9 Ways to Shift Your Mindset from Fear to Love and Manifest Your Desires

Fear gets to the best of us, whether it is fear of failure, fear of success or even fear of fear.

All of us have experienced fear at some point in our lives and it can be a real stumbling block that holds us back from being truly successful.

Some people come to me desperately wanting to Manifest something, but they are in a state of fear...This is not the best mindset to manifest from at all....this is why I help many of my customers to become stable in their Mindset before even attempting to manifest specific outcomes or circumstances. This is why we often start with Hypnotherapy before moving on to Mindset Coaching & Hypnotherapy.

Fear can’t hold you back forever, if you don’t let it, you need to be patient and loving with yourself though.

There are several ways to overcome fear, here are some tips/tools for you to use and get yourself into the right mindset!

1. SEPARATE REALITY FROM PERCEPTION
Ask yourself what is really going on, locate the facts and place them over your feelings.

2. IDENTIFY THE TRIGGER
Figure out what it is in a situation that triggers you. Learning to identify it will help you learn to combat it.

3. KNOW WHERE FEAR LIVES IN YOUR BODY
A lot of times, fear takes over physically. It affects different people different ways. Identify if/how it affects your physical body and do the work to take care of your body. Ex: if you hold stress in your back, you can learn stretches, foam rolling, etc. to avoid the pain.

4. PRACTICE GRATITUDE
Everyday, list out 1-3 things you are thankful for. It doesn’t matter how big or small it is, gratitude helps shift the mind into a positive light, which overtime, overcomes fear.

5. LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE
Monitor your inner conversations. If you wouldn’t say it to a friend, don’t say it to yourself. Speak positively to yourself and remind yourself of your strengths.

6. CREATE A NEW ASSOCIATION
Remind yourself that the feeling and the moment will pass. Focus on the positive outcome of the situation, rather than the scary in-between.

7. LOOK AT THE GLASS HALF FULL
Perception is a very powerful thing, and how you feel about your situation dictates how you respond. So think positively and you’ll give yourself a much better chance of success. This won’t happen overnight; practice with just one thought. What is one recurring negative/fearful thought you have? Work on reversing this one thought. Overtime, this will become a habit.

8. PRACTICE BREATHING EXERCISES
Breathing helps centre your body; when you stop breathing, your heart stops beating. You can do a grounding exercise, or even just take 5 deep, long breaths at any point to calm and centre yourself. It is best to start your day with this, but feel free to practice all day long.

9. CREATE A SAFE SPACE
When you feel safe and secure, there is no room for fear. Find somewhere safe you can retreat to when ill feelings begin- whether this is a real place such as your bedroom, or a place in your mind such as the beach. This sense of comfort will soothe you and allow you to face your fear.

Book in a 1-1 Call so we can discuss how Hypnotherapy and Mindset Coaching can help to help you from Breakdown to Breakthrough.

Affirmations - and how to use them

So today we're gonna be talking about affirmations (Something I talk to lots of my Hypnotherapy & Mindset Customers about) and I'm going to start with the fact that I don't believe that affirmations are a technique as such.  Here’s a chat I had with a friend I’ve been helping using law of assumption.

Personally, the way that I see affirmations is that they are Thoughts that you choose. They can really help you to shift your Mindset from a place of lack to one of having what you want.

So we have they think about 70,000 thoughts a day and about 60,000 of those thoughts are the same thoughts we had yesterday So our brains really boring but we can use affirmations to like start to change what those dominant beliefs are.

CAROLINE:

What what what's your take on affirmations? Like how have you been using them?

SARAH :

I've been using them just to change like my whole mindset really and how I see things and how I see myself as well. So I started out with just the really simple ones, like Neville Goddard’s “Isn't it wonderful” Affirmation and “something wonderful is happening to me right now”

But also using them to change how I feel about myself using I AM Affirmations for example

“I am amazing”

“I am incredible”

It can change your your whole mindset in the space of like minutes, you can be feeling really rubbish and you can be thinking really negative things about yourself or about your situation. But then if you start doing these affirmations, something clicks inside of you and you're just like hang on a minute, no, I'm amazing.

