So what IS hypnotherapy?

I suppose because I've been a hypnotherapist for over 14 years, using hypnotherapy to help thousands of people, I understand what hypnotherapy is and how it feels and what it can do.

I forget that even though I have loads of clients out there talking to their friends, colleagues and relatives who I could help, many people still only recognise hypnotherapy as something weird and magic - or maybe just weird and scary!

So what is hypnosis - what does it feel like? Hypnosis is like that feeling you go through just as you're falling asleep.  You're very relaxed.  You can still hear.  You could still move if you wanted to - but you don't want to.  You are totally in control.  You are very relaxed.  Not asleep but not awake.  Drifting and drowsy.

When you're in this very relaxed state we can communicate with your unconscious, or subconscious mind.   It's where your memories are kept, and your habits.  In this relaxed state you are very open to suggestion but importantly you cannot be influenced to do anything that you don't want to do. So hypnotherapy is therapy whilst you're in that relaxed state we call hypnosis. 


I spoke to a client yesterday who stopped smoking with me in 2008 and he was telling me that he talks about me and what I did for him with friends and they say they too want to stop smoking or lose weight or whatever.  They find what he tells them interesting - and yet they never contact me.

He is as flumoxed as I am (just love that word flumoxed!).

So what is happening?

Have you heard the saying "I'll believe it when I see it"?  Well seeing it - success - for someone else just maybe isn't enough.  We have to see success for ourselves.  But why should anyone try something they don't understand?

Particularly with stopping smoking everyone has been conditioned to fail.  Years ago people stopped smoking with pure willpower, maybe started again, stopped again, many times.  If you're over 50 like me you'll remember relatives and friends doing this - you may have done it yourself.   Then the pharmaceutical industry got involved.  "We'll help you stop smoking" they said "stick this patch on your arm/back/bottom!".   And some people stopped.  And some people didn't.  And some that stopped started again.  And then some tried the patches again.  And they failed again.  The patches failed but the smoker then saw themselves as the failure.  So the pharmaceutical industry invented nicotine gum.  Then a mouth spray.  Then the drug Zyban.  Then Champix.  And people tried to stop and some stopped. And some started again.  And felt like a failure. Again.  But it wasn't them that failed it was the patches and gum and spray and drugs.

The best success rate of any of the "aids" I've mentioned is 25%.  So no more than 25% of people who tried ever stopped.

And of course I could talk about failing at diets in the same way couldn't I?

But now you are conditioned to fail.  You need to see it to believe it if someone offers you an alternative way to stop smoking (or lose weight).

Hypnotherapy is, of course, a very alternative way!

It's not weird and it's not (I'm sorry to say) magic!

If you'd like to learn more about how your unconscious mind works - and how we can use hypnosis and hypnotherapy (therapy in hypnosis) to change your habits then give me a call.  I've got a really good CD for you to listen to so you can experience hypnosis at home.

Then you can decide you want to stop smoking or lose weight or get rid of a phobia or build your confidence.  Let me help you understand how hypnotherapy can work for you.  If you want it to.

Are you avoiding getting help?

Have you got a problem that really needs fixing?  Are you at the end of a painful dry January - or losing the will to live on your new year diet?

Maybe you're standing outside in the driving rain because a cigarette took control and said you just had to go!

You may be reading this because you found something about me that said - "hey! I can help you!"

Or did a friend send you a link?

So yes, you know you need help!  But are you avoiding getting help?

23% of the adult population in Leeds are smokers - that's about 3% above the national average.  So we know you're out there!

I've lost track of the latest figures about obesity, or pre-diabetes, or diabetes, or anxiety, or stress.....

So why are you avoiding getting help?

Do you think it'll be too hard to do without your cigarette/glass of wine/chocolate bar?  Are you still convincing yourself that you are addicted and it will be too painful to stop? Maybe you've already tried and failed - and can't face failure again.  Maybe you've even tried hypnotherapy before and failed.

Of course I know that you can stop smoking in one session with no pain at all!  No cravings! No withdrawal!

I know that you can cut down on your drinking or change your eating habits easily - no pain, no cravings...

I know because this is what I do, day in, day out.  I help people just like you to change. To get better.

And I will spend as long as it takes on the phone or in the office to explain all this to you.  That's my promise.

Maybe you're worried about spending money on something that won't work?

I often speak to people who think "it's too expensive" to get professional help.  But compared to what?  Your health? Your happiness?  Your family? Your longevity?  How can we put a price on those things?

Here's a question for you.  If you could meet your goal (stop smoking, reach your ideal weight, remove panic attacks or whatever your goal) tomorrow - how much would you pay?

You can work out how much you will save with things like stopping smoking, cutting alcohol or sugary foods.  Work it out over, say, a year.  How much?

You can try and put a price on your health or longevity.  How much?  How much do you already spend every year on looking and feeling good - haircuts, nail extensions (ladies!), gym membership, new hats!!!!

I would like to bet that all of the figures you calculate - or guess at - will be more than what professional help will cost.

So if it's time to stop making excuses.  If you're ready to get help.  Make the call.  Make the appointment.
Ask me the questions you really want answering. Call 0113 834 5424.

