Hypnotherapy and the Brain

Broccoli and the Brain

 

Hypnotherapy has many amazing applications - to make positive changes, break habits, let go of the past, improve motivation and so on... You may be considering hypnotherapy for anxiety, hypnobirthing, smoking cessation, fertility treatment, IBS to name just a few. If you are based in the Blackpool and Fylde area - you are certainly searching in the right direction.

Calm & Contented Hypnotherapy can help with all of these issues

This post is all about hypnotherapy and the brain. So you might be wondering why there is a picture of a stem of broccoli on this post - is it some subliminal message to anyone considering hypnotherapy for weight control? Possibly. But the main reason I chose to include broccoli in the post is because this is the vegetable that most helps me to understand what is going on in the brain.

Most people are familiar with the general shape and size of our grey matter - cast your mind back to your school days and you may remember 'the plastic brain model' in the science lab. or pictures in text books?

Without baffling you with science: different parts of your brain are responsible for different functions - moving, seeing, speaking etc... The human brain as a whole could be compared to a lump of play-doh. The brain is really malleable and pliable. This is a relatively new discovery - as in years gone by it was thought that the brain had little plasticity - i.e. unable to change once it had grown, developed and set in it's ways. However, it turns out you can teach a old dog new tricks as long as the treats are tasty enough and actually our brains are able to make new neural connections and make a change.

So back to the broccoli. One of the primary cells in the brain is called a neuron, which - yes you've guessed it - looks like broccoli - more precisely the tender stem variety. All sensations, movements, memories, thoughts, feelings etc are a result of signals passing through these neurons. The tasty tree like part at the top (the dendrites) receive messages from other cells, then signals pass through the stalk (the cell body) and down the stem (the axon), this signal then passes from that neuron to the next broccoli head through receptors via the release of chemicals and electrical pulses known as neurotransmitters.

The end result is a very intricate and complex brain structure and thus many of workings of the brain still remain a mystery. It is thought that hypnotherapy is used to 're-wire' the brain and strengthen or change current neural pathways. Suggestions, ideas and imagery which are in line with a clients goals and aspirations can be presented during a hypnotherapy session, these impact on the neural pathways and lead to a positive response in the clients physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

According to Dr. Mary Pasini “regardless of age, your brain has the ability to make new neurons and construct new neural pathways throughout your life. When you engage in new experiences or think in novel ways, new pathways are forged. Every time you think a specific thought, a specific pathway of neurons fires up, neurotransmitters are released and synapses are subtly altered. With repetition this pathway is strengthened. Even as you read this very sentence, your brain is changing. In this way, your brain’s structure is a culmination of all the thoughts and experiences you have had up to this very moment.”

Hypnotherapy brings about a state of deep relaxation and heightened awareness. In this state, the mind becomes open and receptive to new concepts. It is believed that the mind doesn't know the difference between imagination and reality, so hypnotherapy impacts on neural pathway and new ideas can become a new reality.

Of course, this is a very simplified version and only part of what hypnotherapy can entail. At Calm & Contented Hypnotherapy many different techniques are used and chosen in accordance to what is most suitable for the individual client.

Whatever the scientific reasoning and rational for change - for those clients who:

• wish to stop smoking - habits can be broken
• wish to lose weight - willpower can be strengthened
• wish to overcome anxiety - calm and balance can be re-stored

Testimony to this can be found in the number of people who are seeking out hypnotherapy across the UK. It is proving to be a safe and natural alternative to dealing with emotional issues, behaviours and stresses in life.

Stop Smoking - Hypnotherapy

Do you truly want to give up smoking?

If you see me for smoking cessation I will not guarantee 100% success.

What I can guarantee, is that I have all of the hypnotic skills to help you. You will leave my room as a non smoker - But what truly matters is your desire to change. In fact, one of the first questions I will ask you is:



Do you truly want to stop for you?

In all honesty, if you are stopping because that is what someone else wants for you - then you are probably wasting your time and money!

What to expect in a smoking cessation session? 

 

I always take the time to get a thorough and full understanding of your situation. The more honest and open you can be with me, the more I am able to help you. (That goes for all therapy - not just stopping smoking).

I will not judge you! 

 

Many clients approach me for therapy as a last resort. They have tried reduction, patches and other medication. Some clients have stopped for a while only to return to cigarettes. Generally speaking, most people are feeling some level of guilt about the damage they doing to themselves and family. Many have issues with concealment. Others feel that smoking is their way of relaxing and taking time out for themselves.

Wherever you are coming from, you can be assured that you will not receive a 'lecture' on the damaging affects of smoking. I am not a doctor and the vast majority of people are fully aware of the health risks involved with smoking. I do focus on the benefits of stopping smoking. Our bodies are designed for self repair and it is useful to focus on the health benefits of smoking cessation as well as your personal motivators.

"What happens when you quit smoking...

• At approximately the 8-12 hour mark, the carbon monoxide level in your blood will decrease to normal and your blood oxygen level will increase to normal.

• At 24 hours the chance of you having a heart attack decreases significantly.

• At about 48 hours, nerve endings begin to regrow and your ability to smell and taste is enhanced.

• Between 2 weeks and 3 months, your circulation improves, walking becomes easier, and coughing and wheezing is experienced less often. Phlegm production decreases and at about the 3 month mark, lung function is significantly improved.

• Between 1 and 9 months, you will experience all of the benefits already listed  in addition to less sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Cilia, tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs, also regain normal function.

• In 1 year, your risk of coronary heart disease and heart attacks is reduced by half of what it used to be when you were a smoker.

• Between 5 and 15 years, the risk of having a stroke returns to normal, before you started smoking.

• At about the 10 year mark, your chance of developing various cancers including cancer of the lungs, mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas, greatly decreases. Risk of lung cancer reverts to that of a non-smoker. In fact, Diet and smoking habits make up nearly 60 percent of cancer cases.

• In about 15 years, your risk of coronary heart disease and heart attack shifts to that of a person who has never smoked before. The risk of death also drops nearly to the level of a non-smoker.

Even with the exclusion of the incredible amount of money you would save from quitting as well as the negative influence being omitting from society, the above benefits of quitting are more than convincing. So what happens when you quit smoking? Your health once again returns." Source: What happens when you quit smoking - the immediate and long term benefits...


Whether you smoke 60 a-day or 1 every so often. I really doesn't matter to me. My aim is for you to stop. For good. So whatever your reasons for wanting to stop smoking, I can give you all the tools to quit. It is your choice to invest in hypnotherapy, leave me as a non-smoker and to maintain the change.

For more information on smoking cessation sessions please see Stop Smoking with Hypnosis

Gemma Webster

Smoking Cessation Blackpool

Stop Smoking

"When you were very young and your feet grew, then your shoes began to squeeze and the squeezing let you know it was time to give up the old shoes, because they didn't fit you any more. Smoking squeezes peoples' lungs, hearts, skins and money. When it's time to be free, it's a relief, not a hardship" Roger Elliott
Stop Smoking with Hypnosis

Smoking Cessation for Pregnancy (and beyond)

Hypnosis can help to break habits and rid yourself of old beliefs. There are many reasons to stop smoking, the main reason for most is health with over 107,000 people dying of smoking related diseases each year.

Pregnant mums-to-be have an even greater incentive to quit. Not only for themselves, but for the health and wellbeing of their baby. Most people can become a non-smoker in one session, my scripts are tailored carefully to each client and their specific needs.

You may choose to stop today - think how much money you will have saved by the time your baby is born. Sessions at Calm & Contented Hypnotherapy are £75.