DHP, MNCH (Reg.) AfSFH) is a member of the National Council for Hypnotherapy, the Association For Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. He is also an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist
]]>But increased happiness is available to you right now, today, and you don't need to chase anything, win anything or buy anything – instead, just follow this simple plan:
1. Get active in an enjoyable, positive way.
2. Mix with happy and supportive people.
3. Plant positive thoughts in your mind.
Before you say, "But that's not so easy!" Let me show you how to put these things into practice – right now, today.
We'll start by getting active in an enjoyable, positive way. If we complete a positive physical activity, our brains reward us with serotonin. You don't have to take up running (although you could if you enjoy it): just find something that gets you moving around. It could be gardening, walking, countryside photography, fitness classes, team sports, housework, decorating – literally anything you enjoy and that involves physical effort. It doesn't have to exhaust you – it just needs to get you moving.
If we've been low, it can be hard to think of anything we might enjoy. It's a bit like getting a car started when its battery is flat. Have you ever push-started a vehicle? Well, you might need to give yourself a push-start too. Sometimes the hardest thing is just getting out of the house. So don't even think about it, slip on your shoes, put on a coat and get outside. Just walk. For today, just walking is enough – do this frequently, and you'll begin to find that there are other things you want to do too.
Next on our list are the happy and supportive people. All too often, we talk about what is wrong with the world: we pile negative conversations on top of each other. This kind of interaction doesn't increase our happiness. Think about people you know: work colleagues, family or friends. Who is the best listener that gossips least and smiles most and always has a kind word to say? If you are fortunate enough to know such a person, give them a call right now, today. Don't talk problems: instead, talk about things you would like to achieve. Ask them about their family and what is going well for them.
If you do not know anyone like that, perhaps it is time to broaden your social circle. As we get older, it can become harder to make new friends. But there are many possibilities – you can combine being "active in an enjoyable, positive way" with your quest for more positive friends. How about trying an exercise class and making a point of saying hello to people? Perhaps there is a local walking group you could join. A search online will turn up activities in your area – they are opportunities to meet friendly people.
If we are feeling low, sometimes we don't want to meet other people. We become uncomfortable in social situations. If that's the case, concentrate on step one, for now, the serotonin boost will gradually increase your confidence. As the days pass, you will feel more inclined to brave a social event. But maybe if you gave yourself a little push-start, there is someone you might call today?
This brings us to the third step, planting positive thoughts. Our imaginations are powerful – for good and for ill. Do you imagine things going wrong? Fret so much that you feel anxious? If so, then you're using your imagination to make yourself sad.
To a degree, anticipating a potential negative outcome can occasionally be useful – providing we then make a definite plan. But for most of us, negative forecasting leads to increased anxiety. We worry about things that probably won't happen anyway or over which we have no control.
If there is a prudent step we can take to minimise risk, then we should take it and stop worrying. If instead, we have no control over the thing we are worrying about, then we should let go of it and stop worrying.
You might be saying, "If it were as easy as that, no one would ever worry!" So to make it a bit easier, to push-start your mind – try this:
In solution-focused hypnotherapy, we begin each session discussing positive thoughts and experiences. We remind clients that being active in a positive way and interacting in a positive way lead to increased serotonin levels. Through the hypnotic use of metaphor, imagery and positive language patterns, we help clients to think more happily.
Happiness is an internal thing; it is waiting for you – and by following these simple steps, you can begin experiencing more and more of it each day.
Jon Creffield (HPD, DHP, DSFH) is a CNHC registered Solution Focused Hypnotherapist specialised in using relaxation, guided imagery and metaphor to help clients achieve life-enhancing changes. He is a member of the National Council For Hypnotherapy and the Association For Solution Focused Hypnotherapy. Jon is based in North Somerset near Bristol.… Read more
Online and telephone hypnotherapy sessions available in the comfort of your own home or face-to-face meetings in therapy rooms located in Bristol UK
To book an appointment, please get in contact:
If you’ve got a full stress bucket, it will be hard to win the war against worry.
