I came across an interesting article published  by the CNBC network in the US in July 2016 about how Science has discovered How Hypnosis works.
The article was based on a Stanford University Study in which they placed the study participants into brain imaging machines and played them recordings.  Some recordings were designed to induce hypnosis and the others just gave straight out instructions.
The study demonstrated that when in a state of hypnosis that three areas of the brain are affected. The area of the brain responsible for evaluating contexts i.e. what to worry about and what to ignore, this means that hypnotised people are able to immerse themselves in a concept with great focus.
The second area affected is the part of the brain that enables us to separate thoughts from physical feelings e.g. you can focus on a particular train of thought while feeling as though your floating weightlessly, this means fore example that you can process and resolve a frightening concept without experiencing the feelings of fear that have prevented it's resolution in the past.
The third region of the brain affected is the area that maintains our self-consciousness, which enables people under hypnosis to do things they couldn't normally do due to inhibition or fear, this is a hugely powerful therapy tool becuase it enables people to explore outside their own psychological paradigm and see things from different perspectives and how they might respond and react to things differently as well as behave differently e.g. without fear, without resorting to an unwanted habit.
The researcher at Stanford (Spiegal) hopes that the study will encourage more use of hypnosis in therapy by providing evidence that it's not just a trick but rather a "neurobiological phenomenon"

The study also demonstrates that hypnosis is not about the client losing control but rather about enhancing the control that they have over their brains and bodies.

If you'd like to see the full article  here it is :
You're getting very curious: Scientists discover how hypnosis actually works
If you'd like to learn more about Hypnotherapy please visit my home page here Hypfocus Hypnotherapy Melbourne or give me a call on 0435 923 817.  

Bookings available in person, via Skype or via Zoom

In a recent interview Laurie Keefer, PHD discussed the increasing mainstream acceptance of  Hypnotherapy as a treatment particularly for  IBS and GI conditions. Laurie is an Associate Professor in the departments of medicine and gastroenterology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

In this interview Laurie discussed  the brain gut connection which I've referred to in previous posts.  More and more studies are concluding that this connection may be the most reliable key to unlocking the mystery of IBS and GI conditions. 

This comes as no great surprise the Hypnotherapists who have been trained thoroughly and are familiar with the concept of neurotransmitters being present in the gut as well as the brain.  A skilled and appropriately trained Hypnotherapist will know how to use Hypnotherapy to create  harmonious environments for these Neurotransmiters to exist as well as travel between, and science now backs this up.  This is why Hypnotherapy is now offered at medical centers across the US, it's even offered via telemedicine.

Laurie used GERD (gastroesophageal  reflux disease) as an example of another condition that Hypnotherapy can be used to alleviate.  When a person is suffering from GERD their brain perceives changes in acid exposure, so the gut is basically transmitting a message that something is going wrong to the brain.  Hypnotherapy enables the client to update these messages so that the brain can reset and correct any process which has gone off track.

It is extrapolated that Hypnosis will be effective on the same basis for any gut condition with a brain/gut connection e.g.  IBS, IBD (Has an element of brain/gut dysregulation) and GERD.

If you'd like to read the full article here is the link:  Hypnosis: An Unexpected Treatment for Gastrointestinal Disorders

If you'd like information on the Best Hypnotherapy Melbourne has to offer fro IBS or GERD why not give me a call on 0435 923 817   Visit this page on Hypnotherapy for IBS for further information

​ Life is a series of experiences that unfold like a patten of puzzles that play out in a loop until they’re resolved. Once resolved they become part of an ever more intricate puzzle mechanism moving us on level by level like cogs in a clock that marks and measures our time alive.

As we go through our life we are unconsciously trying to solve these puzzles, constantly attracted to similar experiences in the hope that they will contain the missing piece that we require in order to solve our own conundrum and enable us to experience the satisfaction of resolution, understanding and progress.

People that have grown up in healthy functioning households will more likely be attracted to people and things that are healthy and functional, because they will exude something familiar. Occasionally this pattern may be rebelled against however by and large a secure family life will increase the ability to identify healthy markers that we unconsciously look for in others.

