‘Research shows that there is more scientific evidence for hypnotherapy than any other complementary therapy… by using hypnosis people can perform prodigious feats of willpower and self healing’
Health Education Authority
- Lifting depression
- Stop smoking
- Anxiety
- Phobias and fears
- Trauma and PTSD
- Panic disorders
- Weight loss
- Boost Confidence
- S.A.D or Seasonal Affective Disorder
- Sexual Issues
- Stress relief
- Better Sleep
- Performance (sports, theatre etc)
- Unwanted habits
- Pain relief
- Deep relaxation
- Anger management
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Skin issues acne/psoriasis
- IBS
- Self-esteem
- Eating disorders
- Addictions
- Bed-wetting
- Relationships
What is Depression?
Depression is a blanket term now used to describe anything from severe depression to ‘feeling a bit down’. In either scenario, it always comes as a comfort that skills can be easily acquired to help lift depression and avoid its return.
Common symptoms can be:
- Loss of energy
- Loss of pleasure or interest in the things that used to give you pleasure
- Sleep disturbance
- Feelings of hopelessness and guilt
- Difficulties in thinking
- Loss of appetite
- Recurring thoughts of death or suicide
‘Extensive US research has shown brief, solution-focussed, cognitive and behavioural psychotherapy to be the most effective treatment for depression.’
US Public Health Service Agency research involving over 100,000 studies
Depression is on the increase in Western societies but it is interesting to know that in some cultures (The Kaluli tribe in New Guinea or the Amish society in America for instance) it is virtually unheard of. These people live in real close-knit societies where one person’s problem is everybody’s problem, until it is sorted out. If an Amish person’s barn burns down then everybody is expected to help rebuild it. It is this community spirit, and friend and family network that promotes the feeling of helpfulness rather than hopelessness. This can also be a clear indication that depression is not a product of our genes but of our culture and the way we view the world.
'Civilisation does not mean great technology or art or exploration or architecture but how well one person treats another within that civilisation'
Treating Depression
Understanding depression is the first step in defeating it. It is important to know that depression is something that is maintained by the person and that it is not part of the people themselves. When we are depressed we tend to negatively ruminate (thinking styles). This over rumination causes us to spend more time dreaming at night (this is natures metaphorical way of flushing out the previous days emotional arousal), which in turn leads to higher stress levels and waking up exhausted. And so negative thoughts continue.
Thinking styles
- Internal v External locus of control
- Global v specific attributions
- Stable v unstable attributions
The formula for depression is: internal, global, and stable for bad things.
For example, If an exam goes wrong: "It’s my fault" (internal) "everything in my life is lousy" (Global) and "It will always be awful" (stable – Lack of hope)
And: external, specific and unstable for good things.
For example, If something good happens (pass exam) then we might not take credit for it: "I passed but only because they were passing most people" (external) or "I passed maths but I’m really bad at everything else (specific) or "I passed this time but it was luck, I won’t pass any more exams" (unstable).
Of course an optimist would view these in quite the reverse. Check your own thinking style.
'There’s no such thing as bad weather… Only the wrong clothes'
Billy Connolly
It may seem obvious to say but we all have basic physical and emotional needs (basic needs). When these basic needs are not being met in our lives, we tend to, as problem solving creatures, find other ways of meeting them. This can at times be inappropriate. For instance: A person who is lacking intimacy may turn to over-eating or a person lacking creative stimulus may find themselves drinking more often.
For more information on depression click below:
'Hypnosis is the most effective way of giving up smoking, according to the largest ever scientific comparison of ways of breaking the habit.'
(New Scientist, 31 October 1992, Vol. 136, issue 1845, p6)
Imagine you had no idea of cigarettes and someone tried to sell it to you:
‘When you take this stuff regularly it will diminish your energy, dull your eyes, might make you impotent/frigid (smoking diminishes orgasmic function), destroy serotonin (leaving you more prone to depression, sleep problems), make you look older and rapidly increase onset of osteoporosis, at least thirteen different types of cancer and heart disease and stroke. Well are you interested? Oh, and you have to pay from your own pocket!’
We are all prone to self deception it’s just that smoking is a deadly form. The good news is that habits can be broken and new patterns firmly installed into the subconscious. I normally see results after just one or two sessions.
'Always remember that the future comes one day at a time.'
-Dean Acheson
Anxiety is essentially, misuse of the imagination. We envisage future scenarios in a negative way.
The fact is that most things in life are neither black nor white but somewhere in the middle. In hypnosis I will teach you the ability to stand back and see the grey area, relax with uncertainty and be more positive. After all, how much time is spent worrying about things that never actually happen?
One of the positive aspects for sufferers of anxiety is that they possess great imaginations. Once this skill is harnessed it is easy to see great personal changes in confidence, self-esteem, digestion and general well being.
All fears are something we have learnt. For instance, a baby does not have a natural fear of social situations, open spaces or aeroplanes. And sometimes, the fear we hold may not entirely be appropriate and may get in the way of everyday life. So what can be done? Well just as a child may have a fear of riding a bike without stabilisers only to soon be riding as if they were never there. So the mind can learn to see things differently. In hypnosis I will guide you through what is known as the Rewind Technique (VK). This technique is also used to help people after serious accidents come to terms with the trauma. It is deeply relaxing, safe and does not require any reliving of events. Are you ready to lose that fear forever?
