Hypnotherapy can be really helpful for confidence.

We all have, somewhere inside us, thoughts and ideas of what we enjoy and what we are capable of. When these ideas become less accessible, often through stress, it can erode our confidence. When this happens, it can be really helpful to relax, to return to a state of calm, to reflect and remember times when we have felt confident.

What is confidence?

Confidence is a natural state of positive self-belief, which brings about many positive results and states. Confidence brings with it positive thoughts, as well as positive feelings, emotions and actions. It also gives us control. When we are confident we feel good and perform to the best of our abilities. Confidence can be blocked or subdued by stress, and sometimes needs nurturing, developing or releasing. This can be a very enjoyable, beneficial and exciting process.

​"Adam has helped me to get out of a life-long problem with self confidence. I respond differently now to challenges and problems - just get on and solve them, in a relaxed, calm way."

​"I thoroughly enjoyed every session, and the effect has lasted, and will continue to last."

What are the signs and benefits of confidence?

Confidence is a natural state which I believe has evolved to make us successful. When we are confident, we are brave. We cope brilliantly with all sorts of challenges. We relish challenge, and we end up wanting more. Our comfort zone expands. Our posture improves. Our immune system and our muscles become naturally strong.

When we are confident we achieve more of what we want. As our confidence grows it becomes easier to feel calm. And when we feel calm our confidence grows. This gives us control, and choice. And so it continues.

How does hypnotherapy help with confidence?

Hypnotherapy helps by calming down the natural stress responses that can get in the way. During the process we will talk about what it feels like to be confident, what it looks like, what it has been like when you have been confident, and what it will be like when you are. Hypnosis helps learning at a subconscious level, which makes it an easy, powerful and enjoyable process.

"Adam has helped me change some deep rooted thinking and given me the confidence to do the things I want to and believe in myself."

​"I come out of every session with my spirits lifted and knowing that it's ok to be me!! Fab! Thank you."

Hypnotherapy can be really helpful for anxiety and the good news is, while it can come on fast, anxiety can also go away. ​​Many of my clients see a marked improvement in the first week and feel much better after a short series of sessions. And the improvements are lasting.

"I can't believe what a difference it's made, and in such a short time."

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a natural response to perceived or imagined risk. It's part of our natural "Fight or Flight" response. Sometimes it's entirely appropriate and helps to focus our attention. However it can gradually increase, sometimes without us noticing, until it gets to a level which doesn't match what's actually happening.
​
​The fight or flight response is only ever trying to help, but part of its job is to assume the worst - so it can be really negative. The good news is there are really good things we can do about it. With the right support, recovery from anxiety can be really successful, and life-changing.

What are the symptoms of anxiety?

Anxiety can affect our thoughts, our feelings and our behaviours. The emotions include worry, dread and fear. The feelings include sensations such as tightness in the chest, dizziness or nausea. There are often physiological changes too, like shallow breathing and increased heart-rate. Our thinking can become clouded, it gets really hard to think straight, and the impact on our behaviour is usually to avoid things or get out of there, or feel like we're going to pass out completely. It can be really horrible and many people report feeling like they are going to die.

​Some people experience anxiety in relation to social situations or contact with other people. Others feel generally anxious. It can sometimes seem to be better or worse at certain times of day. The good news is - it doesn't need to be this way.

How does hypnotherapy help with anxiety?

Hypnotherapy helps by calming down the natural stress responses that lead to anxiety. We do this partly by talking - we generally start off by talking about the brain, how it does anxiety and what we can do about it. Conversations then move on to positive things, like things you enjoy, times when the anxiety wasn't there, and imagining what it will be like in the future, when it's gone.

Then we have hypnosis, which is also enormously helpful. Hypnosis helps us to relax our stress responses and to activate instead our natural states of calm relaxation. These are also known as 'rest and digest' and 'tend and befriend'. We all know how to do these. There are a number of techniques we can use, but generally it's more natural and straightforward than people might imagine. Overall it's a really easy and enjoyable process.

Hypnotherapy helps by calming down our natural fight or flight responses.

People come to see me for anger management or to help them not to feel so angry in the first place. Hypnotherapy can really help with anger because anger is a stress response, and hypnotherapy is really good for relieving stress - even stress that we didn't know we had.

What is anger and why am I getting angry?

In some situations anger is a very valid, appropriate and helpful emotional response. It enables us to stand our ground, stand up for what we think is right, and to assert ourselves. In more primitive times it would have enabled us to fight our enemies and to ward off dangerous animals.

