15 minute read
19 Hyped Up
We chat to two hypnotherapists about how to improve your family’s quality of life and mental well-being in stressful times. First up, Dorset based hypnotherapist Trevor Bedford shares his expertise. T he quality of our lives can be seen in terms of our circumstances, our thoughts and our genetics. Sometimes we can change circumstances to improve our lives. When we cannot change circumstances, then we need to change how we think. Genetics determine the pre-disposition to being happy. Corona virus puts us all in a situation where we have little or no control over circumstances, so this leaves our thoughts as the variable we can control. Rumination - as in repetitive negative thoughts - is known to be the biggest cause of anxiety and depression. The reason for this is that our brain functions in many ways like a computer, what we input is processed and the output is determined by the input. That means our thoughts, imagined or real is the input. What we think, determines the chemicals our brain produces to help us cope with any situation. The difference between anxiety and excitement can be very small, however the chemicals produced are very different. Take for example two people taking a flight. The first cannot wait to go on holiday, it’s going to be great. At the airport they look forward to the flight, the peace, movies and the general anticipation of the adventure they are starting. Everything they have imagined is real and positive. Their brain produces happy chemicals and they feel excited. The second dreads going on the flight the minute they hear they are going on holiday. They tell all their friends and constantly repeat their fears. At the airport, they see the plane, they see the thin outer layer of the plane that is going to fly at 600 miles an hour at 30,000 feet, with closed doors and filled with highly flammable fuel. That is just dangerous, their brain produces the chemicals needed to cope with danger. Everything they have imagined is also real, but negative. They feel fear. Both parties are in the same situation, the way they think about it changes how they feel and behave. The input is different, therefore, the output is different. The first gets on, relaxed and calm. When they hit turbulence, which is normal, they get scared and probably do not enjoy the sensation, however, they cope. The second person is already in their fight, flight or freeze mode, negative stress chemicals produced and in a high state of anxiety. When they hit turbulence, they can no longer cope. What we think controls the chemicals in our bodies, in turn controls how we feel. How we feel results in how we behave. How do we change our ruminative thoughts – which produce negative stress chemicals - to more productive ones that produce happy chemicals?
• Imagination
Advertisement
Learning to take active control of our thoughts means becoming cognitively aware of your thoughts, as in recognising when you are constantly worrying or having fearful thoughts about the corona virus. Taking control of your thoughts takes practise and gets easier the more you do it. I like to start by using breathing techniques, like 7/11. Breath in through your nose counting to 7, imagining cool, relaxing air filling your lungs with oxygen and energy, breath out through your mouth counting to 11, imagining
Self−Hypnosis Guide
Preparation
Plan what you are trying to achieve. This can be a very specific objective – to do an hour’s exercise and look forward to it. It could be a very general objective – to wake feeling good, confident and calm. You can write down exactly what you want to achieve, record it or just think about it. Once you know what you want this session to focus on make sure you are in a safe place and have the intention to go into hypnosis. counting to 7, imagining cool, relaxing air filling your lungs with oxygen and energy, breath out counting to 11, imagining breathing out all the worries, troubles, pains and fears. Expelling all the carbon dioxide and poisons, emptying your lungs. Repeat three or four times so you can start the hypnosis in a calm and relaxed state of mind. Close your eyes. Then relax yourself, start at the top of your head and imagine all your muscles relaxing, ending at your toes. There are many induction protocols you can use, they focus on you telling yourself in different ways that you are relaxed and calm. This can take five minutes. Keep telling yourself you are relaxed and calm, and it starts to happen. Just relax and enjoy the peace for a while before allowing yourself to go deeper.
breathing out all the worries, troubles, pains and fears. Expelling all the carbon dioxide and poisons, emptying your lungs. Repeat three or four times so you can start the hypnosis in a calm and relaxed state of mind. This has been shown to reduce anxiety levels to normal, is simple and very effective, takes your mind off the Corona worries. Once you have taken back control, then you can more easily rationalise the situation and start to think about what you can do, rather than the issues beyond our control. Some other powerful ways to take back control of your thoughts is through hypnosis, self-hypnosis, mindfulness and meditation. There is a short guide to selfhypnosis at the bottom of this page.
• Being valued in our community
This is based on our evolving into beings where we work in communities, for the good of the whole. One person learns to make shoes, others can hunt and gather more food more easily, they return and provide all with food. Our chances of survival increase, we feel good about what we have done – gathering food or making shoes -and our status in the community goes up. We produce happy chemicals which increase our confidence and motivation as well. It is important to stop and take a good look at ourselves regularly. Remembering the good and happy things and times. Remind ourselves that we are worthwhile, we are good enough, we do approve of ourselves. Look to the communities we are connected to and how much we are valued by family, friends, clubs, sports groups, charities, work etc.
