Why I became a hypnotherapist

Why I became a hypnotherapist

I often get asked why I became a hypnotherapist – it is quite an unusual career after all. Understandably, people can feel concerned about hypnotherapy. They often associate the whole field of hypnotherapy with what they see on TV - stage tricks and past life regression - when actually, this is not what hypnotherapy is about.

In fact, my own dad thought I was pursuing a calling as a clairvoyant when I started this career!

 
So, how did I get into it?

Well, I’ve always had an interest in psychology and biology, particularly the mind/body interaction. I did a degree in Biomedical Sciences, specialising in how the brain and mind work. However, I ended up working in investment banking, after university, a job completely unrelated to my degree.

Some years later I had a very difficult birth with my first daughter. I’ll avoid too much detail here that would cause women to cross their legs and men to cover their ears, but suffice to say I was not keen to repeat the experience.

When I was pregnant with my second daughter, I was very anxious about the birth. I was on a one woman mission, to persuade the medical profession to get an epidural anaesthetic put in at six months pregnancy, and to leave it there until I had a baby. Needless to say this mission was unsuccessful. A physiotherapist I was being treated by, seeing the desperate panic in my eyes, recommended hypnotherapy to me. I didn’t really know anything about hypnotherapy, and didn’t have high expectations but I was willing to give it a try.

Well, it changed my life.

After just one session I had changed from being the “get the epidural ready now” lady to feeling relaxed, excited and confident about the birth. When the big day came I was so relaxed and the techniques worked so well that the birth was easy and I became an instant convert to hypnotherapy.

My friends and family were also amazed at the difference in me.

Around the same time in my life I was very stressed at work. I had a demanding job with high pressure to meet targets. I’m sure many of you are familiar with that sensation of feeling that you are drowning in your workload and fearing what will happen if you can’t do it all. I began to use hypnotherapy to help with stress and once again I found it fantastically effective.

I was such a big fan of hypnotherapy and had really benefitted from it in my own life. I wanted to share this fantastic therapy and make hypnotherapy my career.

So, after extensive research, I found the best hypnotherapy school in the UK and embarked on learning. I knew that the workload would be massive and I was prepared for a hard slog. And I was right, the workload was massive, but I found the subject of hypnotherapy so fascinating that I enjoyed every aspect of the training. Yes, I am a geek, and stand up proudly as a hypno-geek.

Since qualifying and working as a successful hypnotherapist here in the South West I continue to love my work. It’s fascinating and so rewarding to see so many people changing their lives for the better. 

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The secrets to keeping your New Year's resolutions

New Year is upon us and this is the time of year when we traditionally make resolutions and set goals. Frustratingly, we often fail to obtain these goals. How many times have you started a new year with good intentions to lose weight / find a partner / make more money / see friends more, only to find yourself back to your old habits very quickly?

I’m going to teach you how to reach your goals, whatever they may be.

First of all, buy yourself something to write your goals in. This could be a pretty little notebook or even just an app on your phone. Write down your goal for the New Year. Make it as specific as you can. Include precise measurements and time frames.

For example, instead of writing,

“I want to be rich,” write “I will earn £70,000 by the end of 2014.”

Or, instead of writing,

“I want to lose weight,” write “I will lose 1 stone by July.”

Once you have written the goals down, read them aloud to yourself twice a day. This might feel a little strange at first. However, by reading them aloud you are embedding the goals, in your subconscious mind, in two places. You’re embedding them in the part that processes visual stimuli (the writing) and the part that processes sound (the words being spoken aloud.)

This process, when repeated daily firmly embeds the goal into your subconscious mind.

By doing this you are focussing your mind on achieving your goals. Try doing this for just a few days and you will see the difference it makes. You begin to notice opportunities you had not previously noticed. You will also change your mind set with regards to your goal.

