Category: Uncategorized

10 Easy Steps To Self Hypnosis

Learn how to engage your imagination using self-hypnosis to create an empowering mindset that will enhance your success and achievement in any area of your life.

I’m lucky that I’ve always had a healthy imagination that works for my benefit. I can activate a happy or a funny scene in my mind at the drop of a hat and secretly smile or giggle on the inside. This enables me to stay calm and relaxed as I do what needs to be done, effectively.

Imagination is a powerful thing and can be used as a tool for success. The Law of Dominant Thought says that whatever we focus our attention on is what we get more of. Many successful people automatically use their imagination in the form of positive mental rehearsal. They see themselves succeeding, winning, doing well, speaking up, taking a chance and thinking positively, with the anticipation of getting positive results every time. When you imagine something vividly, your senses bring about the internal feelings that accompany the real success. It activates passion and creativity and it opens your mind up to bigger things. Walt Disney said “If you can dream it, you can do it”. And look at what he accomplished! Apparently it all started with one mouse.

The Brain and Self Hypnosis

Self hypnosis enhances brain function
By imagining something vividly, the area of the brain involved with actually doing that thing is stimulated and strengthened. In 2007 Time Magazine reported on a study carried out at Harvard Medical School involving two groups of students. Both groups were asked to practice a five-finger piano exercise, for two hours a day, for seven days. One group spent two hours a day playing piano in their minds, imagining the finger movements and practicing the exercise to the best of their ability. The second group played the piano exercise for real. In both groups, new neurons grew and were reinforced, and the brain area involved with piano playing was strengthened. Imagination really is more powerful than you think. It grows new neural pathways in the brain.

When it comes to the way we live our lives on a day-to-day basis, our imagination plays a vital role. We respond to situations according to what we think about them. Circumstances are neutral in meaning. Thoughts lead to feelings, feelings lead to choices and choices lead to action or non-action, which in turn leads to results. You can imagine the worst or the best happening, the brain doesn’t care, it will activate the good or the bad feelings that go with it. Dopamine is part of the reward system of the brain and when we create positive expectation in our mind we experience the feel-good factor, created by dopamine. The more dopamine that is produced, the better we feel and the more motivated we are to seek out pleasure and reap the rewards of success.

Self Hypnosis helps Anxiety

Social Anxiety is eased with self-hypnosis
Compare the following stories: Jane suffers from social anxiety. She is invited to a party and she begins to worry for a few days leading up to the event. She is agitated and keeps thinking about what will happen at the party. She doesn’t sleep well and has nightmares about things going wrong. She imagines no-one will talk to her, she will blush if they do, she will look awkward and won’t know what to say to anyone, she might make a fool of herself, she will probably be on her own anyway so what’s the point of even going? She gets herself into a state of nervous exhaustion. It’s not worth it, so she stays at home. She misses out.

Jane came to me for hypnotherapy. After some imagination training in self-hypnosis, Jane gets invited to another party. This time it’s different. She practices self-hypnosis at home. She gets excited thinking of people smiling at her, welcoming her in and saying how lovely it is to see her. She imagines herself chatting easily and effortlessly, asking questions and listening to others. She sees herself genuinely complimenting a friend on how she looks. She notices that she feels calm when she is introduced to strangers, and she feels relaxed and comfortable in her own skin when she engages in conversation. She takes her time in replying to any questions and she smiles a lot. This time, Jane used her creative imagination to predict a positive outcome, she enhanced her thinking and she prepared with mental rehearsal. Guess what? she really did go to the party and had a lovely time. Now Jane’s brain has new neural pathways that confirm she can go to parties and enjoy herself. Jane’s imagination and her thoughts created a future that was in line with the story she told herself.

Sports Professionals use self-hypnosis too

It is well known that athletes use positive mental rehearsal to prepare to win. Mike Tyson (Boxing Champion); David Beckham (England Football Captain); and Tiger Woods (Golfing hero) all used self-hypnosis and mental rehearsal to enhance performance.

Hypnosis helps you to become more absorbed and focussed on things that are going on inside your mind, enhancing your creative imagination and establishing new neural pathways in the brain which help you to move towards your goals easily and effectively.

What Can Self Hypnosis Be Used For?

Self-hypnosis can help with achieving any goal you set for yourself, whether it be public speaking, weight loss, insomnia, confidence building, motivation, doing well in an interview – you name it. In fact anything that is realistically possible for you to achieve, self-hypnosis makes it easier. No matter how big or small a goal, you can achieve it quicker and easier by focusing your mind on the the action plan, seeing yourself doing the things you need to do, in order to move toward success, and reaping the rewards of achievement.

The Benefits of self-hypnosis

• your heart rate slows down to a healthy rhythm;
• your blood pressure is reduced slightly;
• you activate the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the Rest & Repair system;
• your immune system is enhanced;
• stress hormones are de-activated;
• your sleep is improved;
• your emotional wellbeing is enhanced;
• it helps you to achieve your goals;

So what happens in self-hypnosis?

