Need to relax more? Here’s a simple but powerful technique that will help you instantly relax in ANY situation. It’s so simple, yet so brilliantly effective. It works for EVERYBODY and it’s free…
Imagine you are about to start a presentation in front of a huge audience. Naturally you feel nervous. You know that these nervous feelings could ruin your performance, and it makes you even more nervous worrying what the nerves will do to you. Wouldn’t it be great if you could break this cycle and calm down instantly?
Imagine you are about to walk into a job interview and you start getting the jitters. Wouldn’t it be great if you could walk in calm, confident and assured? Showing yourself in the best possible light. This technique can help you with this. First let me ask you this…
When you get tense and stressed, what happens to you physiologically? Your heart rate increases, you start to to sweat, you may go red, and your breathing speeds up and becomes erratic.
There’s not much you can do about your heat rate, sweating, or going red – at least not immediately. However you can control your breathing. Controlling your breathing is the key to staying calm in any situation…
(CBD oil has also been shown to greatly improve relaxation, and reduce anxiety and depression)
You are probably feeling calm and relaxed right now if you are browsing the internet and looking at a hypnotherapy site. However I would still like you to try something. Think about how relaxed you are feeling right now and give it a score out of 10 – 10 being very stressed, and 1 being totally relaxed.
I want you to take your time and take 10 slow deep breaths, and count them as you do. Breath in slowly and deeply, lots of air in, and breath it all out, slowly and deeply.
After you have done this 10 times, ask yourself again, how relaxed do you feel out of 10 now – 10 being very stressed, and 1 being totally relaxed.
Have you seen some improvement? Most people do.
That is after just 10 breaths, when you are probably not that stressed anyway. Imagine the difference this can make when you are stressed. This is why breathing meditation is so powerfully effective. Breathing is everything when it comes to relaxing. It is the one thing that you can control, then everything else follows.
Next time you are in a stressful situation try it out. Take the 10 slow and deep breaths and see how relaxed you feel. It really is amazing I promise you. It is so simple yet so effective.
A person that is stressed ALWAYS breathes quickly and erratically, and gets these other symptoms (heart pounding, sweating etc.) By controlling your breathing, all these other symptoms quickly come under your control. That’s how to relax in any situation.
Remember when you are next in a stressful situation, consciously breath in a slow, deep and even way. I promise you that this will significantly reduce your stress levels almost immediately. It will help you keep control of yourself and the situation.
This is a very simple tool, but is can have a profound impact on the quality of your life. And it is my gift to you – remember to use it!
If you want to take relaxation and breathing to the next level…
How many times have you rolled into work bleary-eyed, wishing you could have grabbed more sleep? And how many times have you heard your colleagues or friends express the same desire? Wouldn’t you like to learn how to stop feeling tired?
Weariness seems to be a modern epidemic, and while it’s not debilitating it can have a negative impact on your life. You can miss out on opportunities and new experiences because you want to stay in your home and watch TV. That’s not living, it’s existing.
You can turn your tiredness around by making a few simple changes to your lifestyle…
Water
Staying Well Hydrated Is One Of The Best Ways To Stay Energetic!
First always remain well hydrated. Your body is around 70% water and uses two and half litres every day.
Tiredness is a common symptom of dehydration so it could be that you’re not taking in enough water. Aim to drink about two litres of water per day.
If you make just one change after reading this article, then please make sure your hydration levels are adequate.
Diet
You should also take a look at your diet. Foods high in fat or carbohydrates are harder to digest, so your body slows down while it’s digesting the food.
Whilst sugary foods give you a short-term boost, you will soon crash and burn. Instead you should include plenty of vitamins and minerals in your diet.
The easiest way to do this is to consume plenty of fruit and vegetables. Aim to eat at least two different pieces of fruit or veg as part of each meal, along with some lean meat (or protein substitute if you are vegetarian/vegan). You will find your energy levels greatly improve.
Make Sure You Have Enough Vitamin D, Especially During Winter
Recent research has also indicated that lower levels of vitamin D is responsibly for tiredness and aches and pains.
It is fairly common for people to have low levels of vitamin D during the winter months. This is especially so if you live somewhere low in sunshine, like England where I live!
It’s worth having your vitamin D levels tested to find out. Make sure you get plenty of sunshine during winter. Oily fish like salmon and tuna also contain good levels of vitamin D.