REM sleep is nature’s stress reduction method. Give a proper night’s sleep the importance it deserves. Build a comfortable, stable sleep routine.
]]>If you’ve got a full stress bucket, it will be hard to win the war against worry. So what can you do to empty it?
Sleep right to feel right: REM sleep is nature’s stress reduction method. Give a proper night’s sleep the importance it deserves. Build a comfortable, stable sleep routine – if shift work interferes with this, then do your best to establish a pattern that still gives you the equivalent of a night’s rest. By building a pattern, you can program your body to sleep better.
Make the hour before sleep your unwinding time: say no to emails, Facebook and electronic screens. Gentle music, a good book, and a warm bedtime drink can all help.
Is your bedroom a special place for rest and relaxation? If not – if it’s just another room, or worse still, a storeroom – then it’s time to make it into your very own sleep sanctum.
You deserve an environment that is as dark and quiet as it’s possible for you to make it. Set the heating so it’s neither overly warm nor cool.
Your mattress shouldn’t be too soft or too hard. If you are sleeping in a cramped, aging bed, and you can afford to do so, consider upgrading to a bed that will help you get the rest you need. Try to remove any distractions from the room – if you’ve got a pet cat that likes to hop up on your pillow and wake you up, perhaps it’s time for kitty to have a new basket (in the kitchen!).
Positive physical activity – whether it’s something formal, like an organised sport or class, or something informal, like walking, gardening or playing outside with your children – will reduce stress. Exercise isn’t recommended immediately before bed, but make it a regular part of your life and reap the benefits to your mind and body.
Be mindful of stimulants like tea and coffee. Consider eliminating them from your evening diet – or possibly altogether if you are experiencing sleeping problems. Drinks with caffeine disrupt the sleep process and significantly impair your ability to enjoy deep sleep.
Alcoholic drinks or an excess of food, particularly in the later part of the evening, can disrupt your sleep. The idea that alcohol improves sleep is illusory – it might cause you to fall asleep quickly, but at the cost of a disrupted and less-effective sleep pattern.
Get rid of the cigarettes! They’re not just bad for your body, they’re sleep-stealers too. A smoker finds it harder to fall asleep and will wake up more often in the night than a non-smoker.
If you’re a bedtime worry-wort who lies awake at night, then set some time aside in the early evening to jot down a few simple steps you might take to make any life-problems easier to manage. Relax and imagine how things would be if the problem suddenly disappeared – what small step might you take that would reduce – even if only slightly – the severity of the problem? If the worrisome thoughts return at bedtime, say to yourself, 'I will tackle this tomorrow – I will think about it then and come up with solutions.' As with anything, practice makes perfect, but you can make this part of your life-pattern.
If the worries simply won’t relent, then get out of bed, do something you find relaxing, and be mindful of your body. When you notice sleepy sensations, get back into bed and allow nature to take its course.
For aid in emptying your stress bucket, maximising the benefits of your REM sleep, and winning the worry war, you might consider booking some sessions of hypnotherapy. Email me at jon@hypnotic-healing.store for more information.
Or you might consider investing in my hypnotherapy audio track to listen to at night – patterns of hypnotic language and music that guide the listener towards a refreshing REM sleep pattern where the mind can resolve stress, dissolve worries and prepare itself for the day to come.
]]>Read this article to discover strategies known to reduce anxiety – see which ones resonate with you, put them into practice and give yourself a chance to become the tranquil happy person you truly are.
]]>What follows are some strategies known to reduce anxiety – see which ones resonate with you, put them into practice and give yourself a chance to become the tranquil happy person you truly are.
Give your body the basic necessities: Sleep well, eat well and stay hydrated. Proper rest and nutrition are essential. If you are finding sleep difficult, invest in a hypnotherapy audio. If you are under or over-eating, consider making lifestyle changes based around what your body needs: many doctors surgeries offer support in this area (or you may wish to consult www.NHS.uk).