A traumatic experience can remain with us for sometime after an event has actually taken place. When this happens it can give way to PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Symptoms include:
- Flashbacks, a feeling that the event is taking place in the present.
- Regular unpleasant dreams of trauma.
- Remembering event with same high level of stress.
Treating PTSD
‘The Rewind Technique’ or ‘fast phobia cure’ will allow you to recall the traumatic event without all the emotional attachment. This technique is in most cases successful in removing trauma quickly and respectfully in one session. This groundbreaking technique makes it not necessary for clients to talk in detail about traumatic events. The session contains a lot of deep relaxation.
Panic attacks; despite the alarming name, do have a very important part to play in human existence. It is our defence mechanism located in one of the earliest parts of the brain and works quicker than rational thought. If a lion were to leap out in front of you, you wouldn’t want to hang around deciding what to do next, it could jeopardise survival and so each second is valuable. This explains why we can’t simply ‘think’ our way out of a panic attack.
People who have suffered panic attacks often feel as though they are having a heart attack or going mad and losing control. All symptoms have a very useful purpose when faced with real danger. I.e. heart begins to pump faster to get body ready for action, palms sweat in order to gain more grip once dry, breath quickens to supply more oxygen to body. In modern society we are not faced with so many life-threatening dangers but we are still left with this ancient mechanism. So what can be done?
In our session, I will use some very powerful hypnotic techniques and show you some very simple methods to keep you feeling calm and responding naturally to any given situation. Experience freedom in your life.
'I never ran 1000 miles. I could never have done that. I ran one mile 1000 times.'
Stu Mittleman, World record holder of ultra distance running.
Diets have become such a moneymaker. Each time you switch on the television or open a newspaper there seems to be a new diet promising this, that and the other in record time.
Well first of all, diets make people think about their weight more often. This can cause stress; stress can interfere with digestion. This means the body is not functioning in its natural rhythm. Secondly, diets are never catered to individuals. Self-image, confidence, lifestyles are all different parts of keeping a healthy body. Another danger of dieting is that suddenly cutting down food forces the body to think that there is a famine on. This in turn sets off a natural mechanism to store fat more efficiently; this would have been great historically when food may have been in short supply and we had to hunt for it.
While the body is in this stage, it is hardly surprising, that if we slipped up and ate chocolate or cake, weight suddenly gets put back on and becomes difficult to lose. This is known as ‘yo-yo’ dieting.
A balance of healthy eating and exercise, as well as a good relationship with food is the best way to gain your ideal weight and feel positive about yourself.
'Dream small dreams. If you make them too big, you get overwhelmed and you don't do anything. If you make small goals and accomplish them, it gives you the confidence to go on to higher goal'
John H. Johnson
Imagine having the confidence to speak out at that meeting!
Ask someone special out on a date!
Talk freely to new people!
Grab opportunities when they arise!
Sound good? So what’s the secret?
Well there isn’t one really. Confidence is something we have all displayed at some point in our lives and comes from two key points. First, the ability to ‘relax with uncertainty’; confident people simply allow things to happen, and then trust themselves to react in the best way they can. Second, people become confident from experience and actually doing. Hence the old saying ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’.
I will help you gain new skills, develop optimism and boost self-esteem.
You will be able to experience those old fearful situations in a more relaxed and confident way.
Find the real natural you now.
Definition
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a form of depression most often associated with lack of daylight in extreme northern and southern latitudes from the late autumn to the early spring.
Description
Although researchers are not certain what causes seasonal affective disorder, they suspect that it has something to do with the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is thought to play an active role in regulating the "internal body clock," which dictates when humans feel like going to bed at night and getting up in the morning. Although seasonal affective disorder is most common when light is low, it may occur in the spring, which is often called reverse or spring-onset SAD.
Causes & Symptoms
The body produces more melatonin at night than during the day, and scientists believe it helps people feel sleepy at night time. There is also more melatonin in the body during winter, when the days are shorter. Some researchers believe that excessive melatonin release during winter in people with SAD may account for their feelings of drowsiness or depression. One variation on this idea is that people's internal clocks may become out of sync during winter with the light-dark cycle, leading to a long-term disruption in melatonin release. Another possible cause of SAD is that people may not adjust their habits to the season, or sleep more hours when it is darker, as would be natural.
SYMPTOMS OF SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER (SAD)
- Increased sleep
- Depression
- Lethargy
- Weight gain
- Carbohydrate cravings
- Decreased sex drive
- Avoidance of social interaction
- Difficulty performing daily tasks
- Crying fits
- Suicidal thoughts
The symptoms of SAD are similar to those of other forms of depression. People with SAD may feel sad, irritable, or tired, and may find themselves sleeping too much. They may also lose interest in normal or pleasurable activities (including sex), become withdrawn, crave carbohydrates, and gain weight.