CRPS/SMAS- Please help Lucie

It's been a while! Hypnotherapy training, work, life, success!

Hello blog - I have missed you! I have been busy with work and life and helping students to learn how to become hypnotherapists. It's been such an eventful year! :)

I am really loving helping the students to become professional therapists. Such a rewarding thing when you see nervous people coming to their first class; they don't know anything and they really aren't sure they can even become hypnotherapists! What if they can't do it?? What if they haven't got the gift?? What if they simply don't have what it takes to become a working hypnotherapist?!

Of course, we dispel any of those beliefs on the very first lesson!! Anyone can become a fabulous hypnotherapist, the only criteria is the ability to believe in yourself. They eventually leave us after studying one weekend a month for 10 months, as fully qualified and fully fabulous therapists! Hypnotherapists who can WORK right away! How awesome is that?? They go out of our final session with their exam in hand and they are eager to pass that so they can work! It's amazing seeing such progress!

Naturally, the calibre of the course helps. I'm really lucky that I am involved with this training school. They are called The Kent Institute of Clinical Hypnosis, run by experienced hypnotherapist and psychotherapist Georgina McKinnon and they are based, on a weekend, at MidKent College in Gillingham. I was so lucky to be asked to be classroom assistant there because the course is just second to none.

When I first trained as a hypnotherapist, my training was slightly sketchy in places. KICH really fills in all the gaps that other schools leave. They have guest speakers who are working therapists and who often specialise in certain areas. Last year we had Peter Moule - he specialises in sports hypnosis & travels around with the Olympic teams administering hypnosis to help the competitors!   Then we had Lynda Hudson, she specialises with child hypnosis and has written books etc. We had June Hale who is a fantastic therapist and tutor, she specialises with CBH which is basically CBT but using hypnosis so it's a lot faster. We also had Sandra Glover who specialises in weight loss and also tutors too. So we really did have a wonderful mix of expert knowledge! Not to mention the actual course content which was fabulous!

If you are thinking of training to become a hypnotherapist and you are in reach of Gillingham in Kent, then I really recommend you having a look at their website.You really won't get better training in my opinion. And no, they are not paying me to endorse them, I gladly do it for free! :)

Oh one final thing - they are starting a new course this April - so if you happen to see this link before then, then just be quick!

Of course, if you'd like to come and see me for therapy, just have a look at my website!

Anyway - enough for now, but I really hope to find time to come and update this blog once in a while!


Emma Evans

The Dining Room Studio

I have to share this with you - I stumbled upon a really brilliant little gem the other day. Quite by accident, I was looking through some pages on Facebook  and up came one for The Dining Room Studio. Being that I am incredibly nosey, I clicked on it and it turned out to be a guy called Dave Boulden.

He is this incredible sound engineer (who has only 76 likes on his facebook page!!! The Dining Room Studio Surely this is not possible!?) So I booked him to record some professional MP3's for my Slim Via Hypnosis on-line weight loss course.

I was super impressed with his set up (it's really quaint, because as the name suggests, it really IS a studio in a dining room!) and the quality of his equipment is great, so you end up with a very very good recording at the end!

Poor guy almost keeled over though after my 7 hypnosis recordings. We broke it down into two days work, and he even supplies great coffee, which is really needed during 7 hours of recording hypnosis!
Not forgetting a friendly moggy called Bowie who loves to climb all over you and talk away in the coffee breaks!

He's over in Sittingbourne in Kent. If you're ever looking for someone to do you some recordings, whether they be for fun or business, then take a look at his website or at the very least go and like his page.

He does a full range of recording, so if you're looking for hypnosis MP3's or you fancy recording a CD with some tracks, or you're a band and need the use of a studio....or even if you'd like to give someone a present and buy them a recording session for a birthday gift....he does it all!

He's in Kent and can be found on facebook or www.drstudio.co.uk/ - don't forget to tell him where you heard about him :)

Avoid piling on the lbs this christmas

Gobble It Up

By Dietitian, Juliette Kellow BSc RD

Most Christmas lunches are packed with nutrients thanks to them containing turkey and veg. But all the extras can quickly tot up the calories, too. Here’s how to enjoy your meal without breaking the calorie bank.

