There are many other conditions which can be helped with hypnotherapy. Here are a few of the most commonly encountered conditions (A-Z) with a few words about usual causes and resolutions. If you do not find your condition listed here and you are wondering if it can be helped using hypnotherapy, please ask…..hypnotherapy is incredibly flexible and though it does have it’s limits (It can’t make short people tall!) it can often be tailored to address many problems.

Addiction - Addiction can occur in many forms. Drugs, food, sex, and gambling are the most commonly noted forms of addiction but even the healthiest pursuits can become problematic when practiced obsessively. It’s not unusual therefore for people to become addicted to working out, working, or studying (gaining qualifications).  In treating addiction we recognize firstly that the early “mammalian” brain seeks the comfort of repeating pleasurable experiences. We will tend more towards seeking comfort when our needs are not being adequately met in the present. So treatment involves understanding what need the addiction is “standing in for” and how we can help you to get that need met in a healthier way.  Then we have to work together with a strong resolve and a conscious awareness of the damaging nature of the addiction to help you firmly establish a new pattern of thought and behaviour. Providing that your intent is clear, then there is every chance of success, because new behaviour and thought can literally change the pathways in the brain….effectively re-wiring the way you do things. So what might seem difficult at first, soon becomes second nature as the automatic part of the mind naturally promotes the new pattern of thought and behaviour as normal rather than the old one which was supporting the addiction. The “void” which was being filled by the addiction can be filled instead now with positive behaviours and feelings because we take steps to make sure your needs are being properly met and then you can gain pleasure in healthier more fulfilling ways. Ultimately, addictive behaviours are destructive even if they do seem fun and exciting in the short term, and even an addict can know that at a conscious level. We will get that message over to the subconscious mind too so that it starts to support you properly, making it much easier to engage positively with a new lifestyle!  

Bruxism (Teeth Grinding) – Bruxism is a condition marked by the grinding of teeth during sleep and/or daily jaw clenching. It can cause damage and wear on the teeth, and is often very unpleasant to experience. Sufferers sometimes dream of the tooth grinding and will report having a locked jaw where enormous pressure gets placed on one or two teeth creating fear that the teeth will snap. Other sufferers are only alerted to their condition by a partner who hears the grinding during the night. Though the exact causes of bruxism are not completely understood, it is well established that stress worsens the condition and bruxism usually stops naturally when the time of stress has passed. Relatively speaking, the jaw muscles are the strongest muscles in the body.  When we are anxious generally, the muscles of the jaw can hold a great deal of tension, and it seems that there is an effort to release this tension during sleep. Bruxism usually responds favourably and readily to hypnotherapy. Treatment requires a general reduction in anxiety coupled with some suggestion based hypnotherapy work to suggest relaxation to the mind and jaw during sleep.  

Childbirth - Hypnotherapy can help you to relax and the benefits of being relaxed about childbirth are enormous. Childbirth is covered in full in its own category. Please click here to go to the childbirth pages.

Confidence – Hypnotherapy has long been associated with helping people to feel confident. This is an area of work which really deserves two definitions however.

If we are talking about gaining confidence in a single area of performance then hypnotherapy can work very quickly.  Essentially, if we need to we will neutralize the fear template/s and then we can move on to “showing” the subconscious mind that it’s possible for you to successfully be brilliant in whatever area of confidence you need boosting in. Two to three sessions will usually be sufficient to nicely improve your confidence.

If we are talking about your overall confidence as a person we will usually expect this to take longer. Obviously, everyone is different, so what each person needs to reconnect with their confidence will be unique. If you have low self-confidence or low self-esteem generally, then hypnotherapy can definitely help, but for lasting change a “magic wand” approach falls short. Increasing your confidence as a person is a process of building positivity and self recognition over time. We also need to unlearn those negative programmes which have stopped you from recognizing your own ability to perform well as a person as well as teaching you the skills you need to be able to engage with the world positively and confidently.  Between six and ten sessions will be usual here but it depends on your needs.  

Fear of Flying - Please click here to go to the fear of flying page.

IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Please click here for the Irritable Bowel Syndrome page.

Insomnia (sleeplessness) - – Please click here for the Insomnia page.

Nail biting – Nail biting is essentially an unwanted habit. Nail biting is treated in a similar way to smoking being that it is a habit, and from a therapeutic point of view is usually relatively easy to treat. There are a couple of approaches which work very well and one might expect to take between 2-4 sessions to treat nail biting depending on the level of anxiety or stress which is present in the nail biters’ life. Most people who bite their nails will readily recognise that the habit is more pronounced when anxiety is present so it is sometimes necessary to reduce anxiety as a strategy for success. Many clients I see naturally stop biting their nails whilst we address other concerns so it’s easy to see how it responds well to reduced anxiety as well as direct suggestion. Please click here for the nail biting page.

Public Speaking (see below)/ Presentations/ Interviews/ Exams and Tests – These are extremely common difficulties. Individuals who actually enjoy public speaking are few and far between.  Despite that, these days of course, these events are more and more a part of our everyday lives. Our jobs in particular increasingly demand these skills.  Hypnotherapy can help with these situations. We recognise that “worry”; that is to say “intense negative introspection about the future” creates a great deal of anxiety. Each episode of “worry” can create a highly charged negative image of a future event. Continually imagining a negative outcome is like saying to your subconscious mind “This event will end in disaster!!” Is it any wonder then that when the event actually arrives the subconscious mind supplies you with an anxiety response designed to stop you from entering such a dangerous situation! Thus, a negative self fulfilling prophecy is created. Using hypnotherapy, we can reverse this process, by creating a positive expectation. We can de-traumatise the negative image of this future event so that there is no “phobic” response to the situation and then replace the negative image with a much more positive view of how you would like it to be. By doing this we show the subconscious mind that there is another way to handle this situation…..a much more comfortable way! Then when you actually come to engage with the situation your subconscious mind delivers a positive response and you can find that instead of feeling fear and dread, you can instead access the memory and expectation of a beautifully smooth performance. Time permitting (usually an extra session) it is also very helpful to use “parts” therapy in this type of work which helps you to get in tune with the different components of your personality and to learn to consciously bring forward the part of the personality which knows naturally and instinctively how to excel in situations like these. This can be nicely enlightening. Between 2 and 4 sessions is usual for treating these difficulties.   

