LOSE BELLY FAT WITH HYPNOSIS

    If you are carrying extra weight through the midsection and dieting doesn't seem to work, it may help to understand why it's been so hard to lose your belly fat.  Though certainly chronic overeating or lack of exercise causes for an enlarged midsection, the underlying problem may be caused by stress and anxiety. Hypnosis can help with motivation for eating control, to help you exercise regularly and to deal with the stress in your life.

     Stress affects you not only mentally and emotionally but physically as well.  When a person is stressed, chemicals are released by the brain to the adrenal glands.  The adrenals then create their own chemicals including the key adrenal problem behind belly fat, the steroid, cortisol.

     Cortisol increases appetite and keeps blood sugar levels and insulin high which causes the storage of excess blood sugars as fat in the belly.  Unfortunately, diet changes alone do not affect belly fat and often frustrate a dieter when weight loss occurs but the belly still bulges.  In fact, in many cases, fixation on diet may actually increase stress producing even more cortisol and more belly fat.

     So how do you get out of this circle of frustration?  Certainly continuing to eat healthy foods in moderate portions and moving regularly should be part of your plan to lose belly fat.  Hypnosis and self-hypnosis can also be tools to help with those goals.

     Research suggests using Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin C.  Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines and trout, walnuts and flax.  Supplementation can also be done with omega-3 fish oil supplements.  Be aware that fish oil has a blood thinner action.  So check with your doctor before using the supplement especially if you already take blood thinners.

    In addition, eat vitamin C rich foods which can help with stress and belly fat.  Studies have shown that adrenal glands register vitamin C deficiency as a stress problem and increase cortisol output.  Fruits such as peaches, oranges and strawberries are excellent sources of vitamin C.  Vegetables including sweet red pepper, broccoli, tomatoes and cauliflower also are rich sources of vitamin C.  Supplementing with Vitamin C is also an easy option especially if you are not good about eating your fruits and vegetables.

 But when you are eating right and moving more, what else can you do? Hypnosis and self-hypnosis can be valuable in dealing with the underlying problem of stress.  Hypnosis can help you create new tools to motivate you to build better self-care and to deal with the stress in your life by learning to control anxiety and trigger relaxation. Learn more about how to control stress and anxiety including the use of self-hypnosis scripts to record in THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX available on Amazon in eBook or paperback. Lose that belly fat by making healthy changes and stopping the cycle of stress, cortisol production and belly fat.  Feel better, look good and BE WELL.  

HYPNOSIS FOR LACK OF SLEEP AND OBESITY

When THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX was published in November of 2021, I asked followers what the next TOOLBOX book should be about. Phobias, self-esteem, weight loss were common suggestions. But the number one issue that people suggested was sleep disorders. Common complaints mentioned insomnia, sleep apnea, jet lag and restless leg syndrome. Did you know there are over 100 different sleep disorders that are keeping many of us awake?

So while I am writing THE SLEEP DISORDER TOOLBOX, I will occasionally post a blog on how lack of sleep is affecting our lives. Today’s post reflects how a sleep disorder can affect your waist line.

  According to a study of 1,615 adults by researchers at the University of Leeds, UK published in PLOS ONE,  lack of sleep puts you at greater risk for obesity.  The researchers found that not getting enough sleep was also associated with reduced levels of the "good" cholesterol, HDL, which can help protect you from heart disease.  It's good to know hypnosis can be a valuable tool in dealing with lack of sleep and insomnia.

    If your waist size is expanding, look at your sleep habits.  The study's researchers compared the amount of sleep with waist measurements.  The findings indicated people who slept on average six hours per night had measurements 1.2 inches greater than those who slept nine hours per night.

   If you are struggling with not getting enough sleep or an expanding waistline, call a hypnotherapist to help you sleep better and longer and lose inches around your waist.  Use hypnotherapy to BE WELL.

Medical Uses for Hypnotherapy

Hypnosis is well-accepted in the medical community. Many highly regarded hospitals and medical centers have hypnotherapy departments. The Mayo and Cleveland Clinics have web sites where you can learn more about hypnosis, hypnotherapy and their programs for pain control, hot flashes, cancer treatment side effects, behavior changes such as insomnia, overeating, bed-wetting and smoking and mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress, phobias and anxiety.