Something wonderful is happening to me right now and then you just completely changed and you feel not happy again.

I think it does change other people’s perception of you as well because if you're feeling good all of the time people just feel it, they see it.

There’s a quote that sums up our experience in life that you told me once…. “A mirror cannot smile unless you smile.”

And that really, really resonated with me because I was thinking, yeah, if I'm miserable, the people around me are going to be miserable because I don't really want to talk about vibrations because I'm not really into that kind of stuff. But it does, they kind of reflect your vibration.

CAROLINE:

Is that the whole thing that Everyone is yourself pushed out. Everybody is your mirror. And the thing is the only thing that's creating our reality is our consciousness and there is only one consciousness So even they were in separate bodies, we are still one consciousness. So we're all connected.

Which is why when you start to change your beliefs and your assumptions about yourself exactly what you say, It's not just you that is changing, it's not just your mindset that's changing is the way that people start to show up in your life, the way that people treat you because they have to mirror back to you what those beliefs are about yourself.

SARAH:

Exactly. I think the Easiest one for me was just the way I was around the Children. you know if I'm in a bad mood and I'm I'm eggy and walking around feeling moody. They literally feed on that and then it's like, oh my God they literally drove me insane. So if you can shift that, you know, they are like so much happier now that I'm in a better place.

CAROLINE:

My kids are my biggest mirrors I know instantly what mood I'm in depending on how my kids are behaving. So yeah, definitely. Yeah. And plus you're around them like all of the time. So you know, you really do get to feel how you're feeling and what they are sort of projecting back to you about your mood and your state of mind.

And the thing is there's no denying that everyone is you pushed out And when I've been using certain affirmations consistently like again and again and again, it is absolutely crazy Like, people literally parroting my affirmations back to me word by word.

I expect I've told you about the time when I started affirming I am the woman that everyone wants to help and support and all of a sudden so I had lots of things that needed doing in my house at the time, I had doors that needed fixing, I had a room that was full of rubble that all needed taking out. And I suddenly had all of these offers from men like, can I come and help you do this? Like, let me come and put your door on for you, the electrician that was meant to be rewiring my house, came and turned up and took like four bags of rubble out for me, which was not in his job.

Nothing like that had ever happened to me before Yeah, and even like affirming the, like, “I'm a great Mum” I start affirming things like that and the kids reflect it, saying stuff like, you're the best Mum, Yeah, you are literally the best Mum.

It's so simple but so effective and and affirmations or some of the techniques that we'll talk about in different times. all of the techniques really are to get that internal shift.

You don't affirm to like suddenly see changes outside of you, of course that will eventually happen, but the first shift has to be within, because there's no one to change but self.

Affirmations are for me, the one technique that you can do whilst you're washing up, whilst you're driving, Yeah you can literally do them anywhere and everywhere, and you don't even have to be saying them out loud you can just do it silently in your head and nobody would even know that you're doing it, like you would with normal thoughts.

I remember when first realised that some of my affirmations were really like implemented I woke up in the middle of the night and said one of my affirmations to myself, I wasn't worried about a single thing.

I literally woke up in the middle of the night and I was like, “I am incredible”

So, even though I've been saying it for a really long time, and I think this is the other thing that a lot of people are like, well, what if I don't believe my affirmations?

SARAH:

Yeah, I think that I struggled in the beginning because I think I had quite a lot of self doubt, like, my relationship has just broken down when we really started speaking about this, I was in a job that I didn't necessarily want to be in, but I didn't really see a way out at the time.

It's completely changed the way I see everything and the way I feel about myself as well.

CAROLINE:

Yeah, and that's, it isn't like, there won't necessarily be the belief when you start affirming I am incredible.

You're affirming it, but you're not necessarily believing it, but when you repeat that again and again and again eventually, and I've said this to loads of my customers, like, the subconscious part of the brain doesn't have eyes.

