Paul Howard Report Author Paul Howard Report Date: 28 June 2025 Overview This interim report presents findings from a randomly selected sample of 100 patients presenting with toilet-related anxiety disorders at The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy. All patients identified toilet anxiety as their primary presenting issue. The sample reflects a demographically representative subset of the wider …
What They Reveal and Why There’s Hope Let’s start with this. You’re not imagining it. And you’re certainly not the only one. If you’ve been living with a quiet fear that creeps in before travel, meetings, meals out, or any moment where access to a toilet might not be guaranteed, you’re not alone. The behaviours, …
Toilet anxiety is one of those things people hardly ever talk about. It’s awkward, it’s personal, and it can feel deeply embarrassing, especially when needing the toilet is a constant fear and that fear becomes so intense it starts to take over your life. Maybe it’s the constant checking for toilets. Or the creeping dread …
Toilet Anxiety Is Not An ‘Anxiety Poop’ – Let’s Get That Straight I’ve been working with clients that needed toilet anxiety help for over 25 years, and if there’s one thing that makes my blood boil, it’s reading content from so-called experts who clearly have never worked a day in their lives with this condition. …
Hypnotherapy Backed by Research A major new study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health (2025) has confirmed what many paediatric hypnotherapists have observed in clinical practice for years, that gut-directed hypnotherapy is one of the most effective treatments for abdominal pain in children. This breakthrough research is a landmark moment for families looking …
How They Shape Our Lives and How to Overcome Them Fear is a universal experience. Regardless of where you live, your age, background, or beliefs, fear plays a fundamental role in human survival. It is a natural and necessary emotion, hardwired into our brains to protect us from danger. Without fear, our ability to navigate …
Research from the Henry Ford Center for Sleep Disorders found that there was a strong link between being able to fall asleep (primary insomnia) and/or waking up in the middle the night (middle insomnia), and severity of high blood pressure.
A Silent Struggle Where Millions Say “Toilet anxiety ruins my life” Introduction Toilet Anxiety is a real and often debilitating condition, with many sufferers feeling like they have no escape, frequently saying, “toilet anxiety ruins my life.”, yet it remains widely misunderstood and underreported. Many sufferers feel isolated, believing they are the only ones experiencing …
Tackle Anxiety – Because Early Experiences Shape Lifelong Patterns To the child, these events feel overwhelming, even if they appear insignificant from an adult perspective. Over time, the emotional imprint of such experiences can shape the child’s worldview, setting the stage for persistent anxiety in children and influencing how they interpret and react to their …
Understanding Why Modern Life Makes Us So Afraid Anxiety doesn’t always announce itself with panic attacks or sleepless nights. Often, it’s the quiet, nagging feeling that something isn’t right, the subtle undercurrent of unease that we carry as we navigate life. Fear in the Modern World: A Constant Companion For those experiencing chronic anxiety, even …
Unlocking a Career in Helping Others
If you’ve been looking for a fresh start, a hypnotherapy career might just be the perfect answer. This isn’t just about switching to a new field; it’s about embracing a calling that lets you guide people to overcome their challenges, realise their potential, and live better lives.
In this article, we aim to give you a deeper understanding of toilet anxiety, helping you determine if you or someone you know may be experiencing this condition and how to fight toilet anxiety so you can live without this debilitating fear.