HYPNOSIS CAN HELP YOUR SHYNESS OR SOCIAL PHOBIA

   Do you struggle with making friends?  Do you have a hard time in maintaining friendships? Do you identify yourself as being shy?  Do you work from home and rarely interact with other people in person?  How isolated are you?  Hypnosis can help you to come out of the house and out of your shell.

    There are a number of reasons people struggle with shyness.  People perceive their world and place in it in different ways.  Researchers have found that even babies have different temperaments.  Some infants reach out to be held while others cry or crawl away.  Some preschoolers race into the school and never look back.  While others have great difficulty leaving their parents.

    Your basic temperament will determine your need for social contact.  Our lifestyles also can make it difficult to make and maintain friendships.  Some jobs require constant moves with demands for learning new skills and setting up a new home.  There is little time or energy for making new friends.  As people move and old friends also move, even close friendships may be hard to maintain. Isolation can become so familiar, people may no longer even make the effort to try to meet new people.  

     For many people, the combination of natural shyness and particular circumstance can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness.  Studies have shown that this isolation from others can lead to a predisposition to illness.

       Social phobia is an anxiety disorder which may be described as extreme shyness. Psychologist Richard Heimberg defined social phobia s "shyness gone wild.  It cuts people off from the good things of life - social interaction, love."

  If you recognize yourself in this description, know that hypnosis can be a valuable tool to help you overcome the fears and anxieties that keep you from developing and maintaining friendships and enjoying social interaction with others. You can also learn self-hypnosis in my book, THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX. You can even make your own-self-hypnosis recordings on your cell phone which you can listen to while relaxing. THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX is available on AMAZON on eBook or paperback.

HYPNOSIS FOR ANXIETY AND TO LESSEN DEMENTIA RISK

   If you experience high anxiety regularly, you have a higher risk of developing dementia.  Andrew J. Petkus, a PhD research associate at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, reported on a 28 year study of people who reported experiencing high anxiety.  Those people were found to have a 48% higher risk of developing dementia than those who reported low levels of anxiety.

    The researchers noted that chronic anxiety is a precursor to higher levels of stress hormones.  In turn, those hormones can damage the parts of the brain involved with memory.  If you suffer from chronic anxiety, get help.  Your first step is to talk to your doctor about the right treatment for you which may include psychotherapy, anti-anxiety medications or alternative therapies such as acupuncture and herbal treatments.

    Hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool to treat chronic anxiety either as a stand-alone treatment or as an adjunct therapy to medication or psychotherapy. Self-hypnosis can also be useful in dealing with anxiety. I released THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX by Jennifer Johnson on Amazon in November 2020 which includes self-hypnosis scripts you can read and make your own recordings to lessen your anxiety and dementia risk.

RELIEVE ANXIETY AND REDUCE STROKE RISK WITH HYPNOSIS

   Anxiety is not only uncomfortable for a person suffering its symptoms.  It also can cause significant health risks  According to the National Comorbidity Survey as many as one in four of the men and women in the United States may experience an anxiety disorder ranging from a phobia to panic attacks to long-term chronic anxiety such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

    Most people have a general awareness of symptoms of anxiety disorders which may include over-whelming fear, avoidance of certain places or situations, worry about situations, avoidance of situations, having sleep problems in falling or staying asleep and fear of losing control.  It's good to know that early recognition and treatment including hypnosis can prevent much suffering from anxiety.

   Research in an over 22-year study of 6,000 adults reported by Maya Lambiase, PhD,  and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, indicates that people with high levels of anxiety were 33% more likely to have strokes than those with low levels. It is believed that anxiety caused higher levels of stress hormones, elevated heart rate and high blood pressure.  In addition, smoking and physical inactivity which were identified as anxiety-related behaviors may have raised the risk for strokes.

   The good news is that there are treatments which can help including medications and cognitive-behavioral therapy.  Self-help techniques such as breathing exercises, avoiding caffeine and quitting smoking can also be of value.  In my own hypnotherapy practice, I often worked on referral from psychotherapists for anxiety.  As an adjunct to the therapists own work, I did one to a few sessions of hypnotherapy to reinforce their work and support the self-help techniques.  

    With treatment from physicians, cognitive-behavioral therapists and hypnotherapists, anxiety can be relieved and your health risk of strokes caused by anxiety can be eliminated.  Get the help you need.  Hypnosis can help you to feel better and BE WELL. 

