Dealing with Emotional Stress

Emotional stress can be challenging to manage, but there are several ways to cope with it. Here are some ways. Identify the source of your stress: Try to identify the root cause of your stress. Once you know what’s causing it, you can take steps to address it. Practice relaxation techniques: Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, and yoga can help reduce stress and promote relaxation. Get enough sleep: Getting enough sleep is essential for managing stress. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night³. Exercise regularly: Exercise is a great way to reduce stress and improve your mood. Even a short walk or jog can help. Connect with others: Talking to friends or family members about your stress can help you feel better and more supported. Maintain a healthy diet: Eating a healthy diet can help reduce stress and improve your overall health³. Set realistic goals: Setting realistic goals can help you feel more in control and less overwhelmed. Remember, managing emotional stress is a process that takes time and effort.

Giving Up Smoking

If you are thinking of giving up smoking, this article could be for you.

Smoking tobacco is both a physical addiction and a psychological habit. The nicotine from cigarettes provides a temporary and addictive high. Eliminating the regular fix of nicotine will cause your body to experience physical withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Because of nicotine’s “feel good” effect on the brain, you may also have become accustomed to smoking as a way of coping with stress, depression, anxiety, or even boredom.

At the same time, the act of smoking is ingrained as a daily ritual. It may be an automatic response for you to smoke a cigarette with your morning coffee, while taking a break from work or school, or during your commute home at the end of a long day. Perhaps friends, family members, and colleagues smoke, and it has become part of the way you relate with them.

Providing you follow the suggested six week program with me, it is likely you will have a 70% success compared to success rates of trying to quit on your own which is around 7% or using other aids such as Nicotine Replacement Products, 30%.

As each person is unique, it is difficult to know how many sessions may be required by a person wanting to quit however, I recommend a minimum of four sessions over a period of six weeks.

This will require a commitment upfront.

Session one – how hypnosis works, me getting to know the “unique you” and discussing why you smoke, you gaining an understanding of the physical addiction and the psychological habits. (Provided with a welcome pack, a relaxation session and a relaxation cd which must be listened to for twelve days).
Session two – Stop smoking session (two weeks later) provided you with a cd which must be listened to everyday for twelve days. This cd will keep you motivated.
Session three – progress report, facing any challenges you face and preventing a relapse (two weeks later).
Session four – progress report, any challenges you face, creating the new you, cleansing your body and finding healthy alternatives (two weeks later)

If this resonates with you then please contact me via my Get in Touch page https://www.dragonflytherapy.co.za/contact/ to discuss availability for an appointment and related costs or any further information you may require

Transformational Coaching with Hypnotherapy

How well does transformational coaching and hypnotherapy work together?

Transformational coaching and hypnotherapy are two powerful modalities that can help you achieve your goals, overcome your challenges, and create positive changes in your life. But how well do they work together? Transformational coaching is a process of helping you identify and clarify your vision, values, purpose, and goals, and supporting you in taking action to achieve them. It is based on the premise that you have the potential to transform your life by changing your mindset, beliefs, and habits.

Hypnotherapy is a form of therapy that uses hypnosis to access your subconscious mind, where most of your emotions, memories, and patterns are stored. It can help you release negative emotions, heal past traumas, reprogram limiting beliefs, and enhance your abilities and skills.

When combined, transformational coaching and hypnotherapy can create a synergistic effect that can accelerate your personal growth and development. By working on both the conscious and subconscious levels, you can align your thoughts, feelings, and actions with your desired outcomes. You can also overcome any inner resistance or blocks that may be holding you back from achieving your full potential.

Some of the benefits of combining transformational coaching and hypnotherapy are:

– You can gain clarity and focus on what you want to achieve and why.

– You can increase your motivation and confidence to take action.

– You can overcome fears, doubts, and procrastination that may be stopping you from moving forward.

– You can resolve any inner conflicts or contradictions that may be creating stress or confusion.

– You can heal any emotional wounds or traumas that may be affecting your well-being or performance.

– You can develop new habits and behaviours that support your goals and values.

– You can enhance your creativity, intuition, and problem-solving skills.

– You can achieve lasting results that are congruent with who you are and what you want.

If you are interested in experiencing the benefits of transformational coaching and hypnotherapy, contact me for a consultation. I would love to help you create the life you deserve.

Anxiety caused by OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition that involves intrusive and unwanted thoughts, feelings, or urges (obsessions) that cause anxiety and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) that aim to reduce the anxiety. Hypnosis is a healing modality that uses a state of focused attention and relaxation to access the subconscious mind and create positive changes. Some people with OCD may benefit from hypnosis as a way to cope with their anxiety and reduce their compulsions. However, hypnosis is not a cure for OCD and should be used in conjunction with other evidence-based treatments, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and medication. Hypnosis may help people with OCD by enhancing their motivation, increasing their self-efficacy, reducing their negative beliefs, and providing them with coping skills and relaxation techniques.

