What motivates you?

Have you ever taken the time to think about what motivates you? Sometimes it might be the desire to achieve something (like a reward, prize or praise)and other times it might be that you actually want to avoid something negative (such as fear of failure, or not wanting to come last place in sport). As we come to the end of another year, we might all be thinking about what we think we want to be motivated to achieve next year...

So what IS motivation? Well the dictionary definition is "the reason behind someone's actions or behaviour; desire or willingness to do something".

It seems relatively straightforward to define what it is, however what is more challenging is to define what determines or influences your motivation and why one person can be highly motivated whereas another person is not at all.

In sport, motivation to achieve one's best can make the difference between a good performance and a really great performance. Technical skill is obviously vital (you cannot become an elite athlete just by thinking positively!) however enthusiasm and determination really can make the difference that matters.

One of the most effective ways to build motivation is with goals. If we don't know what we want to achieve in life (or sport) then we will not be able to make a plan of how to achieve it. This is all very well but what happens if you feel your motivation is not going in the same direction as your goals?

There are 7 key principles of working with goals to ensure they motivate you in the right direction: 

1. Say what you want, not what you want to avoid

2. Make goals challenging, but realistic 

3. Make sure you can influence the result directly 

4. Measure your progress - check you are going in the right direction regularly 

5. Check your resources (do you have what you need to achieve your goal? If not, can you get it?) 

6. Count the cost - does the achievement of this goal mean something else does not happen? 

7. Reward yourself when you achieve your goal!

Hypnosis can also assist this process of obtaining motivation through goal setting by being able to "tap into" the emotional, right-brain functions which become more available and receptive in this state. Goals set in a state of hypnosis also tend to be far more personal, useful and motivating for an individual. In addition, hypnosis can aid the process of setting out 'memories of the future' of achieving these goals (also known as 'mental rehearsal') which acts as a powerful motivator by allowing someone to 'see' what it will be like once they have achieved their goals.

If you would like to find out more about hypnosis could help you achieve your goals in life, contact Christy today on 01252 334377 or email: christy@christyhypnotherapy.com

Exclusive Well-Being Retreat at Coworth Park Hotel: 20-22 January 2013

Do you want to optimise your energy levels?
Do you want to feel healthier?
Do you want to overcome physical pain?
Is there something holding you back from achieving your full potential?

Vitology Nutrition is running an exclusive Well-being retreat at Coworth Park Hotel in Ascot. Set in sumptuous surroundings with a fabulous spa and outdoor facilities, Coworth Park is the essence of luxury and offers the quality of service and comfort that truly define Dorchester Collection Hotels.

Do not fear, this is most certainly NOT a boot camp; our approach is totally holistic, focusing on your overall wellness and relaxation.

Why should you attend?

It’s all about you. It’s a chance for you to spend two days focusing on your needs, whether it be optimising your nutrition, managing stress, correcting posture or improved sleep and energy levels. At the end of your stay, you will depart with a blue print for your future physical and emotional well-being.

Your package includes:

• Two nights accommodation and three days activities and relaxation
• One to one personalised consultations with a Nutritional Therapist, Personal Trainer/Biomechanics Coach and Hypnotherapist/NLP Coach
• Morning `I move freely’ classes
• Pilates and Yoga Classes
• Tailor made nutrition, fitness and emotional programmes to take away
• Interactive 'healthy alternatives' Chef Master Class
• Spa treatment of your choice
• Personalised follow-up programme
• Relaxation time!

Our Executive Chef will design a healthy eating plan to keep you energised and sustained throughout your stay.

Cost: £1,400 per person
Date: 20th to 22nd January 2013

This would make the perfect Christmas present OR a treat for yourself, so book early to avoid disappointment!

In order to ensure that our Retreats remain exclusive, numbers are limited to nine people per retreat, so book early to guarantee your place.

BOOK HERE NOW!

Hypnotherapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Anyone suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) may feel at times they are perhaps the only person who experiences this often distressing and embarrassing condition. However it is actually a very common disorder affecting up to 15% of the population. This fact does not of course make it any easier for the sufferer!

Whatever your symptoms of IBS, the good news is that there are many things you can do to help significantly reduce the negative symptoms and help you take back control of your life. I would always advise first consulting your GP to conduct a thorough investigation and diagnosis as some symptoms of IBS can be symptomatic of other gut-related conditions (perhaps requiring medication).

So how can hypnotherapy help?

Stress and anxiety are believed to be significant triggers for the development of IBS and therefore hypnotherapy for IBS mainly involves using relaxation exercises and using visualisations to help calm the internal and emotional responses and also help develop a greater sense of personal control.

What happens during the sessions?

At Christy Hypnotherapy I work with clients to address individual needs, as IBS can affect people in many different ways. IBS is a complex condition which requires a compassionate and confidential approach. Before the hypnotherapy begins every part of the client’s life will be assessed and a personalised treatment plan will then be discussed and put in place. The overall aim is to reduce stress and help the client to change their lives for the better.

