NEWS/ARTICLES

THIS IS AN ARTICLE WRITTEN BY A CLIENT OF MINE WHO WORKS FOR ‘THE MIDWEEK HERALD’ NEWSPAPER – DEVON 

Is there a child tugging at your leg?

I had wanted to give up smoking for a long time and had tried a few times purely with will power and I had got to a few weeks and failed. My biggest problem was if I had a night out and a few drinks, I would always cave in. When I saw Karen Taylor’s advert for hypnotherapy, I thought I would give it a go.

In the weeks leading up to the appointment, I felt a little apprehensive as I did not know what to expect. I did not want to feel out of control. Karen assured me that I would be aware of what was going on the whole time.

When I arrived at Karen’s, she showed me into the room where the hypnotherapy would take place and showed me to an arm chair. She then went through what was going to happen in the session and how the hypnotherapy would work. Karen explained about how our minds work with regards to an addiction like nicotine. One of the main things I took away from the session was nicotine is a like a small child that is tugging on your leg and the more you give in to the child the more the child is going to keep on.

 Karen then asked if I would lie on the couch and she played some calming music and carried on talking to me. I was aware of what was going on, but it was a feeling that is hard to describe. I was obviously in a very light sleep as I could hear Karen and the music, but every now and then I would jolt myself as though I was asleep. When she counted me back down and into the room, I felt totally relaxed and I can honestly say that from that session I have only had one moment where I wanted a cigarette which was the same evening as the session when I was out having a few drinks with friends. I thought of the young child tugging at my leg and did not have a cigarette!

Karen gave me a CD which I had to listen to for two weeks after the session before I went to sleep, which just reiterated what she said in the session, along with the calming music. I have not had a cigarette now for over a year, and I don’t feel that I want one either, not even when I have had a lot of stress. I’m glad I have finally kicked a dangerous habit.

 Claire P.

Research into Hypnotherapy is continuous.

The following website helps to keep this information up to date.
www.ukhypnosis.com/Research.htm#Anxiety

CELEBS WHO HAVE QUIT SMOKING WITH HYPNOTHERAPY
Ewan Mcgregor – Actor

Angels & Demons star Ewan McGregor feared an early death as he is the father of two lovely kids. That fear prompted him to give up drinking alcohol and smoking. He admitted to Men’s Health that the thought of explaining to his kids that dad was dying because he abused his body made him give up his vices for good. “I wasn’t someone who could smoke or drink in moderation, and I recognized that those things would kill me. I started visualizing the doctor telling me that I had cancer from smoking or that I was extremely ill because of how much I’d been drinking. What kind of regret would I have if I had to tell my children or my wife that I was dying because of something I could have done something about? I didn’t want to be that kind of man,” he told the magazine. He added that the desire to quit outweighs whatever method you choose. “What matters most with any regimen, whether it’s to lose weight or stop drinking or smoking, is your willingness to seek help and your desire to say ‘no more.’ The voice in your head that says ‘I choose not to’ is what ultimately makes the difference between not changing and making changes that last,” he concluded.

Drew Barrymore – Actress and Film Producer

Accomplished movie producer and actress, Drew Barrymore, was notorious for her history of drug and alcohol abuse. She was reported to have started smoking at the tender age of 10, describing herself as a “smokeaholic.” Like other celebrities, she turned to hypnosis to successfully end the addiction to nicotine. Her decision to quit was prompted by the realization of the adverse effects of smoking on her mind and overall health.

Brad Pitt – Actor

Back in 1994, tabloids reported that Brad Pitt quit smoking for a muscular frame for the epic Troy. That was not for the long term as he resumed after shooting packed up. Only gorgeous partner, Angelina Jolie, encouraged Brad to kick the habit for good. The father of six children testified to W magazine that becoming a father inspired him to quit smoking cigarettes: “In the late ’90s, I was something of a slacker, spending too much time smoking things I shouldn’t be,” Pitt recalled. “I was asking, ‘What’s it about?’ It couldn’t just be wanting a successful movie or something. Then I got more engaged, started studying more, and [my] interests blossomed.” “I’m scared to death of death,” he said, and he also acknowledged that becoming a father inspired him to give up a deadly 20-year habit. “I quit smoking,” he said when asked how family life has changed him. “That was the only thing that got me to quit. That was it. Done.”

Others are:
Jennifer Aniston- Actress
Matt Damon – Actor
Charlize Theron – Actress
Catherine Zeta-Jones – Actress

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy: What to expect

a) Time spent discussing problem formation to be limited to understanding the difference between operating in problem formation mode and solution formation mode.
b) The formation or origin of a problem to be explained in terms of how the brain works. The influence of thinking styles will be discussed.
c) The therapist presumes you have inner strengths, potential, resources, creativity and life skills which you are not yet utilising.
d) Hypnotherapy is used in every session to lower anxiety, help you into solution focused mode and create the changes you identify at subconscious level with greater ease and rapidity. A CD is usually provided for use at home.
e) In second and subsequent sessions the therapist will ask you what has been different, what has been better even in very small ways and what might other people have noticed.
f) Creativity is increased and positive happy memories are accessed spontaneously and far more often.
g) Playfulness, lightness, laughter and creativity to be present.
h) Therapy is non-judgemental, encourages mindfulness and is respectful of your own wisdom.
j) Homework experiments are suggested by therapist with clients being invited to add their own. If a client wishes to substitute their own homework experiment for the one suggested that is welcomed.
k) NLP techniques will be used by most therapists in some circumstances particularly where phobic or compulsive responses are present.