COVID-19 Anxiety and Hypnotherapy

OVID-19 is an unprecedented global pandemic that has had an enormous effect on everybody’s life. People have been unable to see or care for their family and friends who are desperately sick, who may even die, nor can they go out to restaurants or socially gather in various public and even private spaces. Children have not been able to attend school and many other educational institutions have been severely impacted as well. The economic situation in the world is dire and many people have lost their income base. Healthcare WorkersEnormous stress, anxiety and depression. We are constantly worrying about our health, jobs and indeed our future. We find our lives are changing daily and the constant media coverage has infiltrated our lives, leaving us feeling anxious and depressed. Although we probably need to keep up to date with the developments in the latest news media, this constant exposure can have an adverse effect on us and our mental health. Measures such as wearing masks, social distancing and constant awareness of, and the need to sanitise all contribute to a negative effect on our lives and way of thinking. This pandemic has impacted our emotions as well as our physical well-being and finances, with strict government measures imposed on us. These will probably continue into the foreseeable future. No wonder so many of us are feeling symptoms of stress, depression or anxiety. Hypnotherapy is an extremely popular and effective way of dealing with these issues. Its drug free and perfectly safe. This process can assist you with overcoming stress or anxiety. Small amounts of anxiety or stress are unavoidable and usually do not necessarily cause any problems. However, if your body is under constant stress, it can be very detrimental to your health, both physically and mentally. If anxiety is left untreated, it can cause widespread damage to the body due to stress hormones like Cortisol and Adrenaline which enter the bloodstream. Over time, it can cause many problems such as weakening your immune system and making you more susceptible to viral illnesses and infections and even lead to strokes and heart disease. Typical symptoms of anxiety are: Physical symptoms

Headaches
Chest pain
Loss of appetite
Nausea or Dizziness
Irregular heartbeat

Mental symptoms

Trouble sleeping
Tearfulness
Ruminating
Panic attacks
Tension or Nervousness
Changes in behaviour
Trouble concentrating
Continually worrying
Not being able to enjoy things you used to enjoy.
Problems with concentration

It is vital to deal with the symptoms before they do too much damage and effective ways to deal with these symptoms include using calming breathing techniques, exercising such as running or walking, yoga, talking things over with friends or family and importantly, having a healthy diet with regular healthy meals and plenty of water. Try not to focus on things that you cannot change and instead try to see the positive elements in your life. Avoid using stimulants such as cigarettes, drugs or alcohol as they can all contribute to poor physical and mental health.

Hypnotherapy can be a highly effective tool to help with stress and anxiety. Simply by learning how to deeply relax can benefit all of us and help to cope with our busy lives. Anxiety is fear that occurs subconsciously, so hypnotherapy can be used to try and get to the bottom of a potential problem or the reason you are experiencing anxiety. Once established, these reasons could be addressed, if possible and then be reversed.

Digital Detox and Hypnotherapy

I recently went out to dinner with a good friend of mine and whilst we were having dinner I noticed a family in the restaurant, two young boys and of course Mom and Dad. They were celebrating the birthday of one of the boys. So why did I notice them? Not for one second from the time they arrived, did they look up from their iPad’s and iPhone’s to converse with each other and that really got me thinking. In our technologically advancing society, digital addiction has reached epic proportions. Children, who should be playing with a ball, exercising their growing bodies, are stuck behind digital screens, like zombies! Parents who should be parenting and socializing are also glued to their screens using the excuse, “I am so busy”. Staying busy is easier than taking time to pursue what really makes us happy human beings. Start thinking about removing the words I am so busy from your vocabulary and start making the conscious effort to think of more productive and healthy ways to spend your time. Remove all the alerts on your phones unless they are about the safety of your friends and family. By removing the many alerts we get, we wont be constantly distracted by them and we wont be encouraged to check social media as often. Finally, if you want to know just how addicted you are, do a digital detox once a month, where for one day of a weekend, you only check your electronic devices once in the morning. Warn your close friends and family that this is what you are going to do on a particular day so that you are assured, if there is an emergency, you can be contacted another way. Addictions or habits respond really well to Hypnotherapy if you find it is too difficult to deal with an addiction yourself.

What is the difference between hypnotherapy and hypnosis?

The difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy is that hypnosis is defined as a state of mind, while hypnotherapy is the name of the therapeutic modality in which hypnosis is used.

Hypnotherapy is practiced by a hypnotherapist who is a trained and/or certified professional

Source: http://www.goodtherapy.org

Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy explained

What Is Hypnosis? And What is it not? Quick Reference guide for therapists and clients.

Body & Mind Wellness & Talk Day – 27 July

Exciting news! There is a Body & Mind Wellness & Talk day being held at the Kloof Country Club on 27 July. Jackie Higham and I will be hosting a hypnotherapy stand during the day between the hours 10am and 5pm. We look forward to meeting with you and having a chat.

Mind, Body, Spirit Wellness Festival

I shared a stand at the Mind, Body Spirit wellness festival at Gateway Wave Park, for the last four days with my colleagues in hypnosis, John Dutton, Petra Nichol and Leanne Pillay. We met some interesting people and it was wonderful to interact with visitors and those who showed an interest in hypnotherapy.

I gave a talk at the festival and this focused on advising people that they could have a positive experience with hypnosis. I did this by explaining what to look for when wanting to engage with a hypnotherapist. I also addressed a few common misperceptions about hypnosis and basically how hypnosis works. Lorraine, a client and friend, gave a short resume of her initial sceptism of hypnotherapy and subsequent experience of being hypnotised by me, after much convincing.