It’s normal to have upsetting memories, feel on edge, or having trouble sleeping after this type of event. Regular activities are affected, sleep patterns disturbed and one would generally feel on edge. Symptoms can persist for months. PTSD can happen to anyone at anytime and is not a sign of weakness. A number of factors can increase the chance that someone will have PTSD, many of which are not under that person’s control. For example, having a very intense or long-lasting traumatic event or getting injured during the event can make it more likely that a person will develop PTSD. Symptoms usually start soon after the traumatic event, but there are occasions when they do not appear until months or even years later. They may also come and go over many years. If the symptoms last longer than four weeks, cause you great distress, or interfere with your home and work life, it could be an indicator of PTSD.

Symptoms may not be the same for everybody as each person experiences them in their own way. Some may also re-experience or relive the event through nightmares or bad memories, called flashbacks. People avoid situations that remind them of the event, and may even avoid talking or thinking about the event.  The way a person thinks about themselves and others may change as a result of the trauma. One may feel guilty or ashamed, or they may not be interested in activities that were once enjoyed. People can start to develop negative feelings about the world, and lose trust in people. Often people find it hard to be happy or feel numb or keyed up. Sleep patterns are disrupted, angry outbursts can occur, and unhealthy ways can begin to manifest such as smoking, using drugs and alcohol, or driving recklessly. As a result, relationship problems can occur, including divorce, employment problems, physical problems, chronic pain and depression or anxiety. Other common symptoms and indicators of the condition include inexplicable physical symptoms such as severe headaches, dizzy spells, upset stomach, sweating, the shakes and chest pains. 

Hypnotherapy treatment is highly beneficial in the treatment of PTSD. The aim of hypnotherapy is to unlock stored emotions so that the trauma can be revisited and explored from a different perspective. There are various forms of hypnotherapy that we use, therefore in order to determine which is the most suitable for you, we would carry out a full assessment of your circumstances before deciding on a treatment plan. In most cases, work has to be done on a deeper level with the subconscious mind so that negative beliefs which were built up during the trauma can be explored and alleviated.

Contact meto book your FREE consultation.

Common psychological signs include inner tension and agitation, a fear of losing control, irritability, feelings of detachment and phobias and fears. It can even lead to an irrational dread that something catastrophic is going to happen (such as a blackout, seizure, heart attack or death). When these symptoms become severe enough to interfere with a person’s ability to function, they may be considered to have a significant psychological or mental illness. Anxiety, for instance, can also manifest itself in different worries; it may be fear of being around other people, it may be anxiety in specific social situations, anxiety in your relationships with particular people at home, at school or at work, exam nerves, interviews, speeches and presentations, flying or sports competitions. 

The body experiences identical sensations when it comes to anxiety as well as with the stress responses to fight, flight or freeze. This primal response protects people from threats in their environment, if danger is present the body triggers a rush of blood to your arms and legs to prepare a fight or flight response in the form of adrenaline that causes your heart to beat faster whilst pumping oxygen around your body to the parts that it needs to protect. To suffer a prolonged fight or flight sensation can create feelings of anxiety often rooted in a previous experience that triggered the initial fear, or it could be a general anxiety about work or a situation at home. There can also be anxiety without knowing the root cause, this is known as free floating anxiety.  We will help you to make sense of all levels of anxiety and will explain this to you in your consultation.

Hypnotherapy is an extremely affective method for reducing feelings of anxiety. It can help boost confidence and self-belief, while reducing feelings of fear and intense worry. It can help you develop the ability to access the calm state of mind needed to overcome the often overwhelming emotions you are living with. Hypnotherapy for anxiety aims to access your subconscious by using the power of suggestion to work towards positive change. These suggestions can be tailored to help you learn what triggers your anxiety and why, as well as changing the way you react towards them. Hypnotherapy can begin to teach you how to regain a sense of control and normality.  We will set the treatment goal asking you how you wish to feel, and the things you would chose to do if free of anxiety. We will then work with you to reach your goals using a range of different hypnotic techniques always working towards the same goal.

Contact meto book your FREE consultation.

Imagine feeling better about yourself, free from worry and the old inhibitions that used to hold you back. Our confidence and self esteem is often rooted in our subconscious mind, and by effectively making changes at this level, you can expect to feel more confident and self assured and get on with living your life the way you want to.

The good news is that change needn’t be hard and take months. Just by reading this you’re taking the first step of taking control of your life.  There could be many reasons why you lack in confidence or self esteem. I can help you to become the person you want to be, do the things you want to do, and feel great doing them.

Whether you want to:

• Improve your self esteem and self image
• Increase confidence at work
• Start living life the way you want to by breaking away from relationships that no longer serve you
• Be more successful in life, work and relationships
• Increase your confidence for a driving test or speech

Signs and Symptoms

One of the most common features of low self-esteem is negative self-talk. People with low self-esteem regard themselves critically and may feel a perpetual sense of failure or lack of accomplishment. These negative messages are rarely true, but the thought patterns may be so ingrained in a person’s behaviour that he or she does not recognize the frequency with which they occur. Upon examination, people often admit that these thoughts are inaccurate and that they would never say such things to another person.

