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Pre Natal Hypnosis

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Ruth Culver

The news is out that the Duchess of Cambridge is already using hypnotherapy to help her with her pregnancy, so hypnobirthing looks very likely.

And a major London hospital is currently doing hypno birthing trials. There’s a short video about it here – ITV piece on hypno birthing trial

Millions of women use natural hypnosis successfully every year to help with conception, pregnancy and birth. Its a simple truth that stress makes us less healthy (and so less likely to conceive) and also more tense and sensitive to pain, meaning a more difficult birth.

So hypnosis makes sense, both for you, and for the environment that your baby is growing inside.

Posted in hypno birthing, Hypnosis, Self Hypnosis

National Bed Month – Insomnia is a Good Thing

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Ruth Culver

March is National Bed Month and so a great time to talk about insomnia. Insomnia is one of the most common symptoms in the UK, yet it is often misunderstood and inadequately treated.

As someone who suffered from chronic insomnia for over a decade, I know how exhausting, debilitating and frustrating it can be. I tried so many things to help myself, but none of them worked – leading to more frustration and eventually despair.

But the good news is that it doesn’t have to last. I now sleep wonderfully well – and the change was almost instant, once I found the key. For me it was understanding the science of how the brain works – how I was successfully keeping myself awake night after night – in combination with self-hypnosis that re-trained my brain to do the opposite. And when I did that, so many other things improved, and my health overall has been transformed.

So I’m going to stick my neck out and say insomnia is Good Thing. Sleep is natural. Its when the body rests and repairs itself. If you’re not sleeping, there’s something wrong – insomnia is a symptom, not a cause.

My body was trying to tell me something – I just wish I’d discovered earlier that I did actually have the power to do something about it.

Posted in insomnia, sleep

Becky James tames her Inner Chimp

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Ruth Culver

: patries71 / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

What a lovely interview with Becky James on BBC Radio 4 this morning. Fresh from becoming the first British rider ever to win 4 medals at the World Cycling Championships (including 2 golds) she happily thanked the team’s sports psychologist Dr Steve Peters for helping her tame her ‘inner chimp’.

With every top sportsperson routinely given psychological training, so why is it taking so long for the performing world to catch up? I work with a lot singers, actors and musicians, many at the highest level, and am amazed that their coaches and teachers are not yet integrating these scientifically proven techniques as essential basic training.

One day, not only our conservatoires and acting schools, but also our regular schools at both primary and secondary level, will be teaching young people the power we all have at our disposal to achieve more, and avoid unnecessary pain and distress.

Of course what Becky James and her fellow elite athletes are actually doing is a type of self hypnosis. They may use different words to describe it, but she will be trained to enter a trance when competing, to keep her focused on what she can and will do, and prevent herself from listening to the doubts and fears that inevitably arise in the human mind.

Dr Peters has kindly published the book that all Team GB athletes must read. You can buy it at a discounted rate with free P&P from Waterstones online (a company that I understand does pay UK tax, unlike Amazon) – The Chimp Paradox.

Posted in Self Hypnosis, Sports Psychology

Hypnotist or Hypnotherapist?

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Ruth Culver

Today’s afternoon play on Radio 4 “The Benefit of Time” by Terri-Ann Brumby was a charming comedy about a woman whose dull life is transformed through visiting a hypnotist, with whom she “discovers” an exciting past life… as Anne Boleyn.

I’m sure most people have already made up their minds about past lives, so I’m not going to argue my opinion here. Suffice to say that as a hypnotherapist I always work with present lives – not least becuase it’s the only one you can do anything about!

But the play brought up a couple of common confusions that can get in the way:

1. What’s the difference between a hypnotist and a hypnotherapist?
Both use hypnosis (ie putting someone into a trance) however a hypnotherapist uses it for therapeutic reasons (ie sorting out problems) while a hypnotist might use it for entertainment purposes, like a stage show.

2. Will I remember afterwards what happened?
In the play, Debbie had to listen to a tape to find out what she said while under hypnosis – she apparently lost consciousness completely. In reality people are still concious when hypnotised – it’s just different from normal consciousness. Some things feel more present and other things more distant. It’s quite like the relaxed, slightly dislocated feeling you get when you’re just waking up. You’re still in control of what you say and do.

Any other questions? Drop me a line.

Its a fun play, so I won’t spoil the ending for you, but all is not as it seems…

Posted in Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy

Problems with Anger?

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Ruth Culver

Anger is a very common problem and plenty of people come to me for help dealing with anger.

Usually it’s having wide-spread effects on their lives – making them unhappy, increasing their stress and damaging relationships and effectiveness both at home and at work.

So what to do about anger? Well one remarkably simple way is to use the “fly on the wall” technique (or “third person” as its often called in NLP). This simply involves imagining that you’re watching the situation from a distance. It’s a really useful quick fix – try it!

Here’s a link to a neat piece about recent studies on anger using the “fly on the wall” technique.

