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.

If you would like more information about hypnotherapy, well-being and personal development, please subscribe to my newsletter in the top right.

Hypnobirthing – It is good enough for royalty

Hypnobirthing – It is good enough for royalty

As the date approaches for the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s baby, it has been reported that the Duchess is planning to use hypnobirthing.

You may have heard about hypnobirthing, using hypnosis to make childbirth easier. But how does it actually work?

The connection between our minds and bodies is more powerful than you could imagine and you can use this power to your advantage. Even aspects of your physiology which you would consider as being automatic are influenced by our minds.

A good example of mind/body interaction is the way that we blush when we think of something embarrassing. This is an example of a simple thought changing the blood flow in our face.

Within my practice I often create numbness of the right hand. This is to enable clients to use their right hand to alleviate pain. While their right hand is numb the right hand is totally pale, a completely different colour to the left. This is a fascinating example of how the mind can control the body

Hypnobirthing is a fantastic way to give birth. Using hypnosis you can change your perception of pain, you can relax more deeply than normal and you can let go of any anxiety.

Lots of women (and their partners) can understandably feel very worried or anxious about childbirth. The first part of my hypnobirthing program uses relaxation techniques and diminishes anxiety about childbirth.

Relaxation techniques are also incredibly useful during the birth. When you are tense, your muscles tense up and your adrenal glands release adrenaline. All of which can slow down the birth process. If you are relaxed, your muscles are more relaxed and you feel calmer, then birth can be a much easier, quicker experience.

I teach a variety of pain relief techniques to my clients. These techniques work fantastically well and are the most important element of my hypnobirthing programme. Being able to manage pain is such a valuable tool and minimises the need for other interventions such as epidurals and pethidine during childbirth.

I provide my clients with CDs to listen to at home in the last few weeks before the birth and also during labour. This allows you to really master all the techniques before the big day. Please do get in touch if this wonderful method of childbirth appeals to.

Various studies have supported the wonderful benefits of hypnobirthing. Labours are shorter for women who use hypnobirthing compared to those who do not. Women using hypnobirthing also require less drug intervention than those who are not using hypnobirthing. It has also been suggested that an easier birth can lead to a happier baby and better bonding between mum and baby.[1]

If you are expecting a baby and would like to find out more about how hypnobirthing could work for you do get in touch at www.cs-hypnotherapy.co.uk

---

[1] Hao TY, Li YH, Yao
SF. Clinical study on shortening the birth process using psychological suggestion therapy. Zhonghua Hu Li Za Zhi. 1997 Oct; 32(10):568-70. (General Military Hospital of Jinan, P.R. China.)

Jenkins, M.W., & Pritchard, M.H.
Hypnosis: Practical applications and theoretical considerations in normal labour. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 100(3), 221-226, 1993.

Harmon, T.M., Hynan, M., & Tyre, T.E.
Improved obstetric outcomes using hypnotic analgesia and skill mastery combined with childbirth education. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58, 525, 530, 1990.

Doing A Confident Wedding Speech

In theory public speaking should be easy, right? You can speak coherently, can’t you? You can be in a room with your family and friends, right? So why does the idea of public speaking fill some of us with the sort of terror great enough to be willing to sell our soul to the devil in order to avoid it?

If you are a groom, best man or father of the bride, who is currently seeking out the devil’s phone number to avoid the trauma that is your speech, then rest assured that you are not alone. Fear of public speaking is an incredibly common phobia. The good news is that it’s also an easy phobia to deal with.

Firstly, speak to yourself as if you were your own best friend. The way we speak to ourselves, our own inner monologue, has a massive impact on our feelings and behaviour. So every time you notice yourself say something negative such as,

“I’m dreading this speech. I’m going to be crap at it and start shaking and sweating.”

Replace it with a more useful suggestion as if you were talking to your best friend such as,

“I know the people I’m speaking about so well. I have lots of funny and interesting things to say that the guests at the wedding are looking forward to hearing.”

Often people who are afraid of public speaking find that their voice trembles, their heart rate races, their breathing quickens and their face goes red. These are all classic physiological signs of being in a state of high anxiety. As this state has been brought on entirely by the mind, it can also be calmed entirely by the mind.

