Paul Howard 
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 …
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 …
The symptoms were subtle at first: insomnia, a racing heart, a lost word, sometimes a wrong word. But within months there was no denying it. Soon enough there were panic attacks, sobbing fits and that verboten emotion of middle-aged women ― rage. Just after my 40th birthday, I bled for 10 days straight. Trying to …
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 …
Everyone has some fears. This does not matter where you live, your age, your colour or creed, fear is a component of the human experience, it is part of our make-up. In fact, without having it, our survival chances would be considerably reduced. Fear is designed to keep us safe, it stops us crossing a …
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 …
At the Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy we see many clients that have had cancer or fighting it now. The effects are often devastating and sometimes tragic. However, there is so many advances happening that can really give us great hope for the future. Having had throat cancer myself I am very aware of the …
Hypnotherapy is this phenomenal treatment for problem gambling. A great number of non-gamblers wonder how some individuals can gamble beyond their means, and if you are a gambler yourself, you may wonder how to tell if you have a problem. If you gamble when you don’t want to, or continue beyond the point where you …
Outward warning signs of low confidence include appearing shy, nervous or socially withdrawn, especially in confrontational or stressful scenarios. The important thing to recall is that we are not born with low confidence. It is a learned response which is often the result of an utter failure, bullying, or numerous years of critical parenting. Not …
A hypnotherapist uses the trance state of hypnosis as a tool to make the therapy treatment more effective, and then treats specific problems that the client may have. Clinical hypnotherapy usually works very well when the client’s focus is directed internally so they become more self-aware. This is by and large achieved by relaxing the …
Just about everyone has needed, or planned to, shed unwanted weight in the course of their lives. Let us be honest, modern day society as a whole is getting heavier and fairly quickly. Putting on the weight is almost a fact of life, but losing weight and keeping it off is not easy. People are …
For countless people, stress is a part of life, and many of us have experienced it at some point. Dependent upon the circumstances, the intensity of the stress and tension felt by each individual, may differ. Typically, the after effects of specific distressing events can become overwhelming and hard to cope with. These overwhelming incidents …
One of the most common types of anxiety disorders is social anxiety. The best way to beat social anxiety is to remove any vile, negative thought you may hold about yourself and your capabilities and capacities. It can create problems in circumstances that many of us take for granted, like being at the checkout in …
A hypnotic gastric band is a cutting edge therapeutic intervention , aimed at combating overeating issues by making use of advanced hypnotherapy techniques. By utilising a technique that places the gastric band, in a virtual way through a hypnotherapeutic approach, expensive traditional surgery can be avoided plus the serious risks that go with it and …
You will need to have lived in a cave in past years to have avoided the scary images all over the news relating to binge drinking. Just about everyone has, on some occasions, found themselves dancing the night away, having indulged in one (or six) too many bevies. We live in a very stressful world, …
Saturday 31st May – World No Tobacco Day could be a great day to get rid of smoking. The World Health Organisation (WHO) state that tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death around the globe, wiping out nearly 6 million people a year – 600,000 of whom are non-smokers. WHO promotes the day …
We all need sleep. In fact, we all need 6-8 hours of sleep each night in order to function properly. Losing out on one night’s sleep can take a while to recover from, but eventually we do catch up. However, long term sleeping problems just aren’t as easy to shake off. Insomnia affects the sleep …
There is considerably more pressure on smokers to stop smoking, from the medical profession and the public. With many stop smoking projects running across the country and plenty of smoking cessation advice, it is now quite difficult to escape from it. It is fairly well accepted that smoking does damage our health and the information …
In the present day, the way we communicate is increasingly computer based, but the loss of face to face connections are having an adverse effect on our society. In our hypnotherapy practice this is all too apparent as we see large numbers of socially isolated clients. We show these clients how hypnotherapy builds confidence very …
Because of the way it has been portrayed through the years, people often ask “Is hypnotherapy effective?”. Well, studies have now shown that hypnotherapy has an impact on the brain which may be recorded scientifically. Research carried out by Stanford University pointed out that when volunteers were told under hypnosis that they were looking at …