LOSE BELLY FAT WITH HYPNOSIS

    If you are carrying extra weight through the midsection and dieting doesn't seem to work, it may help to understand why it's been so hard to lose your belly fat.  Though certainly chronic overeating or lack of exercise causes for an enlarged midsection, the underlying problem may be caused by stress and anxiety. Hypnosis can help with motivation for eating control, to help you exercise regularly and to deal with the stress in your life.

     Stress affects you not only mentally and emotionally but physically as well.  When a person is stressed, chemicals are released by the brain to the adrenal glands.  The adrenals then create their own chemicals including the key adrenal problem behind belly fat, the steroid, cortisol.

     Cortisol increases appetite and keeps blood sugar levels and insulin high which causes the storage of excess blood sugars as fat in the belly.  Unfortunately, diet changes alone do not affect belly fat and often frustrate a dieter when weight loss occurs but the belly still bulges.  In fact, in many cases, fixation on diet may actually increase stress producing even more cortisol and more belly fat.

     So how do you get out of this circle of frustration?  Certainly continuing to eat healthy foods in moderate portions and moving regularly should be part of your plan to lose belly fat.  Hypnosis and self-hypnosis can also be tools to help with those goals.

     Research suggests using Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin C.  Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines and trout, walnuts and flax.  Supplementation can also be done with omega-3 fish oil supplements.  Be aware that fish oil has a blood thinner action.  So check with your doctor before using the supplement especially if you already take blood thinners.

    In addition, eat vitamin C rich foods which can help with stress and belly fat.  Studies have shown that adrenal glands register vitamin C deficiency as a stress problem and increase cortisol output.  Fruits such as peaches, oranges and strawberries are excellent sources of vitamin C.  Vegetables including sweet red pepper, broccoli, tomatoes and cauliflower also are rich sources of vitamin C.  Supplementing with Vitamin C is also an easy option especially if you are not good about eating your fruits and vegetables.

 But when you are eating right and moving more, what else can you do? Hypnosis and self-hypnosis can be valuable in dealing with the underlying problem of stress.  Hypnosis can help you create new tools to motivate you to build better self-care and to deal with the stress in your life by learning to control anxiety and trigger relaxation. Learn more about how to control stress and anxiety including the use of self-hypnosis scripts to record in THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX available on Amazon in eBook or paperback. Lose that belly fat by making healthy changes and stopping the cycle of stress, cortisol production and belly fat.  Feel better, look good and BE WELL.  

HYPNOSIS CAN HELP YOUR SHYNESS OR SOCIAL PHOBIA

   Do you struggle with making friends?  Do you have a hard time in maintaining friendships? Do you identify yourself as being shy?  Do you work from home and rarely interact with other people in person?  How isolated are you?  Hypnosis can help you to come out of the house and out of your shell.

    There are a number of reasons people struggle with shyness.  People perceive their world and place in it in different ways.  Researchers have found that even babies have different temperaments.  Some infants reach out to be held while others cry or crawl away.  Some preschoolers race into the school and never look back.  While others have great difficulty leaving their parents.

    Your basic temperament will determine your need for social contact.  Our lifestyles also can make it difficult to make and maintain friendships.  Some jobs require constant moves with demands for learning new skills and setting up a new home.  There is little time or energy for making new friends.  As people move and old friends also move, even close friendships may be hard to maintain. Isolation can become so familiar, people may no longer even make the effort to try to meet new people.  

     For many people, the combination of natural shyness and particular circumstance can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness.  Studies have shown that this isolation from others can lead to a predisposition to illness.

       Social phobia is an anxiety disorder which may be described as extreme shyness. Psychologist Richard Heimberg defined social phobia s "shyness gone wild.  It cuts people off from the good things of life - social interaction, love."

  If you recognize yourself in this description, know that hypnosis can be a valuable tool to help you overcome the fears and anxieties that keep you from developing and maintaining friendships and enjoying social interaction with others. You can also learn self-hypnosis in my book, THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX. You can even make your own-self-hypnosis recordings on your cell phone which you can listen to while relaxing. THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX is available on AMAZON on eBook or paperback.

HOW HYPNOSIS CAN HELP REDUCE RISK FOR KIDNEY STONES

     Most of us have heard of the tremendous pain that kidney stones can cause.  Whether it is continuous, throbbing pain or extremely severe spasms, no one wants to deal with them if they can be prevented.  Hypnosis can help reduce the risk for developing them by helping you get moving.

     A study of 84,225 women led by researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle reported on a way to reduce risk for kidney stones.  The study was published in JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY encouraging people to become more active.