To find out how hypnotherapy could help you manage your IBS, contact Christy today on 01252 334377 or email: christy@christyhypnotherapy.com

National Stress Awareness Day - Wednesday 7th November 2012

The International Stress Management Association (ISMA) reports that according to recent research by Insurance Company AXA, stress levels have doubled in 4 years. It would seem to be true that we all live in a much more stressful world, not only with changes in the economy, technology and work, but also in our personal lives. The day to day running of work, family and social lives all piles on  the pressure and on top of this we have to deal with everyday problems and challenges. It's true that people deal with stress in different ways and everyone has their own level of stress which is 'manageable'… in fact some people thrive and are motivated by a certain level of stress in their lives. If this level remains at an optimum, all is well. The problems occur when this level tips over the optimum and becomes unmanageable.

Very often we are not in control of the stress around us and this is more and more evident in the workplace where stress can come as a result of redundancy, relationship conflicts between colleagues and increasing pressure on individuals to do 'more with less'. Infact issues from work are now one of the main causes of stress reported by patients to their GP.

The 14th National Stress Awareness Day, which is held to celebrate helping people to beat stress, will take place on 7 November 2012. This year the theme is "Defining Outcomes for Wellbeing at Work". The ISMA offers lots of advice about how companies can get involved to help their employees, including providing information about effective relaxation treatments and how to run stress awareness workshops. Of course, you don't have to wait around until the day itself, now is the time to start taking action yourself. Hypnotherapy can provide a wonderful way to relax both physically and mentally and can also help you find space in your life to be able to resolve issues which have perhaps tipped your stress levels over the edge.

To find out how hypnotherapy could help reduce stress in your life, contact Christy today on 01252 334377 or email: christy@christyhypnotherapy.com

More information about ISMA National Stress Awareness Day can be found here: http://www.isma.org.uk/national-stress-awareness-day

Begin your New Years resolutions early - stop smoking for Christmas!

What would it be like if you could tell everyone that you began your New Years Resolutions early and stopped smoking for Christmas?!

Whilst we only have 7 full weeks until Christmas, it is entirely possible for you to stop smoking ready to enjoy a smoke-free (and cheaper!) Christmas. Think about how much money you will save in those few weeks in the run up to one of the most expensive times of the year, which you can then perhaps spend on presents for loved-ones, maybe save up for something special or even better to treat yourself?!

Christy offers an intensive stop smoking programme which includes 4 hypnotherapy sessions (conducted weekly at your convenience) and a personalised CD recording for you to use to help keep you relaxed and smoke-free into the future. Conducting hypnotherapy over a series of sessions works to ensure that the initial impact of the hypnosis to help you quit, lasts way beyond just the first session.

Contact Christy TODAY for a free 15 minute telephone consultation to discuss how hypnotherapy could help you make that resolution that changes your life forever! Call 01252 334377 or email: christy@christyhypnotherapy.com

Myth busting hypnosis

There is no natural phenomenon more misunderstood than hypnosis and hypnotherapists world over are constantly battling against the false preconceptions and misunderstandings with their clients. These myths have largely come about as a result of stage hypnosis in the media which dramatises hypnosis as a 'bizarre and magical' thing which should be viewed with scepticism and caution. I freely admit I was one of these sceptics before I decided to study hypnotherapy and now that I realise the true nature of this state, I would now like to present some of the most 'popular' myths and explain these are far from the truth.

Myth 1: You go unconscious in hypnosis
Many people who experience hypnosis for the first time wonder whether they were fully "under" or whether it worked properly as they remain fully conscious during the session and are aware of what happened. I prefer to think of hypnosis as a shift in quality of consciousness rather than a specific state of consciousness. In many cases hypnosis is sometimes actually about becoming even more conscious of something rather than a complete lack of.

Myth 2: You have to hand over control of your mind
The human mind is a complex organ and not simply a machine which someone else can 'plug' into and reprogram at will without your consent. Would you jump off a cliff if someone told you to? Of course not. The same is true in hypnosis. Anyone undergoing hypnosis remains fully in control of their own thoughts and actions at all time. Ironically, people who seem themselves as 'control freaks' are actually highly likely to benefit from hypnotherapy more than most as they will be already highly effective at controlling their own behaviour. Through the expert guidance of a professional hypnotherapist, this 'self-control' can be used to best advantage to help achieve personal goals.

Myth 3: Only vulnerable or weak-willed people can be hypnotised
This is a myth based on the same misunderstanding as the previous one. Being hypnotised is absolutely NOT about being vulnerable, gullible or submitting to the will of another person. The key skill of the hypnotherapist is actually to build rapport and then work WITH the will and motivation of the person they are working with. Dedication, strong focus, imagination and commitment are all qualities which make people "good" at hypnosis... some of the most successful clients I've worked with have been top business people and elite athletes and those who naturally have these qualities.