Research shows that people are more likely to stick to their plans when they have written them down. The same research also showed that people who make their plans and goals public are far more likely to achieve them. This makes sense. If you tell people what you hope to achieve then it adds an extra pressure. We also do not like to appear incongruent, either to ourselves or to others. Therefore, when we make a public affirmation we stick to it for fear of appearing false and untrustworthy.

If you feel comfortable doing so I recommend telling people about your goals and resolutions.

 We move towards goals if we have a very clear view of them. Take some time to imagine you have already achieved your goal. Imagine you are rich or slim or confident, whatever your goal is.

Really enjoy this exercise. Take your time, close your eyes and imagine, in as much detail as possible, what life is like when you have achieved your goal.

What is the different and what is the same?

What do you see?

What do you hear?
What do you feel?

What do you taste and smell?

Who is with you?

How do you know that you have achieved your goal?

This is a fun exercise so repeat it as often as you like.

The purpose of this exercise is to focus your mind on achieving what you desire. It also changes your mind set. As you really think of yourself as being a slim / rich / more organised person, you change the way you think and behave to fit with this new version of yourself. You will find that by doing this exercise you begin to think and behave in a way which is consistent with your goals.

Often, we start the year with big, ambitious goals. Of course, it’s good to aim high. However, very large goals can be daunting and sometimes it can be helpful to break down big goals into a series of smaller short term goals. For example, if your goal is to save a deposit for a house, perhaps break this down into bi-monthly saving goals.

One of the biggest obstacles we can face when trying to reach our goals is the fear of failure. Often, people avoid aiming high, because they think it is better to cruise along where they are, rather than aim for better and risk failing.

This is a ridiculous way to think. Often, the worst case scenario is simply a bruised ego and a few “I told you so” from other people. The risks associated with not fulfilling your goals are often not that bad. Whereas the potential benefits of achieving our goals can be fantastic. Do you find yourself fearing failure?

From now on adopt the new belief that there is no failure only feedback.

No failure only feedback is a great motto. Any time we encounter obstacles or make mistakes, we can use these as learning experiences. See any issues in isolation, a small lapse. Do not view any setbacks as proof that the goal is unachievable.

Whenever you do encounter an obstacle or setback, take the time to evaluate what happened and how you can do things differently next time. For example, if you are losing weight but one day eat a box of chocolates, don’t think “that’s it, my diet is ruined.”

Instead think about what triggered the chocolate eating.

Was it that you were sad / stressed / tired?

Did someone offer them to you and it was sociable to eat them?

Then think about what you could do differently next time.

 As children, we learn how to behave by copying the actions of others. Many of us assume this learning process ends with childhood. However, this learning process, called modelling, continues through our adult lives. We can use modelling to our advantage.

Identify someone who has achieved the goal you are aiming for. It may be someone you know who has a good marriage or job. Someone who is slim and healthy. I’m sure you can think of someone you know who has reached the point where you would like to be.

Now, learn from them. Observe their posture, the way they act and speak. What do they talk about? How do they respond in different situations? If you know them well enough you can even ask them how they achieved it. 

Imagine stepping into their shoes. Imagine thinking, acting and feeling like them. At first this feels very strange and fake. However, as you absorb the idea of being that better version of yourself, you change your thinking patterns to move towards where you want to be.

 Sometimes we can put obstacles in our own way and subconsciously stop ourselves from reaching our goals. Think hard and honestly about this next question.

What are the disadvantages to achieving you goal or resolution?

If you stop smoking will you miss out on the social breaks at work?

If you lose weight will you receive unwelcome attention from the opposite sex?

Are you worried that having more money will make you a nasty person?

Sometimes we have beliefs which prevent us from achieving our goals. Firstly examine each of these beliefs to see if it is logical. It is illogical to think that simply because you have more money you will become a nasty person.

If your worry is logical then think about ways you can overcome the problem. Using the example of smoking, could you swap cigarette breaks for tea breaks at work?

The New Year is a great opportunity to set goals and make improvements in your life. What will your goals and resolutions be?

