Do you suffer from the most common phobia in Britain? Don't look down...

According to the results of a new YouGov survey, it is the fear of heights (also known as acrophobia) which unnerve Brits the most, thereby consigning snakes (ophidophobia) and public speaking (glossophobia) into second and third respectively.

 Often thought of as one of the most common, arachnophobia - or the fear of spiders - only came in fourth place, followed by fears of small spaces (claustrophobia), mice (musophobia), needles (trypanophobia) and flying (pteromerhanophobia). 
Perhaps unsurprisingly, YouGov sought to detail the 13 most common fears - although ironically, fear of that number (triskaidekaphobia) didn't feature. Instead, the remainder was made up of crowds (agoraphobia), clowns (coulrophobia), the dark (nyctophobia), blood (hemophobia) and finally, dogs (cynophobia).

So if you have one of these phobias and it is affecting your life significantly, what can you do about it? One way to deal with a phobia is to avoid the thing you are scared of. That might be relatively easy if it's snakes, however most people come across a situation where they are 'high up' frequently - even if it's driving across a bridge. So rather than run away, consider trying hypnotherapy to help beat that fear. 

Hypnotherapy uses a variety of natural techniques to help you use the power of your imagination to reduce the panic associated with phobias and to dissociate you from the immediate "flight" (or run away) response. Most people feel they have no control whatsoever when faced with their phobia - after all we often don't get any warning it will happen - so hypnotherapy can help give you back a sense of control so you can deal with the fear calmly and more rationally.

For more information, please visit my website: http://www.christyhypnotherapy.com/howcanihelpyou.aspx or give me a call for a free consultation: 07527 576245.

Try hypnosis for a good night's sleep

If you have trouble sleeping at night, is your first thought to reach for the bottle of sleeping pills? If so, STOP! Hypnotherapy might be able to help instead providing a far more natural and long-lasting positive result.

A recent article published in 'The New Age' online magazine talked about the results of a study conducted by researchers at the University of Zurich which concluded that hypnosis can increase the quality of sleep, eliminating the need for medications. The effects of hypnosis on sleep have long been questioned by the medical community so this study opens up promising opportunities for improving the quality of sleep without drugs.

The study involved 70 healthy young women who were invited to the sleep laboratory at the Universtiy for a 90-minute midday nap. Whist there a test group listened to 13 minutes of pre-recorded hypnosis before sleeping, and the control group listened to neutral dialogue over loudspeakers.

 

The results showed that  most hypnotizable participants experienced an 80 percent increase in slow wave sleep. This sudy did limit the participants to women, due to their increased responsiveness to hypnosis on average, so it would also be interesting to conduct this study with men to see if the results are similar of course.

 

Whislt this is only one study conducted with a limited audience, the results show that there IS another option rather than turning to the drugs to help improve quality of sleep. Hypnotherapists world over have been using hypnosis for years to help people sleep better so it is wonderful that it is now being recognised formally and education is being enhanced. "The results may be of major importance for patients with sleep problems and for older adults," says psychologist and study leader Maren Cordi. "In contrast to many sleep-inducing drugs, hypnosis has no adverse side effects."

 

If you experience problems with your sleep, please call Christy today on 07527 576245 or email: christy@christyhypnotherapy.com for more information and a no-obligation free telephone consultation.

Hypnotherapy - not just for phobias, smoking and weight loss!

I recently read an article in the Lancaster Guardian about how the power of Hypnosis helped a 30 year old girl recover from a devastating Cancer diagnosis. Fortunately for the girl (Suzanne), she was diagnosed early and managed to receive surgery to remove all traces of the cancer without the need for medication and further treatment. However it was only after her surgery however that Suzanne began to struggle emotionally as a result of the traumatic health scare. She lost all confidence in life which left her feeling depressed and finding it difficult to cope.

Fortunately she was referred to a local Cancer support group who offered her some hypnotherapy to help her cope better with what she'd been through. One of the best quotes from the article for me was Suzanne saying "Hypnotherapy is just like receiving an injection of positive thoughts". I love this as it shows how for her, the Hypnotherapy was obviously the positive injection she needed in her life which meant she was able to deal with everything that had happened to her.