     The researchers reported that active post-menopausal women were 16% to 31% less likely to develop kidney stones that sedentary women.  The women were followed for eight years and maximum effects were found in the most active subjects.  Best effects were found at the equivalent of four hours of light gardening, three hours a week of walking at a moderate-pace or one hour of moderate-paced jogging.

    So we have still another reason to get moving.  If you are having trouble starting or maintaining an exercise program, hypnosis can help.  Get a hypnosis session to get moving, protect yourself from the pain of kidney stones and BE WELL.    

WHEN HYPNOSIS IS NOT APPROPRIATE

    Hypnotherapy can be a wonderful tool to help people make changes in their lives.  But it is not appropriate for everyone.  There are a number of reasons that hypnosis may not be right for a client.

     Sometimes potential clients come to see me and rather than wanting to make a positive change in their life, they are just being pressured by someone else to be in my office.  Parents come in with teenagers saying, "make this kid quit running around with the wrong set of friends or drinking or drugging" while the child sits there with arms crossed and defiance radiating.  Sometimes people come to see me after getting an ultimatum- "If you don't quit (gambling, drinking, etc.) I'm going to leave you.  Or a doctor says "If you don't quit smoking or lose the weight, you are going to die."  Too often clients come not because they want to change but because someone has twisted their arm in to coming.  Hypnosis will not work unless the person, wants to change. 

    Another time that hypnotherapy is not appropriate is when the client wants someone else to change.  S/he believes that the solution to the problem depends entirely upon someone or something else.  If the client believes he has no responsibility or control over his own feelings, thoughts or behavior, s/he is not a good candidate for hypnosis.  I can only work with the person sitting in my office - not the boss, spouse or mother-in-law.

     There are some physiological problems that can cause limitations for hypnosis or hypnotherapy.  If a person has limited hearing, hypnosis can be challenging.  If the potential client has physical disabilities that make it difficult to sit comfortably, hypnosis may have to be very brief.  If the client suffers from neurological impairment, a loss of abstract reasoning abilities or a loss of verbal skills, hypnosis  may not be effective.

    Although hypnotherapy can be used with clients of below-average intelligence or vocabulary, the techniques and procedures used with them need to be direct and concrete.  Many hypnotherapy techniques require at least average vocabulary and intelligence.

    Psychotics and people with borderline personality disorders are not good candidates for hypnotherapy.  The use of trance with individuals who already are having difficulty with their conscious experiences can find hypnosis creates anxiety and paranoia.  I ask in my client in-take form about all medical personnel and therapists that the clients have worked with and any diagnoses that they have received.  If the client is working with a therapist, I ask for a referral and often have a phone conference with the therapist or physician before making a decision about whether hypnotherapy is appropriate.

    A Free Consultation with each prospective client, gives that person an opportunity to ask their questions and to be with me.  It is also my opportunity to identify any characteristics in the potential client's behavior or speech, that indicates to me that hypnosis is not a good therapy for that person.  There have have been times at the end of a session, where I told the prospective client that I did not believe hypnosis was not appropriate for the issue and that I would be happy to refer him or her for counseling or therapy.  Although this may cause disappointment, it is actually in the client's best interest.

    In spite of the "exceptions" I have mentioned, a great majority of people who visit my office for hypnotherapy will not have any of these issues.  For them, hypnosis and hypnotherapy can be a great way to create the changes they want in their lives.

STOP SMOKING WITH HYPNOSIS

    Are you ready to quit smoking?  Have you already tried and failed to become a nonsmoker?  Mark Twain once wrote, "It's easy to quit smoking.  I've done it thousands of times." And, nearly a century ago, the magazine Punch, reporting on a raise in the tobacco tax predicted, "All those people who gave up smoking last year will do so again this year."

   There are lots of ways to quit smoking from going cold turkey to going to a medical doctor for a prescription.  But you may not have thought of using hypnosis for smoking cessation.

    If you want an easy and simple way to quit smoking, hypnosis is a great method and has the added bonus of not putting chemicals in your body.  Clients often ask me what are the side effects of using hypnosis to become a nonsmoker.  The answer is simple, "you quit smoking."

   My program for smoking cessation is simple.  I ask a commitment to two sessions.  There is no hypnosis in the first session.  It is a clinical interview in which I will ask the client a lot of questions to understand their smoking habit.  What do you smoke?  How much do you smoke?  What do you like about smoking?  What do you dislike about smoking are just some of the questions that I will ask in the 90 minute interview.

