22/09/2009 by Cathy.

The latest studies indicate a reduction of up to 26% per year in heart attack rates resulting in smoking bans in public places. This is much more than was anticipated.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8267523.stm

Most smokers (and I was one for a long time) don’t really want to look at articles like this and can easily feel ‘picked on’ by the rest of the world about their smoking. However most also know, really, that it is hugely damaging to smoke - quite aware of the risks they are taking with their own lives.

So why is this? How can we carry on doing something that we know is so harmful and justify it with “I enjoy it” or “it helps me relax”.?  What if you “enjoy” salmon sandwiches but have a fish allergy, would you continue to eat salmon purely because you enjoy it? Probably not. So what is different about smoking? Why can’t we easily quit smoking?

Nicotine has tricked your mind! Over time our minds have started to associate cigarettes with the relief of stress, with the relief of that feeling that we may call withdrawal, which is the feeling caused as nicotine from the previous cigarette starts to leave the body. Your mind has also generalised this feeling - and by that I mean that it starts to think that nicotine can help relieve other similar feelings like fear, anxiety, stress, etc…. This is one big con! If you are stressed by something, then all the nicotine does is temporarily relieve the part of that feeling that was caused by the cigarette in the first place! The rest of the worry is still there.

The crazy thing is that the cigarette causes stress in the first place. Every time you have one, it is like injecting pure adrenalin, the stress hormone. Your body is constantly living with higher than normal levels of the stress hormone, caused by smoking. No wonder we feel anxious and on edge so much of the time. However, in the back of our minds (the unconscious part of your mind), you only think that the cigarette relieves the stress, and therefore the unconscious part of your mind will continue to motivate you to smoke.

All we are doing when we say “I  enjoy it” or “It helps me through difficult times” is coming up with a consicous justification of our unconsciously driven behaviour  - which is entirely natural.

So, how on earth can we get out of this cycle? This is where hypnotherapy comes in. It is a way of accessing the unconscious part of your mind to re-train it, so that it no longer motivates you to smoke. Without that deep down motivation it become so easy to stop smoking. The niggling feelings you get in the couple of days afterwards will be so small that they can easily be beaten, and after that… Freedom for Good and a new life of better health!!!

http://www.hampsteadsmokingclinic.com

http://www.cathysimmons.co.uk

Posted in Stopping Smoking, General Ramblings | Print | 1 Comment »

14/09/2009 by Cathy.

Otherwise known as genuphobia, this fear of knees has been in the papers today.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/03/13/the-woman-who-is-so-scared-of-knees-she-s-lost-friends-and-can-t-go-swimming-115875-21195732/

Sadly, these stories only get into the papers because they are ‘a bit strange’ and we seem to love to read about other people’s disadvantages. The truth is that so many of us live with fears that we might not want to admit to, and which effect the way we go about our lives. Whether it involves flying, heights, spiders or fear of public speaking which are the better known and somehow (strangely) more socially acceptable phobias, or something more obscure such as knees, particular foods or even a particular tone of voice, there is hope.

Consciously, we know that our fears may be irrational. We can reason with ourselves and know that we shouldn’t be afraid - how many times have you heard “pull yourself together”, or “don’t be silly, it’s perfectly safe”. So, why can’t we pull ourselves together?

The answer lies with the unconscious part of your mind, the part that runs ’on automatic’. This is the part of your mind that allows you to drive without constantly thinking about what you are doing with the pedals and the gear stick.  It is the part that makes us run away from a dangerous wild animal without consciously having to think about it. The unconsious part of your mind is designed to keep you away from danger and motivate you towards pleasure, and the only way it can do this is by learning from the minute you are born.

Sometimes, as part of that learning, incorrect associations can be made. Your unconscious mind can truly ‘believe’ that there is something about knees that is dangerous, because it has somehow learned this in the past. But because it is unconscious, you find yourself automatically reacting before you are consciously aware of it, and without consciously having any idea of why!

This is where hypnotherapy comes in. Hypnotherapy can give access to the unconscious part of your mind, in order to understand where that association came from and gently correct it. There is hope in a technique that does not rely on de-sensitisation, does not rely on forcing someone into overexposure to the very thing they fear. This is a gentle and lasting approach to becoming free of our irrational fears for good.

If I can help in any way, please feel free to contact me on 07792312465 or cathy@cathysimmons.co.uk

Posted in General Ramblings | Print | 1 Comment »

12/09/2009 by Cathy.

Recent research undertaken at King’s College, London found that children with lower self-esteem tend to gain weight as they grow up and be larger as adults.

They talk about how early intervention, in childhood, is key and quote Dr Ian Campbell of the charity Weight Concern as saying “Many of the adults we work with have identifiable underlying emotional and self esteem issues and are often resistant to treatment.”

See the BBC article here

However, it is possible to identify these factors at any age, with the gentle use of hypnotherapy, and to undo the effects of childhood low self-esteem, installing a new confidence and realisation of self-worth. This is itself can make a significant difference to a person’s relationship with food and, together with a new approach to eating (involving NO dieting!!) can be the start of the permanent weight loss they are looking for.

http://www.cathysimmons.co.uk

07792 312 465

Posted in Weight Loss, General Ramblings | Print | 1 Comment »