Christmas IS coming!

Two months on Sunday.  Yes, that's right, two months on Sunday it will be Christmas Day.

Does that fill you with dread?

There's the normal type of dread.  Maybe you haven't bought a single present yet - and have no idea what to get.  Maybe you haven't started soaking your dried fruit in rum.

Then there's that horrible, underlying anxiety.  That dread deep inside which says "oh no" another Christmas.

I'm sure there's been loads of research about how anxiety for many, is a major issue around Christmas.

Me, my hubsand and my son always spent Christmas with my parents.   Sometimes we'd stay for a few days, eating together, watching TV,  visiting friends and relatives.

After Mum died it was harder.  For one thing I had to start doing all the cooking!  But we still all got together.

In 2010 I took Dad to my brother's in New Zealand - we had a great "family" Christmas with the grandchildren and great-granchildren.

But then my Dad died and there's just the three of us.  And it's just not the same.

There are two major causes of anxiety for some people when they think about Christmas.
One is the thought of having to socialise, mingle, eat, drink and be merry with "the family".
The other is the thought of being alone.

One event, two ends of the spectrum, one emotion.  Anxiety.

You can read advice in all the magazines and newspaper columns.  What you could do.  What you should do.  How to change your feelings.

The way I deal with it is to treat it as any other day.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  Anixety is just thinking about something.  Giving it more meaning than perhaps it deserves.

I won't presume to give you any more advice. Except this.  It's another day.  It will be over soon.

Menopausal moments

If you're a woman in your 40s, 50s or 60s you're either worrying about the menopause, suffering from the menopause or getting over the menopause!

First of all let me say - ME TOO!  So I know a little bit about how you're feeling, how it's affecting your life.

Of course we're all different - I'm told that some people breeze through these years of their lives without any issues at all - and yet others suffer every day.

Hot flushes, problems with sleeping, stress and anxiety, weight gain.  The list goes on.

And at the same time we've got the usual problems of getting older.  We worry about our looks and our general health.  Our jobs get harder.  Our kids leave home - or come back!  Our parents need our help more.  Our parents pass away.

There are hundreds of books and websites about how to cope with the menopause.  The Daily Mail are currently running a daily series on how to cope.  They talk about anti-depressants and other drugs too often for my liking.

Some of us may just need a bit more support from our friends and families.

Some of us may need to review our jobs and working lives.

Some of us may need to change our eating habits, our drinking habits, lose a bit of weight, learn to manage stress.

Here are my four steps to feeling better:

1. Call me and get a copy of my Stress Relief CD.  It will help you relax, feel better and sleep better.
2. Call me and let me tell you how I can help you cut down on your drinking or change your eating habits.
3. Call me and let me tell you how I can help you reduce stress and anxiety.
4. Call me for a chat.  Sometimes we all just need someone to talk to!

Back to www.breakthehabit.co.uk

Habits versus addictions

Research says that if you do something 21 times it becomes a habit!

But what is a habit?  It's something you do, automatically, without thinking about it.  Usually it's a triggered effect - so one thing leads directly to another so fast it "just happened."

Like indicating when you want to turn in your car.

Like having a biscuit with a cup of tea.

Like putting a cigarette in your mouth after a meal, or with a coffee.

The more you practice a habit the better you get at it!

I developed a habit a few years ago.  As soon as I get up and go in the kitchen I have a glass of water.  Every day.  Without fail.

When a clients leaves me I always give them a bottle of water to drink on their way home, or back to work. It helps them "wake up" after a relaxing hypnotherapy sessions.

I also want them to develop a habit of drinking water (it's good for you, you know!) and to replace the cigarettes or glasses of wine with water.

I usually hand the bottle to them and say "and this is your new hobby".  But why do I say hobby instead of habit?

When I first thought about this I thought maybe I should change to saying "and this is your new habit".

But then I realised something.  What is a hobby?  It's something we do because we enjoy it.  It's something we do as often as we can.  It's something that makes us feel good.

So perhaps drinking water is best seen as a hobby?  As well, of course, as a really good habit!

The problem or the side effect? which is worse?

What's worse? The problem or the side effects of the drugs used to treat the problem?


I often see clients for stress, anxiety, panic attacks and depression. Most of them are already on a drug. But they're still suffering! A pain-killer will kill the pain but an anti-depressant won't kill the depression. It may cover it up; make it a bit easier to live with. But it won't cure it. You still have to find the "cure".

The listed side effects of many drugs may add to the feelings of depression – effects such as insomnia and weight gain, headaches and nausea.

So if you’re starting to get stressed or anxious - or if something has happened to you – or around you – that is affecting your wellbeing get help fast. First try relaxation CDs, yoga or if you enjoy it, go to the gym. Talk to a friend or trusted family members. Then look for a therapist. PAY. It will be worth it. Talk to your doctor about therapy – but go for the drugs last.

I can’t promise you anything – but hypnotherapy and NLP techniques are fast and effective. My clients will tell you their stories.
www.breakthehabitstress.breakthehabit.co.uk