Myth 4: Hypnotherapy can make you do things against your will
There is no way, however skilled the hypnotherapist, that anyone can use hypnosis to make people do things against their will. It may appear in stage hypnosis shows that when the hypnotist is getting a person do something silly in order to amuse the audience that this is against the person's will, however the person is actually fully conscious of what is happening. The skill of the stage hypnotist is in the selection of people who are both extraverted and "up for a laugh" who are more likely to go along with the suggestions, rather than taking control of their mind without their consent. Hypnotherapy is about working with the person to achieve a desired positive result, whether it be in their personal life, business or with their sport.

Myth 5: Hypnosis is dangerous / bad for your health
Hypnosis has been used therapeutically for many years but unfortunately there have been cases where it has been claimed that hypnosis has been used inappropriately and/or in a way which was not helpful to the client. An example could be someone who is already underweight seeks hypnotherapy for further weight loss. Most professional hypnotherapists who are formally trained, are members of a governing body and who abide by an ethical code of conduct would of course neither endorse nor practice in such an unethical way. There are no negatives 'side-effects' of hypnotherapy which is conducted with a professional and hypnosis can even lead to many positive health improvements, such as reducing the negative symptoms of medical conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Migraine or even Fibromyalgia.

Myth 6: It is possible to get stuck in hypnosis
I once had a client ask me whether it would be possible for them to remain in hypnosis for the rest of their life if something happened to me, for example if I left the session without bringing them back or became incapacitated and could not conclude the session. The simple answer is that either they would fall asleep completely and then awake naturally or just gradually become more aware as a result of the long period of quiet and return to a full awake state.

Myth 7: Hypnosis is potentially evil and therefore contrary to many religions
As already stated, hypnosis is a completely natural phenomenon and everyone will have experienced a form of hypnosis many times in their lives...we have all been in a state of hypnosis when we are fully absorbed in something, for example listening to a favourite piece of music, painting a picture, playing sport or even driving our cars on a well-known journey when you suddenly 'wake up' and realise where you are!
When we go to sleep, we also travel through natural hypnotic states - we do not switch from a state of wide awake to deep sleep instantaneously - so hypnosis is just as natural as sleep itself and therefore presents no evil or anti-religious issues whatsoever.

Myth 8: You can remember every single thing which has happened to you in your life when in hypnosis
This is perhaps more of an exaggeration rather than a myth as it is true that hypnotherapy can make it easier for you to have access to certain memories from your past. Sometimes it can be very beneficial to help someone 'reconnect' with a certain time in their life to either work through or resolve various issues, for example to overcome a phobia or something which they previously had a negative experience with. This is not always the case however and it is not necessary to regress to childhood memories in order to achieve a positive result from hypnotherapy.

If you would like to find out more about how hypnotherapy could benefit you, please contact Christy for a free telephone consultation on 01252 334377 or email christy@christyhypnotherapy.com.

Do you suffer from Migraine or Tension Headache? Hypnotherapy could help...

Globally, more than 10% of the population is affected by migraine at some point in life. Whilst the underlying cause of migraines is unknown, they are believed to be a neurovascular disorder related to a mix of environmental and genetic factors. Of the environmental factors, some migraines are induced by triggers, which very often include elements of stress, tension and fatigue.

The symptoms of migraine / tension headaches can vary greatly from one individual to another, but whatever symptoms are experienced, one thing which is consistent is the pain element. Whilst there are many drugs on the market to help sufferers alleviate this pain, if the person is still experiencing some level of emotional stress, they may find relief from each atttack of migraine is short-lived.

New medication and alternative remedies, such as hypnotherapy - as prescribed by the National Migraine Centre charity in London (www.migraineclinic.org.uk) - have been shown in a number of cases to help reduce the frequency of migraines and even the severity. There are a variety of ways people can work on reducing physical stress and tension, for example taking breaks from computer desks, having a massage or taking exercise, however it is also vital for migraine sufferers to consider ways to reduce emotional stress. Practicing deep breathing and doing relaxation exercises can help to prevent tension headaches from developing. This is where hypnotherapy can be hugely beneficial - The National Hypnotherapy Society recently reported how Doctor Fiona Russell of Amersham, Buckinghamshire, who suffered from intense headaches, a loss of vision and sensitivity to light for eight years, used hypnotherapy to help to reduce the frequency of her migraines (www.nationalhypnotherapysociety.org).

At Christy Hypnotherapy, we focus on helping teach people their own self-hypnosis techniques for relaxation which can include a combination of breathing control and pain management techniques. One such technique is to use the power of the imagination to help create relaxing imagery which in turn causes the physical muscles of the body to relax, thus reducing build up of tension. Once learned, these techniques can then be used in the comfort of your own home as a long-term self-treatment strategy. This not only helps people feel more in control of their migraines, it also helps reduce the dependance on medication and hypnosis has none of the negative side effects of taking tablets.

If you would like to find out how hypnotherapy could help you manage migraine and tension headaches, please contact Christy today on 01252 334377 or email: christy@christyhypnotherapy.com . For more information see: www.christyhypnotherapy.com.