If we’ve grown up in an unhealthy dysfunctional environment, this can lead to us being unconsciously drawn to someone that is faced with the task of resolving their own damage and may well be avoiding the task because it feels overwhelming. Damage comes in all shapes and forms; sometimes this attraction is based on a desire to ‘fix’ the other person, sometimes it’s a sense of empathy with their story, sometimes we may idolise them for their rebelliousness; their damage seems edgy, the sarcastic wit cool their aloof detachment mysterious. Often we are unconsciously trying to repair a relationship with our own parent, hoping for an opportunity to replay familiar scenes but with a better outcome. In this instance we can be remarkably tolerant or blind to the faults and sometimes abuse of the other party.
John Lennon Fan
A small example of this blind devotion was my youthful unconditional admiration of John Lennon. I admired his talent as a musician, his humour, his individuality his stance on world issues. I was devastated when he was killed as I’d developed a deep affection for him and am still very fond of him to this day. It was much later that I recognised that in my admiration of him I edited out his flaws e.g. the pain that he caused in his eldest son Julians’ life. I gave him a pass on that because I didn’t want to acknowledge this human weakness, and that the person or at least the public persona that I admired so much was in reality guilty of the same behaviour that had caused me pain in my life, i.e. to be abandoned by my own father. Why are we blind to these similarities? I think it’s because our child-self recognises the parental attribute and wants the fantasy that this time it’s different, the black and white thinking that someone is all good or all bad is part of the poor emotional education received as a child. In the case of my admiration for John lennon the pattern attracted me because I unconsciously hoped I’d find the missing piece for me, and funnily enough I did.

On recognising Lennon’s feet of clay I rethought the hurt and blame I felt for my own dad. John Lennon and my dad had their own puzzles to solve; it seems with his second child John Lennon had made some progress. My dad to his credit tried to be more present in my life as an adult. John Lennon was repeating the pattern of abandonment that had shaped him as a child, as was my own father. They were oblivious to their patterns and as long as they remained so they were incapable of changing them My Dads absence or rather the absence of a stable emotionally healthy parent for me certainly represented a significant emotional setback and made the task of developing emotional intelligence as an adult more difficult than had I had good role models to shape me as a child. The impact that parents and/or their absence has on children cannot be understated in my opinion.
We’ve become so casual about absentee parents, and are still so complacent about children living in dysfunctional/abusive households and yet until we do something to resolve it we’re creating generation after generation of people trying to resolve ever more complex puzzles of loss and dysfunction and as we see so often, some are far too complex for any individual to resolve without support, and the lack of support then leads to an increasingly dysfunctional society.
The advantage of a stable childhood
Every day that a child grows up in a stable functional environment lays down a layer of inner security and esteem that will serve to help protect them against the harsher elements of life as they grow up, a child that grows up without that is aware that they are exposed and so will try to create a defence of their own. The child from a functional background will have a protection that’s permeable allowing healthy air to circulate and a secure gate fitted so that they can selectively open it to allow others in when they're deemed safe; the child that has to create their own defence will often have something equivalent to an airtight chamber that’s suffocating and doesn’t allow anyone or anything in, or they’ll have a shark cage with gaps in the bars allowing predators to swim freely into their space time and time again.
So how do we solve our puzzles in order to grow as people and break unhealthy patterns if our puzzles are of the more complex variety?
How to change the old patterns
Awareness and acceptance of the need for resolution rather than the need to mask the confusion with unhealthy behaviours, addictions or avoidance is the first step. Too often when faced with uncomfortable emotional puzzles we use food, alcohol, drugs, shopping, cigarettes, sex or unhealthy relationships to avoid dealing with them. We can then feel stuck in these coping mechanisms. Even people with happy secure childhoods are not immune to this. Becoming aware that something needs to change and committing to doing something about it is a huge step in the right direction, and this can become a game changer that will see one pattern resolved and a chain affect set off that creates a positive knock on affect for future patterns. I believe and experience has shown me time again that the adversity of a dysfunctional childhood also creates an incredible set of attributes, resilience and strengths that can make for an amazingly well rounded insightful and empathetic individual. Ultimately we are all only as good as the work we're prepared to put in on ourselves.