• Laughter
This is a wonderful way of producing happy chemicals. Just smiling causes the muscles in our face to move and there is a resultant burst of happy chemicals. It is believed that children on average laugh about 400 times a day compared to an adult who laughs only 15 times a day. Even false smiles and laughs result in this happy chemical production, so we can all start by looking in a mirror, feeling a bit stupid and just smiling until we see that genuine smile or hear that laughter start. Try it, and while you do, why not use this during your exercise outside, to look at the person across the road and smile at them. They will return an involuntary smile, so not only have you cheered yourself up, but a stranger too.
• Diet
Certain types of happy chemicals are produced in large quantities in our stomachs. It makes sense to look at our diets and keep a balanced, healthy and tasty diet. People who constantly fill themselves with large quantities of unhealthy food and drink will effectively be reducing the amount of happy chemicals the stomach can produce. We need to think about food in a good way, use our imaginations to look forward to those healthy foods, healthy snacks. Rename unhealthy “treats” to “indulgences”. Rather than think “ I must not eat that donut”, which results in the mind fixating on the donut, think “I would love some tasty fresh fruit, or a delightful plate of salad, fish and rice. The key is to focus on what you do want, not what you don’t want.
• Exercise
In theory this could once again well originate from our evolution. When we encountered danger and had to flee, we produced many stress chemicals to help us run faster, further and longer. If we escaped, then the stress chemicals returned to normal levels and we felt really good and happy that we had survived. That is why when we take appropriate exercise so many people feel really good afterwards. It is important to exercise, whilst making sure it is appropriate for your age and health. It does not need to be painful or hard, not every session need be a test of our personal best. Sometimes it can be fun to exercise at a pace that is enjoyable and doing things that you like doing.
• Music
One of our first ways of communicating was through sound and rhythm. Hearing birds and animals, tapping drums, understanding other peoples’ tone of voice, even before language became developed. Listening to any music that you like will produce happy chemicals that help you feel relaxed and calm. By getting your balance and using your thoughts and imagination for your own benefit, you can become more relaxed and calm about the lock down and the consequences of the corona virus. It does take practise and can sometimes be hard work, but it is worth it. Consider what you achieve when worried, scared and stressed compared to when you are relaxed and calm. It really is in your own best interest to look after yourself.
Re-enforce you are safe and in control
• I am in a deep hypnotic trance and I am in full control • I will respond only to my intended suggestions. • I am fully protected from any random thoughts, images and sounds becoming hypnotic suggestion. To go deeper into hypnosis, allow yourself to imagine whatever you find relaxing. These can include: • Counting down from 10 to 1, imagining going deeper with every step down • Seeing yourself becoming more relaxed by imaging each part of your body, the muscles, tendons and ligaments all relaxing one by one • Enjoy a scenario that is right for you, a walk through a forest, sailing on a lake, flying into space.
inside your head to deliver the message in a way that is meaningful to you. Use passion and purpose. If you are motivating, then use passion. If you are focusing on sleep then use a quiet and relaxing voice. Really imagine everything you are suggesting, be appropriately enthusiastic and assure yourself of it. Be convincing.
Enjoy the re-orientation
You don't need an elaborate routine to emerge from meditation. You might find it takes a few moments to get your bearings, if you've been extremely deeply relaxed, of course. You can just open your eyes when you feel ready and perhaps stretch, rub your eyes, or take a few deep breaths. Alternatively, you can count yourself out of selfhypnosis by counting from one to five (or ten) while you imagine becoming more active and alert.
