I often hear this when I explain what I do as a Hypnotherapist and as the 10th October is World Mental Health Day, I’ve been thinking about how people generally view Hypnotherapy. It seems Hypnotherapy has quite a good reputation for helping people stop smoking (everyone seems to know someone who quit through Hypnotherapy), or for phobias (again we all seem to know someone who couldn’t get on a plane or handle a spider alone before Hypnotherapy) and for losing weight. However Hypnotherapy as a therapy for helping people with their mental health seems much less mainstream.

The ironic thing is that this is most of what I do on a daily basis. I work with clients who are immobilised by Anxiety- whether this be a teen who is unable to get to college to study alongside peers because of social anxiety or an older person who is too afraid to have an important conversation with a loved one because they are afraid of the consequences. I meet clients who are depleted by low mood and depression and who find it a struggle simply to get out of bed and dressed for the day, let alone fly off to the sunshine in an airplane! I also meet clients so dominated by intrusive negative thoughts about themselves that undermines their confidence and self-esteem and prevents them taking the  progressive and forward-focused steps they’d like to take in their careers, relationships and personal interests. And I meet the poor sleepers, the comfort eaters, the obsessive social media or doom scrollers, the problematic drinkers, the hair-pullers, nail-biters, the shopaholics and the shouty parents with tonnes of guilt. So yes, I very much definitely work with clients to improve their Mental Health!

The good news is my approach as a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist can be hugely effective for all of the issues above. Simply head over to my testimonials page to hear from some of my previous clients.  Testimonials | Fresh Leaf Hypnotherapy

So, if you are considering Hypnotherapy, we will begin with a no obligation consultation. This can be either in-person or face to face. Should you decide to progress, we will then begin Hypnotherapy sessions together and will work at your pace. There will never too much pressure, criticism or judgement and for these reasons a Hypnotherapy sessions feels like a safe-space in which you can be comfortable to make the changes you need.

Today, the 19th September is Youth Mental Health Awareness Day and I feel it is especially important to encourage conversations about mental health in this demographic. Not just today but every day. So let’s start by considering what exactly is ‘mental health’? It’s a term we hear a lot and for many, it conquers descriptions of mental-ill health such as depression, anxiety, stress, psychosis and all of their associated negative behaviours. But surely there is more to mental health than merely the absence of these states?

Question any young person today and you may hear ‘free from depression, free from anxiety’ when talking about mental health. But from exploring what defines mental health in the therapy room, a recurring theme underlying most peoples’ best hopes from Hypnotherapy sessions seems to be a balanced state of self. Imagine the image of a set of weighing scales that can, from time to time, be tipped in either direction as a result of a life event(s), trigger or chemical imbalance. We may remain in this ‘tipped’ state for minutes, hours or days whilst navigating the situation. Sometimes we are aware we’re there, sometimes we are unaware until afterwards, but in time, we will swing back to the middle again to return to our place of balance. Balance being, a sense of control, capacity, autonomy and clarity.

Many of us have our ‘hacks’ for returning to this state of balance and some of us are quite expert at it. Be it going out for a run, walking away from a situation, reaching out to a friend, picking up an old hobby, a digital detox or even something bolder yet, solution-focused like a change of relationship, house or career. Mental health therefore isn’t simply feeling happy and positive as some may imagine it, oozing confidence, charisma and self-discipline, but instead, having resilience, adaptability and a solution-orientated attitude to achieve our equilibrium in the face of all of those unexpected twists and turns that life will inevitably throw at us.

For the youth of today and tomorrow who navigate life in a fast-paced and uncertain world, it is therefore essential to nurture mental healthiness by becoming experts in their own life hacks and strategies for coping. To be relentless problem-solvers and solution-finders and to have the confidence to reach out beyond themselves for reassurance, guidance and support as they fine-tune these life skills. It is always a pleasure to partner with my clients to help them return to their place of balance and to discover their path to a more peaceful and purposeful sense of being using solution-focused hypnotherapy. Not only that, but to acquire skills and knowledge to set them up for a lifetime so that they can better enjoy the highs and cope with the inevitable lows. Hypnotherapy via Zoom also means that whatever the constraints around your time and location, it is always possible for us to work together. If you would like to explore how Hypnotherapy may help you, either in-person or remotely, please get in touch to book your without obligation consultation.