Hypnotherapy or Hypnosis with a good therapist can be the catalyst for this change. Hypnotherapy allows a person to reflect at a deeper level, to view experiences with detachment and curiosity to learn from them and gain a more enlightened insight and perspective on the events that shaped them. This insight increases their ability to regulate ,experience and accept emotions as natural transient events and to realise the power they have to change and shape their response to events moving forward. It often comes as an incredible realisation that we can actually become a designer of our life patterns rather than being helplessly caught up in them. We can develop the skills that enable us to create something that’s ever evolving and increasingly beautiful.
If you'd like to learn more about Hypfocus Hypnotherapy please give me a call on 0435 923 817 or use this contact form

Here's an extract from our June 2017 Newsletter

You may remember last month I mentioned that Hypnotherapy is an effective treatment for IBS. Increasingly research points towards the mind/gut connection. Hippocrates the father of modern medicine who was born 450 years BC said that "all disease begins in the gut" , now some 2,500 years later we are finally beginning to realise how right he was, with connections being made between many conditions including  Depression, Anxiety, Cancer and Obesity and our gut health.  

Dr Michael Mosley the inventor of the 5:2 Diet (2 low calorie fast days per week of approx 500 calories per day) has recently written a new book called "The clever guts diet - an easier way to make food work for you"  In this book Mosley explains that we have a thin layer of neurons in our enteric system which he refers to as a 2nd brain, it runs from the throat to the anus and has 1000 million neurons that communicate with the brain via the Vegas Nerve.  Some of Mosleys' findings are:

• A Mediterranean diet can alleviate mild depression
• Overweight people are likely to have inflamed guts which causes sleep issues, which in turn makes them crave sugary carbs as an energy boost
• Unhealthy microbes in the gut tend to conserve energy by holding onto fat reserves which makes it difficult to lose weight, in spite of making he effort with diet and exercise.

Moseley says that if you lose weight and keep it off for 6 months your gut microbe can reset.  He recommends the following to achieve healthy sustainable weight loss, and happily his recommendations concur pretty much to what I recommend to people:

1. Mediterranean Diet (not pizza and pasta) with some Fermented Foods 
2. Moderate Exercise
3. Daily Practice of Mindfulness

If you do all 3 of the above you are establishing a routine that will promote both your physical and mental health, that's a pretty good return for effort.  As I've explained in previous posts Hypnotherapy is a fast track to the benefits that take weeks or months to achieve in mindfulness, as well as being faster it also produces even more significant results.  This is backed up by research conducted in the US by Dr. David Patterson a University of Washington Psychologist who has researched Hypnosis since the 1980's

Interesting Readers Digest article on the benefits of Hypnosis
Readers Digest recently ran this article on 12 of the ways that Hypnosis can benefit you.  In the article they talk about Hypnosis to Quit Smoking, Sleep Better, Cure Phobia, Ease Chronic Pain, Relieve Anxiety, Stop Tinnitus, Make Chemotherapy More Tolerable, Improve Athletic Performance, Promote Quicker recovery from surgery and ease IBS.. here's the link


If you'd like to book a Hypnotherapy session please give me a call on 0435 923 817 or use this contact form.

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Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time, however if the Anxiety is ongoing and affects the persons quality of life then it's time to seek help.  Anxiety is one of the most common mental health conditions affecting all age groups from young children through to adults.  
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Anxiety can stem from many causes e.g. it can be inherited and/or learnt behaviour, it can be caused by traumatic events such as bullying, divorce, bereavement, sudden shock, perfectionism, criticism, insecure attachment to parents.  Social media is now recognised as a significant contributor to teenage anxiety with the pressure to maintain a perfect image as well as competition for "likes" impacting self-worth and generating anxiety. Social Media platforms are designed to be addictive and create compulsive behaviours; Snapchat for example introduced "streaks" which had kids compulsively checking their phones to ensure they maintained successive interactions with friends and becoming anxious if their streaks were interrupted or disrupted in any way.