A good technique to achieve this is to practise getting yourself into a state of deep relaxation in the weeks and months before the wedding. Close your eyes, focus on your breathing and allow yourself to become completely relaxed. When you are in a completely relaxed state imagine yourself doing the speech competently and confidently. If you find yourself getting anxious just focus once again on the relaxation. Repeat this as often as you can and you will find that your mind pairs relaxation with the scenario of public speaking. As it is impossible to be both highly anxious and very relaxed at the same time, this technique removes the anxiety related to the situation.

I am a hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner in Dorset, and I have developed my own specialised Public Speaking treatment plan. I have great success with clients who fear public speaking, as well as clients who suffer from other worries and anxieties. I offer a free initial consultation. If this sounds like something you’re interested in then, do get in touch. www.cs-hypnotherapy.co.uk

Lastly, a speech at a big occasion such as a wedding should be an experience to relish. Let’s make sure that it is.
www.cs-hypnotherapy.co.uk

How to choose a good hypnotherapist

 So, you decide that a certain issue in your life, be it your weight, anxiety or a phobia, is getting in the way of you leading a happy and fulfilling life. Having made the decision to have hypnotherapy, you are then faced with the unenviable task of choosing a hypnotherapist.

If you google hypnotherapists you will be greeted with pages of them in the local area. So, how to you go about choosing the one that is right for you?

 It’s an important decision to get right. Hypnotherapy is a very safe form of treatment. However, it does carry some risks and needs to be done by a competent professional. Many hypnotherapists regress clients back to their childhood, regardless of the problem. This is a bad practice for a number of reasons. Firstly, many of our issues do not stem from deep-rooted childhood issues. Secondly, regressing people back to childhood events or traumas can re-traumatise them. Thirdly, memory is reconstructed. Things that people “remember” in hypnosis may be imagined or distortions of the truth. For these reasons I am very careful with when I use regression techniques in my practice and only use them when it is appropriate to do so.

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy are very broad subjects and range from stage hypnosis and magicians, to hypnosis being used in a very clinical NHS setting to treat IBS, to past life regressions and the more psychic/occult. I come from quite a scientific background and apply a scientific approach to my practice. I am very much against using hypnosis for past life regressions. I do not believe in past life regressions and believe that performing them can cause more harm than good. I saw a young man some time ago who had a recurring behaviour pattern which was causing him many issues in life. He had been to see another hypnotherapist who had performed a past life regression. During this regression this young man ‘saw’ or imagined that in all his previous lives this same issue had been a problem. This led him to believe that it was part of his very core and could never be resolved. He believed he was a victim and was doomed to always suffer with this problem.  Clearly, this belief was very destructive and had prevented him from overcoming the issue.

There are a number of ways you can make an educated decision and chose a hypnotherapist who is right for you. Firstly, look at their qualifications and the professional bodies to which they belong. There are various qualifications a hypnotherapist can hold, all of which allow them to practise. The most highly accredited qualification is the Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma (HPD). There are also various professional bodies looking after hypnotherapy in the U.K.

The National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) is a particular well regarded professional body and its members adhere to a strong code of ethics.

In addition to looking for these qualifications in a potential hypnotherapist, it’s also vital to trust your instincts. Most hypnotherapists offer a free consultation. Before making a decision, try visiting a few different hypnotherapists and see which one makes you feel most at ease and who you have the most rapport with. Often, you will be telling a hypnotherapist quite personal information, so it’s important that you feel comfortable with them.

I believe in educating my clients and explaining how treatment works and what we are doing as we go along. Any hypnotherapist worth his or her salt will explain and educate you in the techniques and processes they are using.

When you are undergoing therapy, remember you are always in control. Although the therapist is there to guide you, ultimately you know what you want to achieve from your sessions. If something ever doesn’t feel right, you don’t need to go along with it.

I hope this has been helpful. If you have any further questions  please do get in touch via my website: www.cs-hypnotherapy.co.uk. +Catherine Swatridge Hypnotherapy 

www.cs-hypnotherapy.co.uk