WANT TO GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP?

Are you ready to get a good night’s sleep? Are you struggling with going to sleep or staying asleep through the night? Do you want to wake up feeling rested and relaxed?

THE INSOMNIA TOOLBOX, now available on Amazon, will provide you with tools you need to help you get a good night’s sleep. Get the information you need about science sleep, learn about insomnia, sleep apnea and many of the over one hundred sleep disorders and get lots of how-to suggestions to make positive changes that will improve your sleep. Discover the many professional services and current treatments designed by sleep centers, researchers, medical doctors and therapists.

Working for over 25 years as a board-certified clinical hypnotherapist, Jennifer Johnson, DCH, released her first book, THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX, in 2021. Now use all her sleep hygiene suggestions and record her professionally designed self-hypnosis scripts in THE INSOMNIA TOOLBOX on your cell phone to relieve your sleep issues, Listen to your own recording, go into self-hypnosis and empower yourself to go to sleep easily and quickly and awaken feeling comfortably rested and energized to start your day. You deserve a good night’s sleep!

DO YOU KNOW YOUR PHYSICAL STRESS SIGNALS?

Stress and the anxiety it causes may be experienced in many different ways. Although often people describe their anxiety as feeling “stressed out”, “down in the dumps” or just “so anxious”, there are a large number of symptoms of stress and anxiety. These symptoms can be experienced physically, mentally, emotionally and behaviorally.

Often, the first stress signals that people experience are physical symptoms. It is unlikely that you will experience all of them. Check to see if you have any of these physical responses to stress.

SLEEP PROBLEMS

FATIGUE

HEADACHES

HEART PALPITATIONS

DIZZINESS AND LIGHT-HEADEDNESS

SHORTNESS OF BREATH

WEAKNESS IN LEGS

LUMPS IN THE THROAT OR DIFFICULTY SWALLOWING

SKIN FLAIR-UPS

HOT OR COLD FLASHES AND CHILLS

MUSCLE TENSION

CHANGES IN APPETITE

Most of these symptoms are perfectly normal when understood as the body’s response to a perceived threat. To learn more about these physical stress signals and find tools for relieving them, check out my book, THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX, available on Amazon in eBook and paperback and free on Kindle Unlimited.

TRANCE STATE AND HYPNOSIS

Many new clients that I see are very curious about hypnosis and particularly ask about the trance state - what it is and how it is experienced. Sometimes clients believe that when they are hypnotized, they will be unconscious. In actuality, people experience trance-like states all the time. When they go to a movie and get so involved with what is happening on the screen that they are no longer aware that they are in the theater, they are in a trance state.

I found that state while reading. Sometimes I can get so involved in a good book, I don’t hear someone speak or the phone ring.

Listening to music, attending a lecture, playing video games, working or playing on the computer can all trigger that “daydreamy” state of mind we call trance. A classic trance state that many people have experienced is when they are driving. “Oh, yeah. I found myself at a traffic light and didn’t remember driving the last couple of miles”, said one client. There is even the term “road hypnosis” to describe he trance state experienced by those who have driven hour after hour on interstate highways.

The only difference between those trance states and hypnosis is the way it is induced. It doesn’t make any difference whether it is induced by the extreme focus of a video game or book, the boredom of a long stretch of highway or a hypnotherapist’s induction. All can lead to trance.

Characteristics of hypnotic trance include: inner awareness, a context-free and literal understanding of words and phrases, an involvement in imagine events that can be vivid and realistic and the editing out of restrictions to abilities and responses imposed by the unconscious. A good hypnotherapy session is designed to use these characteristics of trance to full advantage.

Sometimes clients in traditional therapy are distracted and unable to focus their attention on critical issues because of defensiveness. They may spend much time consciously or unconsciously protecting their current perceptions and maintaining their commitment to the status quo.

Hypnotherapy allows the mind to go into trance state where the attention is more highly focused, In this state, that attention can focus on sensations, images or thoughts that might be ignored or denied during regular therapy. In the trance state, situations and evens can be merely observed, like an audience at the movies, rather than altered or censored.