This may be a little misleading for some people though as unfortunately Hypnotherapy is no injection or tablet you can take to make all your ailments or issues disappear! Many a time I've had clients contact me wanting a "quick fix" as medication has't worked or they've tried "everything else".

I wanted to quote this story as it shows how Hypnotherapy can have many other positive uses outside of the 'usual' issues people normally associate with having hypnosis, such as to stop smoking, lose weight or overcome a phobia. This is not about curing Cancer... unfortunately there is no 100% definitive cure as yet. However many people who are struggling with something in their life might not even consider having Hypnotherapy... either because they think they are not "bad enough" or that they "should be able to cope on their own".

I would like to reassure ANYONE who would like to change something in their life for the better to consider trying Hypnotherapy. You never know what it might be able to do for you! Why not call me today on 01252 334377 for a free 15 minute no-obligation consultation to see if Hypnotherapy could help you. Or email me at christy@christyhypnotherapy.com.

To read the full story about Suzanne and her experiences, click here: http://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/local/how-the-power-of-hypnosis-helped-local-girl-recover-from-a-devastating-cancer-diagnosis-1-6491490

The 60th Anniversary of the 4 minute mile. What could belief do for you?

60 years ago on the 6th May 1954, Sir Roger Bannister was the first man alive to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. At the time Roger, who was a medical student and physiologist, broke through the 'cement wall' which, until then, most people believed was physically impossible.

But what is even more amazing than this historical sporting achievement in itself is that in the 18 months following Roger's new record, another 45 other people went on to do the same! So until this day 60 years ago, no one believed it was possible to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. And because no one believed it was possible, no one had done it. Once it had been shown that it was possible, people naturally started to believe that they also could do the same. Once they believed it was possible, it became possible!

 Today, running a mile in less than 4 minutes is something a great many athletes achieve on a regular basis. It's become a much more 'achieveable' thing for many people to do. This is just one example of how belief changed people's perceptions of something, literally overnight. There are of course many other examples of this, but the most important thing for us all to realise is that "belief" can have such a huge impact on our lives.

Think now about whether there are any beliefs you hold about yourself (or your ability to do something) which are actually holding you back and stopping you from achieving what you are truly capable of. If something comes to mind, think about how what you would do if you knew without fail, that it was possible - all you have to do is give it a go? I'm sure Roger did not know 100% for sure that we was capable of running the mile in 3 minutes and 54 seconds, but he tried anyway.

Henry Ford is famous for saying "whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you are right". Challenge your beliefs today!

For more information on how hypnotherapy can help you challenge your beliefs, contact Christy on 01252 334377 or email: christy@christyhypnotherapy.com

Hypnotherapy in the news: Jennifer Saunders has hypnotherapy to overcome procrastination

Jennifer Saunders, known by many as "Eddie" in the TV show Absolutely Fabulous starring alongside Joanna Lumley, has recently announced that she will be writing a fillm script to take the well known television show to the big screen. She admits however that she's suffered with terrible procrastination and was struggling to focus whilst trying to write the film script.

In an attempt to help, she decided to seek help from a hypnotherapist to overcome her procrastination. Revealing for the first time the extent of the struggle she has faced in writing the script, first mooted in 2011, she said: “I am actually having treatment, hypnotherapy, for procrastination. What my hypnotist said was to get rid of the backpack of negativity.”

This is by no means an isolated account of hypnosis being used to help overcome procrastination. Over the years I have had a number of clients come to see me either complaining of a lack of focus in their life or a feeling of "just not being able to get things done". There may be a number of reasons WHY people find it hard to do something in their life - it could be the result of a busy family life, work stress etc - however I find a lot of the time it is mainly down to a fear or anxiety about doing something in case they don't succeed or are rejected.

