The Art of Positive Thinking

Think it.

Believe it.

Be it.

If you are looking to make a positive change in your life, hypnotherapy may be an option for you. Whether it be stopping smoking, feeling less anxious, losing weight...Hypnotherapy is tried and tested and can certainly help.

The first thing to know is that you need to be on board with your change - 100% committed to what you are hoping to achieve. Hypnotherapy probably isn't for you if you have a vague idea that you would like to lose a few pounds, but aren't really bothered either way... It is crucial that you have a clear, achievable and positive goal before setting off on your journey to change. A good hypnotherapist will help you to identify and focus upon a realistic set of goals - so that the wheels of change can be put into motion.

The other thing is to maintain a positive perspective - you might continue to dwell on the 10 Big Mac meals you have eaten this week and hold on to the shame of the state of your body - but this really it not helpful on any level. Hypnotherapy can help you release old emotion and help to boost positivity. Really dwelling on the problem only serves to magnify it, so all that happens is that the problem seems much larger than it is. It makes much more sense and it is much more effective to focus on what you want to achieve. So in the instance of weight control having a clear idea of how much you would like to lose each week, the types of foods that you would like to be eating, focusing on your new svelete figure and the types of activities you will be doing is so much more constructive than dragging yourself down - A positive mindset is the difference between stagnating - staying the same - and feeling rubbish or achieving your goals - feeling energised - and being awesome!

Pick up any magazine and you can read about positive thinking - so much so that 'positive thinking' has almost become cliche. The thing is, neuroscience now teaches us that positive thinking can chemically help us to have a greater sense of wellbeing - positive thoughts create the wonderful hormones such as serotonin and endorphins which are directly responsible to how you feel. There is nothing woo woo about it! Positive thoughts can really impact on your life. 'Change your thoughts - change your life'. Ha. Sounds easy doesn't it, but in reality that positivity switch can need an almighty flick to make a change to your well worn mindset. Conscious positive thought can really help, but it is hypnotherapy that really makes a that subconscious difference.

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.

Sugar Addiction Blackpool

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sugar Tax  

It's looking as if the UK are going to be following in the footsteps of countries like Mexico that have already imposed a sugar tax in soft drinks. According to the BBC, the Commons’ Health Committee has said there was now ‘compelling evidence’ that a tax would reduce consumption. Increasing pressure is being placed on MP's to increase tax on sugar as well as target marketing and advertising - especially campaigns aimed at kids.

No So Sweet

• "There has been growing concern about the damaging impact of sugar on health - from the state of people's teeth to type-2 diabetes and obesity
• Sugar has been dubbed "empty calories" because it has no nutritional benefit
• Government advisers recommend no more than 5% of daily calories should come from sugar
• That is about 1oz (25g) - six or seven teaspoons - for an adult of normal weight every day. For children, it is slightly less
• The limits apply to all sugars added to food, as well as sugar naturally present in syrups and honey
• To put this in context, a typical can of fizzy drink contains about nine teaspoons of sugar" BBC Online

But it tastes so good

It is believed that human beings crave sugar on a primal level and that in times gone by accessing sugar would have been essential to our survival. The problem is that in the modern world sugar is readily available at every petrol station, supermarket, cafe etc...

It has also been found that in the short term sugar and fat can improve our mood (especially in women). Fuzzy feel-good hormones like serotonin are released into our blood stream giving us a high followed by a low. This low mood leads to the sugar craving and the damaging sugar cycle is in place.

Obviously the long term effects of eating too much fat and sugar lead to health problems such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes... and now also damaging your wallet!

Hypnotherapy for Sugar Addiction

The good news is hypnotherapy can help you to break the psychological cycle of comfort eating. Working with the subconscious mind: hypnotherapy can help you to find more constructive ways of dealing with the stresses of life.

How many of us were rewarded with chocolate buttons for being a good girl! Hypnotherapy can reprogram this and you can learn that there are other more appropriate ways of rewarding yourself besides reaching for a bar of Dairy Milk!


How many sessions it takes is dependent on the individual. For some people there may be deep rooted reasons as to why you comfort eat and for this client a number of sessions may be required, but for others reaching for the biscuit tin has become a habit - which is possible to resolve in one or two sessions.


Make it your new years resolution to eat less sugar!

Is Hypnotherapy for me?

The Truth About Hypnotherapy

There are so many misconceptions about the world of hypnotherapy. This animated doodle excellently conveys what it is and what is isn't and highlights what a hypnotherapist can do for you. The Truth about Hypnotherapy 
by the fantastic Top London Hypnotherapist Darren Marks.