Share with a caring listener: Calmly talking through your anxieties with a supportive listener can be helpful. Don’t dwell excessively on what is troubling you, keep the conversation positive and tell your friend about things that are going well too, how you would like to feel and any thoughts you have about how you are going to get there. If there is no one suitable to talk with, you can approach your GP for support.
Use your imagination: When we are anxious we visualise and dwell on all sorts of unhappy outcomes. Time to turn that around! Close your eyes, create or bring to mind the image of a beautiful and happy place. Think what it would be like to be there: what would you see, smell, feel and hear? Initially, do this practice when you are feeling calm, so that it is easier to build the mental image up during times of anxiety.
Don’t beat yourself up: Many of us are kind and understanding towards our friends but never cut ourselves any slack. So you are not perfect: you messed something up, you are not on top of something, you did something you regret – join the club! Use anything that has gone wrong as the reversed mirror image of what you want your life to be like – you now know the outcome you don’t want, so what small step can you take that will bring you closer to the outcome you do desire?
Take time for a reality check: Anxiety can be overwhelming, flooding our thoughts with all sorts of terrible fears. It can seem as if those fears are very real. But are they? Take time out, repeat the calming exercises outlined here. Most of the things we worry about won’t happen anyway. And always remember that unexpected good things can happen.
Remember what fear is: Anxiety is intended to help you run from, hide from or fight a threat: that’s right, anxiety is a fight or flight response triggered by an overload of stress. For many of us, most of this stress is caused by the way we are thinking about a situation, rather than the situation itself. Our body responds, releasing adrenaline and cortisol, getting us ready for an imaginary threat. Recognising that this is a fear-induced defence system helps us turn the volume down on the “anxiety alarm” as we regain intellectual control.
What’s the best that can happen: Repeatedly imagining a situation going wrong just ups the amount of anxiety we are experiencing. So, what’s the best thing that could happen? Try to visualise the situation developing the way you want it to. How would you know things were going well? What small step can you take to lead you closer to that positive outcome?
Limit your worries: Set aside twenty minutes a day as solution time – when a worrying thought crops up, tell yourself ‘I will think about this during solution time,’ and then put the thought aside. No matter how often the thought reoccurs, tell yourself the same thing. During solution time, review the worrying thoughts, write them down if you wish, but for each one ask yourself, ‘How would I like this to be? What is the opposite outcome to the one I’m worrying about? What small step could I take to make this situation better?’ If nothing comes to mind immediately, stick with it and see what ideas surface. If you have a hypnotherapy audio, play it at the end of your solution time.
Take action: Anxiety causes procrastination, and yet the more we procrastinate, the more anxious we become. Taking a small step towards solving a problem – perhaps calling someone for advice, responding to a letter or making an appointment with a professional – is a decisive act that makes a positive outcome more likely. Each positive action you take – however small – brings you closer to a solution.
Get active: Our bodies are designed for action and we get a healthy dose of what I like to call “happy brain soup” when we do a physical activity we enjoy. Whether it is walking the dog, playing a sport or weeding the garden, as long as we are active and doing something we enjoy, we generate serotonin and other feel-good chemicals that make us more confident, resilient and happy.
Get social: We are social-animals and have evolved to be happier as part of a “tribe”. Your tribe might be a few close friends or relatives, or more people than you can count, but no matter who you are, social interaction with supportive, friendly people will help you generate the “happy brain soup” needed to overcome anxiety. If your anxiety is of the social sort, begin with a person you trust. You are in charge, you can choose to expand your comfort zone as slowly or as quickly as you wish, and if this is troublesome, we offer online therapy to help you overcome anxiety and live the life you deserve.
For online therapy enquires, email jon@hypnotic-healing.store or visit our online therapy page here
]]>According to the NHS, two million people in the United Kingdom alone are dealing with an addiction.
]]>The friend who always has a few extra drinks, a seemingly happy colleague secretly sniffing aerosols to get high, individuals dependent on prescription or non-prescription drugs, gambling addicts losing an entire month’s wages, sex addicts risking family and reputation, food addicts damaging their health through self-destructive eating habits – the list is nearly endless.