Toilet anxiety refers to the fear of needing the toilet, but more specifically…
When Your Bladder Becomes a Drama Queen It’s not just about needing the toilet; it’s about the fear that you won’t find one in time. Whether it’s rooted in a past traumatic bathroom experience or thanks to your body’s unpredictable whims (we see you, IBS), toilet anxiety can transform your calm day into a high-speed …
Putting yourself out on the dating market can often be difficult, especially if you have been out of it for a while. Within this blog post, we look at a new way to increase your confidence when dating and attend to any underlying problems that could be damaging that confidence and hence stopping you from …
It does not matter where you stand on the corporate ladder, you can still be affected by workplace stress. In this short article, we’ll look at what could help tackle business stress in the workplace. Are you under pressure at work? You’re not alone It makes no difference if you are mopping the floor or …
As human beings, we experience a range of thoughts each day, and by and large we are able to keep them in check. However, there are some people that find it hard to manage rage and this affects not merely them, but also their close friends, workmates and family members. The inability to manage rage …
Feeling like a toilet is always just out of reach? Here’s How Hypnotherapy Can Help with Toilet Anxiety What exactly is toilet anxiety? Let’s get one thing clear: toilet anxiety is NOT just worrying about where the nearest loo is (though that’s definitely part of it). This anxiety takes your brain hostage, turning everyday activities, …
To show how this works I arranged for an actress with severe stage fright to go on stage in a bear costume so nobody in the audience would know who it was. As soon as this happened her stage fright evaporated. This fear of judgement is typical of virtually all forms of social phobia. The …
When someone is disorganised it can put a strain on their relationships with friends and family, and this causes a whole lot more stress which creates more problems in life. Hypnotherapy can help you learn why you are disorganised, give you the tools to contend with those problems and most importantly, make it easier to …
Because of this, any type of painful sensation would then be perceived as being a whole lot more intense and distressing. As anxiousness levels increase, so does the experience of pain, which causes a spiral of fear, worry and pain. It is no surprise that focusing on relaxing, deep breathing and pushing can be difficult. …
All too often, toilet anxiety is thought of as something to be embarrassed about. But it’s time to understand the potential impact of this condition so that we can properly address it together. Because when left untreated, toilet anxiety can cause significant distress and lead to agoraphobic behaviours, depression, isolation, and other detrimental effects on …
Hypnotherapy is scoffed at by more than a few people, questioning, ‘does hypnotherapy really work?’. The concept of a swinging pocket watch and the saying ‘you are feeling sleepy… very sleepy’ is what springs to mind when anyone hears the word ‘hypnotherapy’. Either that or they link it with being made to do demeaning stuff …
If you are wondering how to become a hypnotherapist, there are a lot of training courses available. In the UK, the CNHC insists that hypnotherapy courses train to minimum standards of 120 hours of face-to-face study time and 450 hours of total study time. That being said, it’s important to know how to find a …
Some people find planning for success to be problematical. In particular the comment I hear over and over again is “When I’m creating a new positive plan for my future or a situation the old negative thoughts creep in”. This is where I would use “Lions and Teddy Bears”.
As human beings, we go through a range of emotions each day, and in the main, we are able to keep them in check. However, for many people, controlling their anger can be quite difficult, causing great difficulties in their life for themselves and the people close to them. Uncontrolled temper can be related to …
We use our internal self-talk to reason, question and to keep us safe. If we have a problem to reason out we will use our self-talk to work out the pro’s and con’s so both positive and negative points of view are appropriate. To do this I use my 6 year old rule.
The Guessing Machine! What part does it play in maintaining and generating anxiety? What can we do to mitigate its power to enable us to feel more relaxed.
Anxiety responds really well to hypnotherapy, However, there are some things that we train our clients to do that assist in the process, and even without hypnotherapy they can really help someone with anxiety. In these articles I explain these techniques.
Dangers of Drinking Diet Drinks The study, headed up by Dr. Ankur Vyas, was one of the most comprehensive of its type with nearly 60,000 postmenopausal women participating over nine years. Known as the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study, the research found that participants who drank two or more cans of diet soda a day …
Does hypnotherapy regulation confuse and overwhelm you? You are not alone. We get asked so many times to explain the state of the UK hypnotherapy regulation by people who are considering becoming a hypnotherapist, as well as actual trained hypnotherapists. Most people get really confused by all the different associations and professional bodies and the …
Why do you really smoke? Understanding the real cause of your smoking addiction can greatly enhance your odds of giving up smoking. Such as, do you use smoking when you feel unsettled, or do you simply feel you want something to keep you relaxed? Knowing why you do something might help you select the best …
No 6 is something most of us do, but shouldn’t… As full-time hypnotherapists, we spend a lot of time helping people who suffer from anxiety and the progress we make is sometimes unwittingly undermined by the people closest to them. So we thought it would be useful to share some ways that friends and family …