1. Turkey is a great option for slimmers. It’s packed with protein, which helps fill you up, and provides many other nutrients including zinc, a mineral that keeps the immune system in tip-top shape. But best of all, turkey is lower in fat and calories than many other meats, especially if you go for the breast. A 90g serving of roasted, skinless turkey breast contains just 140 calories and 1.8g fat compared with 160 calories and 5.9g fat in the same sized serving of dark meat.
2. Don’t smother the turkey with oil, butter, margarine or lard when you cook it. If you must use something, use a pastry brush to add a light covering of oil rather than pouring or spooning it over. Remember, just 1tbsp oil contains 100 calories and 11g fat!  
3. Before tucking into your meal, remove the skin from the turkey. Just 15g contains a massive 70 calories and 6g fat – and it’s gone in a mouthful!  
4. Pile your plate high with traditional seasonal vegetables such as red cabbage, carrots, Brussels sprouts, swede and cauliflower. The more colours you have on your plate, the greater the variety of nutrients. You’ll retain more vitamins and minerals, too, if you steam veggies rather than boiling them – and you’ll be less likely to add salt. Finally, don’t serve veg smothered in butter. Just 1tsp will add 35 calories and 4.1g fat to your meal.  
5. Use less fat to roast potatoes and parsnips. Parboil them first, then brush lightly with oil rather than pouring straight from the bottle. Pop them into the oven and you should have delicious, crispy roasties that aren’t loaded with oil. Keep them in large pieces, too, as this reduces the amount of fat they absorb.  
6. If you’re going to use the meat juices to make the gravy, drain off any fat first.  
7. Make your own stuffing with chopped chestnuts, which contain just 2.7g fat per 100g. It’s a better option than sausage meat, which provides around 32g fat per 100g! To keep the fat content down further, use a spray oil to fry onion if you plan to use it in stuffing.  
8. If you’re using a packet mix of stuffing, avoid adding the recommended knob of butter – no one will miss it when it’s smothered in gravy!  
9. Use low-fat chipolata sausages and lean back bacon to make the sausage and bacon rolls that are traditionally served with turkey.  
10. Beware of all the extras such as cranberry sauce, bread pudding and white sauce. They add calories but little else – allow 25 calories for 1tsp cranberry sauce, 40 calories for an average serving of bread sauce made with semi-skimmed milk and 20 calories for 1tbsp white sauce made with semi-skimmed milk.  
11. If you can’t resist the Christmas pudding, have just a small serving. An average 100g portion contains a massive 330 calories and 11.8g fat.  
12. Choose your pudding partner carefully. Surprisingly, custard contains more calories than cream or brandy butter, even if you make it with skimmed milk! Bottom line: you might be better off opting for a dollop of cream if you can limit yourself to just one tablespoon. Check out the chart below.

Pudding partners	Calories	Fat g
Creams per 1tbsp
Half cream	22	2
Reduced-fat crème fraiche	25	2.3
Single cream	30	2.9
Crème fraiche	55	5.8
Double cream	67	7.2
Clotted cream	88	9.5
Brandy butter	98	8.4
Custard per 150ml
Made with skimmed milk	110	0.1
Low-fat ready-to-serve	110	2.1
Made with semi-skimmed milk	135	2.7
Ready-to-serve	142	4.5
Made with full-fat milk	165	6.4

If you'd like to lose weight in the new year then please visit us at www.slimviahypnosis.com and sign up for your no-risk free trial 

Are men better at giving up smoking than women? Not according to new research!!

Read my article that is published here: New research says that men are not better at quitting smoking than women. 

EXCITING NEWS!!!!

I have uploaded a FREE taster session of hypnosis to YouTube!!

FREE for you to enjoy! FREE for you to share! So if you like it - share away!

It's best if you listen on headphones because you get maximum impact - it's a shame that YouTube only let me record for 15 minutes because I've had to cut it much shorter than I'd like, however, it's still a really relaxing session and I hope you enjoy it.

Make sure you don't listen while driving, or operating machinery - and it's better if you can get into a comfy chair or listen while laying down.