Public Speaking - Has it's own page of explanation. Please click here to view.

Selective Eating- Food phobia or selective eating is actually quite common. It is recognised that as children we all pretty much start out life being food phobic to some degree. There is a rule of thumb with becoming accustomed to eating new foods. Research has shown that we need to be exposed to food types approximately 17 times to include them as part of our diet. Most people move past their instinctive dislike or distrust of certain food types as they grow up but it seems some people do not. We can in some cases learn anxiety about food too, from our parents (even with their best intentions). Hypnotherapy can help to overcome this instinctive dislike of certain foods by suggesting that they can be viewed and tasted differently. We work with the subconscious mind to relay this message at a deeper level than is normally possible, thus assisting the “automatic” functions of the mind to promote healthy behaviours! In order for this work to be successful it is necessary that you have a strong desire to incorporate these foods into your diet and be willing to actually do so, since we have to incorporate the “17 times” rule to have you get used to eating these new foods. I have worked successfully with a number of people with this difficulty.

Sexual Difficulties

Premature Ejaculation/Erectile Dysfunction - Premature ejaculation is often anxiety related. It’s one of those areas of activity where we can become too focused on performance, and the whole thing can turn into one big worry. There are a number of reasons that people can develop this difficulty. Sexual inexperience is an obvious cause. Often this can be counteracted by learning to calm down …to go slowly…to know that you’re allowed to take a breather etc. Another cause is that hormonal levels within young men (16-25) can be very high thus causing overexcitement in the sexual situation.  Most often though, it will be an anxiety response which is causing the difficulties.  Sex, like sleep, is one of those areas of activity in which the body knows what to do and usually takes care of itself. I mention sleep because everyone knows what it’s like to have trouble getting to sleep, and then “trying” really hard to make oneself sleep. We all know that the outcome of that trying is the exact opposite! This is “the law of reversed effort” or “what you resist persists” in action. When we try to use the conscious mind to take control of a function which is by nature taken care of by the unconscious mind, then we create tension and anxiety and this creates a self perpetuating cycle of anxiety. Who can focus on enjoying sex when there is a great deal of anxiety attached to it….? And if there is anxiety, then as far as the subconscious mind is concerned then there is probably danger in this situation too, and if you the organism will insist on having sex then the best thing to do is to at least get it over and done with as quickly as possible so that you can leave the “dangerous” situation sooner rather than later. Thus the subconscious mind suggests a quick ejaculation! Using the same understanding we can see that anxiety too can cause erection difficulties or impotence. Here, the subconscious mind will simply say that “Sex is out of the question…too dangerous!” Treatment therefore involves helping you to relax about having sex. What you need to be able to relax will be very individual, so I will of course help you with whatever difficulties you bring. Using positive mental imagery and fear dissociation techniques we can help to make sex pleasurable and relaxed for you again. Treatment for this can be shorter or longer term. Typically, a few nerves can be helped with 2-3 sessions, but somebody who is chronically anxious and experiencing sexual difficulties as a result will need perhaps 5-10 sessions.

Female – Vaginismus is essentially a lack of lubrication in the vagina and/or the tightening of the vaginal opening and muscles to the degree that sex is unpleasant, painful, or impossible. This is the female equivalent essentially to male impotence. Possible reasons for this difficulty are varied, but again, as with the above (premature ejaculation), it is often anxiety related, and by dealing with your concerns around sex, and learning to relax about sex, a resolution is usually fairly easy to achieve. I am of course more than willing to work with women with this difficulty, but if you would prefer to see a woman, please contact me and I will recommend someone for you.

Sports Performance Improvement- Guided imagery, visualization and suggestion techniques can improve your concentration and sports performance. Good sports performance is all about state of mind. Winners are not only experts at training their bodies. They also have sharp, clear, focused minds. A well focused athlete exemplifies what it means to be in a nice positive trance….focused and clear, relaxed, yet alert and sharp. This means being able to hold your mind steady as you approach the goal to shoot so you can put the ball in the back of the net with purpose and poise rather than fluff it because you were too excited and trying too hard (Yes I know the space personally!) I also know how powerful it can be to feel like you have complete control out there on the field -nice and slow, nice and calm even though you still have two defenders to get by. They are frantic. You’re not. That gives you the edge you need! Visualizing different techniques in the mind stimulates the same motor memory patterns that are active during the physical execution of the movement. It has been scientifically proven that athletes (including weightlifters) who use visualization develop more rapidly. Weightlifter studies showed that the weightlifters who visualized themselves lifting heavier weights than they were apparently capable of were actually able to do so after visualization despite the fact that they had previously been unable to lift that weight. The mindset, clearly, has a great deal to do with performance. Doubters lose in competition. Confidence is everything in sport. This therapy can be shaped according to your needs, and is not really technically a therapy but a focusing tool. As well as teaching you how to harness the power of your mind I will also supply you with a self-hypnosis CD which will enable you to make the most effective use of your most powerful tool…the rehearsal room of your mind...in your own time.