If you've been struggling with Anxiety you may have found that therapies like CBT just seem to go quit far enough in resolving the issue for you.  The physical feeling remains even though you've learned how to observe and correct unhelpful thoughts. Hypnotherapy provides a more holistic solution to Anxiety, because as well as dealing with the unhelpful thinking styles, hypnosis addresses the physical experience ​of excessive anxiety.   Hypnosis taps into the limbic system,  creating a state of profound focus during which the brain is given an opportunity to reset it's processes.  

In my practice I use a combination of Counselling (including CBT techniques), Hypnosis and EFT (Emotional freedom technique or tapping) to create this reset while also increasing the Vagus Nerve Activity and thus generating the parasympathetic relaxation response.

Have you heard of the Vagus Nerve? 
 
It’s the longest cranial nerve in the body and it connects your brain to many critical organs including the gut, heart and lungs. The word Vagus comes from the Latin word wanderer, which is apt because the nerve does wander all over the body to reach organs.
 
The Vagus nerve is intrinsic to the Parasympathetic 'rest and digest’ nervous system and so has an influence on breathing, digestive function and heart rate, all of which are linked to mental health.
 
According to Dr Mladin Golubic, Medical Cirector at the Cleveland Clinic the Vagus response reduces stress, heart rate, blood pressure, changes the function of certain parts of the brain as well as stimulating digestion; changes which all happen while we’re relaxed.
 
By stimulating the Vagus Nerve we increase Vagal tone and this has been shown to help with a wide variety of brain and mental health conditions including Anxiety, Depression, Migraine, Alzheimer's disease, Alcohol Addiction, personality disorders, poor memory, MS, OCD, chronic fatigue and autism. 
 
Some ways to stimulate the Vagus Nerve and improve Vagal Tone are:

1. Exposure to extreme cold. Research has shown this lowers the fight and flight response and increases parasympathetic activity by the Vagus Nerve.  Try turning the cold water on for 30 seconds at the end of every show increasing the time as you get used to it.  You can start by allowing the cold water to run over your wrists.
2. Breathe slowly and deeply all the way down to your diaphragm, slow your breathing race down by about half so instead of the usual 10 to 14 breaths each minute, aim to take about six breaths in a minute, exhaling very slowly.
3. As the Vagus Nerve is connected to the vocal cords and the muscles at the rear of the throat so it can be stimulated by singing, humming, chanting and even gargling. This is been shown to improve vagal tone.  Simply gargling water when you brush your teeth will help, extending it for as long as you can.
4. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique or Tapping) and acupuncture are both effective at stimulating the Vagus Neve, by tapping or needling on points where there are nerve endings close to the surface. 
5. Yoga, Tai Chi and Qi Gong are all wonderful ways of increasing parasympathetic activity through movement, stimulation and stretching.
6. Probiotics improve the gut bacteria and improve brain function having been transported via the Vagus Nerve system
7. Exercise also stimulates the Vagus Nerve, increases the brain’s growth hormone and helps reverse cognitive decline.

If you'd like to find out how I can help you overcome Anxiety please give me a call on 0435 923 817 or use the contact me using this Hypfocus Hypnotherapy Melbourne form on my Hypnotherapy for Anxiety page.  I look forward to hearing from you.

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This long weekend why not take some time to introduce mindfulness into your life and really relax.  It doesn't have to be a lot of time but it does need to be dedicated time; time that you're going to use purely for relaxation. You may have lots of plans and it may seem like a waste of precious time to sit and do nothing for a few minutes of the day and yet did you know that by sitting and doing nothing for a few minutes you’re being incredibly productive?
 
Mindfulness triggers a lot of activity in the brain, while the body relaxes the brain rebalances.  During this rebalancing process, the body's relaxation protocol begins to slowly shrink the Amygdala, which is the area of the brain associated with fear and emotion.  It is from this area that our Stress response is triggered. While the amygdala shrinks the prefrontal cortex, which is the area of the brain responsible for executive function (e.g.  concentration ,decision-making, and motivation) becomes thicker, and the connectivity between the Amygdala and the rest of the brain becomes weaker while the connections between the areas associated with focused attention, concentration, motivation and emotional regulation become stronger. 

Research has shown that the rate of change that occurs in the brain is related to the number of hours a person spends practising mindfulness  or meditation. It has been established that mindfulness enables us to redistribute our brains resources away from the stress centre and towards the centre of emotional regulation, yes regular practice of mindfulness helps us become better at regulating our emotions.  Studies have shown changes in brain structure after just 8 weeks of practicing for 10 minutes a day.
 
