Volunteers needed for research project – Now closed

Thank you to all the people that volunteered for my research project.
—————————–

Do you have a negative feeling you would like to change?

Would you like to change that feeling for Free?

Can you spare 30 minutes in Braintree, Essex?

I am looking for volunteers to take part in some ethically approved research for my Clinical Hypnosis Degree. If you have a negative feeling you want to change please get in touch on 01857 600708!

The research is testing a technique that has already been known to help people with

  • guilt
  • work related issues
  • relationship issues
  • inability to sleep
  • phobias
  • even an allergic reaction
If you can think about a situation and notice the feeling you want to change you are suitable for the research.

Make the most of this opportunity before the research ends in April.

Participant information sheet
Participant consent form

No Comments

The Past – Is it useful?

Hypnosis is a powerful tool for helping receptive people move forward with issues. Often therapist’s work with the past trying to clear blockages, while this isn’t something I would rule out, this isn’t the way I tend to work. If you believe a problem is based in the past what can you do about it? You can’t go into the past and make it not happen. The key to change is the future and how you perceive events from the past. When you think about an event from the past what happens if you get a feeling you don’t want? Well the first thing to realise is that it is just a thought. That thought is made up of many components from the past. For instance

• You might not recall the whole situation.
• You might be remembering things incorrectly.
• You might only be recalling the bad parts of a situation and not the positives.

These things all skew your perceptions and your unconscious mind tries to protect you by warning you with signals i.e. Feelings or emotions.

I have strong techniques that neutralise these feelings while retaining any wisdom from a situation. But why stop there? If you have a bad feeling from the past why not choose what you want for the future? If you got scared by a Spider you might want to retain that feeling or you might find you are freer and happier to change that thought/the perceptions associated with it/the fear you have lived with it since then, into positive experiences such as being able to help someone you know and love be free of a fear of spiders. This would turn you from someone with a problem to someone with better self-esteem. Why you were frightened of spiders is totally irrelevant.

What happens if you have a problem that you believe has always been with you and you can’t identify any issues from the past? If you take the view there is something you have to dig for you are stuck until you find it. If you focus on current situations and what you want to start feeling in the future you are already in a stronger position to move to the future.
If you have an issue you want to move forward with get in touch with me on 01857 600708 and let us see how quickly you can move forward.

No Comments

Top reasons for being overweight

When people come to me for Weight Loss help I often ask them what the benefits of being their weight is. The standard reply is there are no benefits for being overweight. If this was really the case there would be no one that was overweight. So what reasons are being overlooked?
• If you look at the diets of 17st people and the diets of 12st people the food intake of the 17st people will be more. Therefore a benefit of being overweight is you can eat more. Eating is a pleasure. It is genetically engineered by evolution to be a pleasure. We need to eat to survive. We needed to store foods as fat for times, in the past, when we would have experienced famines. With modern society this is no longer a requirement for most of us but it is still the way our bodies are wired. As I thought how to write this point I had pictures of people saying “I only have to look at cake and I put weight on”. I understand that some people have slower metabolisms than others. I have a good friend that can seem to eat all he wants and yet he remains thin. There will be special reasons for this. People with slow metabolisms often have them because they have been on diets. Their bodies thought they were in a famine so they slowed things down to survive and the metabolism has never been reset to the more active state.
• Similar to the first point you can’t drink as much. Either fizzy drinks or Alcohol.
• Being overweight is often associated with being a fun bubbly personality. This perception is often in the eyes of others so when you slim down people start reacting to you differently. Perhaps because you aren’t able to eat or drink as much and you aren’t seen as you were. You are normally comfortable being you even if it has some side effects but side effects are not as strong as your desire to consume short term.
• The benefits of consuming food and drink are short term. The problems they cause are long term therefore you are able to enjoy the instant gratification now. Only when that buzz is gone do you feel guilty but you can override that feeling by more food. It is fascinating watching “Supersize vs. Superskinny” and seeing how this cycle continues with some people until they are so big the physical health issues then become a short or medium term problem and then they are so far down the path they are not sure how to stop the cycle.
• Often you are the size your partner is comfortable with. Men don’t necessarily want super-attractive partners because they might worry they will leave them for someone “better”. If your partner enjoys food you often want to enjoy food with them. Again humans a genetically engineered to be social and in social situations we tend to eat more or eat less depending on the situation.
• Sex drive comes into the weight equation. Not everyone wants to have sex. If you are overweight you often feel less attractive and therefore you might shy away from sexual situations and avoid having sex.
• In a related point overweight people that slim down to a typical size often don’t like the change of attitude of opposite sex. Woman might slowly start to feel invisible because men are talking to their breasts and not their faces. This can feel uncomfortable.
• When we are looking for a partner we often feel we have to compete with others on shape and size. We therefore hope we are beautiful or handsome and we often try to enhance how we look. Which group is likely to spend more time considering their looks and beauty the 12st group or the 17st group? I suspect most people going for cosmetic surgery will be on the thinner end of the spectrum. Therefore being overweight is a possible means of avoiding those issues.
• As you increase your weight it is more and more tiring to do things. So a 17st person will almost certainly be less active than a 12st person (unless they are something like a rugby player or weight trainer and the extra weight is muscle and not fat). As weight increases you can do less and less and therefore you do less. Less is expected off you and others start to support you weight either directly (getting your shopping for you) or indirectly (by allowing you not to play with the children because you get too tired). Therefore it could be argued that being overweight allows you to avoid doing things you don’t want.
The good thing about these points is while they can be common factors none of them is something that will prevent someone becoming a happy fit healthy individual with the right help.
If you are overweight and don’t wish to be please get in touch with me, Jon Hinchliffe on 01857 600708 and let’s discuss how you can enjoy food, enjoy life and have none of the side effects of being overweight.