#YouthMentalHealthDay #MentalHealthMatters #SupportYouth #EndTheStigma #YouthWellBeing #MentalHealthAwareness #TalkAboutIt #SupportYoungMinds #MentalHealthSupport #YouthResilience #BreakTheStigma #MentalHealthResources #YouthEmpowerment #MentalHealthEducation #SelfCareForYouth #YouthInFocus #SupportMentalHealth #OpenUp #YouthWellness #MentalHealthDay #solutionfocusedhypnotherapy

It’s Monday morning, I’ve survived the school run and I’m prepping for my first client of a busy day with an oversized coffee. I’m hugely short on sleep as I’ve been up in the night trying to sort out a technical issue with my email which is definitely, not my thing! I have a slightly wretched feeling after doing no exercise aside from pulling out a few weeds in the garden, as I have spent the weekend taxiing my children to various fun parties. I have eaten convenience food, drunk a few glasses of wine and am certainly not, my ‘best self’ on this bright Monday morning. Suffice to say, I have a fair to middling water line in my ‘stress bucket’.

Yet tonight is the night I am going to throw myself literally in the deep end. In to a big, deep lake! Open water swimming, with the moon as our nightlight!

“It’s going to be fun!” they say. “Yes” I said, but that was last week!

I have borrowed a friends’ floaty thing, I have Amazon speed-ordered my head torch and dusted the cobwebs off a lesser spotted wetsuit. I have also told virtually everyone I know that I’m going to swim in a lake at bedtime. Committed- yes!

No big of a deal. Right?! For some people. But a sizable deal for me! My primitive emotional brain kicks in quickly on Monday morning with its’ pessimistic outlook for my evening- lets’ recap the rhetoric:

1. Wetsuits are not my thing. This is the WRONG wet suit!
2. It will be TOO cold. I don’t do cold very well as my circulatory system has been unplugged with the passage of age! Thermal shock, perhaps drowning!
3. Can I REALLY swim that well?! Yes I can hold my own in water but my primitive brain is vindictively reminding me of a traumatic, near drowning incident in my 20s in shallower, WARM water!
4. Weeds- a devil plant that actively seek out ankles and pull people to their murky depths. I remember hearing about weeds
5. Fish- Anyone that knows me well knows that fish are absolutely not my thing. Less so than wetsuits, cold and drowning. After a successful hypnosis intervention many years ago where my phobia was substantially lessened (thank to my friend Paul Milham Hypnotherapy) my primitive brain reminds me of the size of some over the monstrous carp that would definitely enjoy living in a big lake like this. And Pike, the duckling devouring demons with teeth, well they may like the look of my pink toes desperately wriggling around in the moonlight. (Should have bought lake shoe thingies from Amazon- oh dear, too late now!)

“I could just cancel, watch telly, have an early night”… the primitive brain whispers to me throughout the next 10 hours of my day.

Thankfully a great day seeing lovely clients and delivering copious amounts of hypnosis (it’s what I do) distracts me nicely away from most of the above until the evening rolls round and it’s time to gather myself, say goodbye to the kids mid bedtime routine shenanigans (cue look of horror notable “Mum, you are doing what?!”) and trot to my friend’s, with my bag of alien things, who has kindly agreed to give me a lift.

I am pleased to say I am not writing this from beyond a watery grave. I survived and revelled in the smug feeling of doing it, with a hot chocolate and a very large marshmallow, all toes present, around a lovely warm camp fire. Definitely different for me, for a Monday night!

The worst case scenario DID NOT happen. The negative forecasting of the primitive brain was absolutely, superbly wrong. I could COPE with the cold. I could CHOSE to ignore the feeling of the weeds and I could chose to FOCUS on looking for the moon, my stroke and pushing on with my Lycra clad friends rather than what may be lurking beneath me.

Yes the wet suit was the wrong one. (Can they shrink in the cupboard?) But a bit of discomfort was nothing I couldn’t cope with.

I had overridden my primitive brain. The noisy, negative, Neanderthal, scaredy- cat that just had my safety and social blushes in mind. Whilst my primitive brain had been conjuring false futures for me, what it hadn’t planned was a punctured tyre on the drive home down a dark country lane at a very late hour! Just goes to show how wrong our thoughts can be!So what strategies did I find helpful to overcome self-sabotage?

1. I told lots of people I was going to do it
2. I organised to travel there with a friend
3. I visualised myself enjoyably doing it, and played this positive, best-case scenario like a film reel with a start, middle and end, in my imagination a couple of times in the preceding days
4. I challenged negative thoughts with logic, getting the Executive brain back online
5. I focused on the end goal- how proud I would feel afterwards

If you are thinking about doing something a little out of your comfort zone perhaps these methods may help you. Complementing the above with Hypnotherapy can be a great way of quickly pushing forward a goal and turning it from an idea in to a reality.