    At the end of the first session, I give the clients some forms to bring back to their second session.  These will give me information about how they process stress, whether they are left or right brain dominant and whether their neurolinguistic learning channels are visual, auditory or kinesthetic.  These help me design their individual hypnosis session.

    The  second session is about 75 minutes and includes a 45 minute hypnosis session which many clients choose to record on their cellphone for reinforcement.  At the end of the second session, they will be nonsmokers.

  I am so confident of this, that I guarantee that I if they slip I will do a free session and get them started again.  Obviously, I couldn't do this if it happens often.  Last year I saw two people that needed to do a free session.  One started again when he picked up a cigarette at the funeral home when he was there for his mother's funeral.  The other went on an alcoholic binge and found that alcohol brings down inhibitions.  

   Every hypnotherapist will have their own process but hypnosis can work to help you be the healthy nonsmoker you want to be.  

EXTRA STEPS LOWER HEART ATTACK RISK

    Want to have the best chance at a long full healthy life?  THE LANCET reported on a study of 9,307 adults from 40 countries for six years conducted by researchers at the University of Leicester, UK.  They found that each time a person increased his or her activity by another 2,000 steps per day day, the risk for heart attack went down by another eight percent. Hypnosis can help that be a possibility.

    Just getting started helps, walking the first 2,000 extra steps a day lowered heart attack risk by ten per cent.  Since that is the equivalent of a twenty minute walk, this is a realistic goal for most people.

   So now you have another reason to get up and move.  If you need some motivation, hypnosis can be a valuable tool to get moving and lower your heart attack risk.

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM LATE-LIFE DEMENTIA

   If you are suffering from midlife stress, be aware it is linked to dementia later on in your life.  Hypnosis can help you deal with the stresses and help protect you from late-life dementia.

    Lena Johansson, Phd, researcher at the University of Goethenburg, Moindal, Sweden, reported on a study of 800 women who were tracked for almost forty years.  Researchers discovered that whose who had experienced significant stress, such as widowhood, loss of a child, divorce or mental illness in a loved one, were 21% more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease in late-life.

   It is believed that stress may actually cause functional and even structural changes in the brain.  These changes may last for many years after the stressful situation which triggered them.

    Do all you can to relieve midlife stress including meditation, yoga, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy.  Hypnosis can help you relax and deal with the stresses in your life.  

HYPNOSIS CAN PROTECT AGAINST THE RISK OF DEMENTIA

    If you are suffering from chronic stress, you may be at increased risk for dementia.  Lena Johansson, PhD, a researcher at the University of Gothenburg, Moindal, Sweden, reported on a study of 800 women over a period of nearly 40 years.  The research found that midlife significant stress such as loss of a child, divorce, widowhood or mental illness in a loved one was a predictor of developing Alzheimer's disease.  In fact, 21% of those experiencing midlife stress were more likely to develop dementia.

    Researchers believe that stress may cause functional and structural changes in the brain.  These changes may last for years after the stressful event.  

    If you are experiencing midlife stress, use tools to deal with the stress.  Check this blog for tools for dealing with stress including yoga, psychotherapy and meditation.  Hypnosis can be a valuable tool to deal with stress and help to protect you from the risk of dementia and BE WELL.

RELIEVE ANXIETY AND REDUCE STROKE RISK WITH HYPNOSIS

   Anxiety is not only uncomfortable for a person suffering its symptoms.  It also can cause significant health risks  According to the National Comorbidity Survey as many as one in four of the men and women in the United States may experience an anxiety disorder ranging from a phobia to panic attacks to long-term chronic anxiety such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

    Most people have a general awareness of symptoms of anxiety disorders which may include over-whelming fear, avoidance of certain places or situations, worry about situations, avoidance of situations, having sleep problems in falling or staying asleep and fear of losing control.  It's good to know that early recognition and treatment including hypnosis can prevent much suffering from anxiety.

   Research in an over 22-year study of 6,000 adults reported by Maya Lambiase, PhD,  and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, indicates that people with high levels of anxiety were 33% more likely to have strokes than those with low levels. It is believed that anxiety caused higher levels of stress hormones, elevated heart rate and high blood pressure.  In addition, smoking and physical inactivity which were identified as anxiety-related behaviors may have raised the risk for strokes.