Increase your chances of achieving your goals by:

Making them specific and writing them down

Make them public

Vividly imagine you have already achieved them

Break the goal down into short term and long term goals

Embrace the fear of failure

Model other people

Identify any disadvantages of achieving your goal and find a way to deal with that.

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Hypnotherapy and sports

As the Summer draws to a close, here in the UK, I’ve been reflecting upon the events of Summer 2013. One stand out highlight, for all of Britain, has to be Andy Murray winning Wimbledon. It was a nail biting game and, following his emotional defeat last year, everyone was rooting for him. His win helped to up lift the mood of the whole country.

It’s wonderful to witness this success, but have you ever given much thought to the physical and mental training that precedes such a success?

I know I had not, until I recently started to work with some professional tennis players in my hypnotherapy clinic. Working with professional sports people has been an eye opening experience for me. In addition to the physical endurance required for training, the determination to adhere to strict diet plans and the sacrifices which need to be made in their social lives, professional sports people also have huge mental challenges to overcome.

So, how does hypnosis help with sport? To be the best at what they do, people have to truly believe they can be. They need to be able to visualise winning. To do this they must handle any defeats in a certain way. It’s tough to do this.

In addition to this, the travelling involved in being a professional sports person can create a lot of anxiety. Meeting lots of new people, travelling on planes, spending long periods of time away from home, especially when you’re quite young can all create anxiety. Sports people also face a lot of socially difficult situations. Unless you play a team sport, being a professional can be quite lonely. The tennis players I have worked with describe how it is difficult to approach the other competitors and ask them to warm up with you at a tournament. Many of us find it difficult to approach strangers and start conversations but that difficulty is multiplied when those strangers are also your competitors. I teach techniques to my clients which alleviate this anxiety and allow them to maximise their sporting potential.

I also help my clients to cope with the immense pressure they are under. Most of us have a long extended career in which to achieve our goals. For many sports people, achieving their goal depends on their performance on a single day. That’s an enormous amount of pressure. I teach my clients various calming techniques to enable them to handle the pressure.

One of the biggest fears of the general population is public speaking. Are you one of the people who would do almost anything to avoid giving a speech? A typical audience for a speech would be about 40 people. Compare that to the thousands or even millions of people watching a professional athlete. That is some serious stage fright to overcome!

Hypnotherapy is wonderful for helping with all of these challenges, faced by sports people. Hypnotherapy is very relaxing and you can use hypnotherapy to overcome anxiety and stress, help you to achieve your goals and also to manage pain. For these reasons, hypnotherapy is being increasingly used within the world of professional sport.

Of course we are always impressed with the achievements of professional sports stars. Upon reflection of the additional obstacles they must overcome, I find myself increasingly in awe of them.

If you’d like to find out more about sports and hypnosis then get in touch here.

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Alleviating pain using hypnosis

Pain is a familiar problem for many of us. It’s an unpleasant sensation that has such a detrimental effect on your mood and wellbeing, as well as restricting what you can do, in your day to day life. Pain, especially chronic pain can lead to depression, irritability, insomnia and a range of additional problems.

A huge vocabulary can be used to describe pain such as:

Sharp
Throbbing
Dull
Aching
Pain that comes in waves
Burning
Stinging

We all experience and react to pain in different ways. There is a lot of mind - body interaction involved with pain. For example, if you are distracted, you are less likely to notice it. Also, if you are worried about the cause of it or, if you are concerned that it will get worse, then you are more likely to experience the pain more intensely.

The good news is that this mind-body connection can be utilised to minimise pain, using hypnosis. Being in hypnosis is a very similar sensation to falling to sleep at night, or daydreaming. When you are in this very relaxed, focussed state, you can use the techniques described here in detail, to help you to feel better.

Hypnosis is a wonderful way to manage and eliminate pain. It is very safe and natural. It also has no side effects and people using hypnosis often require less medication, which is healthier.