So it literally only knows what we're telling it. So if you tell it enough times, “I am incredible.” Eventually, it's going to believe it.

I like to really embody my affirmations as well, like, you know, sometimes I will just repeat them if I'm doing stuff, but one of my favourite affirmations is I am the happiest woman in the world, but when I say it like I really conjure up those feelings being the happiest woman in the world, I've got like, a little visualisation I use along with it.

Another one of my favourite affirmations is “everything is always working in my favour.” so, you know that eventually, whatever it is, whatever situation you're in or whatever you know, self doubt that you're having, it's gonna flip and it's gonna all work itself out and work in your favour.

Our brain loves to seek evidence for whatever we're telling it, So again, that's you know how affirmations can start to shape our world is because if you're telling yourself like, I'm stupid, I'm ugly or you know, things are always going bad.

Your brain will literally be trying to prove you right!

It's the reticular activating system that's like, okay, this is this is what we do here and it starts to shift and change what you see in your reality as well as like manifesting.

SARAH:

Yeah, exactly. But I just think back to the beginning of the year for me so many things have happened to me since I've started doing all of these things with you, like all the techniques and learning all about this. So many things have happened that I just didn't even think we're going to be possible, I've literally had so many things happen… I was in Austria for a week, I'm going to Croatia on Wednesday.

Like these are all like really big holidays and traveling and things that I never ever thought I was going to be able to do. I was always really nervous about not having the Children with me and also that feeling guilty of doing something for myself.

It is really huge. I was always like the yes person, if anybody ever wanted me to do anything for them. I always just used to say yes straight away because I always wanted to be that person that was always there for people and you know was always like the friend that never let anybody down and things like that, but at the same time, even though I was that person for the, for for my friends and family it was massively affected me and my life.

CAROLINE:

And the thing is that people pleasing at your own detriment comes from a place of needing validation and needing people to like you, and the paradox is when you don't need that validation from anyone else.

You don't need other people to like make you feel good then people show up for you more!

The beginners guide to Neville Goddard's SATS technique to help you manifest your desires.

You know that feeling when you’re driving down the road and suddenly realise you don’t remember the last several miles? Or how about when you wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and you’re stumbling around, not quite awake? These are times when your brain is operating in what are known as alpha and/or theta waves.

You can also reach alpha and theta waves through prayer, meditation, or even when doing tasks that are so familiar that they become automatic (like brushing your hair, shaving, showering, or even going for a run.) 

Neville Goddard, philosopher, metaphysics teacher, and father of the manifestation movement called this hyper-relaxed state “SATS” (or “State Akin To Sleep.”) He realised that when you are in alpha or theta brainwaves, you can more easily access your subconscious mind and plant the seeds of belief.

This state of mind makes it much easier to manifest what you desire—you imagine yourself already having it while you are relaxed and your brain is almost on “autopilot.” Your brain is then set up to think that way when you are more fully awake and alert. 

We enter the State Akin To Sleep naturally, twice a day: once when we’re first waking up in the morning and once when we’re fading off to sleep at night. During this time, the subconscious is ready to receive new information or beliefs that the conscious mind might otherwise shut down during your more awake hours. As mentioned before, however, this relaxed state of mind can also be accessed intentionally through prayer, mediation, or repetitive tasks.  Scripting (Writing out your desires as though you already have them) is also really powerful just before sleep.

If you choose to work with me, I can also help you to get into this state during hypnosis, helping you to get clear and focused on your desires and how you would feel if you had these desires.

When you change your assumptions about the future, you change the future. The key here is to have faith in what you are assuming, and the best way to do that is to 

1. Clearly define what you are believing for. The trick is to have planned in advance what exactly you’re going to visualise. Write it down, and be specific. Create a particular situation in which your desires have come to pass, and imagine that situation

2. Believe and act as though what you wrote down is your current reality. The key to manifesting what you desire is acting as though it has already happened. Don’t self-sabotage by imagining a future where your desire has not come to pass—any time that happens recenter yourself on your specific picture of what it will look like when it does come to pass!