Addiction occurs just as much to certain kinds of behaviour as it does to drugs, alcohol and other substances. If a 'need', whether it is for a substance or behaviour, is slipping out of our control, then we are at risk of addiction.
How do we know when we are addicted? If we are giving a particular 'need' higher priority than our family and health, or our financial and emotional well-being, then we are displaying addictive behaviour. Secrecy is another warning sign – do we keep this aspect of our life hidden from other people? Why?
Is it because we fear their reaction and disapproval?
In moments of clarity, do we recognise that we are even hiding the truth from ourselves?
We can ask ourselves this question, 'If someone else behaved this way, someone I loved, would I be concerned?' If the answer is yes, then it is time for us to take positive action.
Speaking with your GP is a good starting point; your doctor can give you advice and refer you to local addiction services. However, in addition to taking medical advice, many people make the decision to contact me for private treatment.
In solution focused hypnotherapy, we take the individual client’s goal as the focal point. At the initial consultation we will discuss your experience of addiction, the substance or behaviour to which you are addicted and your decision to stop. We will take a look at how the mind works in relation to physiological and psychological addiction, why it is we can experience withdrawal symptoms and how we can use positive behaviour to build resilience in the face of cravings, discomfort and psychological distress.
In the follow up sessions of hypnotherapy, we will look at your personal motivation to stop. Why is stopping important for you? Often the initial reason people give when asked why they want to stop isn’t the same as the reason they will discover through therapy – sometimes we say to ourselves, ‘I must stop for my health’, ‘I must stop because it is ruining my finances’ or ‘I am losing my family.’ All of these are indeed good reasons to stop, but our minds are deep pools: our subconscious is not interested in other people’s logical reasons and common sense motivation. Each of us has our own powerful motivation and during hypnotherapy it can come to the surface.
A good starting point for uncovering this motivation is the miracle question, a potent imagination exercise that allows us to visualise a future free of addiction: how will your life be different, how will you - and other people too perhaps - know you have completely freed yourself from the substance or behaviour? We can look at how you see your future life and begin to imagine what steps you might take to make this positive future a reality.
When facing up to an addiction we sometimes have mixed feelings about leaving the substance or behaviour behind. During therapy you can uncover your own personal motivators to help you make the required changes to your life.
As we begin to make those changes, it is important that we believe:
Hypnosis can help you achieve this level of confidence.
Putting our damaging habit behind us takes more than an intention: we must consider our lives in a holistic way. We can ask ourselves, ‘What parts of my lifestyle are an asset that will help me maintain sobriety or freedom from self-destructive behaviour?’ These aspects of our life can be enhanced and amplified. We might then ask, ‘What parts of my life are an obstacle towards my continuing success?’ These aspects make relapse more likely, and we need to recognise this and begin the process of making positive changes.
As you provide answers to the miracle question, consider your best future life and recognise the steps towards freedom – as you benefit from hypnotic mental focus and positive suggestions – you'll begin to recognise that no miracle is needed at all. You can be that free person you imagine: living the healthy and happy life you want – one step at a time.
Jon Creffield (HPD, DHP, DSFH) is a CNHC registered Solution Focused Hypnotherapist specialised in using relaxation, guided imagery and metaphor to help clients achieve life-enhancing changes. He is a member of the National Council For Hypnotherapy and the Association For Solution Focused Hypnotherapy.
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But enough of the reasons as to why we should stop - this article assumes that you are stopping and that you have chosen hypnotherapy as the best route to a smoke-free life. Hypnotherapy is a good choice; according to the National Council For Hypnotherapy, by quitting smoking with hypnosis, a person is three times more likely to give up than if they used nicotine patches.
As a hypnotherapist, I tackle smoking-compulsion in a single two-hour session. Initially, we will discuss your smoking history - how did you begin smoking? Is there a pattern to your smoking now? I will explain how the mind works in relation to smoking - the objective is to arm you with such a high degree of self-understanding that even after the hardest day, you will have the clarity of thought required to say no to the primitive emotional part of your brain that craves cigarettes.