What are the benefits of pain? It alerts you to avoid painful stimuli, such as hot or sharp items. It also prevents excessive movement, if you are injured, so that you can heal more quickly. It’s very important that you only use these hypnotic pain management techniques for pain which has been diagnosed. If you have any new or undiagnosed pain or, if existing pain worsens then you must contact your doctor.

The Cold Hand Technique and the Changing Qualities Technique described below are fantastic and can be easily learned and used.

Cold Hand Technique

This is a great technique to manage localised pain, which is pain in one area of the body. It gets better with practice.

1.       Enter a deep state of relaxation by focussing on your breathing. Imagine breathing in relaxation and breathing away any tensions or stress. Close your eyes. You can also download a free MP3 guide to entering hypnosis here.

2.       Picture the word numb in your mind. See the letters, floating in front of your eyes.

3.       Visualise a bucket of icy water, blocks of ice floating around in the water.

4.       Imagine putting the fingertips of your right hand into that bucket. Really feel the sharp coldness of the water.

5.       Slowly put your whole right hand into that bucket.

6.       Do you remember how your face sometimes goes numb when you are very cold? Well, notice this now happening to your hand. With every breath you take you hand gets colder and colder, more and more numb.

7.       Take the time to really allow this to happen, until you cannot feel that right hand anymore.

8.       When that right hand is completely numb and feels as though it has been injected with local anaesthetic lift it out of the bucket.

9.       Now place the hand on the painful area. Really do this. This is not just done in imagination. You actually move your hand and place it on the painful area.

10.   Allow that numbness and coldness to spread from your cold hand into and through the painful area.

11.   That area of your body becomes numb.

Changing qualities technique

Another way of managing pain is to imagine your pain has a shape or object. This is a slightly unusual concept but works brilliantly.

Using the power of hypnosis and your own wonderful mind you can then change the qualities of the pain and reduce it, using the following steps:

1.       Enter a deep state of relaxation by focussing on your breathing. Imagine breathing in relaxation and breathing away any tensions or stress. Close your eyes. You can also download an MP3 guide to entering hypnosis here. 

2.       Vividly imagine the pain as an object. See its shape and colour

3.       Notice if the pain has any texture or if it moves.

4.       And any temperature

5.       When you can vividly picture the pain as an object, you can change it

6.       If it has a colour start by changing its colour to a calm colour such as white or yellow. Do this gradually.

7.       Imagine it getting smaller and smaller

8.       Imagine the texture changing to be less fierce

9.       If the pain jumps or moves imagine that movement slowing down and gradually stopping

10.   If it’s hot imagine it cooling down, gradually getting cooler and cooler.

11.   Continue to change all the qualities of this pain until it bothers you less. You can continue to enjoy the effects of this technique for as long as you wish

Although pain is a very debilitating problem which can affect your sense of wellbeing, there are natural ways to minimise pain. Both of these techniques get better with practice and will allow you to gain a greater control over your well being.

To find out more about how hypnotherapy can help you to manage pain please get in touch here. 

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Top Tips for Anger Management

Lately I have been helping a lot of people with anger issues. This is a surprisingly common problem. Lots of people struggle to manage their anger but because it is an aggressive characteristic it is very difficult to admit to and to talk about.

 Anger can manifest itself in various ways. Some people find they shout when they are angry, others become physically aggressive, and others withdraw and become quiet. Many of my clients who tend to withdraw describe it is “going into their cave.”

Anger can be a very physical sensation. Sometime you can feel anger as a heat or a pressure. It might manifest itself as recurring thoughts. Where in your body do you experience anger when you feel it? People often feel their anger in their chest or head.

Anger is a particularly problematic issue because it has so many detrimental effects. As well as being bad for your own physical[1] and psychological health, it also destroys relationships. Many marriages are ended because of anger issues. Relationships between parents and their children can also be very damaged by anger. Excessive anger is also very inappropriate in social situations and the work place, so you can see that being unable to manage your anger can affect all areas of your life.

As part of the hypnotherapy I offer, we identify the causes of anger. Sometimes anger is borne out of a lack of self-esteem or negative experiences from your past. Often anger is a result of frustration. Once we have identified the causes of the anger we can work together to resolve these issues.