By disconnecting from the brain stress centre we create a range of physical as well as mental health benefits, reducing stress and inflammation in the mind and body leads to lower anxiety levels, reduces the likelihood of developing depression and helps us avoid gut issues.  There’s a strong school of thought that says reducing stress reduces our risk of chronic disease and cancer.  Our immune system functions better when our body is not inflamed, and we are also better able to absorb vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
 
All things considered that represents a great return on an investment of 10 minutes a day.
 

Tips for practising mindfulness

1. Sit with your back straight
   
2. Feet flat on the ground
   
3. Hands resting on your lap (not crossed).
   
4. Breathe deeply in through your nose all the way down to your abdomen and maintain that breathing pattern throughout your mindfulness session.
   
5. Before you begin scan over your body and let go of any physical tension you become aware of
   
6. Remember thoughts will come and go, that’s perfectly natural your mind will never be blank or clear, however you don’t have to engage with the thoughts you can simply let them fade into the background.

If you are struggling to begin your practice of mindfulness Hypnotherapy will help clear the emotions and stressors that are blocking your progress.  If you would like help overcoming Anxiety please give me a call at Hypfocus Hypnotherapy Melbourne 0435 923 817 .  I specialise in anxiety and panic disorders as well as compulsive habits.  
Hypnotherapy is extremely effective in the treatment of Anxiety Disorders.

​It is essential that you find the right therapist, with appropriate training and their credentials verified through membership of an association such as the AHA.  I am a member of the AHA and the ACA.

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Here's a short video I made discussing how our Anxiety can be fuelled by our inner critic and explaining how speaking to ourselves with compassion will actually benefit ourselves far more and produce better performance.

 If you'd like to come and see me for help overcoming Anxiety please don't hesitate to give me a call on 0435 923 817 or use the contact form here I look forward to helping you make the positive changes you want to see in your life.

There is no wrong time to go to Hypnotherapy, it's helpful at any time to talk to someone objective; a professional with no emotional involvement in the issue you want to discuss.

There are however times when Hypnotherapy can be particularly beneficial, these include:

• when you're suffering the effects of Anxiety
• when you have attempted to make changes but have been unable to e.g. to lose weight, stop smoking, stop a damaging habit, leave a toxic relationship
• when you're feeling Stressed and not yourself
• when life is overwhelming or confusing,
• when you need help in developing practical tools to help you cope and move forward.  
• when you're at a crossroads and are doing some soul searching
• when you lack confidence
• when you're not able to function properly either socially or professionally 
• when your performance has declined and you can't seem to lift it back up
• when you're not living up to your potential
• when your quality of life has been impacted by thoughts, feelings or behaviours
• when you repeat negative patterns in works or relationships
• when you want to understand yourself better
• when you lack motivation
• when you want to enhance your ability to learn, builds new skills and receive feedback
• when you struggle to make decisions
• when you have a psychiatric illness (1 I 4 people will have a diagnosable psychiatric illness their lifetime)
• when you're experiencing grief or loss
• when you need to perform at your best e.g. in exams, sport, job interviews, public speaking etc.

At Hypfocus I combine psychotherapy and counselling skills with hypnosis to deliver the most effective and up to date treatment available.  I help my clients create incredible change through our collaborative work which enables them to create improvements at a deep subconscious level.  Our subconscious is the most powerful force in our life, when we use Hypnosis to align our subconscious processes with our conscious goals and desires we can live to our highest potential.

If you'd like to learn more about how I can help you give me a call on 0435 923 817 or use he contact form here
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Menopausal women the world over may experience a range of symptoms but one of the most debilitating is insomnia.

Until you experience chronic insomnia it is hard to conceptualise the extent to which it impacts ever aspect of your life.  Your ability to function, reason, retain information, focus, articulate, motivate yourself, tolerate and even gather enough energy to put one foot in front of the other  is severely impaired.

The kicker is that this may be the first tell tale symptom of menopause, long before you even realise that you are entering menopause - during the peri-menopausal phase.  Your estrogen and progesterone levels go out of balance and your brain goes into overdrive trying to regain balance. This article contains some really useful information about what may be going on in your body to lead to such incredible fatigue.

The brain works 24/7 regulating and balancing.  The additional resources that are directed into trying to get the bodies system back into sync leave you feeling drained.  Anxiety and Depression can result from months and years of chronic lack of sleep.