If you like what you hear, longer (more specifically targeted) MP3's are available from my website here

http://www.kenttherapyclinic.co.uk/mp3-downloads.html

Please come back and leave a comment if you enjoy, it's always nice to hear from you!

"90 % of Hypnotherapy users with IBS saw significant reduction in their symptoms" 

Greater use of hypnotherapy to ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome would help sufferers and might save money, says a gastroenterologist.

Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology, said of the first 100 of his patients treated, symptoms improved significantly for nine in 10.

He said that although previous research has shown hypnotherapy is effective for IBS sufferers, it is not widely used.

This may be because doctors simply do not believe it works.

Follow this story on the link below to read more about the benefits to IBS sufferers when it comes to their symptoms

BBC News Health Article on IBS & Hypnotherapy

It is pretty clear to me that it has an amazing effect  Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology

Lily Allen, British pop star, went from a size 12 to a size 8 recently using hypnosis.

The singer, daughter of actor Keith Allen, is not the first celebrity to turn to hypnotism to lose weight - model Sophie Dahl, singer Geri Halliwell and the Duchess of York have all done so.

Hypnotherapy is a great tool for reprogramming the way you think about food. We often comfort eat, which means we eat because of an emotion, rather than a physical need. Hypnosis can help you recognise when you are truly biologically hungry and not eat at those times when you may be feeling stressed or unhappy!

Read more here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-486089/Lily-Allen-slims-size-12-having-brain-reprogrammed.html

If you want to find out more about my own hypnotherapy sessions then please visit

www.kenttherapyclinic.co.uk

I also do a range of hypnotic recordings for you to download now and start using straight away! More to be uploaded soon, so keep an eye out on the site for updates!

http://www.kenttherapyclinic.co.uk/mp3-downloads.html

Hypnosis can help with all areas of your life :)

Exciting news!!

Hello all of you lovely people who follow my blog - it's lovely to be able to post some great news!
I have recorded a high quality MP3 relaxation session for you to be able to purchase!!

I have had lots of satisfied clients who have asked if I could give them a CD that they can listen to going forwards after their treatment. Well, here it is!!! It's easy to buy and download to your computer and I'm sure you will love it just as much as my clients do :)

In this particular session I guide you through a deep relaxation, followed by some positive suggestions that go direct into your subconscious mind and help improve your self belief & confidence! The CD is also perfect for just before bedtime because it promotes deep and replenishing sleep.

More will be added over time!


CLICK HERE TO ORDER RIGHT NOW

I am so excited to be able to share this, not only to my clients in the UK but now all over the world :) :)

If you'd like to leave some feedback once you've downloaded then feel free!

Come and join me on facebook too!

http://www.facebook.com/KentTherapy

Haven't been here in AGES!

Sorry for neglecting all of you for so long, I have been a busy bee this past few months and so my poor blog has taken a back seat! I was flicking through the net earlier and saw this very interesting article which I thought was good enough to share :) 

Playing a 3D computer game could be just as effective at treating young people with depression as face-to-face counselling, new research has suggested.

The study, published on British Medical Journal website bmj.com, found that many adolescents are loathe to seek help for mental health issues.

To tackle that problem, researchers developed an interactive fantasy game called Sparx which sees each player choose an avatar and then face challenges to restore balance in a virtual world overrun by 'Gnats' (Gloomy Negative Automatic Thoughts)

Effective treatment: Research has discovered that playing a computer game could be as good at battling depression than a face-to-face meeting

They found that the self-help game, which uses cognitive behavioural therapy techniques to help young users, had as much benefit as more traditional treatments, reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety by at least a third.

Of the 187 young people in New Zealand studied as part of the trial, significantly more recovered completely in the group playing the computer game. 

A total of 44 per cent of those who completed at least four of the seven modules in Sparx recovered, compared to 26 per cent of those who were receiving face-to-face treatment.

The authors of the study, who are based at the University of Auckland and the University of Otago, said Sparx is an 'effective resource for help seeking adolescents with depression at primary healthcare sites.'

They added: 'Use of the program resulted in a clinically significant reduction in depression, anxiety, and hopelessness and an improvement in quality of life.'