As a person thinks, so they are. What you think and believe about yourself is who you will become! The more you practice utilising the State Akin To Sleep to plant the seeds of belief in your subconscious thoughts, the more you will begin to think those things in your daily life when your conscious mind is at the forefront. Work on training your brain with the SATS technique, and you will begin to manifest a life you love simply by changing the way you think! 

Contact me If you want to work with me 1-1 and start manifesting your dream life.

“Instead of fighting against the evidence of the senses you claim yourself to be that which you desire to be. As your attention is placed on this claim, the doors of the senses automatically close against your former master (that which you were conscious of being).”

– Neville Goddard,

Food and mood...does it matter?

We all know pretty much that what we put into our bodies can not only affect what we look like, but also how we feel.

But do you know to what extent or why?

Well….in several of my blogs I will have mentioned an important chemical called serotonin (Our happy chemical) and we talk about how to produce more serotonin but what we don’t discuss so much is how food can effect it’s production!

Let’s start here…how important is serotonin?

Serotonin impacts every part of your body, from your emotions to your motor skills. It can effect sleep and pain, it greatly effects mood, bone health, and even digestion…so i’d say it plays a pretty big role in our lives!

Serotonin helps regulate your mood naturally. When your serotonin levels are normal, you feel:

• happier

• calmer

• less anxious

• more emotionally stable

• more focused

The scientific name for serotonin is 5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT. It is mainly found in the brain, bowels, and blood platelets.

So how is it produced?

(Please speak to a doctor before making any changes to your diet)

It used to be thought that serotonin was just made in the brain, but now we know actually 95% is made in the GUT!!! Sooooo now we can start to see the importance of food and how it effects our mood!

You can’t directly get serotonin from food, but you can get tryptophan, an amino acid that’s converted to serotonin in your brain. Tryptophan is found primarily in high-protein foods, including turkey and salmon.

There is a gut - brain barrier which is a bit on the complex side so we won’t go into this too much here, but we want our gut to be serotonin friendly anyway…

Tryptophan is an amino acid that is important for the production of serotonin in the body. It is also key to brain function and has a role in healthy sleep.

People cannot make tryptophan in their bodies, so must obtain it from their diet.

Therefore we want to eat more of these tryptophan-rich foods which are usually even higher in other amino acids. Because they’re more abundant, these other amino acids are more likely than tryptophan to cross the blood-brain barrier. From what i’ve researched though we also need carbs to help them to be absorbed. Tryptophan needs carbohydrates to be able to reach the brain and create serotonin. (Slow release carbs are best).

Where can we get Tryptophan?

Go NUTS…. because all nuts and seeds contain tryptophan. Studies show that eating a handful of nuts a day can lower your risk for cancer, heart disease, and respiratory problems.

Anywhere else?

Dark leafy veg, oily fish, poultry, eggs….worth doing a little bit more research or speaking to a nutritionist if you ask me!

Healthy gut foods include: fruits, vegetables and wholegrains, beans, pulses, live yoghurt and other probiotics.

What else?

Exercise helps to move the serotonin around the brain so also highly recommended, also relaxation techniques which are believed to help production of serotonin levels!

Solutions Focused Hypnotherapy & Manifestation

Many of my customers recently seem to be showing more of an interest in law of attraction / manifestation (not a coincidence…? ) and it’s been extremely interesting for me as I personally am a huge believer myself. 

And the great news is that solutions focused hypnotherapy works even if you are a believer, or NOT...everything we do is backed up by science and or research so it suits both non spiritual, more logical thinkers and those who are big believers (Personally I’d say i’m a bit of both….I like my spiritual beliefs to be backed up with some kind of science/evidence!) 

So first of all what is law of attraction?

For those who believe in it the law of attraction is a universal law, similar to that of gravity that is working all of the time.  It is a belief that our thoughts or emotions are being brought into reality (Both good or bad). Often without us even realising it. 

