Having a baby should be the most natural process a woman goes through, I’m not against medical supervision and assistance especially if there are complications but, we rely too heavily on drugs to get us through childbirth nowadays and many people opt for a ceasarean when there is no medical reason to do so. Hypnotherapy offers  assistance in giving birth in as naturally a way as possible, helping to alleviate any discomfort and allowing mother and baby to bond before the birth. Before the due date expectant mothers are taught how to relax and breath correctly throughout the stages of labour and when the final birth moment arrives. Mums are shown how to use self hypnosis which allows them to slip in and out as the need arises. The results are usally calmer happier babies and a more relaxed mum.

Getting to sleep before the magic hour of midnight eludes so many people and in the main this can be attributed to stress,  having lots on your mind and being unable to clear those thoughts. They can just be general thoughts about events in your life that have happened or events that are coming up so they aren’t necessarily always problems. Thinking about the story of turning into a frog at the stroke of midnight is enough to make me go to sleep, I would much rather be a princess and get my beauty sleep so I thought it might be a useful way of helping people to get to sleep. This is what to do……………….Imagine how life might be as a frog, see yourself as a frog like the King in the movie Shrek. I can’t imagine many people would want to live that way, then picture yourself as a beautiful princess or handsome prince and say (in your mind) if I get to sleep before midnight I will be a princess/prince and won’t turn into a frog, then, use relaxation techniques to help you relax your body, when you are as relaxed as you can be, visualise a clock with it’s hands just coming up to midnight,  now, imagine that on the stroke of midnight the clock chimes out  the words “sleep now”,  say the words in your head, and you fall into a deep and restful sleep, waking at your usual time refreshed and full of energy. If you do happen to turn into a frog – come and see me for the antidote!! Seriously, there are no guarantees, It is really up to you, do you want to change…………..? Because if you really do, you can. Providing there are no medical issues that might be the reason for lack of sleep you can change and get the sleep you need at night. So don’t turn into a frog – be that beautiful princess or handsome prince.

A positive state of mind is a wonderful thing if you have it but many people just can’t seem to find the ability to keep a positive mental attitude so they let negative thoughts dominate their thinking. The trouble is those people are wasting energy by worrying about things that haven’t even happened yet or looking at things with a doom and gloom type of attitude. So, what can be done? Can we make ourselves feel positive when we always look on the dark side? YES we can!!! We learnt how to be negative in the first place so therefore we can learn how to change that.
We are born as a blank canvass, there are some things we inherit through our genes but we start learning from the moment we are born and this shapes how we will behave in the future. I believe that in life we get back what we put out so if you want to be happy and find success in life it is important to remain positive. When negativity dominates our thoughts we keep it there by ‘feeding’ it so we need to find ways to stop the negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts. Something as simple as saying “STOP” in your mind every time you find yourself thinking in a negative way can help.
Of course there are times when that might be difficult but if you can try to see the positive side of situations, and there is usually something to be found, you will find the difficult times easier to deal with. Our environment has an impact on how we think too so avoiding negative people and situations can also help to maintain positivity.
Hypnotherapy, EFT and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy are just some of the methods that may help by reprogramming your way of thinking. These methods aren’t magic, there has to be an element of intent so wanting to change is important as you cannot be made to do anything you don’t want to but they are safe effective ways to help you get more positivity into your way of thinking thus improving your life.

There are so many people struggling with diets, or finding it difficult to quit smoking or maybe drinking alcohol and many other issues. I just wanted to write and say that the first thing to think about when starting out on any of these journeys is “Do I REALLY want to…………..” the problem is that many people say they want to do whatever it is that is holding them back but deep down inside there is often something that needs addressing before they can actually acheive their goal. Simply put some events in the past may have been ‘helped’ by using a particular thing such as eating or smoking to make you feel better but the subconscious mind remembers this then, whenever a similar feeling is experienced the subconscious will step in with a reminder for you to use the thing that it thinks is helping you.  So you can diet away and lose weight or indeed stop smoking but it may not be permanent unless you can adress the hidden causes that your subconscious mind thinks needs help. Hypnotherapy helps to reprogramme your way of thinking and there are many other different therapies out there which may help you. It is difficult to know which therapy to choose so I urge you to think carefully before splashing out loads of cash, speak to the therapist at length before booking an appointment, find out if they are registered and insured, ask lots of questions and then if you are happy book your appointment. This will be just the beginning of your journey but once you eliminate the cause you will be able to conquer those things that are holding you back.

I thought I’d write about my day to just let everyone know that I too have bad days. It started with my Husband getting stressed as he was going on a business trip and had a three hour drive which he wasn’t looking forward to. He was awaiting some documents before he could leave and this proved difficult so he ended up leaving late and feeling stressed. Then when I went out in my car I had a bit of an argument with a wooden post and it damaged my car quite badly. Today was not going well! I needed some things from the health food shop so I decided to go to Maldon and walk the dog on the prom at the same time. When I got to Maldon the Health food shop had closed down, when did that happen???? So feeling a little annoyed,  I just went to the prom. As I pulled into the car park it started raining, not a problem except my dog really hates the rain. I waited in the car for a while and when it stopped raining I walked the dog around the prom. She got very wet and muddy and before I could get out of the way she shook and my lovely cream parka was splattered with brown messy doggy smelling water – great! I wonder what tomorrow has in store! My husband hasn’t got back yet so he doesn’t know about the car, I might have to wait and see how his day went before I mention it! To me it’s just a car, to him, cars are works of art to be looked after and cherished – not driven into posts. Whoops!

Happy new year to each and everyone! Just because Christmas is over don’t forget there are people out there who may be vulnerable to the cold and may need some help during these cold winter months so, still check on neighbours and perhaps offer to do some shopping for them or just ask if they have all they need to keep them safe and warm. Some people don’t like to ask so they suffer in silence, just a couple of minutes of your time even for a chat can make a difference. I said last month that it can also be good for you, this is true as when we do good deeds for others it gives our own self esteem a boost which is not a bad thing, feeling good about yourself is important too, so go on get out there to help someone else and yourself too! 

Happy New Year!

So 2010 is coming to an end and many people are making those new year Resolutions, thinking about quitting this and changing that….. etc.,etc. Lots will succeed but unfortunately there are some who will not fare so well. Here are some tips which may help you reach your goals.
Firstly, Don’t put a label on it i.e just think about your new year resolution as “changes you want to make this year”
Secondly, give yourself realistic time frames, don’t pressurise yourself by trying to change something too fast.
Three, If you slip up, DO NOT beat yourself up, just learn from it and move on getting back on track. Lastly, if you find it too difficult – get some help, don’t go it alone.

Wishing you all sucess and good health for 2011.