Self-hypnosis is the act of putting yourself into a relaxed state of focussed awareness and inner absorption whilst remaining consciously in control, with the purposeful intention of achieving a goal. Simply put, it’s a trance like state of purposeful awareness. Anyone can do it, adults and children alike. In fact children are very good at it. It’s an entirely natural phenomenon like dreaming or day-dreaming. It can be likened to the state just before falling asleep or just as you are waking up. Your brainwaves slow down to alpha and you experience a re-set to balance your central nervous system. All you have to do is relax, keep an open mind and be motivated to want something to happen and follow the 10 Easy Steps below. There are many different way to enter self-hypnosis. This is one method that involves a breathing technique. You can practice self-hypnosis at home or somewhere else – as long as you are not interacting with other people and you are in a safe environment. Never when driving!

Here’s how to do it: Read all the instructions before you do the exercise. You could record the steps in your own words, onto your phone, leaving enough time between each step to carry out the instruction.

10 Easy Steps To Self Hypnosis

Imagine
Believe
Achieve

Step 1 Prepare Yourself – sit down comfortably, arms and legs uncrossed, and think about what you want to achieve;
Step 2 Create a powerful positive statement, suggestion, or an affirmation;
Step 3 Focus on your breath and breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth;
Step 4 Take 3 slow deep breaths, exhaling for longer than you inhale, and on the third breath out close your eyes;
Step 5 Continue to breathe slowly and focus on your breath as you count down from 10 to 0 on the next 10 breaths;
Step 6 With each number you count down, say the words “deeper relaxed” in your mind, as you exhale slowly;
Step 7 On Zero, repeat your powerful positive statement, suggestion or affirmation a few times;
Step 8 Imagine yourself successfully achieving that goal, bringing it to life in your mind, with as many details as possible, take as long as you want;
Step 9 Sit quietly for a while and allow any thoughts or observations to surface. When you are ready, slowly count up from 1 to 5, imagine the energy flowing freely through your body and wiggle your fingers or toes;
Step 10 Open your eyes on 5

Guidelines:

Give yourself 10-15 minutes to do the exercise, at a time when you won’t be disturbed. When creating a powerful positive statement, suggestion or affirmation, always be positive and say what you want, not what you don’t want. Remember, what you focus on, you get more of.
Here are some examples:

• “I am now relaxing completely and letting go of tension”.
• “As I relax, my pain subsides”.
• “The more I relax the more confident I become”.
• “I can speak up and remain calm at my team meeting”.
• “No matter what is going on around me, I remain calm ”.
• “I am strong and powerful”.

When visualising success, imagine it is the easiest thing in the world, and completely natural for you to do this. Be purposeful, and stay focused. Whatever you visualise, make sure to activate the emotional response, as if it’s already happened.  This is very powerful combination.  Without emotion, visualisation is not as effective.

If you need to open your eyes suddenly for any reason, just tell yourself “I’m wide awake”.

Once you have done it a few times, you won’t need the instructions any more. Practice using self-hypnosis and enhance your life in many ways. If you need help, get in touch with me for a one-to-one.

Ask for help

Advanced Hypnotherapy Techniques That Make Quitting Easy

• You really want to quit smoking for good but you worry what it might be like when you don’t have a cigarette?
• You know you are sabotaging your health but you are afraid of the cravings?
• You resent the way the addiction has made you so dependant?
• You love it and hate it at the same time?
• The habit has taken over?
• You don’t like the way people avoid close contact because of the smell on your breath or on your clothes?
• You believe that it is too hard to quit?
• You are afraid to try (again) and fail?

Addiction is Not Your Fault

I want to help you to stop smoking permanently and completely, which is why I have studied the nature of nicotine addiction.

I use advanced psychological techniques that work in the part of the brain where addiction lives.

In nicotine addiction, the dopamine system which is part of the reward system in the brain, is hijacked by the chemicals in cigarettes. It feels like it’s doing you a favour, but it’s actually a cruel trick. It’s like falling in love with a poisonous snake.

The reward system, which is part of the survival system, unwittingly turns against you, causing you to crave something that ultimately damages or destroys you.

The human is the only animal on the planet that smokes, most other animals run away from smoke.

It doesn’t make sense, but the addiction lives in the part of the brain that can’t think, so it can’t make sense of it.

The problem is the brain, not you.

In other words… (worth repeating again) it’s not your fault!

Neuroscience has given us the answer. We now understand how to activate neuroplacticity using advanced hypnotherapy and brain working techniques.

Some of the Benefits of Quitting

• Experience both immediate and long term health benefits
• Reduce your risk of serious illness
• Learn how to overcome the physical, mental and emotional aspects of addiction
• Save money
• Breathe easier
• Have more energy
• Enhance your taste buds
• Smell nicer
• Age slower
• Take back control

Recent research is now showing that stopping smoking may boost mental health. A recent review of studies suggests that people who stop smoking have less anxiety, depression, and stress compared with those who continue to smoke. [Ref: “Change in mental health after smoking cessation: systematic review and meta-analysis” (Published 13 February 2014 – BMJ 2014;348:g1151)]

We have known the benefits on physical health for many years, but now psychological health is shown to benefit too once those that give up are through the withdrawal stage.

The new research has looked at 26 different studies, measuring levels of anxiety, depression, stress, positive attitude, and quality of life. Most of the studies followed the people for several months or years.