Some real advantages occur in using hypnosis to change attitudes and states of mind. In trance, clients, can experience imagined events in very clear, realistic ways while being very relaxed. In this way, they can accept changes in belief and learning performance as if the situation had really happened. Clients will often comfortably accept statements from their hypnotherapist which might have been rejected in other therapies.

You can learn about and experience a trance state that will allow you to make real and positive changes in your life by making an appointment with a hypnotherapist. Hypnosis can help you physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to 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.  

PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS OF STRESS AND ANXIETY

It is likely you have heard of the fight or flight syndrome. When a person experiences stress, the body releases adrenalin and cortisol, which causes the body to respond to a perceived threat by trying to fight which today is more likely to be verbal than physical or flee usually by avoiding the threat. A problem with the boss or a quarrel with a partner is not the same as being hunted by a tiger. But the body responds in exactly the same way.

In my book, THE ANXIETY TOOLBOX, are detailed descriptions of a dozen physical health symptoms which may be triggered by stress. It is unlikely that you will experience all of them. But you may experience some of them. They include: sleep issues including insomnia or wanting to sleep all the time, fatigue, headaches, heart palpitations, dizziness and light headedness, shortness of breath, weakness in legs, lumps in the throat or difficulty swallowing, skin flair-ups like acne, eczema and psoriasis, hot or cold flashes and chills, muscle tension and changes in appetite. All of these can also be indications of other health issues so share your concerns with a medical professional.

Stress and anxiety can also trigger mental symptoms including lack of focus and concentration, fast thinking, constant worrying, negative self-talk, and catastrophic thinking. Stress can trigger a number of emotional responses including anxiety, irritability, anger, emotional hyper-vigilance, feeling overwhelmed and being unable to cope, depression and low self-esteem and self-worth. In order to deal with the stress and anxiety, some people adopt negative behaviors that are harmful to themselves or others. Overeating, substance abuse, over-sleeping, over-use of electronics, obsessive or compulsive behavior, procrastination and being over-controlling are some of the negative behaviors sometimes triggered by stress and anxiety.

If you are experiencing physical symptoms or negative thoughts, emotions and behaviors as ways to control stress and anxiety, know there are better methods to deal with the stresses in your life. Don’t suffer. Be guided by your doctor to find the help you need. Start to build a toolbox of positive tools to make the changes you want and need to relieve your stress and anxiety.

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. 

SECOND-HAND SMOKE AND THE BRAIN

If you or someone you love have been exposed to second-hand smoke, you need to be concerned about the health risks associated with that exposure. If you share your home or your life with a smoker, please have them read this to learn how secondhand smoke can affect the people they love. If they are ready to stop smoking and eliminate the risk for those they love, hypnosis can help.

Exposing others to the risks of heart disease, stroke and brain damage are three important factors to consider in making the decision to become a healthy nonsmoker.

David J. Llewellyn, PhD, a research associate with the department of public health and primary care at the University of Cambridge, England, theorizes that second-hand smoke damages the brain as well as raises the risk for heart disease and stroke based on a study of 4,809 nonsmoking adults.

The study showed that the participants with the highest levels of nicotine by-product, cotinine, were 44% more likely to show memory problems and other cognitive impairment than those with the lowest levels..

If you have not chosen to stop smoking for yourself, perhaps you will decide the risk of second-hand smoke to your loved ones including young children is important enough to stop exposing them to toxins which could affect their health. If you want to stop, hypnosis can help you protect those you love and be a healthy nonsmoker.

SECOND-HAND SMOKE AND CHILDREN

If you have been concerned about how second-hand smoke could affect your children’s health, you have a legitimate reason for that concern. Hypnotherapy can help you stop smoking and no longer worry about exposing your children to the dangers of second-hand smoke.

You may have seen the news about the possibility of laws to make it illegal to smoke in a car which is carrying young children. Some smokers believe this would infringe on the personal rights of the smoker to make choices about one’s behavior on one’s own property and consider this a civil rights issue.

The fact is that if an adult smokes in a car with a young child, that child is also smoking. Poisons from the cigarette include carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide and benzene. When a child ingests these poisons through second-hand smoke, the smoke may trigger lower respiratory tract infections, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, decreased lung function and recurrent ear infections.

Allen Eskenazi, M.D., Director of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at University of Maryland Medical Center has reported that second-hand smoke is responsible for 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections each year in infants under 18 months. In addition, each year second-hand smoke is responsible for 16,000 new cases of asthma.