​Do not dismiss your child's fears as silly, listen to them.  If you see your child becoming anxious, remain calm yourself, model calm behaviour and calming techniques such as slow deep breathing.  When you notice your child overcoming any aspect of their anxiety recognise the achievement and praise them for it.  Do not punish or criticise them for exhibiting anxious traits or behaviours as this will exacerbate it.
It is important to check for any underlying physical cause of the Anxiety, which may sometimes be caused by things including but not exclusive to vitamin deficiency, poor diet, thyroid conditions. Check with your GP to eliminate these possible causes. 
Encourage quiet time and mindfulness.  Smiling Minds have some great introductory mindfulness recordings for kids and teenagers.  Anxiety has the mind racing into the future to check for potential dangers all the time, mindfulness teaches the mind to come back to the present and it enhances the ability to regulate emotions.

Seek Therapy.  As a Hypnotherapist and Trained Counsellor I offer a holistic approach in therapy to help my clients.  I combine talking therapy including CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) and Solution Focused Therapy with Hypnotherapy to help them resolve any unresolved emotions relating to events that may have initially triggered the anxiety.  I also work with them to interrupt the physical symptoms of anxiety that cause their thoughts to race in search of a threat to explain why they're feeling that way.  I  teach skills that empower them to minimise any symptoms of anxiety that they may experience if triggered.   There are many options available in terms of therapy, I believe Hypnotherapy is one of if not the best.

I've helped many teenagers overcome anxiety, whether it's when studying for their VCE, or in improving their attendance of school, overcoming triggers around school/social activities, recovering from the effects of bullying, dealing with their parents divorce, or improving their self-confidence and compassion in relation to their self-image and more.

If you'd like to find out more please give me a call on 0435 923 817 or Contact Me using the form on this page

Visit our Fear and Phobia Page here
Visit our Stress Managment Page here

"Does Hypnotherapy Work?" and "Will Hypnotherapy work on me?" are the two questions I'm most frequently asked.  Hypnotherapy in my experience is a wonderfully effective tool for change.
I've seem people experience incredible transformations simply by having a shift in their thinking.
Hypnotherapy creates a state of deep focus that with the guidance of the Hypnotherapist leads to greater insight for the clients, and this insight makes the process of change feel natural and easier than ever imagined possible.

Often we become stuck in a belief system or habit that we are hardly even consciously aware of, it may be a belief that we've held from such an early stage that we don't even know it is a belief we think it's simply a fact of life.  Often these beliefs can be about ourselves, beliefs like "I'll never be a success", "I'll never be as popular/clever/beautiful" etc etc as the""others", "I'm not good enough", "I can't stop...."  We accept these beliefs because we rarely think them through with clarity and presence.  Hypnotherapy allows us to explore and correct the beliefs that have been limiting us unnecessarily. 

Hypnotherapy gives us insight into why we do what we do and allows us to experience what it could be like if we change our unwanted habits, beliefs or behaviours.

Will it work on you?  If you can listen to my voice and are open to the possibility of change there is no reason why not.  All that is required for it to be effective is that we spend some time in a counselling session together so that I can understand how the issue you want to work on is for you, and then during the hypnotherapy part of our session I will use this information to help you create the change in mindset that you need.  The number of sessions required is variable dependin upon the issue, however I recommend an absolute minimum of 3 sessions be undertaken.  This is to ensure that the changes being made are firmly embedded and that should any triggers arise you are prepared for them.  More complex issues require more sessions.
What is Hypnotherapy?
It's a focused state of absorption during which we are retraining the brain, engaging your powerful imagination to create  alternative neural pathways and associations to replace old patterns; understandably  for complex issues this can take longer.   As you can imagine someone that has only  done a few days training is not equipped to guide you through this process so always ensure your Hypnotherapist is properly trained and a member of a credible association like the AHA or the AACHP.  Hypnotherapy in Melbourne and Australia is not regulated so it's important to make sure you are going to a reputable and properly trained therapist.
I am a trained Clinical Hypnotherapist and Professional Counsellor and am a member of the AHA and ACA, my credentials are listed in the About me and Contact pages.

If you'd like to ask more questions about Hypnotherapy please feel free to give me a call on 0435 923 817.

Please feel free to comment below.

Did you know that for years Hypnotherapy has been used in the UK'S NHS (National Health System)  to successfully treat Irritable Bowel Syndrome?   Similarly in the French health system Hypnotherapy is the go to treatment.  