This discussion is vital to the success of your smoking-cessation therapy and will last about an hour. It will give you a clear understanding of the tricks your subconscious mind can play to knock you off the stop-smoking wagon.
After this, we will solidify all you have learned with a session of relaxation and trance. Using guided imagery and metaphor the ground will be paved for your new healthier, wealthier and happier smoke-free life.
It is important to be aware that hypnotherapy is not magic. It can help you use your mind to make life-enhancing changes. However, the responsibility for carrying out those changes lies with you.
The work you do with me will enable you to recognise the smoking impulses coming from the primitive emotional part of your mind for what they are, a dark propaganda for an expensive, unhealthy and ultimately fatal way of life. Furthermore, the therapy will help you to say a clear, unequivocal no to that part of your mind - an absolutely clear refusal to its child-like demands to continue with a self-destructive pattern of behaviour.
So what can you do ahead of your smoking-cessation hypnotherapy session to maximise its benefit? I suggest that you consider taking the following steps:
Think about why you want to stop, is it health? Money? Fitness? Family? Freedom? Whatever your reasons, reflect on them. Create a mental image of your future life - one in which you have left the unpleasant habit behind.
For example, if saving money is your main objective, create a mental image of enjoying a lovely holiday or buying a new car with the money you will save.
If fitness goals are your motivation, then vividly imagine what it will be like to breathe so much more easily during exercise - whether it is walking up stairs at work, excelling while playing a sport or enjoying the countryside.
Imagine living a strong and healthy life, free of disease - picture yourself in the different stages of your life, in each stage happy and healthy, able to enjoy an active life with children and grandchildren.
Smoking ages us prematurely, with a smoke-free life you will have energy and vitality that cigarettes steal from us - visualise your new energised lifestyle.
With this vivid picture of what you want to achieve in mind, settle down in a quiet and comfortable place;
1. Allow your eyes to close - set aside concerns, imagine putting worries into an old fashioned filing cabinet marked ‘for future consideration’.
2. Take steady slow breaths - fill your lungs at an even pace as your stomach gently rises, and breathe out equally slowly, until a steady rhythm is established.
3. Imagine what it would feel like if all your muscles began to relax - start with the skin of your scalp, and then allow the muscles around your eyes and your jaw to relax too; then your neck and shoulders, down through your arms, chest, back and stomach - down through your waist and thighs; all the way down to the tips of your toes - all the muscles of your body relaxing and letting go.
4. Imagine that you are at the top of a gentle slope in an area of beautiful countryside -picture it as you wish; perhaps you are making your way down a country lane, or maybe you are walking down towards a beach. Whatever you choose, just picture a warm and pleasant day: beautiful sights and sounds, wildflowers, the chirping of birds, the scent of woodlands - whatever you find most pleasing. Enjoy a peaceful daydream as you envisage yourself walking down and down this gentle path, and with each imaginary step you take, just allow yourself to become more and more relaxed. Allow pleasant images to drift through your mind.
5. Now turn your thoughts back to your mental picture of success. Imagine it is the future - you have stopped smoking and you are enjoying all the benefits this will bring. Visualise your new, happy, smoke-free life in as much detail as you can. Imagine the sense of pride and accomplishment you will feel.
6. When you are ready, just open your eyes and have a stretch – well done!
Repeat this imagination exercise each day for a week before your stop-smoking session and you will create positive expectation and motivation. You can picture your brain as a sat-nav: you have to enter a destination before the sat-nav can guide you and with this exercise, you are letting the deepest parts of your subconscious mind know where it is you want to go and just how good it will be when you get there.
If you're considering booking video-link smoking cessation therapy with me, feel free to drop me an email or visit our online therapy page.