NB this is a cognitive technique – ie you need to use your conscious, thinking mind to make it happen. Some people find this is all they need to reduce the heat – by using it repeatedly they gradually change the way they react and stop getting so angry. If that’s not you, then some hypnotherapy might well be useful to deal with the underlying causes of your anger.

Posted in Uncategorized

Scientific Evidence for Hypnosis

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Ruth Culver

Scientists now agree that brain scans show changes during hypnosis – for example children with cancer have been show to be more able to deal with the pain of lumbar punctures when using self-hypnosis.

John Gruzelier, Imperial College London says of hypnosis: “We have a magnificent therapeutic tool which has been ignored because there is no evidence of the mechanism involved. Now we are getting evidence of the mechanism and we now hope people will take it more seriously and develop its effects on cancer and the immune system, pain analgesia and so on.”

Tests on hypnotised volunteers at the University of Wales suggested that a region of the brain that checks imagination against reality (called the anterior cingulated cortex) is altered during hypnosis, allowing experts to confirm that hypnosis creates an altered state of consciousness.

Peter Naish of The Open University says: “The evidence really, really is there. There are other areas where it will probably come soon. Hypnosis is not miraculous. It is for real. Something is going on. The brain is doing quite different things during hypnosis from what it does in ordinary everyday existence”.

Posted in Hypnosis, Research

Hypnosis for Pain Relief – BBC1

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Ruth Culver

Here’s a great video from BBC’s The One Show, with Michael Moseley learning to feel no pain with hypnosis.

Posted in Hypnosis, Pain relief

Hypnotherapy Awareness Week 2012

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Ruth Culver

SPECIAL OFFER – 25% discount

National Hypnotherapy Awareness Week takes place from 22nd – 30th May. To celebrate and help raise awareness, North London Hypnotherapy is offering 4 hours of hypnotherapy for the price of 3 on sessions booked between 22nd May and 22nd June.

The advent of FMRI scans means there is now plenty of scientific research providing sound evidence for the effectiveness of hypnosis. Hypnotherapy is increasingly suggested by NHS doctors and is recommended in the NICE guidelines for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

These days most people you meet will know somebody who has quit smoking using hypnosis. The list of other issues helped by hypnotherapy includes migraines, anxiety and phobias as well as eating problems and chronic pain.

Offer details – £60 discount valid when booking two 2-hour sessions: usual price £120 per 2-hour session reduced to £90. Valid for new clients only.

Posted in Hypnotherapy, Offers

What qualifications should a hypnotherapist have?

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Ruth Culver

The UK currently has no legislation relating to the training or registration of hypnotherapists.

There are a number of professional associations that hypnotherapists can pay a fee to belong to. However, not all choose to do so. These bodies range from those with only the most basic eligibility requirements to some with the highest standards and codes of ethics.

So how should you decide who to trust?

– get a personal recommendation if possible

– find out whether they trained with a recognised school (preferably one that has pass/fail exams, not a diploma simply for attending)

– ask how long they have been practising, and if they adhere to a professional code of practice, eg through a recognised professional association (more info here)

The most important thing to do is check their training. Some people claim to be professional therapists when they have only done a correspondence course! In contrast, the school that trained me (Hypnotherapy Training Institute of Britain – one of only 3 hypnotherapy schools approved by the Insitute for Comementary and Natural Medicine) sets the highest standards in the UK, including exams and clinical assessments that students can – and do – fail.

It may be reassuring that to my knowledge no hypnotherapist has been prosecuted for damaging anyone through hypnosis (though there are, sadly, a few cases of sexual offenders using therapy to prey on vulnerable women). That said, any therapist should have Professional Indemnity Insurance as a matter of good practice.

Finally, go with your instinct. Have a chat on the phone with anyone you are considering visiting. If you don’t feel comfortable, find someone else. There are plenty of good ones around!

PS this is fascinating – the Director of the school that trained me having abdominal surgery using only his own hypno-anaesthesia!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sClE-xm-P8A

Posted in Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, legistlation

Secret manifestations

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Ruth Culver

Its very common for people to report feeling ‘lighter’ after a hypnotherapy session, so I was interested to read new research that demonstrates that psychological burdens are manifested physically.

Researchers conducted four experiments that showed people harbouring secrets like infidelity or sexual orientation are physically encumbered. They estimated hills to be steeper, shopping heavier and distances to be further.

They concluded that “the more burdensome the secret and the more thought devoted to it, the more perception and action were influenced in a manner similar to carrying physical weight”.

This research adds to the growing body demonstrating the mind-body link – an emerging field with the mouthful name of psychoneuroimmunology. Indeed the researchers warned: “We suggest that concealment…leads to greater physical burden and perhaps eventually physical overexertion, exhaustion, and stress”.

(Slepian, M., Masicampo, E., Toosi, N., and Ambady, N. (2012). The Physical Burdens of Secrecy. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0027598) http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/secrets-leave-us-physically-encumbered.html

Posted in Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, Research