Your child deserves clean air and a chance at a healthy life. So do not smoke within the airspace of children. Choose the non-smoking section permanently. Better yet, become a healthy non-smoker so you no longer have to worry or feel guilty for exposing your children to the poisons in cigarettes.

If you are ready to stop smoking and if you do not want to use prescription medications with their side effects, hypnosis can be a valuable tool. Become a healthy non-smoker and you and your children can BE WELL.

HYPNOSIS FOR IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) as been described as “a panic attack of the bowels.” If you have been diagnosed with IBS or told you have colitis, spastic colon or even a “nervous stomach”, you are likely aware how much the syndrome can affect your life.

Unfortunately, IBS affects 15% to 20% of the population. In fact, one in three women suffer from Irritable Bpwel Syndrome symptoms, And these symptoms can very negatively affect a sufferer’s life. Chronic pain, uncontrolled diarrhea, fecal incontinence and dehydration can severely limit a person’s activities. In fact, it is the second most commonly cited reason for missed work days.

The first step in addressing these issues is to see your physician for a conventional medical diagnosis. It is likely if an IBS diagnosis is given that the doctor will prescribe daily medications including prednisone. But researchers have found that IBS only responds to conventional medical treatment 25% of the time.

For those still suffering, hypnosis can be a valuable tool to relieve or even free the patient from symptoms. Hypnotherapy is to be used as an adjunct therapy in conjunction with your physician(s) and is not a replacement for conventional medical diagnosis and treatment. But hypnosis can help alleviate IBS symptoms or even help a sufferer become symptom free and BE WELL>

HYPNOSIS CAN HELP LOWER RISK FOR PREMATURE DEATH

If you want to have the best chance at a long, full healthy life, make positive lifestyle choices. That is the result of a study reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study followed 4,886 adults for twenty years. Habits identified as unhealthy included smoking, alcohol consumption of three or more drinks per day for men and two or more for women, less than two hours of exercise per week and averaging less than three daily servings of vegetables and fruits. Hypnosis can help you make those changes.

The statistics are clear. During the twenty years, 1,080 of the participants in the study died. Those who scored poorly on all four standards and were identified as having the worst health habits compromised 29% of those who died. By contrast only eight percent of the 1,080 died from the category which had none of the four unhealthy standards.

The chances of dying earlier were greater in every category for people with the unhealthy habits. The risk was 10% greater because of poor diet, 18% from excessive alcohol consumption and 43% higher for both physical inactivity and smoking.

The researchers indicated that the study did not try to assess whether changing a poor lifestyle behavior would also change people’s risk for dying prematurely. They did conclude that the more unhealthy behaviors in which a person engages, the greater the risk for premature death.

If you are ready to lower your risk for premature death by changing poor lifestyle behavior, hypnosis can help you make the changes. Whether it’s quitting smoking, lowering alcohol consumption, exercising more or eating healthier, hypnosis can be a valuable tool to make those changes, lower your risk for premature death and BE WELL.

HYPNOSIS TO HELP YOU GAIN WEIGHT

Did you know that being underweight can be as dangerous as being overweight. Joel Ray, MD, associate professor at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, reported on a study comparing adults with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 18.5 with those of a normal BMI and those considered obese. The study did not include people who had chronic or terminal illness. If you are underweight, hypnotherapy can help you reach a reasonable, healthy goal weight.

A normal body mass index is between 18.5 and 24.9 Dr. Ray reported that people in the obese BMI range of 30 or above had a risk of dying that was 1.2 times higher than for those with a normal BMI while those who had a BMI of less than 18.5 were 1.8 times more likely to dies than those with a normal body mass index. In other words, being underweight carries more risk than being obese.

You can check your BMI by logging in to www.NHLBI.NIH.gov and search for the “BMI Calculator.” If you are either overweight or underweight, hypnosis can be a valuable tool to help your body have a reasonable amount of muscle mass and fat. Check your BMI and remember hypnosis can help you BE WELL.

AGING FROM SMOKING? STOP SMOKING WITH HYPNOSIS

Have you ever heard the term “smoker’s face”? Even if you have not, did you immediately get an idea of what the term means? Almost everyone knows someone who has smoked for years and has not aged well. Time to stop smoking? Hypnosis helps.