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Inside each of us is an alarm system. Our brains are hardwired to deal with all the challenges early man faced. Our primitive hominid ancestors lived in a dangerous world. Wild beasts of terrifying ferocity might devour them, rival tribesman might attack them, and forces of nature might deprive them of food and water or subject them to potentially lethal weather hazards. In such an environment, only those with a swift response to danger survived to pass their genes down to us.
Evolution is a powerful thing; nature adds to itself. While we have far greater intellectual capacity than the early proto-humans, our brains still contain the same primitive alarm system as our ape-like kin.
We still need that alarm system. It has the power to override our intellectual mind, to send instant signals with an overpowering force that directs our actions free of conscious thought. When confronted by muggers, caught in a fire, attacked by a neighbour’s dog or facing any other threat to our existence, we can react instantly: fleeing from danger, aggressively fighting for our lives or seeking to hide as appropriate.
This would not be the consequence of rational thought; no, our primitive alarm system operates faster than that. If it didn’t, if we stopped to think about the danger we faced, we would be overcome: knocked prone by the muggers, overwhelmed by the smoke or savaged by the dog.
So what has this got to do with the three monkeys of depression, anxiety and anger? We can visualise our brain’s threat response system as three monkey-like early human ancestors. The Anger Monkey responds to a perceived threat with aggressive displays, and if necessary, with violence – swift to shout, threaten and lash out, he might protect us if we find ourselves under attack. Adversaries might flee from his aggressive display, or failing that, might be defeated in physical combat. This is great if Anger Monkey is responding to a life or death confrontation. Unfortunately, in the modern world with its steady drip of stressful situations and thoughts, Anger Monkey can very quickly become confused, misinterpreting the steady rise in our stress level as an existential threat.
An unexpected bill, problems with our boss and bad traffic on the drive home can trip Anger Monkey’s alarm. Suddenly, and seemingly from out of nowhere, we have shouted, blustered, intimidated or worse still physically acted aggressively: inappropriate road rage, an inexcusable argument with our spouse, a career-damaging confrontation with a work colleague.
And Anger Monkey’s brothers, Anxiety Monkey and Depression Monkey are just as likely to confuse today’s stressful incidents with the life or death struggles of our forebears. When stress levels rise, Depression Monkey will have us hide away, stay in bed, tired and lethargic. It is a strategy that worked well when our primitive ancestors were forced by a sudden change in the weather to stay in a shelter, perhaps hiding beneath some trees, unable to go out and gather food. A period of non-activity, in which their bodies slowed down, gave time for conditions to improve so the daily struggle for life could continue afresh once the bad weather – or other threat – had passed. But this strategy is of no help when the risk is a financial, career or another modern worry. The depression response remains, we take no action to solve our problem, sorrow, tiredness and lethargy increase and as, unlike the weather or a wandering predator, today’s challenges will not simply disappear in time, the depression is unlikely to lift spontaneously.
The Anxiety Monkey, ever vigilant, is busily assessing every threat we might face – negatively projecting those threats into the future, filling our minds with dark scenarios of danger and failure. This ability to negatively forecast can be useful from a survival point of view – as is the ability to flee for one’s life at a moments notice. But if we become lost in a negative trance state vividly envisaging, again and again, all the undesirable possibilities that might occur, then we risk never acting at all.
Furthermore, these internal hallucinations provoke more and more anxiety – our brains do not differentiate between a vividly imagined scenario and an experience. As we mentally rehearse scenes of humiliation, failure and despair, our stress levels – and corresponding levels of cortisol and adrenaline – increase. And with that increase comes the risk of hypertension, weight gain or loss, digestive problems, a decrease in a man’s testosterone levels, disruption in a woman’s menstrual cycle, a reduction in the effectiveness of our immune system, depression, neurological disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, sleep problems, enhanced risk of addiction, and a variety of mental health conditions including phobias and compulsive disorders.
So what can we do to stop our three confused monkeys from overreacting to the pressures of modern life? The hypnotherapy techniques of deep relaxation and guided imagery serve to relax the amygdala, the core of the primitive emotional part of our brain and allow the intellectual mind to regain control.