Low self-esteem is also closely associated with the following conditions and experiences:

• Co-dependency
• Social Anxiety
• General Anxiety
• Shame
• Depression
• Inadequacy
• Powerlessness
• Physical, emotional or sexual abuse
• Perfectionism

Change the way you think about yourself, and situations, at a deep level with Hypnotherapy or BWRT®.

Contact meto book your FREE consultation.

Addiction is a chronic brain disease which causes mental and physical harm. As a person drinks alcohol or takes drugs the brain releases the chemical dopamine which stimulates the ‘reward circuits’ of the brain. Thus the brain associates drinking alcohol and taking drugs with a pleasurable reward. The brain forms lasting memories associating drugs or alcohol with this reward and so the drug taking and drinking become compulsive. As addiction to alcohol and drugs becomes established, neurochemical changes take place in the brain of the user which affect their self-control and decision making processes. Addiction to alcohol and drugs has traditionally defined the term ‘addiction’, however people can also become addicted to certain behaviours such as gambling. These behaviours cause a release of chemicals in the brain as a ‘reward’, and this is what the brain gets addicted to.

Predominantly people turn to alcohol or substances due to an underlying trauma, thus in order to work on the addiction element, the underlying trauma would need to be addressed. Sessions are aimed at uncovering what it is that the substance gives you, what it is are you running away from.  I can help you do this in a safe, supportive way.

Furthermore recovery involves so much more than stopping the habit.  I would help you to define the new you and support you to find new social norms. You can’t take way a habit, without replacing it with something fulfilling – or guess what? You end up returning to old ways of behaving. 

I have over 15 years experience working with addictions. If you are suffering, don’t suffer in silence. You can overcome this if you truly want to stop. Contact me now for a free confidential consultation. I have a variety of therapeutic tools to help.

Contact meto book your FREE consultation.

However, we can develop phobias of virtually anything. Most phobias develop in childhood, but they can also develop in adults too. If you have a phobia, you probably realize that your fear is irrational, yet you still can’t control your feelings. Just thinking about the feared object or situation may make you anxious. And when you’re actually exposed to the thing you fear, the terror is automatic and overwhelming. The experience is so nerve-wracking that you may go to great lengths to avoid it—inconveniencing yourself or even changing your lifestyle. If you have claustrophobia, for example, you might turn down a lucrative job offer if you have to ride the elevator to get to the office. If you have a fear of heights, you might drive an extra 20 miles in order to avoid a tall bridge.

Understanding your phobia is the first step to overcoming it. It’s important to know that phobias are common.  It also helps to know that phobias are highly treatable. You can overcome your anxiety and fear, no matter how out of control it feels.

There are four general types of phobias and fears:

Animal phobias. Examples include the fear of snakes, spiders, rodents, and dogs.

Natural environment phobias. Examples include fear of heights, storms, water, and of the dark.

Situational phobias (fears triggered by a specific situation). Examples include fear of enclosed spaces (claustrophobia), flying, driving, tunnels, and bridges.

Blood-Injection-Injury phobia. This is the fear of blood, injury, illness, needles, or other medical procedures.

Some phobias don’t fall into one of the four common categories. Such phobias include fear of choking, fear of getting a disease such as cancer, and fear of clowns.

Emotional symptoms of a phobia:

• Feeling overwhelming anxiety or panic
• Feeling intense need to escape
• Feeling “unreal” or detached from yourself
• Fear of losing control or going crazy
• Feeling like you’re going to die or pass out
• Knowing that you’re overreacting, but feeling powerless to control fear

I can help you to overcome any phobia you may be experiencing by using hypnotherapy or BWRT®, fast effective treatments for all phobias.

Contact meto book your FREE consultation.

With many different weight loss programmes getting great results, more and more people are now reaping the benefits of using hypnosis for weight loss. Helping you to lose weight in a safe and natural way, we use a combination of Hypnosis and BWRT® to help you achieve your goals safely and effectively.

Some of the key features of our programme:

• No restrictive diets
• All foods allowed in moderation
• Improved Self-Image
• More Confidence

Rather than focusing on the loss of weight, you will learn to focus on what you want, your deeper goals, and find your true motivation. You may describe your goal as weight loss but what you really want may be to feel confident, to feel healthy, feel good when trying on new clothes or just to look good on the beach. Hypnotherapy is a very effective tool in helping you in defining and understanding these deeper goals that really motivate.

People who are overweight often:

• Eat according to external cues, not internal hunger signals
• Eat for emotional comfort, regarding food as an antidote for any kind of emotional distress
• Plan social activities around food
• Reward themselves with food
• Report that they were admonished as children not to waste food, to clean their plates, to eat to show appreciation to the person who cooked the meal, or to put on weight ‘in case you get sick’.
• Place little value

Hypnotherapy for weight loss also works by changing the subconscious thought processes that make weight loss so difficult. Our sessions help you to develop new thoughts and a healthy relationship with food, reducing the need for ‘willpower’ and making your changes more sustainable and long-term. Hypnosis for weight loss can help you to lose weight naturally and easily.