Having a good way to release anger is a wonderfully useful skill. The Hand Release Technique described below is easy to do and will really help you to alleviate anger.

Hand Release Technique

1.       Enter self-hypnosis or simply close your eyes, focus on your breathing and relax. You can download a free MP3 to help you achieve hypnosis here.

2.       Think of a recent situation which caused you to feel angry

3.       Allow yourself to remember and experience that situation again as if you were right there again.

4.       Feel the anger building up

5.       Notice where in your body you feel that anger. Does it have a shape? How big is it? Does it have a colour? Is it spiky? Is it hot? Does it bounce around? Really connect with how you experience your anger and notice any other properties it has.

6.       Now, as you continue to visualise that anger, imagine it getting smaller and smaller with every breath you take.

7.       If it is hot, imagine it cooling down. If it is spiky imagine it softening. Imagine its colour changing to white or yellow.

8.       Keep imagining it getting smaller and smaller until it is about the size of a ping pong ball.

9.       Now, imagine that small ball of anger moving through your body and up to your right shoulder.

10.   With each breath you take, imagine it moving along your right arm, eventually ending up in the palm of your right hand.

11.   Open up your right hand and imagine a breeze passing through. The breeze carries away your anger.

12.   Watch your anger float away into nothingness and enjoy that liberating sensation of being free of your old anger.

 If you would like more help and advice on anger management then do get in touch here.

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[1] Chronic anger activates the sympathetic nervous system which increases blood pressure. If the sympathetic nervous system is chronically stimulated the high blood pressure can lead to cardiovascular problems.

A Simple Guide to Self-Hypnosis



In my hypnotherapy practice, I teach my clients self-hypnosis techniques. Self-hypnosis is a wonderful skill to have. Using self-hypnosis you can:
focus your thoughts,
relax,
relieve stress,
see things from a new perspective and
have a greater clarity of thought.

Hypnosis is often seen as slightly mystical, or as being a difficult state to achieve. However, in reality, hypnosis is similar to daydreaming and we enter hypnotic states many times during the day. Therefore, learning to enter hypnosis yourself (self-hypnosis) is actually surprisingly easy and I'm going to give you a couple of methods here.

Self-hypnosis method 1 – read through all the instructions before starting

1.       Get yourself into a safe and comfortable position. Make sure that it is safe close your eyes and that you are unlikely to be disturbed. Lying on a sofa or a bed is ideal.

2.       Close your eyes and make yourself as comfortable as possible

3.       Take deep, slow breaths. With each breath imagine breathing in calmness and relaxation and breathing out any tension or worry.

4.       Continue for a few minutes, breathing in calmness and relaxation. Breathing out any tension or worry.

5.       Some people like to imagine the calmness and relaxation as a white colour they are breathing in.

6.       You could also imagine the tension and worry to have physical qualities as you breathe them away from yourself.  

7.       Your mind may wander, and that’s fine. Whenever you notice your mind wandering just bring it back to your breath.

8.       In your imagination, imagine yourself at the top of a flight of stairs. You are stood at the top of the flight of stairs, looking down. As you look down you can see ten steps leading gently down. Take the time to make this image as clear as possible in your mind.

9.       Walk down the stairs one by one as your count down in your own mind from ten to zero.

10.   With each step you walk down and with each number you count down, imagine that you are relaxing more and more.

Self-hypnosis method 2 – read through all the instructions before starting

1.       Get yourself into a safe and comfortable position. Make sure that it is safe close your eyes and that you are unlikely to be disturbed. Lying on a sofa or a bed is ideal.

2.       Close your eyes and make yourself as comfortable as possible

3.       Imagine, just imagine don’t actually do it, tensing every muscle in your body. Imagine tensing your whole body from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. Hold that feeling of tension for a couple of seconds.