Physiologically, anger can give us strength, determination and focus, at least in short bursts. In the longer term it can raise our blood pressure, lead to really unhelpful behaviours, and have detrimental effects on our health and happiness.

Symptoms of inappropriate anger can include:

• High blood pressure

• Mucle tension, pain and headaches

• Angry outbursts

• Relationship and communication issues

• Substance abuse

• Self-harm

• Feelings of guilt and low self-esteem

How can hypnotherapy help with anger?

Hypnotherapy helps by calming down our "fight or flight" stress responses, in particular, the fight. Anger is a natural, sometimes appropriate capability we all have. But like any instinctive survival response, it can get activated when it's not appropriate. This happens all the more when we are stressed. That's when hypnotherapy can be really helpful.

Through hypnosis, people who find themselves having angry outbursts, or just getting more heated than they know they need to, can often find more sensible ways of feeling and behaving. This is really good for their health, and for their interactions and relationships.

"I just seem to be responding much more calmly to things which might have triggered me before."

Improve your mood and energy with hypnotherapy.

​Whether overcoming low mood or motivation, or interrupting negative thoughts, hypnotherapy can help you get back to your old self, or an even better version.

Hypnotherapy can be really helpful for alleviating low mood, dark thoughts, low energy and a lack of motivation. People who have experienced a loss of interest in things, even things which they used to love doing, can find relief and a rekindling of interest through hypnotherapy.

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is a nice, easy and relaxing process, which is really helpful when our resources are down. It can take a little time to get positive energy and thoughts flowing, but going at the right speed and with the right support, people who have suffered with depression can and do get back to a full, fulfilling and happy life.

What is depression?

Depression is different for different people, but can have a very negative impact on people's lives, sometimes over a very long period of time. It can happen in very different contexts, and to very varying degrees. There are many different treatments that can help.

Symptoms of depression

Depression can have wide-ranging and complex mental and physical symptoms, and can impact people's social activities and  behaviour. Symptoms which hypnotherapy can help with include:

• Low mood

• Negative thoughts

• Loss of interest in activities and hobbies

• Lack of energy

• Sleep and tiredness

• Avoiding social contact or interaction

How can hypnotherapy help with depression?

Hypnotherapy helps by relaxing the natural protective responses often known as the fight/flight/freeze. Depression can be part of the 'freeze' response. With gentle support and a calm, measured approach, focusing on positives and gently taking focus off more negative things, Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help people build up their energy and enthusiasm and find their spark again.

"My wife is so happy to have her husband back."

Whether you want to enjoy driving, flying, looking forward to your holiday, or interacting confidently with needles, dogs, other animals, or anything else that terrifies you - hypnotherapy is here to help.

I first got in to hypnotherapy when a colleague of mine complained of not being able to fly. By coincidence someone had just taught me a phobia-curing technique, so I offered to try it. It worked a treat, and that's how I became a hypnotherapist!

Having initially stated that she "didn't fly" this person became full of confidence and on her next journey was helping other passengers onto the plane. It was quite amazing. But most excitingly, it made her wonder what else in her life she could achieve that she hadn't considered yet.

What is a fear and what's a phobia?

Fears and phobias are a little different although both take energy and get in the way of people achieving what they want. Both are essentially a survival response, designed to help us avoid danger.

Phobias are often defined as a fear response having significant symptoms which interrupt life on a daily basis. A phobic response can be quite extreme and really unpleasant, with significant consequences.

A phobia can be general e.g. social phobias or agoraphobia, which can apply in lots of different places or situations. Emetophobia can be felt in relation to different aspects of being sick, or other people being sick. Some phobias can be more specific, like a fear of flying, or of dogs, although even these can have very particular different aspects for different people. A flying phobia is sometimes about control, but sometimes about enclosed spaces. Some people are extremely specific with their fears, which is quite clever really! A fear of perfectly round objects is as ingenious as it is unhelpful.

Some people get really good at it, because it's a learning process! Which is good news, because all types of fear can be effectively unlearned, provided people are willing to open their minds and look forward to life without the fear. Hypnotherapy really helps with this.

"I had a terrible fear of spiders, and now handle them calmly and with compassion, whenever I need to."

What are the symptoms of a phobia?

A phobia can be defined as extreme aversion to something which interferes with daily life and persists for a long time. Symptoms can include:

• Extreme panic

• Avoidance

• Nervousness and anxiety in anticipation of events or encounters

• Nausea and sickness

Unhelpfully, emetophobia seems to quite often lead to the sufferer feeling sick. Some phobias are surprisingly common. 1 in 6 people have an animal phobia. 1 in 7 have a fear of flying. I'm working on it! These people often say (or their partners might), "It's silly" or "It's ridiculous!" - that doesn't help. Hypnotherapy does.