During these uncertain times, many of us feel disconnected from ‘normal life’ as a consequence of not doing the things we normally do and not seeing the people we normally connect with for such a protracted period of time. The practical arrangements of working, socialising, shielding, educating and exercising from home, clustered with a small group people (or in isolation) have left many of us feeling lonely, sad and anxious about the future. It is no surprise then, that mental health is in the spotlight by Government Ministers, education leaders, parents and teachers and why many therapists are concerned about the impact of the virus on sleep, addiction and stress-related ill-health.

But, in the darkest of times there can be hope, realisation and rediscovery. It has been a personal pleasure working with clients during lockdown. I have been fortunate enough that my personal circumstances allow me to continue offering sessions via Zoom with new and existing clients. The stories of achievements I hear, of coping and adjusting to a ‘new normal’ have been truly inspiring and as is often the case, I remain in awe of clients. Their resourcefulness, their creativity and their unshakable attitude to make things better. But it doesn’t always start off like that and sessions with me involve redefining needs and expectations then putting in place a manageable future plan – however tenuous that future is. This combination of coaching and goal-setting along with trance, which acts as a catalyst for change, means that clients can and have been, emerging from the Coronavirus pandemic with a very different outlook.

Aside from the obvious advantages of meeting in a virtual way at the moment, online sessions are focused, effective and time-efficient for the clients. So whether you are exploring Hypnotherapy for low mood, agoraphobia, anxiety or sleeping problems, the trancework feels even more comfortable, as it is conducted in your home, on your own familiar bed or sofa . You also get access to your own Hypnosis audio recording to play after the session. Finally, online sessions are currently offered at a reduced price so not only are you saving on fuel, time and risk, you are saving money too. That said, I’m really looking forward to welcoming you back to the Practice, hopefully in the near future.

As a Psychotherapist, one of the areas of brain science I get most excited about is that of Neuroplasticity. This daunting word is actually the concept of the brains’ ability to change and it is fantastically inspiring stuff! This organ has such a propensity for growth and survival, that even following significant brain trauma where large areas of the brain have been severely damaged, it can regenerate itself to a point.

Until about 15 years ago, Scientists largely believed that the brain and personality was pretty much fixed and stable and Personality Theory was in my opinion, overly emphasised in Psychology Degree courses, categorising and labelling ‘personality types’. But relatively recent advances in Neuroscience have shown that the brain is adaptable, like plasticine and it can change throughout our life.

An everyday example of Neuroplasticity is learning a new skill. Remember that first driving lesson? Certainly, for me there was almost too much to take in, the clutch, the steering wheel, changing gear, let alone navigating busy London roads. In that first lesson I remember thinking it impossible I’d ever be able to do all of it at once. Yet here I am, many years later, tootling the kids around in the middle of rush hour, debating with both of them about whether the song on the radio is ‘cool’ or not whilst simultaneously thinking about what we’re having for dinner, whether my youngest has brought home their reading book and keeping an eye on the cyclist 200 meters ahead. I am NOT thinking about what my feet and my hands are doing. That’s automatic now. I have wired in pathways in my brain related to that skill which is ‘driving’. But it took practice, repetition and time to establish those pathways. It also helped that I wanted to learn in the first place.

Its’ the same with most of the ways we think and many of our behaviours and decisions. The more we do a specific ‘something’, we create a pathway for that ‘something’ in the brain. Whether it be snacking when we feel stressed and worried, biting our nails when we’re concentrating on a task or perhaps thinking about what we feel confident and willing to do. As the chemicals in our brain travel down a familiar route, they flow across the same synaptic gaps in between brain cells as they did last time and the gates at the end of the brain cell open more readily in response to those chemicals. Quite literally, a structural path is formed which gets stronger and more resilient the more we repeat it. So much so, that its’ difficult, inconceivable even, to act or think in a different way. Essentially the brain repeats what is familiar and follows the path of least resistance and…..tah dah, a habit is formed. Imagine pouring water down a brick wall. The water flows down grooves in the brickwork it has carved out over many rainy days.

The good news is that we really can make Neuroplasticity work in our favour to achieve something new. Even if this something new is to go to the gym more often, make a cup of tea rather than open a bottle of wine or simply be kinder to ourselves or others. The second piece of good news is it’s never too late to do so. Whilst children and teens have an enviously plastic brain, we can still influence the connectivity of our grey matter well in to late adulthood. In fact, my oldest client in her early nineties surprised herself in discovering she’s a great watercolour artist! Not only that but she CAN be assertive and self-confident, much to the amusement and support of her family and friends.