What are distraction techniques for anxiety? For many people, anxiety is a challenge they have to overcome on a regular basis. When people experience anxiety, it’s common for them to try to distract themselves from their feelings. Distraction techniques are often used in the process of dealing with anxiety, as they provide relief by helping …
Are these gadgets the answer or the devil? When experiencing anxiety, your body produces stress hormones, i.e., cortisol, the primary hormone, and a chemical known as norepinephrine. These hormones create a fight-or-flight response in your body. These hormones send impulses for certain body acts such as biting your nails, pulling your hair, upward and downward …
Discover how breaking your diet could be the one thing that helps you stick to it According to a study published earlier this year in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, cheating on your diet may help you lose weight by sticking to your healthy eating plan in the long term and help you to lose …
As you are reading this article, it is quite likely that you are looking to train to be a hypnotherapist, or perhaps you wish to add hypnotherapy to your current skills. Whatever the reasons, you have probably already discovered that there is a myriad of courses, types of hypnotherapy, qualifications, schools, professional associations and governing …
The COVID-19 lockdown presented us with a real challenge in regards to delivering our hypnotherapy training. Normally, we would have up to 12 students in the class. However, to be able to maintain some level of social distancing we have decided to limit that to only 8 in the current circumstances. Can you learn …
How does hypnotherapy work? Research answers the question David Spiegel, from Stanford University, scanned the brains of volunteers who were told they were looking at coloured objects, when they were really black and white. A scan showing areas of the brain that are used to register colour showed an increased blood flow, indicating that they …
In the Times on Boxing Day this year (2018), this article was published about the use of hypnotherapy for anxiety and depression. The study was done at Southhampton University and showed a reduction of 60% in both anxiety and depression. There is so much evidence with regards to the effectiveness of hypnotherapy, one wonders why …
Millions of people are affected by anxiety every year. Many live and cope with their anxiety on their own, suffering quietly. Anxiety is something we all experience at some time in our lives, but for most, it is just a short term experience. Anxiety affects us both physically and psychologically and in its normal form …
Three studies that will change your thoughts about diet and exercise, and you’ll love the third… We all know that the best way to ward off unwanted weight is through diet and exercise. But, according to new research from Arizona State University, burning more calories than you eat may not result in changes on the …
It is good to have goals to work towards in life, but with so many pressures on our work and home life, it is usually hard to achieve our goals as other activities tend to get in the way, or perhaps you feel that you lack the motivation and perseverance. Maybe you are saving money …
It can be hard to move your career forward if you find it difficult to present yourself. Continue reading to see how hypnosis will help you achieve this. Improving in your career is not always easy if you do not have the basic tools to do this. You can have the experience, the grades and …
Grief has an effect on everyone in due course. A lot of people endure the undesirable impact of grief for a great many years, more than they should. This information explores using hypnotherapeutic processes to help take care of and resolve the symptoms of grief. It’s important to note that grief should not be interrupted …
Lots of people are turning to hypnotherapy to lose weight because it can tackle a variety of problems, as opposed to conventional approaches. Excessive weight and overeating are now widespread and are causing massive problems for the individual and society in general. There is a plethora of diets on the market, each offering miracle cures …
Physical activity has little role in tackling obesity – and instead, public health messages should squarely focus on unhealthy eating, doctors say. In an editorial in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, three international experts said it was time to “bust the myth” about exercise. They said, “While activity was a key part of staving …
For some, job interview nerves can be so extreme they can stop them performing at their best, or even attending interviews at all. In the following paragraphs I would like to explain how hypnotherapeutic specialist techniques can make a difference. Having anxiety about job interviews is quite common. In fact, it’s hardly surprising that men …
At the Surrey Institute, we use the Hypnotension programme to treat high blood pressure problems. The programme has been designed specifically to assist the vast number of men and women with hypertension (high blood pressure). What is raised blood pressure? Blood pressure is a way of measuring the pressure inside of your arterial blood vessels …
I’m hearing a lot of buzz in the hypnotherapy industry about the ITV show ‘Back in the Room’, due to be shown this Saturday the 14th March. There seems to be a lot of scaremongering and worry about how it will be detrimental to our profession. One self-proclaimed spokesman on behalf of the profession stated …
According to an article in the Daily Mail, Paul McKenna claims that his Hypnotic Gastric Band app is a ‘surgery-free weight-loss solution’ that ‘can help convince the unconscious mind that a gastric band has been fitted, so the body behaves as though a band is physically present.’. However, top surgeons have warned that, in their …
It’s that time of year when we all start contemplating how we can make the year before us really count. Some people decide to stop smoking or to eat in a healthy way, whilst others may work to change things that negatively affect their lives, like anxiety or depression. Sticking to New Year resolutions can …