You may have heard some quotes similar to these

“What you think you become. What you feel you attract. What you imagine you create.” – Buddha

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way you are right.” – Henry Ford

“You create your thoughts, your thoughts create your intentions and your intentions create your reality.” – Wayne Dyer

“Where Attention goes Energy flows; Where Intention goes Energy flows!”

The belief is that everything consists of energy (vibrations, even the Beatles sang a song called ‘good vibrations)  and therefore our thoughts create our reality.  You may remember a time when you were thinking about someone and the same day they sent a message to you, or called? 

I have always been a very imaginative thinker and remember so many times when I have allowed myself to daydream and imagine things which later became reality...and this was before I even knew what it was...including homes and even finding cash on the floor randomly!   (We are great at imagining when we are children) 

Now I use the law of attraction intentionally and use methods and techniques to attract customers, circumstances, money etc into my life! 

And hypnosis is one of the most useful tools I use! 

So how does solutions focused hypnotherapy help with the law of attraction?

Well one of the most important parts when using the law of attraction is that your thoughts create your reality....during our sessions one of our aims is to get you focusing more on the ‘good things’ and create a more positive thinking program running in your brain, this = more positive situations/circumstances.

THOUGHTS… BECOME… THINGS!

To use the law of attraction to your advantage it’s important to set ‘intentions’ or ‘goals’ and during the ‘miracle question’ part of our session, not only do we set intentions or goals but we get really clear on the emotions of how we will feel once that has been  achieved which is super powerful in the law of attraction. 

And lastly the actual hypnosis or trance part of the session taps into our subconscious brain and helps to get rid of any limiting beliefs that might be holding us back and in fact helps to plant helpful and supportive beliefs….the trance also helps us to feel calmer and more in control (Us solutions focused lot refer to this as ‘emptying the stress bucket’ so we can enjoy life more).

Interested in knowing more or working with me?

Contact me to speak about working 1-1 or for to buy one of my personalised law of attraction recordings that you can use again and again!

What can I start doing NOW?

• Start visualising - using the power of your imagination to think about how you want things to be rather than how you do not want them to be.

• Be grateful - I write a daily gratitude list.  What we focus on we attract, therefore by thinking about what we are already grateful for we attract more of these things!

• Use hypnosis to tap into your subconscious mind and change limiting beliefs into more helpful ones

• Do things you love and have fun (for me this is loud music and dancing!) - you must have heard of people being ‘high vibe’ or ‘positive vibe’ doing things we love or having fun keeps us in this state! 

• Act as if….play make believe, talk, act and think as though the things you want have already materialised...this is fun anyway!

• Set intentions - you can not receive whatever it is you want if you do not know or have not been clear about what it is! Write that stuff down with a pen and paper.  ‘It is my intention to have 3 new ideal customers by the end of this week’

Get To Know Your Happy Brain Chemicals!

Our brain is made up of 100's of neurotransmitters, evolutionarily many of them were and still are essential for survival.  When we feel good it is because our brain chemicals are working well.  

There are four major chemicals in the brain that influence our happiness, it is really helpful for us to learn what they are, what they do and how we get them. 

1.  Dopamine

2.  Oxytocin

3.  Serotonin

4.  Endorphins

Dopamine:  

Dopamine is often referred to as our 'reward or pleasure' neurotransmitter.  It is actually a survival chemical...our motivator!  For example as cavemen/cavewomen it was released when we caught our food.  This encouraged us to do it again and again and again.  We still release dopamine when we eat and because our natural instinct is to do more and more of what makes us feel good this can sometimes mean we turn to snacking or overeating in a bid to feel better.  Unfortunately this can be counter productive and there are better ways to feel good.

We also produce dopamine when we have sex which encourages to reproduce. That is why sometimes when we meet someone new we get those butterfly or excited feelings! 