Hypnotherapy helps to reduce the effects of menopause by reducing stress and anxiety and creating an opportunity for the brain to reset through deep focused absorption and internal stillness. Numerous studies have proven the effectiveness of Hypnotherapy  for the reduction of menopause symptoms, my interpretation of the changes that take place is that  this reset enables the brain to update some of the settings to allow for the new hormone levels rather than trying to run obsolete programs based on pre-menopause levels.

The American Menoapause Association has recommended Hypnotherapy as an effective treatment because it helps in such a holistic way.  

Keep in mind that these days when women are going through menopause they are often contending with challenging jobs, dependent children (often hormonal teenagers just to add another layer of complexity), relationships and aging parents.  It is the most demanding time in most women's lives. Hypnotherapy provides respite from the mental overload.  A reboot that free's up all resources to be directed where they'll do the most good.

If you'd like to learn more please give me a call on 0435 923 817 or use the contact form on my menopause page.
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Our phones have become an integral part of our every day lives.   We set them up to run our lives, tell us where to be, when to be there and who to be with when we get there. They can track our calories, our steps, our sleep; they direct us through traffic, tell us where the nearest whatever we need is; they even tell us if people of interest are nearby.

They constantly ping with notifications that we dutifully check.  We  text, DM, post photo's of our every activity, engage in debates, join group chats and before we know it we're waking  up repeatedly during the night when the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) alarm disturbs our sleep. 

What began as a supportive relationship has turned toxic for many, but none more so than for teenagers.  As a teenager you are programmed to belong, to fit in to the group.  If the members of your friendship group are engaging with one another you feel compelled to join in because the fear of being excluded is overwhelming.

Leaving it up to a teenager to moderate their phone use in their bedroom at night is akin to leaving a loaded crack cocaine pipe with a crack addict on the promise that they won't be tempted by it after you've said goodnight.  Smart phone apps and social media are designed to be addictive, they are designed to release dopamine in the brain just like cocaine, because they know the brain will compel us to repeat any habit that does so.    Combining this  addiction trigger with the fear of exclusion form a peer group creates a force that is extremely hard for a teenager to resist . It is simply too much to expect that teenagers can moderate their phone use  without parental support, and by support I mean enforced rules and boundaries.  I suggest the rule be no devices (phones/laptops or anything that connects them online)  for at least an hour before bed and strictly no devices in the bedroom after bedtime.

Believe it or not there are teenagers chatting to each other via Snapchat and other online apps until 4am or later on school nights.  They can't put the phone down for fear of missing out, being seen to be uncool or being excluded and bullied by the group participants.  

A secret teenage world where no adult  is permitted now exists far beyond anything that has ever existed before. When you think your teenager is safe in their bed, if their device is with them, they are potentially being at best kept awake or at worst  harassed, worn down, humiliated and in some groups experiencing a hierarchy that makes 'Lord of the Flies' seem like the soft option.   School refusal is on the increase and I firmly believe that a significant contributor to this is night time phone/device use.

Enforcing rules such as no phones or  devices connected to the internet in bedrooms after bedtime may be unpopular, but in many cases teenagers may secretly feel relieved to have this boundary clearly defined for them and to be able to 'blame' their parents for their absence from the all night to early morning chats that are seeing teenagers exhausted and often unable to get out of bed for school at all the next day. 

They might fight to hang on to their phones the way sufferers of Stockholm syndrome may cling to their kidnappers, however in the long  run I believe  they'll thank you for it.

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Life can feel very hectic these days, we are always on call to our phones and devices, obediently responding to their pings and notifications. We are inundated with information and prophesies of doom via the 24 hour news cycle, as well as non-stop comparisons to people living seemingly perfect lives via social media and reality TV.
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It is easier than ever to enter into a state of overwhelm.  When we enter overwhelm we tend to freeze and become stuck. Understanding our boundaries and having a reasonable and compassionate attitude towards ourselves is the key to avoiding this pitfall.