   The good news is that there are treatments which can help including medications and cognitive-behavioral therapy.  Self-help techniques such as breathing exercises, avoiding caffeine and quitting smoking can also be of value.  In my own hypnotherapy practice, I often worked on referral from psychotherapists for anxiety.  As an adjunct to the therapists own work, I did one to a few sessions of hypnotherapy to reinforce their work and support the self-help techniques.  

    With treatment from physicians, cognitive-behavioral therapists and hypnotherapists, anxiety can be relieved and your health risk of strokes caused by anxiety can be eliminated.  Get the help you need.  Hypnosis can help you to feel better and BE WELL. 

EXERCISE MOTIVATION AND HYPNOSIS

     Have you been thinking about starting to exercise?  Is thinking as far as you have gone in actually getting started?  Hypnosis can be a great motivator to get you moving.

     If your are trying to lose weight, boost your mood, get into better shape physically or get your heart beating faster, nothing beats exercise.  A study done in the U.K. reviewed several years of health research and found that 30 minutes of exercise on most days decreases the risk of depression, heart disease, obesity, certain cancers and type 2 diabetes.

     Hypnosis can help you not only GET moving but KEEP moving.  So if you need help in either area, make a appointment with a hypnotherapist.  When you go to the appointment, be clear about your goals so they can be incorporated into your hypnosis session.

     It helps to plan in advance what type of exercise you plan to do.  You will not accept a hypnosis session that you would never do.  I always tell people, "There is no use giving you the suggestion that you will do an hour work out at the gym every day if you hate the gym."  Instead, think about what you could do that you actually enjoy.  Think about what you did as a kid.  If you liked to run and play, take a walk.  Or ride a bicycle.  Buy some roller bladesl. Fly a kite. You are much more apt to do something you enjoy.

    Make your goals as specific as possible.  Rather than thinking, "I need to exercise", think "I will walk four mornings a week from 9:00 till 9:30."  Think about where you are going to do the exercise, if you enjoy nature your goal may be to walk in the park or on a nature trail.  If you don't like to get too cold or too hot, grab a mile at the mall.  Most mornings the mall is still relatively empty.  Set goals for distance.  If you walk at a brisk pace for 15 minutes, you should have walked about one mile.  A pedometer is a great way to keep track of your distance.  Health experts recommend 10,000 steps a day.  Keep track of your progress.  Draw a happy face on the calendar when you return.  The reason children like gold stars is that they are motivating!

    Whether your exercise goals include home equipment, going to the gym, videos or taking that walk, have them clear in your mind, so the hypnotherapist can make sure they are part of your hypnosis session.

    Get going, get moving.  Hypnosis helps!!

EXERCISE MOTIVATION AND HYPNOSIS

    Are you trying to lose weight, get into better physical shape, boost your mood or get your heart beating faster?  Nothing beats exercise.  If "thinking about starting" to exercise, is as far as you have gotten in actually getting started, hypnosis can be a great motivator to get you going.

    If you have read this blog for a while, you have seen reports on some of the research about the value of exercise.  A study done in the U.K. reviewed several years of health research and found that just 30 minutes of exercise on most days decreases the risk of depression, heart disease, obesity, certain cancers and Type 2 diabetes.

     It helps to plan in advance what type of exercise you plan to do.  And, be specific so your goals are measurable.  For example in planning a walk or run:

       1.  WHEN will you exercise? A specific time helps. Rather than thinking, "I need to exercise.",  think, "I will walk four mornings a week from 9:00 till 9:30".  

       2.  Be specific about WHERE you will exercise.  If you enjoy nature, your goal may be to walk in the park or nature trail. If you don't like to get too cold, or too hot, grab a mile at the mall.  Most mornings, the mall is still relatively empty.

       3.  Set GOALS for distance.  If you walk at a brisk pace for 15 minutes you should have walked about one mile.  A pedometer is a great way to keep track of your distance.  One mile is about 2,000 steps.  Health experts recommend 10,000 steps a day.

       4. TRACK your progress.  Write down your accomplishments in a log.  Draw a happy face on the calendar when you finish your work out.  The reason children like gold starts is that they are motivating!

   Your exercise goals may include home equipment, videos, a class or going to the gym.  When you go to a hypnotherapist for exercise motivation know WHAT you want to do for exercise, WHEN you want to do it, WHERE you plan to do it, For HOW long you plan to do and WHY you want to exercise.  Clear goals can be incorporated into your hypnosis session to make it strong and personalized for you.