Exercise
Regular exercise will help energise you. Although you burn energy when exercising, you gain energy in the long run.
Find physical activities that you enjoy. That way you will stick to them.
If you enjoy going to the gym, then great, do that. If you prefer a stroll in the woods, then this is also valuable exercise. Anything that gets you moving!
Exercise increases the efficiency of your body, gets your blood pumping, and helps eliminate waste from your system.
While you boost your system with water, fruit and vegetables you should aim to reduce your intake of alcohol and caffeine. Much like sugar, caffeine has a “crash and burn” effect. It also badly effects your sleep.
Alcohol may help you drift off to sleep at night but as you sober, it becomes a stimulant which can ruin the quality of your sleep.
Sleep
Sleep is a key area to work on to improve your energy. It is recommended to get between seven and nine hours of sleep every night. The easiest way to make sure you get the optimum amount of sleep is to set two alarms, one for when you need to wake up and one for when you should go to bed. Set your alarm for about an hour before you wish you fall asleep to give yourself time to get comfortable and relaxed. Your body appreciates routine and having a regular sleep pattern will make a world of difference.
Another way to improve your sleep is through the use of hypnotherapy. Hypnosis quietens your conscious mind, turning down all the mental chatter so you can drift to sleep without any worries on your mind.
There is a lot of confusion and plain inaccurate regarding hypnosis and hypnotherapy. This is largely down to media hyping what hypnosis is really like.
A story about how someone was hypnotised into giving their bank card to a stranger (which is not possible) makes for a better story than the realities of hypnosis.
So to help you, here are the answers to some frequently asked questions on hypnosis. Hypnosis FAQ…
In my experience, anyone can be hypnotized. Some can be hypnotized to a deeper level than others, but everyone can to some degree. That is unless you do not wish to be.
It is easy to resist a trance. Sometimes people think it’s a sign of weakness if you go into a hypnotic trance. This is the wrong way of thinking about it.
A hypnotherapist is a guide. Their job is to help you go into the natural hypnotic state. It is usually the more open minded, creative and brave people that allow themselves to deeply relax. Anyone can resist it – it’s nothing special.
New research, developed by board-certified hypnotist Gerald Kein, claims that everybody is equally hypnotisable and that “people accept hypnosis in direct relationship to the amount of fear they have”.
There is no precise definition. The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis’s web site says “Hypnosis is a state of inner absorption, concentration and focused attention.”
Hypnosis is a normal and natural state that most of us experience several times a day. Have you ever driven somewhere and not remembered the journey? You were probably in a light trance state whilst driving.
Trance also occurs when reading a book or watching TV. Sometimes you can be so absorbed in the book or TV programme that you are not consciously aware what is going on around you.
Hypnosis Is NOT Sleep!
Will I be asleep when hypnotised?
You will not be asleep when in a hypnotic state. The word hypnosis comes from the ancient Greek word “hypnos”, meaning sleep. Hypnosis is generally a very relaxed state but it is not sleep.
James Braid came up with the term, but sought to change it to “monoideaism” (“single-idea-ism”), when he realised that it was not a form of sleep.
What does hypnosis feel like?
When in a trance you usually feel more mentally and physically relaxed. It is a pleasant experience, and you are fully in control. You can hear exactly what is going on around you, unless you choose to drift your attention away.
You become aware that you can easily stand up, talk, or move if you want. A lot of people (me included) when they first experience a hypnotic trance move their fingers or hands in order to test whether they can move at will. It is comforting to know that you can!
Occasionally a patient can be a difficult to wake up. This is not a bad thing. It is because the patient doesn’t want to wake up as it feels so pleasant. Soon they become bored and wake up. One trick the old hypnosis pro’s use is to tell the patient that they are charging for the time. It’s amazing how quickly they then wake up!
No one has ever been stuck in trance, despite what the media sometimes portrays.
Is hypnosis dangerous?
In 1955 the British Medical Association set up an inquiry which favourably reported hypnosis as a therapeutic tool. It even recommended that it should be taught at medical schools.
Hypnosis was also approved by the Council of Mental Health of the American Medical Association in September 1958 as a safe practice with no harmful side effects. Since then there has been acceleration in the establishment of hypnosis societies for doctors, dentists, and psychologists.