Here are 8 tips to help feel in control:

1. Understand your locus of control.  This means to make a clear distinction between what you can control and what is controlled by external forces in your life; in other words don't waste time and energy trying to make the rain stop,  focus instead on what you can do to minimise the impact of the rain with what is within your control e.g.  get yourself a rain jacket and umbrella and move on.  Putting energy into trying to control something controlled by external forces will lead to inevitable feelings of failure and powerlessness.
2. Don't allow an 'if only things were different' mindset to take-over.  Address circumstances as they are, not as you wish they were; if necessary ask yourself "what can I do about this?" and act accordingly.  If there is nothing you can do, adjust your expectations and plans i.e. adapt.   Sticking rigidly to expectations that cannot be fulfilled will lead to stress and feelings of frustration. 
3. Be sensitive and compassionate without trying to control and anticipate other peoples feelings.  Other peoples feelings are influenced by things far beyond your control so don't try to be  a mindreader/fortune teller.  You are responsible for behaving like a decent human being, beyond that you are not responsible for other peoples feelings or opinions.
4. Feeling in control is not the same as being in control.  There are many situations in which we are not fully in control, however we can have control over how we respond to them.  We can choose to be philosophical and use every experience as a learning tool to inform our future decisions. 
5. Set realistic goals, ideally using the S.M.A.R.T. Goal protocol (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Limited).  This helps to avoid overload.  Remember it's ok to say no if you are being inundated, don't bite off more than you can chew. Don't mistake yourself for a superhero or be a martyr to a lost cause.  Understand your abilities and by all means try to fulfil your potential but  know your limits.
6. Be psychologically flexible.  Rigid views and thought patterns lead to regular angst and let downs.  Being flexible enables you to avoid the feeling over overwhelm; to accept that things don't always go according to plan and to be more resilient generally.
7. Practice mindfulness daily, even if it's just 10 minutes.  This allows your brain to reset enabling the pre-frontal cortex to regulate your emotions more efficiently and effectively .  Mindfulness has also been shown to increase motivation and improve memory which will also enhance a sense of inner control.
8. Practice delaying gratification.  This means developing the skill of putting off something easy or enjoyable while you tackle more difficult/less enjoyable tasks first.  Sometimes this is referred to as eating the frogs first, from a Mark Twain quote in which he advised that "if you eat the frogs first thing in the morning you will go through the day knowing the worst is behind you".  This practice increases a sense of discipline and control as well as setting you up for the day in a positive frame of mind with a sense of achievement , this habit is one of the key traits of highly successful people.  

If you are feeling as thought life is out of control Hypnotherapy can help you to reset and restart.  Hypnosis allows a state of deep introspection and insight which is the foundation for positive mindset adjustments.    If you'd like to find out how I can help you, give me a call on 0435 923 817 or use the contact form at the link here.  I look forward to hearing from you.

For the best Hypnotherapy Melbourne has to offer ensure to do your research and check your practitioners training. Ensure they have been trained at a recognised training institute and are a member of an accredited association. 

Hypnosis has been used for more than 200 years to help people overcome various issues including Anxiety,Depression, Trauma, Phobia, Stop Smoking, Weight Issues, Addiction or Pain Management to name just a few.  

In my first Hypnotherapy Course in Melbourne at the Academy Of Hypnotic Science  (the only Government Accredited Course in Victoria) one of my class mates was an older gentleman who had decided to study Hypnotherapy in retirement after a lifelong fascination with Hypnosis.  His original interest was sparked when his father, who was a Digger (Australian Service Man)  in World Wart II told him about when the Allied Forces were running out of medical supplies in Papua New Guinea and  they had flown in Hypnotists to use Hypnosis instead of Anesethesia when operating on troops in the field. His father was one of those operated on and was very grateful to have been in the care of a Hypnotist while the surgeons operated to remove shrapnel from his wounds.  

This story added to my already growing love for Hypnotherapy as a mode of helping people overcome issues that disrupt their lives and since going on to further studies and having been in practice for several years now I've seen first hand the remarkable things that can be achieved  between a client and a properly trained therapist using Hypnotism combined with psychotherapy and counselling.

This article from the New York Times "Using Hypnosis To Gain Control Over your Illness" outlines how hypnosis can prepare patients for medical procedure as well as speed the recovery of patients after surgery by reducing (in some cases eliminating) the need for anaesthetic drugs, they estimate it would save the health system $328 per procedure if hypnosis was used in conjunction with traditional medicine during surgeries. Patients are found to recover within hours rather than days and go home much sooner than would be expected with 'conventional' anaesthesia.

More people are enjoying the benefit of Hypnosis for Chronic Pain relief too, this is one of the most rewarding aspects of my practice, to see my clients visible relief and than joy at realising they no longer have to be a prisoner to pain.