This, self-directed Neuroplasticity is why people chose my approach as a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist. We use our sessions to create the optimal environment for breaking down old unhelpful pathways and building new, albeit fledgling, helpful ones. Indeed, we can even generate new brain cells if clients are up for the challenge! With intent, repetition, practice and time for nature to do its physiological thing, it really is possible to rewire your brain!

Most of us have experienced stress at some point in our lives. Stress can be uncomfortable but is a very normal reaction to life’s demands. Stress is a powerful way of mobilising ourselves to work quickly and effectively in time of challenge, giving us energy and drive to act. That feeling of being overwhelmed, irritable or worried is the brain’s way of communicating to us that ‘something is not right and needs to be put right quickly’. But chronic stress, stress which is prolonged and severe, can be very harmful both physically and psychologically. Here are just 10 examples of how it affects the body:

1. Can speed up the development of cancer
2. Increases our vulnerability to infection
3. Exacerbates plaque formation in the arteries increasing the risk of blood clots and heart attacks
4. Can accelerate the onset of diabetes
5. Can lead to ulceration of the gastrointestinal tract
6. Can damage the Hippocampus in the brain and impair memory
7. Wounds take longer to heal as does recovering from illness and diseases
8. Raises blood cholesterol
9. Leads to weight gain around the stomach
10. Reduces responsiveness to vaccines

The good news is that stress is a state of mind. States of mind can, with the right approach, be altered. Here are my top tips for combatting chronic stress:

• Identify each stressor in your life in a list. For each stressor identify an immediate, medium and longer-term action for dealing with that stressor. Review and adhere to your actions as often as you can.
• Reflect on what has helped you deal with stress in the past. If you have no previous experience on which to base this, identify your preferred methods for relaxing and enjoyment down. These can be as simple as reading a book or indulging a hobby or interest. Once identified, schedule in at least one of these activities daily.
• Communicate your feelings of stress with at least one significant other. Identify how that person might be able to help relieve some of your stress in the short and longer term and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
• Eat well. When stressed, our desires for certain types of food (fatty and high sugar) is increased as our body operates in Fight-Flight mode which requires a lot of energy reserves. Be aware of the body’s natural tendency to want to stock up on unhealthy foods and create a realistic plan for healthy eating. Treats are fine in moderation but can lead to weight gain and health problems if defaulted to long term.
• Exercise. By exercising you will release Serotonin, Dopamine and Endorphins which will naturally lift mood and help you feel like you can ‘cope’. Simply taking a ‘walking lunch break’, a high impact 5 minute skip in the garden or ditching the car in favour of a brisk stroll can have a positive impact on stress levels.
• Sleep is the brain’s way of both decluttering, problem solving and emptying our metaphorical ‘stress buckets’ (See my previous blog https://freshleafhypnotherapy.co.uk/5-great-pre-sleep-tips-for-a-super-human-tomorrow/ ) We require a certain amount of sleep every day in order to do so. As tempting as it is to ‘burn the midnight oil’ regularly. You will be more productive and less stressed the next day if you prioritise sleep during periods of stress.
• Time travel. Imagine that you are fast-forwarding yourself 10 years into your future in a hot air balloon and looking down at your current situation. How will you be feeling about this current time of stress? This technique can be helpful in reminding ourselves that phases or life are both temporary and not as significant as we can feel they are in that moment.
• Relax deeply using meditation or Hypnotherapy

Whether 2018 is the year for you to take to the skies for the first time, stop smoking, restart an old hobby or learn a new skill, Hypnotherapy can be very effective in helping you find your strengths and resources to do so!

January is notoriously the time of year for resolutions. We probably all know someone right now who intends to do ‘Dry January’, loose weight, declutter their house or even search for a new job. Most of these resolutions are started with the very best of intentions but unfortunately, sometimes end in failure. This is because the human brain is notoriously resistant to change. It ‘likes’ the status quo, how things have always been and detects difference as an ‘error’. When a new action or behaviour feels unusual or uncomfortable, an area of the brain associated with habit formation and ‘safe behaviours’ responds by giving us a whole heap of seemingly convincing propaganda for not going through with our plan. Gym memberships are one such example. Ask any Gym owner and their busiest sign up period will be January, but by March, attendance rates with have dropped significantly.

But it is good news! Most people find their inner resolve and the dawning of a new year is a positive excuse for kicking a bad habit in to touch.