We can produce dopamine by completing something you enjoy for example an excersise class, gardening or even better by being kind and helping others.  Also to ensure that your brain increases dopamine naturally, you’ll want to make sure that you’re getting enough sleep.  Lack of sleep has been shown to reduce concentrations of neurotransmitters, including dopamine, and their receptors.  Some research shows that listening to music that we enjoy can release dopamine.

Stress can also have a negative effective on dopamine so trying to reduce stress can help, solutions focused hypnotherapy can be effective in reducing stress and some research shows that trance can even help us produce more dopamine! 

Unfortunately a lack of natural dopamine can often lead to addictions such as gambling, gaming, phone addiction etc. 

“We get one of these little pings on our smartphones, and we get a little hit of dopamine as well. We get excited. We feel anticipation. As we feel this, we want it more and more. So we spend more and more time looking at our phones.”

— Kim Stolz

Oxytocin

Oxytocin is often referred to as our 'bonding' or 'love' neurotransmitter.  It's the chemical we would have released when we were fed milk as a baby, the brains of new mothers are usually flooded with oxytocin to help the bonding process as well.

We still release oxytocin when we have cuddles, kiss or when we trust someone! We can even release it when we shake hands with someone.

Oxytocin is the neurotransmitter that gives us that warm fuzzy feeling...so go on have a cuddle, even cuddling a pet with produce oxytocin!! 

“It is important to understand that while oxytocin may be the hub of the evolution of the social brain in mammals, it is part of a very complex system. Part of what it does is act in opposition to stress hormones, and in that sense release of oxytocin feels good - as stress hormones and anxiety do not feel good.”

— Patricia Churchland

Serotonin

Serotonin is often known as our 'happy chemical' it is one of the most important neurotransmitters we have! Serotonin is believed to help regulate mood and social behavior, appetite and digestion, sleep, memory, and sexual desire and function.

 

A lack of serotonin is also thought to have a negative effect on confidence and self esteem.

To produce serotonin we need the three P's Positive Interaction,  Positive Action and Positive thoughts!  

“Brain wave tests prove that when we use positive words, our “feel good” hormones flow. Positive self-talk releases endorphins and serotonin in our brain, which then flow throughout our body, making us feel good. These neurotransmitters stop flowing when we use negative words.”

— Ruth Fishel

Endorphins

Have you ever heard of 'runners high'?  This is an endorphin rush in the brain.  Endorphins can masks pain with euphoria, this is why sometimes you will hear about someone who has been able to continue walking with a broken leg! Endorphins only mask pain for a short period of time luckily as we need to feel the pain response to stop us causing more injury. 

We can create more endorphins through exercise, laughing and smiling! 

 

STRESS

Unfortunately the chemical we release when we feel stressed or anxious 'Cortisol' has a negative effect on most of these chemicals, that is why the most effective things we can do is reduce stress and do more of what we enjoy.  Solutions focused hypnotherapy is a really effective way of reducing stress and feeling, happier, more in control and more confident.

Is your teenager or child addicted to gaming?

Recently I have been hearing more and more from parents who are concerned that their child/teen is obsessed with gaming.  Many of these parents have also commented on the angry or aggressive behaviour that seems to come along with it.  

Not all children/teenagers are effected in this way but I found it really interesting looking closer into why some do.  

When would it be classed as an addiction?

I would call it an addiction when it interferes with relationships, other interests and achievements. 

These are some other indicators

* Lying about usage of gaming

* Irritable if unable to play

* Lack of interest in activities that they previously enjoyed

* Lack of interest in eating if it means missing a game

* Isolation from friends

* When not gaming they are thinking/talking about gaming

'The National Children’s Bureau Northern Ireland research involved more than 600 teens aged 14-16 from 2012-14 and found that 41% of children who used portable gaming devices at least twice a day achieved at least five GCSE A* to C grades, compared with 77% of those who used them less than once a week.'

How are addictions created?