Within 5 to 6 sessions symptoms can drastically improve, in fact 80% improvement is quoted by the respondent in the ABC interview linked to below a statistic which is supported in the newspaper article linked after. ABC  ran a news item about the use of Hynpotherapy for IBS management with very positive results here's the link .  Some time ago the Daily Mail UK ran this article also highlighting the long term positive benefit of Hypnotherapy for IBS sufferers.  
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In this BBC Report "Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology, said of the first 100 of his patients treated, symptoms improved significantly for nine in 10" 

20% of the Australian population are affected by this condition with some people experiencing  significant loss in quality of life as a result.  Hypnotherapy  is a safe and natural solution that has benefits that extend beyond simply managing the symptoms of IBS, the sessions will lower stress levels and with the right practitioner teach the participant skills to ensure that the benefits can be maintained with a daily practice of self-hypnosis.

If IBS is troubling you why not consider giving this safe and natural therapy a try?  You will be in control the entire time, it's a state of focused absorption during which you will be guided into a deep state of relaxation and given some suggestions to engage your imagination and promote the body's natural healing and re-balancing mechanisms. 

Imagine how life would be if you were IBS symptom free again? Claim your Free 30 minute assessment now by calling me on 0435 923 817 or use the IBS contact form here. Find out How Melbourne Hypnotherapy can help you.

#Choosing a therapist can be tricky.  Choosing a Clinical Hypnotherapist in Melbourne can be particularly challenging because as Hypnotherapy is currently not regulated in Victoria it's important to check that the Hypnotherapist has been properly trained and is registered with an approved and nationally accredited association such as the Australian Hypnotherapists Association (AHA).  

Membership in an accredited association provides evidence that the practitioner has been properly trained in Hypnotherapy, so it's a good way of finding the best Australian Hypnotherapists in clinical practice.  Often it's the case the practitioners of other disciplines add Hypnotherapy to their lists of services when in fact they haven't undertaken sufficient training to merit membership in an industry association and in some cases haven't undertaken any training at all.

Registration with an accredited association provides peace of mind in that it not only indicates that the Hypnotherapist has been trained to the standard required for acceptance in the Hypnotherapy Association,  it also demonstrates that they have agreed to adhere to the Hypnotherapy Associations code of conduct, they they have passed a police check, a working with children check, have trained in first aid, are properly insured and are undertaking continuous professional development training.  These are all very important criteria to have in mind before entering a therapeutic relationship,  particularly where confidentiality is so critical.  

Hypnotherapy is more than simply helping someone relax, it requires counselling and psychotherapy skills, for this reason in addition to the training I received during my years of studying Hypnotherapy I also undertook formal training as a Professional Counsellor;  in addition to being a member of the Australian Hypnotherapy Association I'm also a member of the Australian Counselling Association.  The Australian Counselling Association has similar criteria to the Hypnotherapy Association. 

Another aspect of association membership is that you are required to have professional supervision from a highly experienced, skilled and professionally accredited supervisor. This supervision helps to ensure that as a therapist you are able to workshop cases and review treatment plans while maintaining confidentiality and is an essential part of any therapists professional practice and development. In addition to the aforementioned membership of the Australian Hypnotherapy Association means that I have a provider number for Private Health Insurers so if your policy covers Hypnotherapy you can claim back some of the cost of the sessions.

So in conclusion when seeking a therapist I recommend that you spend a little time doing  some research as to their training and ongoing development to ensure that not only did they study Hypnotherapy extensively but are continuing to learn new techniques on the cutting edge of the industry.

As a private practitioner I ensure to keep a register of other reputable therapists that I can refer clients to if I believe their needs will be best served elsewhere.

Once you've established the credentials of the therapist then it's about finding the therapist that resonates most with you, you can do this by reading their blog or website and getting a feel for their style.  If still unsure give them a call and talk to them about how they work.  Any good therapist will be happy to talk to you by phone because a good therapist wants to ensure the best outcome for  you and to help you make the choice that works best for you.

If you'd like further information please don't hesitate to contact me on 0435 923 817 or by using this contact form.  Click this link learn more about me.
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For the best Hypnotherapy Australia has to offer always check the NHRA (National Hypnotherapist Register).  A register of all member hypnotherapists in associations Australia wide.