For those that struggle, their is Hypnotherapy and this can help in a number of ways:

1. The solution focused sessions explore the underlying reasons for the old, unhelpful behaviour and the benefits of an alternative behaviour. A coaching style is used as a means of helping the client take steps towards their ultimate, positive goal.
2. Brain chemicals (Neurotransmitters) that increase the chances of success are boosted and those which may hinder and impair are reduced.
3. The trance state is used as a psychotherapeutic tool for enabling the brain to repeatedly rehearse a new, more beneficial outcome using visualisation, metaphor and positive suggestions that focus on confidence and motivation.

Thousands of people are stopping smoking this month as part of the UK’s #Stoptober campaign and the good news is, you can too. Here are 10 things you perhaps didn’t know about smoking. All the more reason to make today the day YOU decide to quit for life.

1. We smoke as a result of both brainwashing and chemical addiction

2. It is not as addictive as we are lead to believe. Some scientists estimate the addictive element (nicotine) is only 10% addictive

3. Most people that are hooked as adults disliked the taste of that first cigarette when they were adolescents

4. There is evidence to show that substitutes for smoking eg. gums, patches actually make stopping harder and pangs seem worse

5. Cigarettes kill hundreds of thousands of people more every year than Heroin

6. The UK government makes £8,000,000,000 per annum out of nicotine addiction

7. Smoking affects the brains’ feel-good chemicals. Regular smokers are up to 80% more likely to be diagnosed as clinically depressed than non-smokers

8. Smoking is not a relaxant. It is a stimulant. Increasing blood pressure and putting extra strain on the cardiovascular system

9. Smoking increases the chance of contracting 14 different types of cancer. (Not just the lungs)

10. Cigarettes contain Cyanide, Lead, Mercury and Carbon Monoxide

To make an enquiry about stopping smoking using Hypnotherapy or to book your 2 hour ‘Stop Smoking Hypnotherapy’ session and quit for good, contact me today on 07951776608 or Elizabeth@freshleafhypnotherapy.co.uk.

As a Therapist, I am increasingly meeting clients that are struggling to moderate the amount of alcohol they are drinking. And I don’t just mean at the weekends or special occasions! For greater numbers of people, having that ‘odd glass of wine’ during the week is getting out of hand and many are worrying about the amount of alcohol they consume- as a treat, as a reward and also as a coping strategy. In fact alcohol is such a major part of modern society and how we socialise, that it isn’t surprising hear more and more people (increasingly women) concerned about their tendency to reach for that ‘well–earned’ drink.

The impact alcohol consumption can have on our health is well understood:

1. It has been linked with higher rates of seven types of cancer
2. It impacts the heart- causing it to enlarge and has been linked with heart disease
3. It can increase the chance of Diabetes
4. Can play a role in increasing blood pressure
5. Affects the immune system- causing us to pick up and stay ill from infectious illness
6. Increases likelihood of Pancreatitis and liver disease
7. Can affect fertility
8. Can lead to weight gain

But as part of the #Stoptober campaign, I’d like outline what is less widely known- how it can impact our mental health:

Firstly drinking affects sleep. Yes, we may find it easier to drop off to sleep after a drink but alcohol disrupts sleep cycles. Specifically, REM (rapid eye movement). When we have drunk alcohol, our normal REM cycles are disrupted. It is these vital cycles that have been associated with learning, memory, concentration and mood. It is no surprise then that long term disruption to sleep increases the likelihood of mental ill-health including chronic stress, depression and anxiety.

Secondly, alcohol affects the chemistry in our brain. Regular drinking lowers the levels of Serotonin– a chemical that helps to regulate your mood, motivation, coping and happiness.

For some alcohol can be seen as a way of helping them cope with difficult situations and emotions, or as a means of reducing stress or anxiety. This is as a result of the initial surge of Dopamine which tricks you into thinking that you feel great by stimulating the brain’s reward center. However, once this Dopamine ‘high’ has subsided, Serotonin has been depleted. In the short term this can lead to a low or anxious mood (often the next day). Longer term, there is strong evidence of its linkage with a range of mental health problems including depression, anxiety, risk-taking behaviour, Personality Disorder, Schizophrenia and higher rates of suicide.

If you are concerned about your alcohol consumption, would like to cut down or to stop, Hypnotherapy may be able to help you find the motivation and resources to do so. Please get in touch to book a free, no obligation consultation on 07951776608 or elizabeth@freshleafhypnotherapy.co.uk. There are also a range or resources you may find useful:

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/alcohol/Pages/Alcoholsupport.aspx
https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/how-to-reduce-your-drinking/how-to-cut-down/how-to-stop-drinking-alcohol-completely/