The game treatment could prove a cheaper, and more accessible, way for some teenagers with depression to get help. In the Sparx group, 95 per cent of the adolescents said they believed the game would appeal to other teenagers and 81 per cent would recommend it to a friend. Satisfaction was also high in the group who had traditional treatment.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2132418/Computer-game-tackles-depression-teenagers-using-fantasy-game.html#ixzz1sasqe2z3

Aren't optical illusions fascinating?! I mean, WOW - how powerful the human mind really is :)

www.kenttherapyclinic.co.uk

So tell me, how many of you don't worry about your weight? I mean, really worry if you're a little overweight, or a lot overweight or even underweight?
You are not alone!

Apparently, in 2004 a Poll by Mintel estimated that one in four adults in the UK were "trying to lose weight most of the time".
That means, at that time, around 13 million people were on a continual diet.

That's pretty startling statistics, and if you consider that was 8 years ago, so imagine what the figures would be today.
Now, I'm all for eating healthily and changing eating patterns, but I am in the business of teaching people how to make long term changes, not continue with fast fix diets. Dieting doesn't work long term. But a change in attitude can work and does make a beneficial impact on your life gradually over time. If someone gave you the option; lose 4 stone in 4 months, but put it all back on in a year, or lose 4 stone in 2 years but keep that weight off permanently, which would you opt for?

Permanent weight loss is achievable, but first you need to look beyond the food you are consuming, and look into past experiences or learnt behaviour which could be contributing to over eating, comfort eating, subconscious eating and habitual eating. If our self esteem has been damaged in our early years, no amount of dieting will keep the weight off permanently. This is why you sometimes hear of people who have gastric bands fitted and get ultra thin, only to put the weight back on in time or be utterly miserable even though they are thin.
It is often not until we uncover our subconscious misconceptions or negative beliefs that we can start to view food in a totally different way.  When we begin to understand the reasons behind food issues, we can work on uncovering, and understanding those things so that weight loss becomes second nature and food is no longer used in a negative way.

Hypnoanalysis can uncover the reasons why we become overweight. Hypnoanalysis is a way of revisiting past events that have been locked away. While you are in a state of hypnosis, it is easier for your subconscious mind to 'push forward' the thoughts and experiences from your life which are all somehow significantly and symbolically linked back to your bottled up emotions and experiences. Your mind will freely associate one thought to another and another and gradually, over a period of between 8 and 12 (on average) weekly sessions, the original experiences and the accompanying bottled up emotions are allowed to come to the surface. Once these things are out of the subconscious, clients then have no reason to hold on to those things that were making them overweight. 

For an appointment contact me via my website :)

www.kenttherapyclinic.co.uk

Nothing to say today, but who needs words when this is so cool!! :)

How amazing the mind is!! 


1. Stare at the red dot on the girl's nose for 30 secs. 
2. Look to the ceiling or another plain white surface. 
3. Blink rapidly. 

If anyone could explain why this occurs I'd be fascinated to know! 

:) 

www.kenttherapyclinic.co.uk

What's your point of view..?

One of the biggest lessons we can learn in life is how to see things from a different point of view.

It’s very easy to believe that what you see, hear, and feel is exactly how you see it. 

Have you ever had the opportunity to have a moment retold by another person, a moment you bore witness to, and you found they saw it a completely different way? 

Or, you missed a detail that was later revealed and now you realise it changes your entire perspective?  I know I have, plenty of times in the past.

The ability to see things from a different perspective is a gift in relationships, and in all areas of your life because it requires a certain amount of humility and a willingness to surrender. 

You have to be willing to believe that anything is possible. 

When you are willing in relationships to allow a different point of view to exist, listening happens, and disagreements are less. You will find that your relationships are more joyous and people find great ease in being with you. There is no battle. There is less to defend. People feel heard and safe in knowing that their thoughts and ideas are respected.

The ability to see a different point of view requires that you give up “being right”. If you dare to believe that you could be wrong, even if you would swear you heard or saw something a particular way, it is pretty certain there will be more harmony with your colleagues, spouse, and even your children.

On your way to practicing seeing things from a different perspective, try speaking less and listening more! It's amazing just how much more you can learn when you listen!  :)

www.kenttherapyclinic.co.uk

Can't sleep....? Read this!