TV shows depicting stage hypnosis create a false picture of what hypnotherapy is and what a client might experience. The therapist is not seeking to knock the client out or take control of their mind. Hypnotherapy allows the client to experience a sense of relaxed inner focus. Often consciously aware, the client enjoys an ordinary and pleasant daydream-like experience as the therapist uses metaphor and imagery – the language of the mind – to help the client process stress and develop new and positive life strategies. Hypnotherapy can release our thoughts from the grip of the three unwise monkeys, allowing us to live a freer and happier life.
]]>To the uninformed, it might seem that depression is something we ought to be able to shake off. Many sufferers have experienced well-meaning but deeply unhelpful comments from family and friends who fail to recognise that depression is a serious health condition.
Suggestions like, “You’ve got to be strong. Pull yourself together. Get a grip,” cause great distress.
Depression comes with a wide array of symptoms. A therapist will be interested to know if you have experienced any of the following:
It is important to note that a sufferer may experience only a few of these symptoms. One person’s experience of depression may be quite different from another’s. Mild depression can manifest as a persistent low mood, while at the other end of the spectrum, the illness might lead to suicidal thoughts. If you suspect you are suffering from depression, contact your GP.
There is no one single cause for depression. It can arise spontaneously, without a trigger. For other suffers, a life event may bring on the illness: the loss of a loved one, redundancy, or giving birth, for example. Individuals with a history of depression in their family are more vulnerable to the condition.
Depression is a common illness; one in ten people will suffer from it at some point in their lives. It can affect children too; studies suggest that nearly one in twenty children of school age have symptoms of anxiety and depression.
So how can we get well again? GPs can offer medication, and this is something you might want to discuss with your doctor or pharmacist. A variety of talking therapies are available too.
In solution focused hypnotherapy we begin by looking at what is going right in your life; by concentrating on the positive, we begin to retrain our brains to look for the good.
We remind ourselves that serotonin, the neurotransmitter most associated with a sense of well-being, is created in response to positive and enjoyable physical activity, positive social interaction, and positive thinking. We look for ways we might increase these behaviours in our lives.
Through an understanding of the benefits of REM sleep and the debilitating impact of an excess of REM, we take steps to maximise beneficial sleep – nature’s way of discharging stress.
We ask ourselves, how would I know if I was getting better? If a miracle occurred, and tomorrow I was feeling well, what would be different? What might I be doing? We then consider what small steps we might take to bring us just a bit closer to that wonderful goal.
Hypnosis is a natural, complementary therapy that can work in conjunction with medical treatment. During hypnosis, your mind enters a deep, healing period of relaxation. Guided imagery, metaphor and thought-provoking stories prompt our minds into developing unique strategies to overcome our challenges.
The real you, hopeful, happy and relaxed, can emerge from the shadows – depression can be put in the past and life can be deeply enjoyed once again.
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At heart, we are tribal beings. We are better off as a group. Connecting with like-minded, kind and supportive people encourages the release of positive neurotransmitters, just like exercise.
When we are feeling low, we often decline invitations to join work colleagues, family or friends in social activities, but if we shy away, we won’t find the support networks we need to ride out life’s troubles.
The cumulative effects of stress, depression and anxiety can provoke a form of social phobia that leads us to isolation. If you are missing out on opportunities to relax and laugh with good natured people, then spending time in a therapeutic hypnotic trance will help you re-engage with the wider world.
4. Make time for yourself
In our hectic lives, we often prioritise our jobs or family over our own wants and needs. Consider this: if you are stressed, anxious, depressed or angry, are your family and work colleagues getting the best they can from you? You are better able to support others when you’ve looked after yourself.
Consider a man on a beach: he spots some swimmers out of their depth. In order to save them, he has to look after his own safety. If he throws himself into the water without a thought for his own life, he’ll not only fail to save the swimmers, he’ll probably need rescuing himself!