The great part about having hypnotherapy to overcome procrastination is that it can get right to the crux of these fears and replace them with positive suggestions and motivational visualisations for success. I also find it helpful to do pre-recorded CD's or MP3's for many of my clients which allows them to continue the positve effects of the hypnosis in between sessions. Over a short period of time, this helps the person get rid of that backpack of negativity as Jennifer describes, so they can just get on and do it!

You can download a pre-recorded MP3 from my 'Downloads' page specifically designed to help overcome procrastination, including a 1 minute free preview to give you an idea of what it's like. If you would like to arrange a one-to-one consultation with Christy, please email christy@christyhypnotherapy.com or call 07527 576245.

Discovering Your 'A' Game

The following post has been inspired by the work of Kristine Eiring and Colleen Hathaway, who are authors of the book 'Mindfulness and Sport Psychology for Athletes'. The 3 A's model and imagery has been reproduced with kind permission from the authors.

Over the past few years of working with athletes, I've come across so many cases where the person feels they've either "lost control" of their emotions when they play their sport or that they find themselves overthinking their emotions and dwelling on mistakes. Many athletes now recognise that the mental aspects of sport are just as important as physical training however most do not apply the same amount of time to enhancing their mental skills, as they do their body! The end result of this is that even though the person knows they have the technical ability to perform their sport, they feel as though their brain is letting them down.

One technique which I've found extremely helpful for many of my clients is the concept of mindfulness. Mindfulness is essentially about being in the moment and allowing thoughts to come and go without judgement. To explain this to clients I often refer my clients to the book 'Mindfulness and Sport Psychology for Athletes' written by Kris Eiring and Colleen Hathaway who are both athletes themselves and who devote their work helping athletes perform at their best.

In their book, the authors present the concept of the 3 A's…  Awareness, Acceptance and Action. They represent this concept in the following infographic:

Essentially this simple yet effective model helps teach an athlete the 3 key steps to understanding and achieving mindfulness, which can in turn help them to feel more in control of their emotions, meaning they will be much less likely to 'lose it' at the vital moment in the game or race. The fact is negative thoughts happen to us all - even the most talented and ‘mentally tough’ performer. The key it turns out, is how you deal with these thoughts… the action you decide to take. Rather than be at the mercy of your emotions, you can give yourself the permission to observe these without judgement, let go and move on to the next point, putt or goal.

To find out more from Kris and Colleen, they publish a huge array of interesting articles and advice for athletes on their website http://www.psychologyofsport.net/

  

If you would like to find out how you can learn mindfulness with the aid of hypnosis, please contact Christy christy@christyhypnotherapy.com or call 07527 576245 for a free telephone consultation.

The secret of happy people

The secret is... You are already happy!

Picture the sunshine, always shining bright and radiant. You know the sun is there but the trouble is we don't always see it! This is also true of our happiness which actually already exists within us. Happiness is innate, we are born happy; it's in our DNA.

Look at new born babies - ok they get upset now and again... But when their needs are met (they are fed, watered, clean and safe) then they return to a gurgling state of joy and contentment! As adults we do actually instinctively know what happiness is, we know what it feels like and we don't have to figure it out. But when the many turbulances of life arrive, bringing conflict, pain and heartbreak, we become disconnnected from our happiness, just like a forgotten memory. We then convince ourselves we've forgotten how to be happy.

To remind yourself all you need to do is find a photograph of yourself looking happy or even just remember a time in your life when you were really happy. Imagine you can look into the eyes of that happy person and see the happiness that exists as a powerful reminder of your inner happiness which has always been there. You have the ability to be happy anytime you wish!

Using hypnotherapy can be a wonderful way to rediscover your inner happiness by using the power of your imagination, combined with positive suggestions which are absorbed by your unconscious mind. You should expect to feel happier after just one session, with more significant improvements after another two or three. Contact Christy now at christy@christyhypnotherapy.com for a free telephone consultation.

Inspiration for this article taken from the 'Happiness Project' which is a training project that offer an annual programme of public events. Happiness NOW is the name of their 8-week flagship course.