     If you've decided, ""It's time!", hypnosis can be a valuable tool for you to to be motivated to exercise and BE WELL.  

REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL HYPNOTHERAPY

    In my last blog post, I discussed how important it is for a prospective client to WANT to make the changes they are seeking.  There are several other issues that can limit successful hypnosis.

    A client must feel comfortable with the hypnotherapist.  If the person is thinking "I don't like the hypnotherapist" or "I don't trust this person".  it is likely they will not accept suggestions.  For this reason, some hypnotherapists offer a time over the phone to answer questions.  I offer a half-hour free consultation in my officewhere prospective clients can actually sit downwith me and get questions answered and have a little time to make sure if it "feels okay".

   There are some physiological problems that cause hypnotherapy limitations.  If a person has limited hearing, hypnosis can be challenging.  The prospective client also needs to be able to understand the language spoken by the hypnotherapist.

     If the client has physical disabilities that make it difficult to sit comfortably, hypnosis may have to be very brief and not as successful.  If the client suffers from neurological impairment, a loss of abstract reasoning abilities or a loss of verbal skills, hypnosis may not be useful.

    Although hypnotherapy can be used with clients of below-average intelligence or vocabulary,. the techniques and procedures used with them need to be direct and concrete.  Many hypnotherapy techniques require at least average vocabulary and intelligence.

   Psychotics and people with borderline personality disorders are not good candidates for hypnotherapy.  The use of trance with individuals who are already having difficulty with their conscious experiences can create anxiety and paranoia.  I ask in my client in-take form about all medical personnel and therapists that the clients have worked with and any diagnoses that they may have received.  If the client is currently working with a therapist, I ask  for a referral and often have a phone conference with the therapist or physician before making a decision about whether hypnotherapy is appropriate.

     A great majority of people who visit my office for hypnotherapy will not have any of these issues.  For them, hypnotherapy can be a great tool to facility the changes they want in their lives. 

HYPNOSIS IS NOT MAGIC BUT A GREAT TOOL FOR CHANGE

     The first thing I tell potential clients is that I can't make people fly by flailing their arms no matter how much hypnosis I do.  Hypnosis is not magic.

     Habits like smoking and overeating are very resistant to change.  Hypnosis will not "make" someone lose 84 pounds in six weeks no matter how good my services are.  Hypnotherapy cannot be used to force change.  It can only motivate a willing client to change.

     Once in a while someone will ask me, "Why would anyone come to see you if they didn't want to make that change?"  In actuality, sometimes clients come because someone is pressuring them - "If you don't quit (drinking, gambling, etc.), I'm going to leave you."  They are not in my office to change.  They are there to pacify this other person.

    Sometimes parents come in with a teenager saying  "make this kid quit running around with the wrong set of friends or drinking or drugging" while the child sits there with her arms crossed and defiance written on her face.  There is little likelihood of real change in such a situation.

   Medical doctors and psychotherapists send clients to me as an adjunct therapy to their work.  If the person is coming only to pacify their doctor or therapist and does not want to deal with their issue, hypnosis will be another failed attempt.  Hypnosis is not magic.

   But when the client is ready and wants to change, hypnosis can be a valuable tool to make wonderful changes physically, mentally and emotionally.

HOW CAN I FIND A PROFESSIONAL HYPNOTHERAPIST

      Over the years several people asked me how to find a professional hypnotherapist in their area.  I know this can be difficult. Rural areas with small populations may simply be unable to support the brief therapy of a hypnotherapist.  But hypnosis can be so valuable in making positive changes, it is well worth traveling to find the right person for you.

    One of your job as a potential hypnotherapy client is to do everything you can to make sure you are working with a highly trained professional.  Do your homework! 

      Ask referrals from your medical doctor, counselor or therapist.  I get referrals from all of those sources.  Ask your friends whose judgement you trust, if they have used a hypnotherapist they could recommend.

    If you have not been able to find a trusted referral, the internet and phone books are just a place to start.  Call a number of professionals in your area.  Many hypnotherapists work in one person offices, so you will probably be dealing with voice mail or an answering machine.  Leave your number and ask for a call back.

    It is highly likely you will have questions as hypnotherapists return your call. Most are willing to answer your questions over the phone. Others may have you meet with themI offer a free half-hour consultation just so potential clients can be with me and get their questions answered.  

     When you find the right professional hypnotherapist,  hypnosis can be a valuable tool to make wonderful changes physically, mentally and emotionally.  Find that person to help you BE WELL.