So to be the best you for the people you care about, make time to do the things you really enjoy. For your own well-being, find a way to spend at least two evenings a week socialising, relaxing or getting some exercise.
5. Set yourself goals
Human beings thrive on a sense of achievement. Those who succeed survive and nature has equipped us with an onboard reward system of positive brain chemicals that fires up when we successfully complete a challenge.
Make these goals something you’ll be happy to work towards: maybe you want to improve your garden, learn a language, master an artistic technique, complete a complex jigsaw, or try a new sport. Whatever it might be – small or large – reaching that target will build up your sense of self-confidence and esteem.
The more goals you complete, the greater your sense of resilience will become. You will find yourself wanting to do new things as you feel better and better about yourself.
6. Develop healthy habits
As said above, relying on alcohol, cigarettes or drugs just adds to your problems. Substance misuse is a form of avoidance behaviour that temporarily allows users to hide from their problems.
If you are facing addiction issues and want to begin a new healthy lifestyle, our hypnotherapy audios can help you leave old habits behind. While you are at it, wouldn’t it be good to set yourself positive goals around food, drink and exercise? As you build new life-giving habits into your daily routine you’ll feel fitter, stronger, healthier and happier.
7. Lend others a helping hand
As said above, human beings are tribal creatures. We’ve evolved to feel good when we are doing good.
Getting involved with a charity, volunteering or doing community work will help in a number of ways: firstly, you’ll get more of those happy brain chemicals that give us a sense of wellbeing, and secondly, it will put your own problems in perspective as you become more aware of the issues facing people in the wider world.
Even if you have no time for volunteering, you can make it your goal to do someone a favour every day. Be the person who smiles at others, the one who gives up their seat on the bus or brings in biscuits for their colleagues – you’ll feel happier when you do!
8. Learn to manage your time
Tired of facing an overflowing in-tray at work? Not enough hours in the day to get your household chores done? Then it is time to start working smarter rather than harder. You can ‘traffic light’ your workload:
Red light priority: this is a task that is both vital and urgent – perhaps there is a deadline with consequences if it is missed. These tasks need to be done first. They go to the top of your ‘to-do’ list.
Yellow light priority: these are day to day work or home tasks that can seem urgent but that upon inspection lack the deadline attached to red-light tasks. It’s important that these jobs are done, but we can safely put them in second place.
Green light priority: these tasks aren’t time sensitive at all. There is no urgency attached to them. Once we’ve cleared away our red- and yellow-light jobs, we can turn our attention to them.
Another important asset to the overworked and underappreciated is the ability to say, ‘no!’ There’s an old saying that if you want something done, give the task to the busiest person in the office. If that’s you, always helping co-workers out and unwilling to let the boss down, think about our drowning man analogy above. You can’t give your best if you spread yourself too thin. Say no to tasks that aren’t part of your remit and learn to ask others for help when you need it.
9. Positive thinking
Look for the things that are going well in your life. Make a point of reflecting upon the things you are grateful for. Every day, make a list of things that went well or that you appreciated. Do this even on the hardest of days – in fact, the harder the day, the more important it is that we take note of the positives.
Our brains are hardwired to look out for dangers, before we know it we are ruminating and speculating about all the things that might go wrong. We become trapped in a cycle of negative thinking, effectively hypnotising ourselves with detailed fearful daydreams about all life’s hazards.
Focusing on the good will re-engage the intellectual, creative part of your mind: the part where solutions are born. The more positive our thinking, the more open we are to good opportunities. When we are calm and relaxed, solutions to life’s problems come naturally as we think freely and creatively.
10. Know the difference
Consider the opening words of the serenity prayer:
Grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Accept that there are things we can't change. We cannot, and nor should we, control and manipulate all the people, places and things in our lives. Changing challenging situations and events isn't always possible.
Instead, we will feel happier when we identify the things we do have control over – and work to improve them.
If you need help untangling any aspect of your life, identifying the things you can change and reaching the new goals you set, our hypnotherapy audios will help you piece together the solutions you need.
Start building a better life today.