The benefits of hypnosis for weight loss extend much further than the weight loss: you will find you become more focussed and motivated, no longer distracted by the calorie counting or guilt associated with endless diets and food fads. You will still be you, but imagine being you in a happier, healthier and lighter way with all those unhealthy thoughts and feelings gone!

Contact meto book your FREE consultation.

Once smoking becomes part of your self-identity you rely on cigarettes in almost any situation you face. Once this process has begun, the choice to smoke is no longer within your conscious control, therefore giving up or stopping becomes extremely difficult.

There was a time when you would engage in any situation or activity without even thinking about cigarettes, therefore as long as you have the desire to stop and change, that is the first part of success. The fact is, your body doesn’t actually need nicotine, it is just become accustomed to it. Over the years of smoking you have learnt to associate cigarettes with certain activities and situations, which has then just become an automatic part of who you are. This is really all that’s happened with smoking. It has become a habit that is hard to break through willpower alone, because your autopilot – your subconscious – is just so used to having a cigarette at certain times. No withdrawal symptoms. No need for substitution. No weight gain. No cravings. Just one decision from you, and a nice deep state of relaxation stands in your way…

What happens to your body when you stop smoking?

The health benefits to stopping smoking start from within 20 minutes of you putting out your last cigarette. Your body will begin to repair the damage done through smoking almost immediately, kick-starting a series of beneficial health changes that continue for years. This means that by the time your Stop Smoking Hypnotherapy session is over, you will be thinking and feeling like a healthy non-smoker.

• 20 minutes: Your blood pressure and pulse rate return to normal
• 8 hours: Oxygen levels in your blood return to normal
• 24 hours: Carbon monoxide has been eliminated from your body. Your lungs start to clear out mucus and other smoking debris
• 48 hours: There is no nicotine left in your body. Your ability to taste and smell is greatly improved
• 72 hours: Breathing becomes easier. Your bronchial tubes begin to relax and your energy levels increase
• 2-12 weeks: Circulation improves throughout the body, making walking and running a whole lot easier
• 3-9 months: Coughs, wheezing and breathing problems get better as your lung function is increased by up to 10%
• 5 years: Heart attack falls to about half that of a smoker
• 10 years: Risk of lung cancer falls to half that of a smoker. Risk of heart attack falls to same as someone who has never smoked.

Benefits of Stopping Smoking

• Reduce your risk of gangrene or amputation caused by circulation problems.
• Protect the health of the people you care about by not making them breathe your secondhand smoke.
• Improve your fertility and your chance of a healthy pregnancy and baby.
• Improve your breathing and general fitness.
• Enjoy the taste of food more.
• Get rid of that stale tobacco smell from your hair, skin and clothes.
• Look attractive with healthy, glowing skin, no tobacco stains on your teeth and fewer wrinkles.
• Eradicate that pesky cough.

Using Hypnotherapy for smoking cessation is extremely effective as long as you truly wish to stop. One of the fundamental principles of Hypnosis is that you, the client, must be motivated and dedicated to achieving your goal of stopping. If you have even just one thought, idea, or suspicion that you don’t wish to become a non-smoker, it will most likely lead to eventual failure. The subconscious part of your mind works for you and only you, and no therapist can ever override your conscious choices.

Contact meto book your FREE consultation.

Being a successful athlete not only involves a high level of physical fitness and technical skills, but also a mental aptitude to enhance performance.  Thousands of sports professionals have acknowledged the power of their mental state on their sports performance. Hypnosis has been used for many years to help professional athletes enhance their natural ability, golfers regularly uses Hypnosis to improve their game.  I competed in gymnastics at county level and understand that for optimal performance in any competition, the synchronicity of mind and body is paramount.

Being able to control negative thoughts and emotions is the basis of sports psychology and can often be achieved through hypnosis.

How does Hypnotherapy actually help with sports performance?

Hypnotherapy works very effectively with enhancing an individual’s mental attitude by helping them to relax, removing their anxieties and boosting confidence. Hypnosis can often help individuals access the ‘zone’ so that they can use this to enhance their performance. Visualising winning a competition can help tune an athletes mind for success and this is reinforced in the brain as it can’t distinguish between doing something or imaging doing something. If the mind can imagine something it’s capable of making it happen.

Hypnosis can help sportspersons:

• Improve confidence and self belief
• Remove negative thoughts or beliefs
• Increase motivation and dedication
• Reduce anxiety and self doubt
• Use deep relaxation and concentration to enhance success
• Maintain composure and overcome distractions

Hypnosis can also help you to reach peak condition by focusing on weight loss or even weight gain depending on your required goal. 

Contact meto book your FREE consultation.