What the new study says

Compared with people who continued to smoke, those who stopped smoking scored better in all the areas of mental health studied. The improvements were similar regardless of whether people had been diagnosed with a specific illness, such as depression, or not.

What does this mean for me?

If you would like to stop smoking but are concerned about how this might affect your mood or level of stress, these findings are encouraging.

Motivation

The biggest motivation comes from your most emotionally powerful reason to quit. Maybe you want to look and feel younger – you might be noticing more wrinkles or saggy skin than you would like to see; you are probably wasting a lot of money on cigarettes per month and would rather do something else with the money; maybe you try avoid physical contact with your children because of your breath or the smell of smoke on your skin and find you are missing out on precious moments. Only you can find that motivation. Once you do, the rest is straight forward.

Mindset

If you think it’s going to be hard, it will be hard. However if you ask for help, there are ways of making the path to non-smoking so much easier. Hypnotherapy helps you to create the mindset of being a winner.

Cancer Research

Cancer Research UK says smoking kills five times more people than road accidents, overdoses, murder, suicide and HIV together. Stopping smoking has immediate health benefits. It lowers your blood pressure and reduces your pulse after only 20 minutes. Within eight hours, oxygen and carbon monoxide levels in your blood return to normal. After two days your sense of taste and smell start to return. Long-term benefits include reduced risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and other cancers.

Action Plan

If you are already looking at ways to quit, look no further – book an appointment today and choose freedom.

Hypnotherapy Reprogrammes The Mind for Success

Every time you finish a cigarette and put it out – you effectively stop smoking, so in one respect, you stop smoking several times a day.

Hypnotherapy can help you to never pick up a cigarette again.

Hypnotherapy has been shown to re-programme the mind with new beliefs, so that you don’t just stop smoking, you effectively get help to become a non-smoker.

Is Hypnotherapy a Last Resort?

A Stop Smoking client may arrive at my door as a last resort.

I have seen defeat, guilt and stress on the faces of most people who have tried and failed to give up. He/she will probably already have tried the patches, the electric cigarette, the gum or the lozenges or read a book about how to do it. The body language of such a client tells me more than words could ever say. There may be additional worries about weight gain, anxiety attacks or stress if they do manage to give up.

Many smokers are in denial of health issues, they just ignore them.

Hypnotherapy brings you face to face with your fears about quitting, and helps you to overcome them.

Discover the freedom that hypnotherapy brings.

The Stop Smoking Programme

My new Stop Smoking Programme is designed to work with you as an individual, because we are all different. and we have different life circumstances.

I don’t work with everyone. I only work with people who are ready to quit and committed to permanently and completely stop smoking.

When you sign up with me, you will have a three month window and if there is any sign of temptation you can call me straight away and book in a further session. This is usually not necessary, but I offer you a further session anyway to deal with any stresses in life.

Because you are an individual, I ask a lot of questions and I use the information you provide to create a programme that is tailored to your needs.

On the BIG DAY, the session lasts about two and a half hours. There is also some preparatory work to be done before hand. The follow up session is anytime within 3 months.

Contact me now if you are serious about quitting and book a free 20 minute chat, or a one-hour discovery session (at a small cost) to ask any questions and find out if we are a good fit to work together.

IF YOU ARE READY NOW

Contact me now and let’s get started. There is no time like the present. Give yourself the gift of quitting. You deserve to be a free-breather.

If you have a lot going on, and you find yourself procrastinating or getting side-tracked when you really need to be getting on with what you are doing, a simple Yawn-Stretch-Relax exercise can re-focus your brain on what’s important.

According to Mark Waldman, one of the world’s leading experts on the brain, communication and spirituality, this simple exercise can restore balance and clarity, bringing you into the present moment and allowing your brain to process what’s going on more efficiently.

The brain can only hold about 7 chunks of information at any one time, that’s about 10 or 20 words, max. Is it any wonder we can’t remember everything we want to remember? If there is a lot going on, it can seem overwhelming, but only if you think it’s overwhelming. The way you communicate with yourself impacts on how your brain responds. If you think you can handle it, your brain deals with the situation much more effectively.

There are roughly 160 billion neurons in your brain and they are constantly communicating with each other, a hundred times faster than you think! Your brain is always working on your behalf in the background and a little help goes a long way. This little exercise helps your brain to sift through all the data and bring a bit of clarity to the situation, with a moment of calm.

Whole Brain Integration

According to Waldman, when you do the Yawn, Stretch & Relax exercise, it activates what’s known as the Salience Network in the brain, where intuition and imagination live, and you are rewarded with a moment of whole brain integration. It’s like hitting the reset button for clarity and focus, which may lead to an “AHA” moment about what’s important.

Here’s how to do it

Look away from what you are doing, disengage for a couple of minutes and force a slow yawn, stretch your arms, stretch or loosen your neck and shrug your shoulders, relax, and gently stroke a part of your bare skin, like your hand or arm. Give yourself a few moments to enjoy the feeling and then ask your intuition, “What’s interesting, useful or insightful for me right now?” and just allow whatever comes to mind to come to mind. Wait and listen. It might be a whisper or it might speak loudly and clearly about what your next step might be. If it’s of value to you, write it down.

If you can’t yawn to begin with, just pretend to yawn and you will get better at it. Imagine watching your favourite animal yawning and see how they look so relaxed when they do it.

