As Westerners we often spend a lot of time 'in our head', thinking about
what we need to do in the future or what we did in the past, rather than
'living in the now'. As we can only live or act in the present, keeping our
head in the past or in the future however good they were (or may be) affects
our effectiveness and enjoyment of life - many of us know someone who is
putting something off until 'the time is right'.
Anxious people often re-run old conversations or situations, mostly with
a negative, rather than positive focus. They may also 'catastrophise' and run a
number of extremely negative, often irrational scenarios that could (but are
unlikely to) arise - their mind literally 'runs away with them'. This is
clearly distressing and limiting for the individual concerned. Less often,
people can get carried away with positive visions, and these people are sometimes
described as fantasists or worse.
In my work as a hypnotherapist, I teach stressed or anxious clients a
method of mindfulness (self-hypnosis) that I call the self-awareness method. Mindfulness is a type of meditation that has its roots in Buddhism and is an easy way to clear the head of 'internal chatter'. You don't need to be a buddhist or to come from a particular culture and anyone can learn how to do it.
When practising mindfulness you become aware of
physical sensations, sights, sounds, smells - small things you might not normally
notice. It's a great way to stop over-thinking and get into a calm and tranquil state. It can be used as a simple relaxation technique, a good preparation for sleep
or to help with pain management or low mood. As part of my hypnosis for
childbirth sessions pregnant women learn how to prepare for natural drug-free
birthing through this simple method and it really is, in my view, a skill for
life.
If you'd like more information on how mindfulness, self hypnosis or
guided hypnosis could help you, just give me a call me now on 020 8947 3338 for
a free consultation.