#hypnotherapyaustralia #associationsaustralia

How do you handle the ever present Saboteurs that seem to go into overdrive around holiday time? 

You know the kind I mean, the people that know you're trying to lose weight, abstain from alcohol, save money by not going out, catch up on Uni Assignments or work an extra shift for some much needed income and yet they still decide to pressure you to try to break  your resolve.

They wave hot cross buns and Easter eggs under your nose when they know you're working hard to avoid them, or ignore your protests and refuse to leave until you comply with their wish to go out with them.  They often embarrass  you in front of others or use emotional blackmail like telling you they'll be hurt if you don't accept or that  you'd be rude not to.  The fact is that whether they realise it or not, they are not respecting your choices and boundaries so in fact  they are the ones being rude.

This is generally not malicious, in fact it's probably true to say we are all guilty of it at one time or another.  It's a throwback to a more austere time when people were taught to politely refuse things offered the first time in case the person offering could not really afford to share and then the ritual of insisting came into play.   A lot of cultures still play this ritual of offering  food or drinks over and over again in spite of refusals and hence boundaries begin to blur.  We need to recognise that it's an outdated social style because we in the west have largely been living in a world excess for decades now.  The result is that while in the past being offered a treat was a novelty, these days avoiding them has become the challenge, delaying gratification has never been so challenging.  We need to update what we find socially acceptable and politely back off when people around us are trying to eat healthily or achieve any personal goal that's contrary to what's on offer.

So how can you handle these awkward encounters?

1. If you accept an invitation to celebrate let the host know in advance if you are restricting your diet or alcohol consumption so that they don't over cater or prepare "your favourite".  Frame your requirements in positive language, explain that you really appreciate their support and are looking forward  to enjoying their company.
2. Let them know politely and firmly that you have seat a goal for yourself and you want to see it through.
3. For the particularly persistent, ask them why is it so important to them that you break your resolve?  Understand that it is more about how they're feeling about themselves than about you.  Remember that you are allowed to maintain  your boundaries, there is no rule that says you have to comply with this kind of  social pressure.  
4. In some instances where food is on offer you may find the best tactic is to  accept and then discreetly return it or dispose of it.  You may be thinking but that's wasteful, but isn't eating to excess thereby generating body fat and blowing your hard work far more wasteful?  Sometimes this is the only way with people who are blissfully or determinedly unaware of other peoples boundaries.  Some people are completely tone deaf when it comes to hearing others so your protests will be a waste of energy.
5. Be aware that the biggest saboteur usually resides inside your own mind!  This part of you may have many reasons for believing sabotage is your best self-defence mechanism.    it's most likely trying to protect you from disappointment, failure, unwanted attention  or criticism and it's unwittingly being counter productive in its methods and applying an old fear to a current situation (the subconscious is designed to generalise).  Recognising that we are all prone to having this aspect to our personality due to our life experiences and that it is just one aspect i.e. it doesn't have to be given authority over all other aspects of your personality is important to helping you break through to achieve your goals successfully. Acknowledge your inner saboteur when it comes to the forefront of your mind and greet it with curiosity. Ask it what it's trying to do for you?  If you hear the "you might as well give up you'll never succeed" voice, recognise that this part of you is afraid and needs reassurance not criticism or for that matter indulgence.   

Focus on what you want to achieve, what action you need to take to achieve it  and what you will gain from achieving it.    Remember it's easier to maintain a consistent habit than it is to resume one.  Keep your eye on the prize, visualise  how it will feel, how it will look, how it will sound, what you will see in your eyes when you look in the mirror when you've reached your target!  

If you find that your internal Saboteur is particularly insistent Hypnotherapy can be very helpful in providing the tools and insight to resolve the inner conflict.  

If you would like to know more about how Hypnotherapy can help you please give me a call on 0435 923 817 or use this Contact form.  Click these links for more information on  Hypnotherapy for Weight Loss, Hypnotherapy for Anxiety or Hypnotherapy for Addiction.   For the information on the Best Hypnotherapy Melbourne has to offer for a wide variety of issues click here.

If you have any comments on holiday saboteurs please feel fee to comment below.