Learn to trust your intuition.Take a few moments right now to close your eyes, Yawn, Stretch & Relax…. and see what happens!

Complimentary Consultation

If I can help you to manage your mind in any way, feel free to get in touch for a complimentary consultation.

contact

How to stop your emotional brain from hijacking healthy weight loss

Trying to be healthy or trying to lose weight can trigger the survival instinct and cause “All or Nothing” thinking which leads to stress.

Are you familiar with the recurrent pattern of being good, eating healthy, exercising, sticking to your plan all day, and then blowing it in the evening?

“All or Nothing” thinking can lead you down the path of self-sabotage

Maybe you are chilling out on the sofa, or watching TV, and your thoughts turn to snacking. You have had dinner, you are not hungry but there is something nagging away inside your mind. You have worked hard all day. You have been good. You deserve a treat. Something small won’t do any harm…. You justify and rationalise your craving.

Rationalise = rational lies

A craving takes you by the hand and leads you astray. You quietly raid the fridge or the cupboard, or maybe you decide you really need to pop to the petrol station… wherever you can get your fix.

At this point, your brain is flooded with dopamine, the hormone that propels you into action. You just have to go get it. You can’t help yourself. You are on a mission. It’s almost as if you are in a trance.

Then comes the instant gratification moment, nothing else matters except satisfying that need. Junk food, bingeing, sweet things, stuff you really don’t want to be eating but you are blind to it. Or you know what you are doing but you just don’t care. For a short time, your brain swims in serotonin, the happy hormone.

And then regret, guilt or shame floods in along with the name calling. Why did I have to eat that? Why am I such a pig? I’ll never be slim and healthy. Who am I trying to kid anyway? I might as well forget it. I’m wasting my time.

DON’T DESPAIR – IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT

There are several things going on at a sub-conscious level:

• Your brain gets caught in a loop. The reward system, part of the ancient survival instinct, kicks in big time when you place restrictions on yourself. It fights back;
• Your logical, rational brain temporarily goes off-line and your focus is fixed on instant gratification;
• A vicious cycle once begun has to be completed.

What you can do:

Healthy Weight Loss Prevention is better than cure.

Avoid All or Nothing thinking “All or Nothing” means you are either a winner or a loser, a success or a failure. This kind of thinking is rigid and unhelpful and causes you to feel stress when you don’t live up to 100% perfect. When you feel stressed you go into survival mode and lose the ability to think straight. Accept you are imperfect and you will make mistakes, you will slip up from time to time and it’s ok.

Live in an abundance mindset You can have what you want when you want it, it’s your choice. There is no shortage of food, drink or comfort.

Show yourself compassion and love – If you do have an unhealthy snack, learn from it. Rather than beating yourself up with harsh self-talk, speak to yourself as if you were your best friend, understand that it’s ok to make a mistake, and move on. There is no need to dwell on it.

Plan ahead You can have a healthy snack that won’t sabotage your healthy lifestyle, or find something else to do that you enjoy – for example – phone a friend, read an inspiring book, write in your journal or go for a walk. Pleasure can be found in places other than food.

Recognise the pattern and say “thank you”. Awareness and acceptance will keep you balanced. Put yourself into investigator mode. What is your body actually telling you? It may be you need something other than food or drink or it may just be an old habit playing out. Are you just bored?

Learn to recognise true hunger from false hunger True hunger is in the stomach. False hunger is in your head. If you are hungry, eat something healthy. If you are not truly hungry discover what is really going on.

Ask yourself “What do I really want?” Is your goal to be a happy healthy weight long term or is it just to satisfy yourself in the moment? Dig deep and be honest with yourself.

It’s your choice You can have what you want – do you really want that snack or do you want to be a healthy weight, attractive, full of energy and vitality, and look amazing? It’s always your choice. Different choices produce different outcomes.

If you want help to reprogramme your mind for success the easy way, get in touch with me for a free consultation.

contact

If you, or someone you love, suffer from this distressing and debilitating illness, you may already be at your wits end. I may be able to help.

My husband suffered from this illness for 2 years before we knew what was wrong with him and he had to retire from work at the age of 45. I gave up my job and dedicated my life to helping him to regain his health – which he did. From the months of hopelessness, the mountain of research, the never-ending visits to doctors, consultants, various therapists, to the learning of new techniques, skills, behaviours and ways of coping, I can now share this knowledge with others and also recommend other types of treatment that are beneficial in managing and speeding up the process of recovery.

Using the broad base of knowledge gained, the hands on experience of living with a CFS sufferer along with the combined skills of hypnotherapy and NLP I can work alongside other qualified practitioners in the treatment of CFS.

Profile of the CFS/ME Sufferer:

CFS sufferers tend to be highly motivated individuals who led a very active life before the onset of the illness. For them, it can be very depressing to be inactive and exhausted, this can lead to feelings of hopelessness and anxiety. Sometimes it can be hard to ask for help.

Causes:

Medical opinions differ greatly on what causes CFS and how to treat it. Some researchers believe the illness could be related to a person’s genes and their susceptibility to viral infection, stress, depression or major life events which could act as a trigger for CFS to develop.