No one has been seriously hurt with hypnosis. If it were dangerous, then we would all be in potential trouble each time we watch a film, or read a book, since it is common to go into trance in these situations.
Are meditation and hypnosis different?
Yes. Meditative states are similar, but the practice of hypnosis is significantly different. Meditation aims to ‘empty’ your mind of conscious thought, whereas hypnosis aims to add ‘post hypnotic suggestions’. They might be ‘eat healthily’, ‘stay motivated’, ‘keep calm and relaxed’ etc.
With hypnosis there is usually the aim of a specific change. Hypnotherapists often employ meditation techniques to get their patients into ‘trance’. They then extend this by ‘deepening’ the subject, and offering them suggestions they have previously agreed on.
Can I be made to do things against my will?
You could never be made to do anything against your will or contrary to your value system. If this was possible there would be criminals learning hypnosis in order to hypnotise their bank managers to opening the vaults and handing over cash!
In a trance, you would not unknowingly reveal your deepest secrets. You can even lie when in a trance, which is one reason why testimony in hypnosis is not permissible evidence in a court of law. It is only used by police to help with investigation.
A person will only act upon suggestions that serve them in some way or reinforce an expected behaviour, anything else their unconscious will ignore. Most people develop these misconceptions from seeing or hearing a Stage Hypnosis show. However they largely achieve their results from showmanship, selection of the more extrovert people, and peer pressure.
How long will it take before I notice a change?
This varies from person to person. However in one session, you can expect to become more relaxed than you are right now. Most people do not relax enough, and some people never seem to relax. Being more relaxed can help most mental and physical problems that you may have, even before we get to the therapy part of the session.
I have often had patients report back that friends and family noticed that they seemed more relaxed after just one session. In the past I have helped people with problems such as IBS, skin complaints, and addictions, simply by doing relaxation work.
Hypnosis can bridge the gap between your head and your heart, making your goals much more compelling, and increasing your chances of permanent change. Depending upon the intensity and number of sessions, you will notice suggestions for the desired behavioural changes popping into your conscious mind almost immediately.
Please keep an open mind when deciding whether to use hypnotherapy. I have been a clinical hypnotherapist, trained by the London College of Clinical Hypnotherapy (LCCH), for many years. During this time I have witnessed many things that, quite frankly amaze me at times! I have helped so many people in so many ways, that I feel it would be such a shame for people to opt out simply due to unfounded fear and misinformation.
Make sure you find a therapist that has received good training from a well respected body, and you will not be disappointed. It is not perfect. Hypnosis does not solve everything all the time. However it does help almost all of the time, and can create amazing changes.
With a well qualified practitioner, you are pretty much guaranteed a comforting, relaxing, and enjoyable therapeutic experience, as well as a shot at gaining good ground towards your goals.
Hope you enjoyed my hypnosis FAQ – Hypnosis Frequently Asked Questions
What made you decide that you wanted to become a hypnotherapist?
As a boy I just found the whole concept of it really fascinating – I think it was the whole mystery of it all that gripped me then. I used to watch Paul McKenna seemingly ‘take control’ of his participants on TV, and thought it as quite cool! However later in life I became involved with rehabilitating people suffering from various mental health problems. I became more interested in the therapeutic side of hypnotherapy, and enrolled on a clinical hypnotherapy course at the London College Of Clinical Hypnotherapy. I fell in love with it and have continued to study ever since.
I have a question about if hypnotherapy can help me with severe pain. I have had to take morphine and now I am on Methadone for severe lower back pain that no operation can help. Could hypnotherapy ever help me enough with this pain so that I can stop taking this strong medication?
Hypnotherapy can definitely help reduce pain. After all pain is simply a sensation created by the brain in order to protect us. Without pain we would be more likely to do things which would cause us more damage. There are many stories in the media about people going through operations without anaesthetic due to their use of hypnotherapy. What often happens in cases like yours is that hypnotherapy reduces, but not eliminates the pain, allowing you to reduce your intake of pain killers. This is a good healthy result as far as I’m concerned. I think that without some sort of pain sensations, we could be tempted to push our bodies too much, causing more damage in the long term.
I am a big fan of athletics and I often notice that just before they begin their discipline (sprinting, long jump, etc) they close their eyes. Are they performing self-hypnosis? If so what exactly are they thinking?