4.       Now imagine letting go of all that tension and relaxing the whole of your body. You can allow your body and all your muscles to really relax and let go. Actually relax all the muscles.

5.       Imagine tensing all of the muscles in your feet. Imagine curling your toes and tensing all the muscles in the feet.

6.       Then, just relax the feet as much as you possibly can. Allow all the muscles in the feet to just relax and let go.

7.       Allow the feet to remain completely relaxed. Now tense all the muscles in your legs. Tightening the muscles in your calves and thighs. Hold that tension for a couple of seconds.

8.       Then, let go. Allow all the muscles in your legs to relax.

9.       Continue to imagine tensing and then actually relaxing all of the muscles in your

a.       Abdomen

b.      Lower back

c.       Upper back

d.      Chest

e.      Arms and hands

f.        Shoulders and neck

g.       Face and head

10.   Let your mind relax too and think of a place where you feel really comfortable, safe and secure. Really vividly imagine yourself being in that comfortable, safe, secure place.

Coming out of hypnosis

Once you have finished your hypnotic technique your can bring yourself out of hypnosis by counting from one to five in your mind. As you reach the count of five your eyes will open and you will feel awake and energised.

Mastering self-hypnosis has many wonderful physical and psychological benefits. If you would like more information do get in touch on www.cs-hypnotherapy.co.uk.

Useful tips and advice are also on my Facebook page. Join the Facebook community   http://www.facebook.com/CatherineSwatridgeHypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy for nightmares

Within my hypnotherapy practice, many clients come to see me because they are suffering with nightmares. Often, they have had recurring nightmares since childhood and sometimes the nightmares only begin in their adult life.

Most of the clients I have treated recently have recurring nightmares, so the content, events and storyline of each nightmare follows a pattern.

One lady I treated had nightmares about being trapped or chased. Sometimes she was chased by an evil presence and sometimes by characters from well-known horror films. Another had recurring nightmares about being unable to help someone who needed saving. The themes of being chased or trapped are very common.

So, why do we have nightmares?

There are many theories about why we dream and what dreams mean. However, so far there is a lack of scientific evidence to fully explain dreams. My personal theory is that when we are dreaming, our subconscious mind is sorting through and arranging all the information inside our minds. I believe that nightmares are often caused by the subconscious mind sorting through things that we have perhaps been avoiding thinking about, or perhaps we worry about and feel that we don’t have a solution to. The nightmare may simply be the subconscious mind trying to process the fear or worry and find a solution to it.

Suffering with nightmares can be very debilitating. They disrupt sleep making the person experiencing the nightmares feel generally fatigued. If a nightmare evokes some very negative emotions then the anxiety or fear you feel when you awaken can take some time to disappear.

Nightmares often start in childhood, when we do not have our adult understanding of the world. When we are children it can also be much more difficult to change anything in our world which frightens us.

There are many ways I help my clients who are suffering from nightmares. Often, people do have an idea about the origin of their nightmares. Sometimes a person suffers more when they are feeling particularly anxious or stressed. Sometimes nightmares result from a traumatic event in childhood.  Even if we have consciously resolved these issues, our subconscious mind may not have done. Using hypnotherapy I help people to resolve issues or problems in their subconscious mind. Dealing with stress, anxiety or problems from your past, using hypnotherapy is hugely beneficial to your whole life as well as your sleep.

Another great way of tackling nightmares is to use the following technique. 

1)      Enter hypnosis, either using self-hypnosis or with a hypnotherapist

2)      Allow your recurring nightmare to form in your mind but remain detached from it, as if you are watching it from above.

3)      Make the nightmare really vivid.

4)      Take control and change the nightmare. There are various ways in which you can change the nightmare. You can either change yourself, or change the environment. If you are being chased, imagine that you grow to be 20 feet tall and then turn around and face your attacker.  If you are trapped in a room imagine all the walls falling away to free you.

Remember, you are in control and using this technique you teach your subconscious mind that it can overcome the nightmare.

I find that my clients often only need to do this technique once to stop their nightmares.

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