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Why everyone tells you to focus on your breathing to help your anxiety

In this short video I explain just how to breathe in a way that will calm you and I also tell you why it works....

The Why and the How of It

Have you ever noticed how different sorts of questions can either keep us stuck or get us moving? Language is interesting, as altering the questions we ask ourselves can change whether we remain focused on one particular thing or start to widen our perspective. Sometimes we want to stay in the same place. When we want to gain a deep understanding of the reasons for something, for example. Other times we might want to move our thoughts onwards, taking ourselves in a different direction....

Can our memories ever lie?

Hypnotherapists sometimes get asked to help people remember things that happened in the past. Or to put it a bit more precisely, to go back to see if something definitely happened or not. “I need to know the truth”. This is rarely a good idea. Some key questions to ask yourself if you are wanting to know if something did or didn’t happen are. What are you going to do with the answer? How is it going to help you? What if it’s not the answer you suspect? What are the consequences of having...

Building Confidence using both Past and Future Memories

That’s right future memories. Both past and future memories can be really helpful in breaking patterns of negative thoughts and feelings....

Why talking to yourself is very much NOT a sign of madness…

I talk to myself a lot, always have done, and I’m pleased to say that research is showing it may be doing me a lot of good, I may have been on to something all along… Neuroscience and brain imaging has shown that we may be able to calm ourselves simply by talking to ourselves in the third person. So by using your own name or “she/he” rather than “I”....

Anxiety – It’s all in the head. Or is it?

If you have anxiety then you will probably have already been offered lots of advice. “It’s all in your head” may be something you’ve heard. The brain can’t tell the difference between imagined things and real memories, so it’s worrying about things it’s made up. And that means you’re worrying about a load of things that in all likelihood won’t happen anyway. Well yes, but what’s going on up there is only part of the story....

This is a Narcissus - not to be confused with a Narcissist

Narcissus and Narcissist, only a few letters different but one’s a beauty and the other a real beast. But in a twist to the traditional fairy tale, this beast may have the appearance of a prince or princess. Narcissists can be very charming and can fool the strongest people into thinking they are the perfect partner. Male or female they can at first seem charming, attentive and really rather perfect, perhaps too perfect?...

Why I have a problem with bosses who always say “Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions!”

I wonder if, like me, you were taught that to impress you need to not bring problems to the table, just solutions? In fact as I’m writing this I can still hear a previous boss of mine yelling this, or some version of it, across the office. Now I get the idea, if we’re feeling empowered and we have the skills required we ought to be able to work out how to do things for ourselves. But sometimes we can take this too far, particularly if we’re the sort of person that tends to automatically th...

When the memory of an event just won’t go away

We might be familiar with Armed Forces personnel, Police Officers, Fire fighters or Paramedics being traumatised by the work they do, being exposed over and over again to extreme, often life and death situations. But what about the person involved in a car accident who can’t put the accident out of their mind? Or the person who witnessed someone else being hurt and still recalls vivid images, sounds, smells or feelings from that time as if they were happening now? Or the person that got so abs...

Where’s the Evidence Hypnotherapy Works?

There was a time when I insisted on knowing there was evidence for a treatment before I would use it. That was until hypnotherapy was recommended to me and for some reason I just took the plunge, without doing my usual thing of carefully weighing up the pros and the cons. Since breaking my own rule, I have noticed there are in fact lots of things which clearly work but for which officially there is little or no evidence....

Hypnosis - A hard pill to swallow?

Some people when they speak to me are brave enough to admit to me “I don’t believe hypnotherapy works”. Well, in that case it’s unlikely to - for them. Belief plays an important part in making any change. ...

Laughter – why it really is the best medicine

Tickle a child and make them giggle, do it again and they giggle again…. repeat and pretty soon the next time you just have to give them the same look, move your hands in the same way and they will giggle. Look at comedians on stage – they’ll tell a good joke, get a response, a great laugh from the audience. They then walk around a bit as they build up to their next punchline and then go and stand in the same place as last time, as they deliver the next punchline. They do this a few t...

Writing away your current mood

The connection between expressive writing and wellness was discovered by Dr. James Pennebaker. In this video I explain how to use this knowledge and alter your mood, just by setting some time aside to write what your inner voice is saying. I use this technique and I find it works for me....

Operator, operator are you there?

One day you’re living life fine and then suddenly it catches you unawares and it’s there. Omnipresent. When you wake up in the morning you feel it in your body and it stays with you throughout the day. You may be able to control it when at work or when you must focus on something else but when that’s over, it’s back again. Over time it becomes the dominant thing in your life and by then it really is in the driver’s seat and you are no longer in control of where it’s taking you. Soun...

Sticks and Stones

I think as a society we now understand the old phrase “sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never hurt you” is frankly just wrong! Words alone are so powerful and can both build us up and break us down. I see this regularly in clients that come to me for hypnotherapy....

Can Hypnotherapy help you get Pregnant?

To have the best chance of succeeding in getting pregnant our body needs to be ready. Someone who is highly stressed is in perpetual  flight or fight  mode. In this state our body focuses on ensuring the systems it will need to fight or run are ready, and it can shut down any parts that are not critical. So for instance – have you ever been so anxious and stressed you have felt sick or literally thrown up? If so this may be your body’s way of getting you ready for fight or flight. ...

Scared of tests? 4 step process to help you overcome your fears

Exam season is not far away and for many it may remind us of other sorts of test anxiety that hold us back from time to time in our lives....

Help, I can't visualise!

Some people think they can't benefit from guided relaxation and hypnotherapy because they can't visualise. This video explains why this is not the case. Whilst each client's response to hypnosis is different - all these responses fine and enable you to relax and enjoy the hypnotic experience....

4 small changes that can make a big difference to your life

Looking at these four things may help you get better balance in your life...

The Worry Envelope

For many people I see constant worrying is something they want to address.  It can be so frustrating when our focus is constantly being interrupted by unhelpful thoughts and worries about things we can do nothing about. The Worry Envelope is a great technique for re-training yourself to put these thoughts to one side. If practiced it can become automatic and over time you can find yourself being less and less interrupted by unwanted thoughts and worries. In the short video below I show you ...

Trouble Sleeping? - Try some Sleep Hygiene

Anxiety and depression often go hand in hand with poor sleep and clients I see sometimes need help with their sleep as well as their anxiety or depression. Sleep hygiene is an important part of treating sleep problems....

5 great self-help ways to tackle your phobia

Don't let your phobia continue to control how you live your life. It's time to take some action....

The top 5 reasons people don't seek therapy & the one time you really shouldn’t

Are you someone who uses therapy to increase your wellbeing, or you in the camp of people for whom therapy is definitely for other people?...

How Hypnotherapy can help you “get out of your own way” when you want to change yourself

Sometimes we can be simply outstanding at preventing ourselves doing what we really want to do. Hypnosis is here to help....

5 1/2 ways to beat your phobia with Hypnotherapy

You know when your phobia kicks in you have no conscious control over your mind and body’s response. Your subconscious mind has decided that what you are phobic about is a danger to you and has responded before the rational, logical part of your mind can step in. You may consciously know your fear is irrational, but can’t currently do anything about it. You may feel anxious just in anticipation of being confronted by what you are afraid of. You may end up avoiding places and events that you ...