BBC News - Therapy can help insomniacs - more should be done to help

This is an interesting article that a friend messaged me about earlier today. He had heard on the radio about the benefits of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy when it came to lack of sleep and insomnia.

I see a lot of clients in my consulting room who have problems with sleep.  Quite often sleep issues can be resolved quite quickly, through talking therapies and relaxation hypnosis.

Have a look at the link, it's interesting that there is a much better awareness developing now amongst the medical profession that talking therapies really DO help on a cognitive level to make people better!! Something that therapists around the world have recognised for years! :)

www.kenttherapyclinic.co.uk

Who are you Emma?

I'm often asked what exactly it is I do.  If any of you haven't already seen it, then go and have a look at my website!

www.kenttherapyclinic.co.uk

I have had experience with counselling on and off over the course of about 15 years, my passion for the human mind began some 12 years ago when I worked with children with special needs in a therapeutic environment. It was then that I realised just how valuable counselling and therapy could be.

I always had it in the back of my mind that I should go for further training in this field and eventually, I took the plunge and trained as a hypnotherapist.  Like any good therapist, your learning is never actually complete and whilst am a counsellor and hypnotherapist, I'm currently also training in psychotherapy, and will eventually become a psychotherapeutic therapist, which means I will combine all of the above together to work in a totally integrative way.

Working with more than one method really improves the therapy that you, as a client receives when you come to see me.

In therapy, one size does not fit all. I have spent a long time looking in to the way human beings think and function and how their pasts influence the way their lives are now, and ultimately their futures. Everyone is an individual, and it would be foolish to treat all clients in the same way.  If you go to the hairdresser and you have curly hair, he or she will cut your hair using a completely different method than if they are cutting straight hair. You may end up with the same hairstyle as your friend, but the technique of getting you to that point will be slightly different. The same should apply to therapy.

Hypnotherapy:
Hypnotherapy is a useful tool for uncovering issues that have been formed and stored in a persons subconscious mind. We all trot along through life being subconsciously influenced by the things that have developed our personalities or belief systems.

For example; you were 5 years old and your teacher made you feel stupid for talking in class, this effected your self esteem and confidence later in life. It may be an incident you have no cognitive memory of. All you know in the here and now is that you aren't a very confident person and you absolutely hate talking in public.

Let's look at another example; you were 7 and while walking through a field one day a slow worm slithered by, it had taken you by surprise, and resulted in you running away crying.  You forget all about the incident until you then go on to develop an unrealistic fear of snakes.  The fear comes from the initial incident, your subconscious mind is there to protect you at all costs, and the incident with the slow worm has set up a reaction in your subconscious called the "fight or flight" response; you see anything that resembles a slow worm, and you're immediately in a fight or flight situation!

You may get so frustrated by never being able to take your kids to the zoo for the fear of there being a snake enclosure, that you end up contacting me.
Through talking therapy (cognitive awareness) and hypnosis (accessing the initial event within your subconscious mind that made you fearful) we can reduce the fear, rationalise the events from an adult perspective and suggest better ways directly to your subconscious to deal with snakes.

Counselling:
Counselling is hugely beneficial to clients.  Sometimes, you may be going through something in the here and now which seems hopeless. The loss of a loved one for example, maybe a death in the family or a break up of a relationship. Talking to a counsellor can help cope with the feelings that are brought to the surface in this kind of situation. Sometimes, when we are in despair, don't know what to do or are confused, it is very difficult to see any positivity or look to the future.

I encourage my clients to reorganise feelings, accept their situation,  look at things from different perspectives and eventually, they can work towards a better set of outcomes that culminate in a much happier 'present' and a more rewarding and positive future.

Hypnotherapy and Counselling both have their merits and can be used separately or in conjunction with each other. If you came to see me, we would talk about what treatment would be best suited to your situation. :-)

www.kenttherapyclinic.co.uk

Myers-Briggs....erm.....who??

Hands up if you've ever heard of Myers-Briggs? No? Well, until relatively recently, neither had I!