Usually people have difficulty during any type of performance when they consciously think too much. The unconscious mind is far more powerful than the conscious part of the mind. It is likely that most are clearing their mind of all thoughts, which by definition is actually meditation. With their mind free of distracting thoughts, they can “just do it” and perform what they have practised for many years without letting the occasion get to them.
When I help people with sports performance, I often give them a trigger word, a post hypnotic suggestion. When they say this word to themselves, they will return to a relaxed state with a clear mind. I give them suggestions of focussing on what they are doing, and not thinking of themselves or what is going on around them. This is where hypnosis differs from meditation – hypnosis aims to add some sort of suggestion to the mind, whereas meditation generally aims to clear the mind of all conscious thoughts.
If I fall asleep during one of your hypnosis sessions will it still have the required effect on me?
Yes! When you initially fall asleep, you usually start in a light sleep, and it is a very effective state of mind to absorb hypnotic suggestions. I would not, however recommend putting your recordings on a loop whilst you sleep. There is no evidence that hypnotic suggestions are absorbed in a deep sleep state, and the sounds could disrupt you.
Can hypnotherapy work with children around the age of 10?
Hypnotherapy can work with children around the age of 10, however it usually has to be done in a different way. Children have such good imaginations, that it is not always necessary to insist that they close their eyes. They may not be willing or able to do this for long periods of time anyway. You must also talk to them in a way that they understand. It is no use talking to them with words that they do not understand. I find that using metaphors and creating a therapeutic story is a very effective way of working with children.
I have paruresis (shy bladder) which is an anxiety disorder which leaves me unable to use public restrooms or go to the toilet if I know there is anyone else around. Could hypnotherapy help me overcome this?
Hypnotherapy is very relaxing and is good at reducing anxiety, so yes it can help with this. What I often do with this type of problem is give a post hypnotic suggestion so that when you say a particular keyword to yourself, you feel calm and relaxed. You can then use this if you are feeling anxious in a public restroom. In fact you can use this to your advantage in many other situations. The Super Relaxation audio session on this site gives this type of therapy.
Why do you think that some people aren’t willing to try hypnotherapy and/or don’t take hypnosis seriously?
I think the main reason is fear. The first time I tried hypnotherapy, I must admit I was a bit fearful. I was worried about being ‘under’ someone else’s control. Hypnosis is often depicted as sinister and controlling in movies and in the press. However having experienced hypnosis for many years as both a patient and a therapist, I know that the reality is very different.
Is there anything I can do to help make the process of hypnotherapy more effective while listening to one of your hypnosis downloads?
Listening to the sessions with headphones helps, although it is not necessary if you prefer not to. The most important thing is that you are comfortable. This can mean different things for different people. Some people prefer to lie down, whereas some prefer to site up in a chair. I think it is also important that you know that you will not be disturbed during the session. Even if you are not disturbed, the worry of it happening can be off putting.
Should I consult my doctor before undertaking hypnotherapy?
If you have any serious health problems, then I would say yes. Otherwise it is generally not necessary as hypnosis is a relatively safe form of therapy. I would like to add that it would be worth consulting your doctor if you were having headaches or other pains, in order to eliminate more serious problems.
Are there any differences between meditation and hypnosis, and if so what are they?
Meditation and hypnosis do cross over. The main difference between the two is that hypnosis aims to add something to the mind, like a suggestion, whereas meditation usually aims to clear the mind. However hypnotherapy often borrows meditation techniques in order to ‘quieten’ the mind, before then adding suggestions.
Recently I’ve noticed that I can’t get to sleep unless my bedroom is tidy and straight. For example if I’m lying in bed and see that I have a drawer slightly open I have to get up and close it. Is this something hypnotherapy could stop me doing?
This is basically a form of obsessive compulsive disorder, and can be helped with hypnosis. That gives me an idea for a future session – watch this space!
Imagine you are about to start a presentation in front of a huge audience. Naturally you feel nervous. You know that these nervous feelings could ruin your performance, and it makes you even more nervous worrying what the nerves will do to you. Wouldn’t it be great if you could break this cycle and calm down instantly?
A person that is stressed ALWAYS breathes quickly and erratically, and gets these other symptoms (heart pounding, sweating etc.) By controlling your breathing, all these other symptoms quickly come under your control. That’s how to relax in any situation.