If you'd like to find out more about how Hypnotherapy can help you please feel free to give me a call on 0435 923 817 or use the contact form here (or at the bottom of any page on my website).

The months have flown by since Christmas and here we are at Easter already.  Many of us have been so busy that it all feels like a bit of a blur.  It's important to take advantage of these breaks throughout the year to really de-stress.  So here are 5 suggestions about quick, easy and cheap ways to do that!

1. Go for a walk, even 10 minutes can make a difference.  Get moving and if possible go somewhere where you're surrounded by nature.  Go to the beach or the park or the countryside, breath the fresh air and take in your surroundings.  Walking helps to clear the mind and make us feel balanced.
2. Catch up with friends or family, connect with people.  Connection is one of the most critical components to human happiness.  If you don't know many people, consider a 'meet up' group, a volunteer group or a community gathering.  If you Google what's on in your city or town you'll find plenty of things happening, many of them free, look for something that appeals to you.
3. Listen to music you love,  create a playlist of your favourites and get up and dance to them!
4. Guide yourself through a progressive muscle relaxation. Sit straight in a chair with your feet flat on the floor and your hands resting uncrossed on your lap.  Breath slowly and deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth then slowly visualise each part of your body releasing stress and tension and relaxing, all the way from the top of your head down to your toes.  You can visualise the stress flowing out and disappearing into the floor.
5. Think of things that you'd like to do and start planning them.  You may not know how you're going to achieve them yet but you can get the ball rolling by starting a plan.  Create a vision board with cuttings and captions about things you'd like to do or achieve, places you'd like to go, relationships etc. whatever you want.  Set your intentions toward creating the life you want for yourself.

Whatever you do I hope you enjoy the long weekend and wish you all the best from Hypfocus Therapies Hypnotherapy in Mentone, South East Melbourne

The opioid crisis in the US is once again bringing the issue of pain management to the forefront of public debate.  It's estimated that 1 in 3 Americans are prescribed opioids at some point in their lives. This is remarkable because of the addictive quality of these drugs and because they are ineffective within 12 months but continue to be prescribed long after that.  
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Many articles have already been written about 'Big Pharma' and the industries insatiable quest for profits . Don't get me wrong there have been remarkable advances in the drugs available to treat us for various ailments, for which I'm very grateful; however, when it comes to chronic pain relief we have been drawn into a paradigm which involves drugs being  prescribed with little consideration of alternatives. This report from Monash Uni  on lower back pain is one of many confirming that pain management has been more a case of mismanagement for years.  It's time to rethink.

Properly trained Hypnotherapists have  always been aware of how effective Hypnosis is for pain management. Of course some pain serves a purpose and it would not be in the interest of someone in this category to have their pain eliminated because it is there in a protective capacity, this is acute pain and it subsides when healing has occured.  Acute pain can however be reduced in intensity through hypnosis.  Hypnosis is in fact used in many Dental and Surgical procedures where anaesthetic is not an option, and it not only manages the pain, it speeds up the recover time post procedure.

Many people have pain that persists long after it's served it's usefulness, this is what's referred to as chronic pain.  I have seen people in this category transformed after their first session with me as their brain learns to  achieve a state of absorbed focus during which the focus on the pain and the anticipation of pain is shifted with the help of their imagination, enabling the client to realise that they can gain control over the experience of sensation they are having.  I prefer to use the term 'sensation' rather than pain from the first session because the word pain itself has negative connotations which can trigger the pain response in the brain.  Chronic pain may be compared to an obsolete computer  program that was not uninstalled properly when the injury or illness healed,  Hypnosis can be used to remove this legacy program and get the brain running on it's standard operating system again.  

Our minds are incredibly powerful and protective so once a pain response 'program' is installed it is often reluctant to erase it, and for some people the help of a therapist may be required to do so.  I always teach my pain management clients self hypnosis so that they have the skills they require to manage it themselves going forward until they find they no longer need any pain management at all.

Dr David Spiegel from Stanford University discusses how Hypnosis is used in pain management in the video on this page he refers to  conditions such as  Back Pain and  Fibromyalgia to name just 2 of many.

Here are 6 tips on pain management from Harvard Health Publishing

Recommended reading by Dr John E Sarno The Mind Body Prescription and Healing Back Pain


If you'd like some help with pain management please feel free to give me a call on 0435 923 817 or email me using this Hypnosis Melbourne Contact form on my pain management page

Hypnotherapy is a complimentary solution and we recommend it be used in conjunction with your Dr's supervision.

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