In the depths of my memory I seem to remember being interviewed for a job and the stern faced interviewer, who reminded me a lot of Evil Edna from willow the whisp....(same screechy voice and oddly square head) asked me to sit for half an hour and complete a "Psychometric Test".
Hang on....what was this!? I was being interviewed for a junior position in an Estate Agency, not a job as a Rocket Scientist, or an MI5 secret agent!
So I filled in the form and at the end, had to wait while they gave me a score and informed me, there and then, that I could have a job at their office.

For years, I thought no more of it, until a lovely colleague of mine Kathryn Evans (from Crimson Chrysalis Hypnotherapy down in Canterbury) suddenly informed me, quite out of the blue, that she thought I was almost certainly an ENFJ.
I looked blankly at her. A what?? An ENF what?!

Now, being the self professed expert on Personality Typing that she is, Kathryn eagerly went on to explain The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment and explained that it is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological differences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. It seemed that Kath had ignited something within me; a curiosity about personality testing! I was absolutely fascinated how she could look at someone for less than half an hour and predict exactly what kind of personality they had! It was almost like magic!! Like she was psychic!

It was then that I realised that I absolutely needed to find out more about Carl Jung and his personality theories!

Carl Gustav Jung  was a Swiss psychiatrist by the way, he is worth looking up on google for those of you who are interested in finding out more about the theories behind the tests!

Broken down into different parts, everybody has a dominant four elements from the following list:

Dichotomies
Extraversion (E) -	(I) Introversion
Sensing (S) -	(N) Intuition
Thinking (T) -	(F) Feeling
Judgement (J) -	(P) Perception

Some of the elements are more dominant than others, and we are all either in the extrovert category, or the introvert category.

So, for example, I am an ENFJ - so I am Extrovert, Intuitive, work on Feelings, and Judgement.
Another colleague of mine is an ISTP - she is Introvert, works with her Senses, Thinking and Perception.

It's a little long winded for me to go into fully in a blog, but if, like I was, you're interested in taking a test to see what kind of personality you are, then the following links should interest you!

Humanmetrics - Jung Typology Test™

or

Cognitive Quiz

You can then find out how that correlates to your own personality by visiting this site:

4 Temperaments - understanding your personality

Once you have your four letters, have a look on the right hand side of the site above and find those letters on the list. it'll then give you an often spookily accurate synopsis of your personality! Facinating and fun! Give it a go, i'd be very pleased to hear what some of you think. Remember, you are more than welcome to comment!

Happy Psychometric Testing! :-)

www.kenttherapyclinic.co.uk

Morning campers!

Apparently, a British band has worked with sound therapists to create a tune described by scientists as the "most relaxing song ever" 

This is interesting seeing as a lot of the work I do involves relaxing music.  As therapists, we are bound by the same copy write laws as anyone else, so we have to choose royalty free music. A lot of therapists don't know this and I heard recently, through the grapevine, of one getting prosecuted as a result of distributing their hypnosis CDs with music on that technically wasn't their own! 

If you're a fellow therapist, please be careful of this.  Anyway, I digress, the article below was sent to me by a good friend. I was curious and downloaded the song, I have to say it is pretty relaxing and worth downloading if you need to chill out! 

www.telegraph.co.uk - Band creates "most relaxing tune ever"

You can listen to this song here:- Marconi Union - Weightless

www.kenttherapyclinic.co.uk

Dress for success!

I was having a really interesting conversation earlier with someone about the way in which first impressions last. In particular, how what you wear can have a direct influence on how others perceive you.

I remember going to see the Dr once, and he had a track suit on. It wasn't a nice track suit either, it was a shell suit. Do any of you remember those? They were made of the most awful synthetic material, often shiny, clingy and in garish colours. NOT something you'd expect to see on your friendly GP that's for sure! Anyway, my impression of his outfit wasn't great.  I felt it was unprofessional for him to see patients in what could only be described as a ghastly 80's throwback outfit!

So, what other times in your life have you judged someone on the back of what they are wearing?


If you walked into my office for the first time, and I was wearing jeans, trainers and a tshirt for example.  What impression would that give you of me?
Equally, if I was dressed in a suit, while you were in jeans and a tshirt...would you feel totally comfortable?

It's been said that you make a judgement on somebody within 7 seconds of meeting them, so first impressions really DO count when you are a professional. In every walk of life, if you make the effort to look (and smell!) great, other people respond better to you.