Some say it’s caused by a bacterial or a viral infection which affects the immune system so badly, the result is the onset of CFS.

Other opinions say it is a physical disorder that leads to a build up of toxins within the brain and the spine. One technique (The Perrin Technique) has been developed to diagnose CFS/ME by identifying definite physical signs and to treat the disorder by improving drainage of these poisons from the central nervous system.

Symptoms of CFS/Me:

Whichever way you look at it, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a debilitating illness, characterised by some or many of the following symptoms:

• Abdominal pain and digestive problems.
• Brain fog.
• Chest pain
• Depression, irritability, anxiety, panic attacks
• Disturbed sleep
• Excessive perspiration
• Exercise intolerance
• Extreme exhaustion
• Flu-like symptoms
• Headaches or dizziness
• Palpitations usually induced by exertion
• Poor concentration
• Poor stamina (if any)
• Recurrent sore or lumpy throat or swollen glands
• Sensitivity to light or loud noises
• Short term memory loss
• Shortness of breath, aggravated by exertion
• Toxic build up in the lymphatic system

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME Of course everyone is different and there are varying degrees to which a sufferer can be affected.

How can Hypnotherapy Help?

Hypnotherapy is a complimentary therapy, working alongside the medical profession or other types of therapy. It is an excellent way to retrain your mind and body to work in harmony, helping you to:

• Ease the pain
• Stop worrying
• Free yourself from anxiety and stress
• Manage a healthy exercise regime
• Get back to balanced way of living

You can learn:

• What your body is telling you
• How to identify the triggers that tell you to slow down
• How to sleep better
• How to have your inner critic work for you
• How to gradually bounce the boundaries so you can increase activity little by little
• To learn to recover from the inevitable mental and physical setbacks that characterise the illness
• To understand that relapse is part of the recovery process
• The skill set needed to manage on a daily basis

If you are suffering from CFS don’t lose any more time. If you would like to discuss any aspect of my therapy or just have a chat about how I can help you, please click here.

Good News for IBS Sufferers – Hypnotherapy can help relieve most symptoms in more than 80% of cases

Hypnotherapy is one of the recommended interventions for people with IBS who do not respond to traditional pharmacological treatments and who go on to develop a chronic symptom profile. An increased sensitivity of the entire gut is the most common description of IBS and this can often be preceded by some type of food related illness, trauma, chronic stress, bereavement or depression.

The distressing symptoms of IBS can be life shattering. Pain, bloating, constipation or diarrhoea can have a devastating effect on a sufferer’s day to day lifestyle. From urgency to embarrassment, or pain to bloating, it’s no fun to live your life never knowing when the next episode of IBS is going to strike.

Over 20 years of research into the use of gut-directed hypnosis has been conducted by Peter Whorwell, Professor of Medicine and Gastroenterology, Withington Hospital, Manchester, showing that hypnotherapy has a very high success rate in more than 70% of patients. Another study done by Prof. Olaf Palsson in the University of North Carolina, reports that hypnosis has a success rate of up to 95%. In the majority of cases, most symptoms are greatly improved. During the hypnotherapy treatment, sufferers learn how to influence and gain control over their gut function.

Although psychological issues don’t necessarily cause IBS directly, sufferers agree that stress or anxiety makes their symptoms worse.

The benefits of hypnotherapy for IBS

• It is a comfortable and enjoyable form of treatment
• The skills are easy to learn and put into practice
• There are usually no negative side effects
• Relaxation is emphasised and tension relieved
• It utilizes the healing power of the mind
• There are often other benefits, like relief from headaches or migraines
• The effects of treatment last long after the treatment has finished
• Stress levels are reduced overall
• The sufferer becomes empowered to activate their own healing abilities
• New pathways in the brain are created to change the way the body reacts to stressors

IBS The precise causes of IBS are not known, although it is commonly accepted to be a functional disorder of the gut, made worse by certain foods, stress or anxiety. Sufferers agree that the gut is extremely sensitive to what’s happening in their lives on a day-to-day basis.

The IBS Hypnotherapy Programme

I have based my IBS Treatment Programme on the work of both Professors Whorwell and Palsson mentioned above. The course of treatment consists of 6 sessions each lasting one hour. The sessions are structured to include suggestions for functional, emotional and behavioural well-being. The plan is symptom oriented and is tailored to suit each client individually.

Skills Training

Typically, you will sit down comfortably in a chair and relax while you allow your mind to let go and turn inward. You listen to my suggestions and allow them to seed themselves within your unconscious mind. Your attention is all that is required to water those seeds. Over the course of 6 sessions, these seeds grow to maturity while new pathways in the brain are being created and you are learning new skills that empower you to take control of what happens to your body. We work together and in tune, I respond to your needs and you respond to my suggestions. By creating an inner space you can align and balance the energies to flow freely, allowing your own creative healing power to be switched on. You will be taught how to ease the pain, reduce the bloating, and overcome the distressing symptoms of IBS in the comfort on the therapy room, or your own home. These skills can then be transferred for use in everyday life and in any situation.

You will be taught the skills of relaxation, mindfulness, self hypnosis and pain reduction methods. You will also be given a hypnosis audio to listen to between sessions to enhance the process.