Creative Artwork: Flora Pilkington
If you have always had doubts about hypnosis or think it is a stage act then you are mistaken. The clinical side is a serious form of therapy for all, including children and teenagers. Gone are the days when hypnotherapy was about taking control of a person’s mind and making a fool out of them. Hypnosis stems from Ancient Culture – Indian, Greek and Egyptian sleep temples. Many accounts date back to the Bible with references of relieving pain and healing by touch. This form of therapy, which is now a First Line Intervention, is used to help people with all sorts of life issues, from overcoming anxiety, depression, exam stress or a phobia to losing weight. It can even reduce chronic pain and help with motivation and concentration. Hampshire-based Hypnotherapist Mark Williams talks us through it. “As a Hypnotherapist, I help people make positive changes to their lives, enabling them to fulfil their ambitions and reach their full potential, irrespective of their age. I’ve worked with children as young and 8 and adults over 90. Just recently I helped a 12-year boy old stop chewing his school clothes, something he’d been doing for over two years and had tried many other forms of therapy before turning to hypnotherapy. I work with a lot of teenagers to help them overcome exam anxiety as well as helping with their memory. Other common problems that hypnotherapy can help with are things such as bedwetting, school stress, depression, bad habits and self-belief to name a few. Once I have a client on board, they are part of me for as long as they want. On average, a client will need at least 3 to 4 sessions. Each session is an hour and is a mixture of CBT, NLP and hypnosis. Children tend to leave their parents in the waiting room and the child is made fully aware that they can leave the session at any time or have their parents with them for certain parts. I want my clients to be passionate about my hypnotherapy sessions and to enjoy them. There is so much evidence and research to show that it works, it’s about giving people self-belief that they can make the change they want to make. Why wait till you are 90 for help when you can at 8!” As a father, I really enjoy interacting with children and seeing the positive results that hypnotherapy can offer so many. Hypnotherapy will work for anyone who wants it to work. It is the same with anything, if you believe it will be more effective."
Trevor explains "We all experience anxiety many times a day. It is critical to our survival and necessary. Some people cope with anxiety better than others. Why is this and how can we improve? Anxiety and excitement can be very closely associated, hence one person seeing a fair ground ride gets excited, another sees pure terror. Being aware of nervous sensations is important, then allowing ourselves to see them in positive ways can change terror to excitement in certain situations. We can use anxiety in certain situations, to be positive and help us perform to a higher standard, or we can let anxiety rule and become a destructive negative force, controlling our behaviour. People suffering panic attacks are very scared, but they are not actually in any danger. How about not being anxious about being anxious, just be anxious? Trevor's Anxiety Bicycle is intended to help people with anxiety, suffering from destructive negative thoughts which may be causing them to end with panic attacks, homesickness, loss of confidence and many other symptoms. You can sit in a traffic jam and be angry, or you can sit in a traffic jam."
The Anxiety Bicycle
When we start getting anxious, we all mount that bicycle. Some people will peddle slowly until the situation or issue comes to a natural end so they can brake and get off. These people have empty stress buckets and can control the bicycle. Other people mount that anxiety bicycle and start to peddle. They need to peddle and speed up. They may peddle so hard their muscles burn and ache. They may use the gears to speed up even more. Some people start to go so fast they get really scared. The wheels start to wobble and their fear of crashing becomes real and imminent. There are techniques we can use to change this cycle. The first step is to stop peddling so hard. By being aware of one’s thoughts and how negative, repetitive thoughts are powering our legs, we can immediately start to be aware it is us that is powering the bicycle. The second step, after becoming aware of our thoughts, is to stop peddling. The easiest and safest way of doing this is to focus on our breathing. Whatever technique works for you. I like the 7/11 technique mentioned earlier. Breathing in, counting to 7 whilst imagining cool calm air filling your lungs. Breathing out, counting to 11 and imagining all those fears, worries, pain and anxieties being expelled. Do this as many times as you like. Four or five times and already your natural body stress hormones will have started to return to normal. After a few cycles change to breathing in, counting to seven and imagining oxygen, positivity and control filling you. Exhale to 11, imagining all the poisons, carbon dioxides leaving your body. This natural focus of our thought on our breathing stops our negative repetitive thoughts. We have safely stopped peddling and our natural inertia means that our anxiety bicycle is now slowing down, without us having done very much at all. Now that the bicycle is travelling at a safer speed, we can
start to think about braking safely, at our own pace. There is no need to stop immediately, braking too hard can be scary and we don’t want to or need to risk flying over the handlebars. Think about which brakes are the right ones to start using first. The rear brakes are usually safer. This is the moment when you can start to look at your options because you are no longer thinking about the dangers. You can start to think about solutions. How can you see a situation differently? What can you do about it? Even the smallest potential solution means that brake is being applied. Now the rear brake is slowing your bicycle down at a pace that is right for you now. Even the smallest change in speed gives you confidence that your solution focused thoughts are helping you to brake. As your confidence builds, you have so much more control now, you can start to feel pleased with the actions you have taken. You are ready and can start to brake using the front brake as well. You can do this by looking at the situation you were in and see it from a completely different perspective. What did you do well this time? What was good about how you handled it? What can you do even better next time? Being kind to yourself, recognising improvements and being so much more positive means that your anxiety bicycle comes to a safe stop. You can climb off, knowing that you have done really well. Knowing that in future you do have the skills and abilities to control that anxiety bicycle. Maybe next time you won’t peddle so hard, maybe not at all. It’s your choice.