So next time you are heading off to an interview, or an appointment of some sort, take a look at your appearance. What do you want your appearance to say about you? Maybe give those shoes an extra shine!! Successful people dress accordingly!! :-)

Inspiration...

"We are the music makers,

And we are the dreamers of dreams."

~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy

Hi again Gorgeous individuals :) 

If you're like most people, you spend your whole life trying to stay "safe."

Ever thought that, perhaps, staying safe was also keeping you stuck?

I heard a quote yesterday by the writer John A. Shedd, which really made me think:

"A ship in a harbor is safe: but that is not why ships are built."

We all know it's nice to be "safe" - to stay in your comfort zone, and do things the way you've always done them. There's nothing wrong with staying in your comfort zone, if you wish to stay moored in your harbor then do so. 


But, say you're bored of being tied down? Then untie yourself from the mooring and start to explore your life in new and exciting ways.  It may not be the safest option, but it may be much more rewarding and exciting if you do!

"Brain scan proves meditation can ease pain response" David Sillito

Click on the above link for an interesting article published by the BBC.

"The BBC's David Sillito has been examining the theory that meditation can reduce stress, depression and even chronic pain."

This is something that hypnotherapists have known for years. It's nice to see that there is ongoing research in this field. The more scientific research proves a link with the mind/body connection, the better recognised therapists will become. 

Hypnotherapy can be such a useful tool and has all kinds of knock on effects for clients in their lives in general.

Hypnotherapy isn't only about quit smoking sessions and phobias, while it is incredibly useful for those things, it can treat so much more!

Remember...you are priceless :-)

A well-known speaker started off his seminar holding up a £20.00 note. 


In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this £20 note?"   Hands started going up.
He said, "I am going to give this £20 to one of you but first, let me do this."   He proceeded to crumple up the £20 note. 


He then asked, "Who still wants it?"  Still the hands were up in the air.  "Well," he replied,  "What if I do this?"  And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?"  Still the hands went into the air. 


"My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth £20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you."


The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE. You are special - don't EVER forget it! :)

Interesting perspectives.

Take a look at the picture above. It may just look like a load of lines and not much else, but look carefully...relax your eyes and really LOOK at the photo. It may take a little time for you to see, but eventually you should see some words.

Someone posted this photo to me on Facebook this week and it got me thinking about looking at things from different perspectives. 

Sometimes we may encounter a hostile individual; just think for a minute, have experienced any of these? An angry shopper in a shop, someone losing their temper on the road, a boss or a partner shouting or humiliating you for what seems like unjustified reasons. 

Just for a second, think back to a time when this has happened in your life. Experience the feelings that incident promoted in you at that time. That person may have been so angry that it made you even more angry.  How DARE that person talk to you or treat you in such an angry and hostile manner!! It may have made you want to run away and cry! How could someone be so horrible to you?! Even remembering something that happened years ago can promote feelings of upset when you think of it now. 

But let's look at things differently for a moment. Lets start to feel better about those feelings right now and change the way we view that situation so that we can just let it go completely! 

Have you ever considered why they were treating you that way? What was it in their lives that was effecting the way they felt? I'm guessing you were so cross and so upset that you didn't stop to find out.  

What if you could peek into their lives? Perhaps that angry boss had just found out his wife was leaving. Maybe the person who gesticulated at you angrily on the road had just lost his mother.

Often, if someone is behaving in an angry manner towards you, it means something is very wrong in their own lives. Stress can do strange things to peoples behavior. 

So the next time someone gets cross with you, or says something hurtful to you, if you are in a position to do so, ask them if they are ok...they may be grateful you did, and not only will you have stopped an uncomfortable altercation from getting worse, but you may also find you are not left with negative feelings about the event. 

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I started a blog back in 2009 but have since lost the password and can't remember the log in.
Things like that happen to me all the time. I can never remember log ins, passwords are lost on me...ask me to remember who I am or where I live and you may get a slightly different answer every time!

But anyway, here I am with a brand new blog. An all shiny, very expectant blog, full of hope and possibility!

I hope you enjoy the posts I write, I will try to update as regularly as I can, and please, feel free to comment if you have anything to add, or even if you just want to say hello!