Category: Manage stress with hypnosis

1. Hypnosis for Coronavirus Anxiety Covid-19

   Posted on 12:00pm Wednesday 4th Mar 2020

   Hypnotherapy to help with stress and anxiety caused by worry about Coronavirus Covid - 19

   

   COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It's caused by a virus called coronavirus.

   You can't have escaped the news about Coronavirus and how it has spread from China around the world.  For once the news channels are not finding that Donald Trump or Brexit are their top stories. Instead they are focussing on the virus, and how it is spreading. Of course Trump and Brexit can also be responsible for stress, worry and anxiety in people too.

   Where we are...

   At the moment we are in the early months of the Corona Virus and we are still finding out all about it, how it spreads and who could be affected the most.

   I am already starting to hear from people who are worried about what could happen to them or their family if they were to contract this new virus. People are aware that unlike the flu virus there is currently no vaccine available.

   Just having a flu jab works in two ways in helping you with worry. Firstly you have given yourself a really good chance of not getting the flu, that's the physical side of things. The other side, the mental health issue, means that you can tick it off the list of things that you may worry about. That is why people are finding that they are more worried about this and the uncertainty than anything else.

   What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

   The symptoms are similar to other illnesses that are much more common, such as cold and flu.

   • a cough
   • a high temperature
   • shortness of breath

   It is important to note that having these symptoms does not necessarily mean you have the illness.

   How is coronavirus is spread?

   Because it's a new illness, we do not know exactly how coronavirus spreads from person to person. Similar viruses are spread in cough droplets. It's very unlikely it can be spread through things like packages or food.

   Tips on how to avoid catching or spreading coronavirus

   Wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds. You can try singing happy birthday so that you know how long to do it for.

    

   Make sure you always wash your hands when you get home or into work, or you can use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.

   If you cough or sneeze make sure that you cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve rather than your hands.

   Always put used tissues in the bin straight away and then wash your hands afterwards.

   If you can do keep away from people who are unwell.

   It is also very important that you do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean.

   Helping to let go of stress and anxiety with hypnosis

   So, at the moment there are lots of unknowns about what could happen. It is of course natural that we may start to worry about these but we can learn to let go of them. If we do all the things that are suggested above then we will make things easier for ourselves and everyone else too.

   Taking time out to relax... Whatever people come to see me about there is one thing that most people really do not do enough of. That thing is simply to take time out to relax on a daily basis. If you practice meditation, hypnosis and mindfulness things may surprise you by becoming easier. Helping to reduce our stress levels is always a good idea.

   Let's start right now. All you need to do is take a few minutes out to listen to the recording below. It is only one minute long and just taking one minute to help your breathing relax and let go of your worries is a really good start!

    

   If you have a little more time and enjoyed that simple start then here is something a little longer that you can try..

    

   Remember that just taking a few minutes out of your day can start to make a real difference...and also make sure you wash those hands!

    

2. What’s the difference between hypnosis and meditation?

   Posted on 1:20pm Tuesday 6th Aug 2019

   What’s the difference between hypnosis and meditation?

   People often ask what the difference between meditation, hypnosis and also mindfulness is, so here is one way that I like to explain how things work to people.

   There are some similarities and also a few differences between them, and I often talk about how this means that hypnosis can be easier for people than meditation.

    

   Ways that they are similar..

    Both hypnosis and meditation are all about learning to take yourself off to a quiet and peaceful state of mind that helps promote calmness of thoughts and reduce levels of stress and anxiety.

    

   Some people find a good way to talk about the two is to use the example of asking what the difference is between alcohol and wine. Lots of people now use apps to help them meditate and of course when we think of someone practicing meditation we often imagine a Buddhist monk on a mountain in Tibet, sitting cross legged and spending many hours achieving a calm state.

   So, in that way, meditation can be seen as a more specific, specialised way to find yourself in a type of hypnotic state. It is also often thought of as being part of a wider spiritual system.

    

   Ways that they differ..

   One of the biggest differences is that hypnosis is usually more directed and then used to help people detach from emotions and behaviour that people don’t want so that they can then begin to see new ways of thinking and behaving.

    

   This is why we would use hypnosis to help stop smoking based on the conversation we would have. We can then weave all the positive benefits of becoming a non smoker into a directed hypnosis session for you.

   We can utilise the power of positive suggestion within hypnosis to bring about subconscious change to the way you think and feel about being a smoker and cigarettes.  When we use hypnosis we help you to drift into a calm type of hypnotic relaxation and focused attention, so that the suggestions can enter your subconscious mind.  

    

   With meditation the work is all done by you. You are the one trying to relax yourself and let your thoughts go to wherever you want them to go whilst meditation occurs. Of course this can actually be very difficult and that’s why visiting someone who can do hypnosis for you makes things much easier.

    

   In a nutshell I always talk about how mediation can be quite hard to do on your own and hypnosis is much easier when you have someone to guide you and you can just lie back and relax and let things happen to you. You are always in control, but you almost don’t even need to listen as the words drift over you and you drift in your own imagination.

   ...and mindfulness?

   Well mindfulness is all about living in the moment, not worrying about things that have already happened or about things that haven’t happened yet. You can learn that when you are out for a walk you can enjoy the walk, feel the warmth of the sun on your face, and hear the sound of the leaves on the tress rustling while detaching from whatever else is happening in your life. Of course this takes a bit of practice and hypnosis can help you as well as using some meditation techniques too.