If you're interested in learning about Gastric Band Hypnosis click here

  ​Have you ever been trying to quit an unwanted habit e.g. to Quit Smoking , Stop Overeating,  Stop Nail Biting  or Quit Sugar and found yourself caught in an internal conflict where one part of you is saying  “I shouldn’t be eating this/having this cigarette or ‘insert habit here’  while another part of you just carries on doing it?
It’s confusing and frustrating isn’t it?  You’re so clear about wanting to quit,  you’ve been through all the reasons, you’ve made your mind up and  you direct all of your willpower at it, and yet……  there you are again doing exactly what you’ve decided you don’t want to do.  Breaking a habit can become something of a personal Everest.

Why is this?
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Our willpower works in conjunction with our cognition, it’s like a battery with a finite life.  In addition to the limited battery life of our willpower, the other  problem is that our cognition is operating on a delay several seconds behind our unconscious processing.  By the time you have the thought “why am I doing this again!” Your unconscious mind has assessed the situation or circumstance that you’re in, has matched it to previous experiences and has already set what it deems to be an appropriate response in motion. The momentum has already built up considerable steam before your cognition tries to trigger willpower.   Your willpower may have enough ‘battery charge’  to interrupt this process a few times, but chances are that its battery will go flat before the unconscious response has been retrained or decommissioned.  This is why willpower alone is often insufficient to effect change.
The reason for this is simple.  The unconscious will continue meeting what it perceives to be the need until a better alternative is provided to it. Simply trying to stop will not do it, understanding the purpose the habit is fulfilling and addressing that is the key.
The unconscious mind is quite simple in its matching process, for example if you have comforted yourself with chocolate or cigarettes your unconscious may interpret this to mean that avoiding your emotions works for you, so thereafter any fluctuation in emotion may lead to you finding yourself halfway through a block of chocolate or lighting one cigarette from another before you realise it.
Understanding your triggers is a good way of pre-empting this unconscious process, if you are aware of the circumstances that trigger your unwanted behaviour you can observe the point at which your unconscious tries to set the response it determines appropriate in motion.  Then you can use the following  4 steps to interrupt it:

1. Consciously observe that your unconscious is preparing it’s response.
2. Examine with curiosity the situation and determine what it is that your unconscious is trying to achieve for you, is it trying to provide a soothing mechanism to help you handle a feeling that’s arising?
3. Consciously create an alternative to meet the need so if you are e.g. trying to avoid the uncomfortable feelings associated with a social situation, negate this need by instead making room for the feeling.  Sit with the feeling and allow it to run its course.
4. When the feeling has run its course, breathe deeply and slowly through your nose, breathe all the way down to our abdomen if you can, hold the breath for a few seconds and then slowly release, as slowly as you possibly can.  Repeat this process a few times and and imagine something that makes you grateful, whether it’s a beautiful sunset, a double rainbow or your team winning a game, take your mind to that positive place for a moment.    This process is calming and allows your unconscious to learn that the habit you’re trying to quit is no longer required to handle the feeling that it triggered it.

 
This process can take a little time to retrain the brain.  Hypnotherapy can be used to fast-track the process and to break down the defence mechanisms that the subconscious may have put in place to protect its habituated responses. The unconscious mind is always working in what it believes is  your best interest, so once it establishes a habit it won’t let it go until it’s very clear that the habit no longer serves a valid positive purpose for you. Hypnotherapy and EFT can help you process the emotions that may be keeping you stuck in old habituated patterns and unstick the most stubborn habit defences.
If you’d like to learn more about how I can help you Quit Smoking with Hypnotherapy or use Hypnotherapy for Weight Loss or to break any unwanted habit or behaviour that you would like to leave behind you please feel free to call me on 0435 923 817 or use the contact form on this page.
 
If you have any comments about reprogramming the unconscious mind please feel free to leave it in the comments below.
 
For the Best Hypnotherapy Melbourne has to offer ensure that the Therapist you choose is a member of an accredited association such as the Australian Hypnotherapy Association.  Melbourne’s best Hypnotherapist options ensure that they are members and therefore demonstrate that they are appropriately trained, insured and governed by a code of ethics.  Where the Hypnotherapist is an association member Private Health Insurance rebates may apply for participating health funds.