The combination of smoke damage and the component chemicals in cigarettes damages skin in several ways. These chemicals reduce the body’s ability to create collagen. As collagen, the skin’s main structural component, decreases, elastin, the long smooth fibers in the skin thicken and break apart. This can cause heavily wrinkled skin. When the elastin breaks apart it cuts estrogen levels in women, causing cracking and skin dryness which interferes with the skin’s ability to protect itself from oxidation.

Researchers have found that female smokers between the ages of 40 and 70 were three times as likely to have moderate to severe wrinkling as nonsmokers. Plastic surgeons verify this research in their practices reporting on more dramatic wrinkling in smokers than in nonsmokers.

In my own practice, I see a fair number of clients referred by plastic surgeons to stop smoking before having a face lift, tummy tuck or eye brow lift, Smoking increases the complication of all surgeries and since cosmetic surgery is elective, some surgeons ask this commitment before a surgical procedure.

If you are aging before your time or planning to have surgery, i may be tme to stop smoking. If you need a strong, non-invasive tool to help you become a nonsmoker, hypnotherapy helps.

SMOKING, LUNG CANCER AND HYPNOSIS TO CHANGE

It’s not too late — that is the good news for those smokers age 50 or more who are thinking about quitting smoking. The statistics about smoking and lung cancer are truly terrifying. A report in the British Medical Journal shows that men who are lifelong smokers have a 16 percent chance of dying of lung cancer by the age of 75, and those who smoker more than 25 cigarettes a day have a 24 percent chance. Women smokers have a 10 percent chance of developing lung cancer which escalates to 19 percent by the age of 75 for heavy smokers.

Richard Peto, one of the authors of a study at Oxford University, on lung cancer risk for smokers states, “Even in middle age, stopping really works. This idea that adults can’t stop, that all you can do is prevent young people from starting smoking, is just really wrong.”

According to the study, quitting smoking at age 50 reduces the risk of dying and lung cancer to six percent for men, effectively cutting it by more than half. Quitting at age 30 lowers the chance of dying of lung cancer to 1.7 percent, which is far less than that of people who continue to smoke until age 75.

If you want the best chance at a long, full healthy life, it is time to become a non-smoker. Hypnosis is a valuable tool to quit smoking without putting other chemicals into your body. Use hypnosis to quit smoking 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 FOR A BETTER SEX LIFE

     You may not have thought about hypnosis for improving your sex life. But clients come to see me with a variety of issues around this important aspect of their lives.  Some are dealing with physiological issues such as premature ejaculation, impotence, a lowered sex drive or inability to reach orgasm.  Others feel emotionally disconnected from their partners and no longer desire intimacy.  And many have a lifestyle that is so busy and demanding, that sex has long been put on the back burner.  If your sex life is not what you would like it to be, hypnosis can be a great tool to revive it.

    If you have a physical issue such as erectile dysfunction or lowered sex drive, don't give up.  Go to your family physician who will examine you and may give you medication or refer you to a clinic. Your physician may tell you that there seems to be no physical reason for your problem.  In that case, hypnosis may be valuable to help improve your sex life.

    Sometimes the relationship between partners becomes a battle ground.  Often, the disharmony and anger carry over into the bedroom and sex is not good or disappears completely. A marriage counselor will work on the relationship. But improving your sex life can be a part of that.  The sex act itself can produce emotional intimacy which in turn improves the relationship.  If emphasis in hypnosis is on pleasing your partner that intimacy can return quickly.

    Sexual addiction is another area of sexuality that can destroy a relationship. Some mental health professionals do not believe that sexual addiction exists.  They believe that it is actually some other emotional or psychological issue such as bipolar disorder or anxiety.  But The National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity talks to people every day who describe their out of control sexuality as destroying relationships and causing deep problems in their lives.

    Their are specialists in sex and marriage therapy.  To find a sex therapist contact the American Association of Sex Education, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) at 319-895-407 or the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) at 202-452-0109. 

   Hypnosis can be an adjunct therapy to working with a medical doctor, marriage counselor or sex therapist.  It can help you make the positive changes you need for a better sex life. 

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.