Rest Assured…

You can be assured that when you work with me, I am extremely sensitive to your needs, understanding of the distressing symptoms you experience and the confidential nature of the problem. I will work with you to build your confidence and enable you to start taking control again. Your body knows how to be well; we just need to re-activate that programme.

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE BEEN PROPERLY DIAGNOSED WITH IBS BY YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE COMMENCING HYPNOTHERAPY TREATMENT FOR IBS
contact me

“Feeling Flat. Just Nothing. Can’t be bothered. Would like to curl up and go to sleep. Don’t want to do anything. Not interested. I Don’t Care. Go away.” These are some of the things depressed people say.

Depression can descend upon a person for a variety of reasons: death of a loved one; the break-up of a relationship; the loss of a job; financial problems; living with someone who is already depressed; pain and illness; addictions; or other reasons.

Depression can mean time off work, lack of strength, low energy levels, or no zest for life. Some people can put on a happy face and hide what they really feel from the outside world. Depression is no longer something to be ashamed of, gone are the days when people thought it was some kind of personality flaw. You don’t have to be a victim of depression any longer. Life is too short. If you can’t really appreciate the things you used to enjoy and life is getting you down, and if this has gone on far too long, it’s time to do something different. (Your doctor can diagnose depression by asking you some questions).

Contributing Factors
There are three primary contributing factors to depression and these are biological, psychological and social.

Depression can be managed in the majority of sufferers with medication, psychotherapy or both (Yapko, 1977). Anti-depressant pills may help a lot of people to cope, but there is another side to the coin which should not be overlooked. Psychotherapy can put the spotlight on any major contributing factors– how you think and explain things to yourself. Cognitive, behavioural and interpersonal approaches to treatment have been show to be highly effective in implementing new, more constructive and positive styles of thinking and behaving.

Surviving and getting through life is not enough. Happiness is available to all and it is your right to be happy, to enjoy life to the full and to be able to appreciate the simple things in life.

The Mind-Body Connection
The mind-body connection is unfortunately underestimated by many people. To get an idea of what this means, all you have to do is think about and focus on an upcoming exciting holiday or other event, really imagine it’s the day of the event and you might even smile and get those butterflies in your tummy as you call up the feelings. Equally, think of something really sad, like the death of a loved one and you may shed a tear. Thoughts alone are not the only issue; unhelpful thinking styles and ingrained limiting beliefs can affect the quality of life by creating the biology that could lead to depression and illness.

A depressed person often feels flat or sad and doesn’t get those exciting feelings that many take for granted. Hypnotherapy can alter that state bring about happier and more upbeat confident states, helping the person to more readily address the other parts of the problem.

Anti-depressants can be a life saver to people who need them and if the problem can be solved by medication, that’s great. Other people may not want to take pills, or the pills alone are not enough, for those people, thankfully there are alternative routes.

The Benefits of Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy for Depression:

• It empowers you to take control of your own situation;
• It works alongside any medication in a complimentary way;
• It builds confidence & self esteem;
• It teach the skills to manage and prevent depressive episodes;
• You learn how to manage and prevent stress;
• How to build and maintain good relationships;
• You learn acceptance of yourself and of others;
• How to focus on solutions rather than problems;
• How to look at things differently;
• You raise your frustration tolerance ;
• You learn how to control impulses;
• You become more aware of cause and effect.

Lift Depression If you would like to discuss or find out more, please contact me by e-mail or phone directly Get In Touch

Are You Still Struggling to Lose Weight, Get into Shape, and Maintain it ?

Let me help you to unlock the hidden power of your brain so that you can:

• Finally lose the weight and fat you deserve to lose
• Take back control and empower yourself to be healthier
• Feel like “the old you” again with bags of energy and vitality
• Regain your self esteem and self-control in every situation
• Get rid of cravings and compulsive eating
• Give yourself the best possible chance of a healthy life
• Get rid of your “fat” clothes for good
• Learn the tools and techniques of successful weight loss and weight management
• Feel more in control of your eating, your hunger and your emotions
• At last ditch the yo-yo dieting for good
• Make the right choices that put you in the driving seat
• Regain your confidence and let it shine
• Love yourself and your body

Weight Loss In this programme, you discover exactly what’s been holding you back from achieving your weight loss goals. It’s not lack of willpower, determination or laziness. Your brain holds the key, and once you unlock the secret power of your brain you can set yourself free.

Some people yo-yo diet most of their adult life, or go to extreme lengths to get rid of unwanted fat. Neuroscience has shown us an easier way. When you retrain your brain, you change habits of a lifetime. You can turn cravings around to work for you and not against you. You can free yourself of being a food addict.

Chris says: “I enjoyed the hypnotherapy, it was very relaxing and I always felt great afterwards. I learnt to take control of my cravings and keep the image of what I wanted to become in my mind which saw me through my weight loss. What is different is that I no longer have cravings for cakes and desserts and do not feel deprived when eating healthy food. Now I enjoy my healthy meals as much as I enjoyed cream cakes before the hypnotherapy. I’ve lost 1.5 stone and can get into clothes I haven’t worn for 10years. I would and have recommended you to others.”

When you Change Your Mind you Change Habits of a Lifetime

Don’t let destructive habits sabotage your healthy weight goals.

Are you familiar with any of these?