First of all we need to take a look back in history. As cavemen/cavewomen we needed to go out and hunt for food, we needed to adapt and respond quickly for our safety.  For example we quickly learned if something was either dangerous or good for us and our brain would keep that pattern as a template to use again and again.  During many of these activities (such as killing prey, eating and reproducing) our brain would have produced dopamine.  Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that gives us a feeling of euphoria, energy and a feeling of success which served as a reward, unfortunately high levels of dopamine can cause aggressive behaviour (but on a positive note the right amount at the right time can increase the desire to win or competitive streak in us often helping with success).

However these days our brain (Which has not yet evolved to suit modern times) still seeks this reward.  We no longer need to do the same activities such as hunting and killing and we have other more modern activities which give us this rush of dopamine which we crave such as recreational drugs, smoking, sex and many more including gaming. This dopamine hit tells the brain 'this feels great, I want more' and same way as we created the repetitive patterns in caveman days to ensure our survival our brain responds the same way to gaming and a habit or addiction is created. 

---

 

What can we do about it?

First of all I tell all of my customers about the importance of serotonin.  Serotonin is another neurotransmitter which provides feelings of well being, balance and contentment.

I expect you are asking how we can produce more serotonin?

Starting with the three P's

*  Positive Interaction 

Again going back to our caveman days at the end of a long stressful day we would have sat around a fire and talked to our 'tribe', but these days we still need to interact in a positive way.

*  Positive Action

You guessed it, chasing that saber toothed tiger! Luckily its much easier now, we can play football or any activity that you enjoy!

*  Positive Thoughts

We were given the ability to daydream, we can use this ability in one of two different ways. Back to the caveman - they were much more successful when they imagined how they would set up the trap to catch the saber toothed tiger than when they imagined being eaten by the tiger. We still need to focus on the positives.

Solutions Focused Hypnotherapy can help, first of all we use psychotherapy where we only focus on the positives and the solution, we do not need to go over the problem.  We then explain how the brain works using a simplified version of science and research....children and teenagers especially find this fascinating as they can finally understand how and why they act in certain ways.

Also during solutions focused hypnotherapy we have the advantage of using trance.  Trance is very ordinary, we go into trance several times a day, but during our sessions we encourage the customer to stay in trance slightly longer than you would for example when going for a run or washing up.  Although trance feels extremely relaxing we know the brain is actually hard at work during this time finding solutions and solving problems. 

Please contact me for more information or to book in an initial consultation!

 

Do you get SAD in Winter?

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD for short) is a type of depression that comes on during the winter month’s when we have shorter days.  It’s commonly known as the winter depression and many people who suffer with it feel fine in the spring and summer month’s.

The exact causes of SAD are not yet fully understood but the main theory is that a lack of sunlight might stop a part of the brain called the hypothalamus (The part of our brain that controls hormone production) working properly, this can mean the production of melatonin (A hormone that makes us feel sleepy) can be increased and serotonin (A happy hormone) can be decreased.

Some of the symptoms of SAD are:

·      Struggling to wake up and wanting to sleep for longer

·      A low mood that is persistent

·      Craving stodgy foods and or gaining weight

·      Irritability or moodiness

·      Lack of interest

·      Lack of enjoyment in life

·      Loss of energy

Thankfully it is not all gloom and doom, solutions focussed hypnotherapy can help to improve your mood. 

When we are suffering with SADs we are encouraged to think more primitively (And more negatively) but during our sessions we will focus very much on all the positives in your life.  This will help to produce more serotonin and improve your mood.  It will also give your brain the time it needs to relax and focus on doing more of the activities that make you feel better.  Hypnotherapy can also help improve your sleep pattern and quality of your sleep.

Other things that can help with SAD’s

·      Exercise – Exercise is well known for improving serotonin production and mood, wrap up warm and get out into nature and getting as much day light as possible will also help improve mood.

·      Interacting with friends – Another way to increase production of serotonin, especially if your friends make you laugh! And just having a support network to turn to.

·      Doing something you enjoy.  Any activities we enjoy for example painting, drawing, knitting, crosswords etc. can help with serotonin production.