"I achieved my goal of travelling on a succession of buses and planes, with no sickness, nothing!"

How can hypnotherapy help with phobias?

A life that's free from inappropriate fear is achievable, and providing general stress levels can be brought under control, it doesn't need to take very long. Hypnotherapy can help with spiders, dogs, needles, health anxieties, seaweed ... The list is endless, but so are the possibilities, once the fear is gone.

Specific phobias can be effectively and permanently addressed, often in four sessions. Done properly, it can be a permanent and very positive change. It's not unusual to hear people say:

"I wish I'd done this earlier. It's amazing. Freedom!!"

How to Achieve Calm in Extraordinary Circumstances:

It is not the events in life that cause stress. It is only our response to them. It's easy to say. But it's important to accept. And the good news is, we can do something about stress. There are things we can control.

"I can't believe what a difference it's made, and in such a short time."

What is Stress?

Stress is a natural response to perceived or imagined risk. It's part of our natural "Fight or Flight" response. Sometimes it's entirely appropriate and helps to focus our attention. However it can gradually increase, sometimes without us noticing, until it gets to a level which doesn't match what's actually happening.
​
​The fight or flight response is only ever trying to help, but part of its job is to assume the worst - so it can be really negative, and unhealthy, physically and mentally. The good news is there are really good things we can do about it. With the right approach, managing stress can be really successful, and life-changing.

What are the symptoms of Stress?

Stress can affect our thoughts, our feelings, our behaviours and our physical health. The emotions include worry, dread and fear. The feelings include sensations such as tightness in the chest, dizziness or nausea. There are often physiological changes too, like reduced immune-system functioning, shallow breathing and increased heart-rate. Our thinking can become clouded, it gets really hard to think straight, and the impact on our behaviour is usually to avoid things or lose interest and energy. The good news is, it doesn't need to be this way.

How does hypnotherapy help with stress?

Hypnotherapy helps by calming down the natural stress responses. We do this partly by talking - we generally start off by talking about the brain, how it does anxiety and what we can do about it. Conversations then move on to positive things, like things you enjoy, times when the anxiety wasn't there, and imagining what it will be like in the future, when it's gone.

Then we have Hypnosis, which is also enormously helpful. Hypnosis helps us to relax our stress responses and to activate instead our natural states of calm relaxation. These are also known as 'rest and digest' and 'tend and befriend'. We all know how to do these. There are a number of techniques we can use, but generally it's more natural and straightforward than people might imagine. Overall it's a really easy and enjoyable process.

"I haven't felt like this for a very long time. If ever.”

Pretty much everyone I see has issues with their sleep, even if it's not the main reason they've come to see me. The good news is it's very often one of the first things to improve.

Many people return after the first week and report having slept better. A very common and wonderful thing I hear is:

"I haven't slept this well for a very long time"

It can happen, and it does.

What is insomnia and why am I not sleeping?

One of the first things to suffer when we are stressed is our sleep. Our perception is also affected and many people sleep better than they think they do. It turns out that worrying about sleep is worse than not sleeping - people who worry about being tired in the morning feel more tired, even if they have slept well. So sometimes sleep problems are ... in our heads … which is a good thing, because we can do something about that.

Naturally, when we are worried it can make it hard to sleep. Sometimes the stress is unconscious and we can't understand why we are not sleeping. This is why hypnosis can be really helpful. We don't need to know what the stress is - we can still get rid of it.

What are the symptoms?

95% of my clients report having significant issues with their sleep. A very typical pattern is waking up between 2 and 4 am, and not being able to get back to sleep, and perhaps worrying, and feeling quite miserable.

Some people have trouble getting off to sleep because their mind is racing. Others feel groggy in the mornings. People with chronic insomnia can feel like they frequently lie awake for most or all of the night and don't sleep at all. Hypnotherapy can help.

BOOK IN NOW

How does hypnotherapy help with sleep?

I usually give clients a relaxation audio session to play at home when it's time to go to sleep. This is designed to help them get into a better sleep zone, and can really help to get their sleep patterns back under control.

​It turns out that positive thinking and positive expectations are both really good for sleep, and even people who aren't sleeping feel better if they don't worry about it. Hypnosis can help us achieve the benefits of sleep and to wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the day.