• Comfort eating
• Bored eating
• Joy eating
• Stress eating
• Sadness eating
• Loneliness eating
• Eating because it’s there
• Eating to please others

Changing you mind is easy when you use the latest neuroscience techniques that work from the inside out.

We can devise a plan that will be individually crafted to suit your needs, which will be:

• Specifically tailored to fit your lifestyle
• Measurable, achievable and realistic
• Made to suit your timescale

You don’t have to remain stuck with a shape or weight you are not happy with.

All it takes is for you to want the changes to happen, and be committed to making it happen.

You KNOW you are ready for change, when
the desire to change is greater than the desire to stay the same!

Benefits of a Personalised Weight Loss Programme

Apart from all the amazing benefits listed above, there will be some benefits that are only known to you, and these are the most important.

Your brain holds the key, your hidden desires will empower you to get in shape, lose the fat and be the best you you can be.

This exciting programme is run over number of weeks, to include both conscious and subconscious brain retraining therapy, using the power of hypnosis, and coaching that will suit your lifestyle.

Includes personalised hypnotherapy audio designed specifically for you, plus support.

Click here to arrange your free consultation

Benefits of a One-Day Weight Loss Workshop

Would you like to dedicate a whole day to get you going?

You can book a one-day workshop to kick start your journey, BREAKTHROUGH THE BARRIERS and supercharge your motivation.

The next workshop will be held in Milton Keynes – details on request. Limited numbers.

• Prioritise your health and put yourself first, for a change
• Learn the science behind healthy weight loss
• Learn the tools and techniques for losing weight and long term weight management
• 3 separate sessions of hypnosis to re-programme your subconscious for success
• Relaxed and informal atmosphere
• Positive, interactive and empowering
• Understand how your brain can sabotage you and find ways of making it work for you instead
• Learn to connect with your body and understand its language
• Begin to overcome emotional/comfort eating/cravings
• Get your subconscious mind on your side so that weight management is easy
• Renew your belief systems, your thoughts and your eating habits
• Regain control, motivation and confidence

“I would definitely recommend Mary for hypnotherapy for weight loss. Since starting the sessions it changed my outlook on food and really made me think about what I was eating and when I was eating it. The weight started coming off and I really felt like I wasn’t trying and it all came easy. I still feel like I enjoy food and am not restricted about what I eat, I just know about making better choices and not to eat for the sake of eating.”

Holly – February 2020

Weight Loss

Why Weight? Why not get in touch right now?

Let the transformation begin…

Click here to arrange your free consultation

• Stress Free Do you suffer from mental and/or emotional stress?
• Are you familiar with the fight/flight/freeze response?
• Do you often feel worn out, tired and fed up of feeling overwhelmed?
• Are you ready to do something about it?

Stress Free We can help you to switch off the hormones of stress, physically relax, become mentally calm and emotionally tranquil, whilst you learn the skills of effective stress management.

Who gets stressed?

Stress can affect people of any age, children and adults alike. We now live in a society where most people have mobile phones or smart phones, receive e-mail instantly, are on call for family/friends/work, surf the internet anytime, anywhere. We are bombarded by information which can lead to overload. Many people work longer hours, most women have careers and bring up a family, most men are expected to provide every new type of convenience or gadget to make things easier and better, having a greater amount of responsibility placed upon them. We often over commit ourselves to taking on too much and end up running our batteries down to almost empty. Is it any wonder that stress and anxiety has become so widespread?

Super Stress

Some stress is normal and exciting. Life could be boring if everything always went along smoothly. Our bodies are hardwired to cope with stress, but we are biologically ill-equipped to deal with the high levels of stress that has become the norm for many people today.

The hormonal surge of adrenalin, our instinctive fight-or-flight response, can often be triggered so many times a day that it stays on almost permanently. This type of Super Stress can result in very serious symptoms like immune deficiencies, high blood pressure, weight gain, insomnia and more. Think of how Stress is holding you back from enjoying life to the full. What would your life be like without the stress? How would things be different?

Stress Can Upset Your Sense of Balance

Many people who come to see me for stress reduction are negatively affected by the behaviour of other people around them, and as a result they find themselves at the receiving end of the hormonal surge of adrenalin, one of the hormones involved in the fight-or-flight response.

If this response is triggered many times a day, on a daily basis, it can stay switched on almost permanently. One of my clients described this feeling as if they were “fire fighting”, always ready to put out the next fire, finding it difficult to switch off, waking up with a feeling of dread in the pit of their stomach. Other people have reported bowel problems; sometimes lying awake in the middle of the night worrying, going over things in their minds again and again. People who are suffering from stress often react strongly to external events and this can upset their sense of balance.

How can you remain physically relaxed and mentally calm when others are behaving badly or creating a fuss around you? Think about this story for a moment…

Is There Really A Lion Chasing Me?

Once upon a time, there were three goats who saw a terrified horse running away as fast as it could. The goats were struck by the strangeness of the situation and they started making fun of him, calling him names and laughing.

The horse felt embarrassed, but thought to itself “If only they knew there is a lion chasing me, then they would understand why I am running so fast and feeling so scared”.

This fable was written thousands of years ago by Aesop and it can still work today as a useful metaphor.

Other people’s behaviour can often appear rude, unpleasant or even idiotic. The next time you see someone behaving in a way that you don’t like, ask yourself this question: What if they believe they are being chased by a lion?

Different Approaches to Manage Stress

There are three approaches to manage stress effectively.

1. Take action – confront the problem head on and do something about it, if it is within your power to do so.

2. Manage your Emotions – change your interpretation of the situation, look at it in a different way, like the horse example above.

3. Accept the things you cannot change – accept that it is outside of your control and you have no power to change things.

And finally, remember the 3 ‘P’ words, Permanent, Pervasive and Personal and ask yourself these questions about the situation you find yourself in:

• Is it permanent? will this situation last forever?
• Is it pervasive? does this affect every aspect of my life?
• Is it personal? is it happening because of me or am I wholly responsible for this?

• Are you lacking that inner personal confidence that seems so easy for others?
• Do you avoid situations or opportunities that require you to push forward?
• Are you missing out on opportunities because you believe you don’t have what it takes?
• Would you like to have more confidence so you can live a more fulfilled life?

A lack of self confidence can spoil you life in so many ways and you may already have missed out on good opportunities because of low confidence. Self confidence and self esteem go hand in hand.

Low self esteem can be self-worth or identity related and it can negatively affect your self image.

Using Positive Mind Positive Brain Therapy, I can help you to change for the better, build the neuro-muscles for confidence and upskill your mindset so you can feel calm, confident and in control, see yourself in a good light and boost your self image.

The level of confidence you have now is controlled by sub-conscious patterns that were set up early in life and reinforced over time. These patterns might include negative self talk, avoidance, self-doubt, anxiety symptoms or low self esteem.

Confident people radiate a powerful positive energy that other people can sense, just by being near them. This vibrant energy radiates from within and speaks volumes. It says “Yes, I can…..”

The Benefits of a Confidence Building Programme

Our programme is designed around you.

We use advanced techniques to help you to re-programme your subconscious mind, so you can:

• access and amplify the confidence you already have
• build and strengthen the neuro-muscles for confidence
• overcome any psychological blockages
• release or resolve any trauma or negative experience
• increase your ability to take the necessary actions steps needed
• move towards success in all areas of your life

Ask yourself, how would it really feel to:

• follow the path you choose in life without letting other things get in your way
• heighten your performance at work, at home and in your social life
• be the best you can be, in whatever you choose to do
• speak to anybody, anywhere, with confidence and ease
• feel integrated and balanced within yourself
• automatically think in a helpful constructive way
• speak to yourself and others using positive empowering language
• live in accordance with your values
• be authentic and feel comfortable showing your true self to the world
• finally become the person you want to be

Our programme can help you to do just that.

Types of Confidence

Performance Confidence refers to your general beliefs about what you are able to do. People who are high in performance confidence believe they are capable of achieving things generally. They are often high in mental toughness. Before a match, the footballer, Wayne Rooney, is said to find out what colour shorts, socks and shirt his team will be wearing, so he can enhance his psychological preparation in advance of the match. According to an article in the Telegraph on 22 January 2014, Rooney lies in bed and imagines himself scoring goals and doing well. He is literally creating a future memory, so that his brain sees it as “already happened”. By using all his senses, Rooney can imagine the feel of the ball on his foot, the sound it makes as it flies through the air, the smell of the grass and the sound of the crowd cheering. Rehearsing positive mental imagery is a good practice and builds inner confidence so that when it comes to the real event, it feels right.

Our programme helps you to perform at your best in exams, tests, interviews and at work.

Social Confidence is all about how we think, feel and behave with others in social situations. Low levels of social confidence can manifest as anxiety or negative self image. Thoughts like “am I underdressed or overdressed”, “what if I don’t know what to say?” “What if nobody likes me?” It’s as if people with low social confidence are trying to read the minds of others and hoping that everyone will approve of them. By focussing on themselves rather than what’s going on around them, they often miss out on having fun. High levels of social confidence allow people to mix easily and speak freely and confidently amongst others. They are not thinking about making mistakes, they are going with the flow and if they make a mistake so what, they move on. They appear more interested in others than themselves. When you have social confidence you can enjoy life more, do better at work, make more friends and feel more fulfilled in life.

Our programme helps you to socialise, have more fun and get on better with others.

Physical Confidence refers to how people view their physical bodies, attractiveness, appearance and body image. Low levels might show up when someone thinks they are ugly, fat or unattractive to the opposite sex, even though they may be just average. High levels of physical confidence allow you to believe in yourself totally, no matter how you look. It literally is all in the mind. We know that attractiveness has many different ingredients and low self confidence, or low self esteem is counter-productive to a healthy happy life. When you develop a strong personal sense of physical confidence you win at life.

Our programme helps you to build and integrate all three types of confidence so you can be at your best.

Practice Makes Permanent

Self confidence is reinforced by successfully achieving your goals, however small, and acknowledging them.

Our programme helps you to build upon your positive attributes and see yourself as the master creator of your life.

Your brain learns the skills of confidence and soon it will become the default.

Just like any other habit, when you practice being confident, you become more confident. Practice makes permanent.

Talk to me about building your confidence, don’t waste any more time, you deserve to be confident!

Contact us