No Comments

Client helped for free in 30minutes on Skype

The first client I had on my Mentaline.com free day had anxiety about going out due to childhood bullying. 30 minutes later they were telling me they were now looking forward to go to town that night and having a drink with friends.

I was working completely blind as the client didn’t have a working video camera and yet this still happened. The client is happy and looking forward to what this change will mean for him.

Not all clients can be helped so easily and so quickly but if you have been suffering and could be helped is it not worth discovering what progress you could make? Phobias are an issue that just one session will normally significantly help

No Comments

Britain’s Weirdest Phobias: Don’t believe you have to feel fear to overcome your phobia

I have just been watching Britain’s Weirdest Phobias which apparently I recorded on Tuesday, 30 December 2008. It was very interesting to see how therapist David Allison helped people. He uses the exposure method to help people overcome their fears. In this method the phobic is gradually introduced to their fear. So for instance a spider phobic might be introduced to a drawing of a spider, then a picture of a spider, then a life like toy spider, then a real spider. On each advance the fear spikes but gradually falls and David is able to move them on. The brain is learning that the trigger is actually safe and therefore doesn’t need the fear. This method works but for me it is quite painful to watch. The phobic is experiencing a lot of fear as they are over coming their problem. This is stressful for the phobic and I guess the therapist.

There is no need to experience this fear if you use hypnosis.

In hypnosis you are in a restful state. You are in a lethargic state where you could move but can’t really be bothered.  In this state you can be slowly introduced to the fear. Because you are so relaxed a gentle introduction of say a photo of spider from 1 miles distance barely registers. By the time it is up close you have no anxiety left. You are always in control.

A way of thinking of the two methods of overcoming the fear is to think of a person in the sea up to their neck in water. If a wave 10 cm high passes them it could cause them to lose their foothold and panic. With hypnotherapy instead of being up to your neck in the water you are up to your ankles. When a 10cm wave comes past you hardly care.

After the session it is still important to experience the trigger in the real world and I highly recommend you listen to “Helping someone overcome a fear of flying on Chelmsford Radio” for a realistic experience of how hypnosis is put into action. The more you experience not having the fear the more you are confident that you are over that fear.

If you have a fear or phobia and want to free yourself from call me on 01857 600708.

 

No Comments

The missing link between ME sufferers perceptions and “PACE” suggestions of CBT

As a former member of the 25% ME Group I recently received their Press Release. The 25% group is quite rightly concerned that CBT is not the answer for many ME sufferers. In my time I have seen therapists that believe CBT is the way. I have experienced their short comings and yet I have moved forward with my illness and I believe I am now in the process of finding the missing link between an ME sufferers perceptions and the CBT therapists believe that it should work.

I first became ill with ME/CFS or Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome (PVFS) as it was first call in January 1994. I am still not 100% recovered from my ME/CFS but I am so far forward I that I have most of my life back. My only concerns as of Jan 2011 are that I still need the extra sleeps in order to remove the brain “fog”. I can work through the fog when I need to (short term) but as soon when there is no pressure I find I still need to “recharge” as I view it. I am currently writing this at 10am having woken at 6am and been fully alert for a couple of hours but was in need of sleep by 8.30am. The dilemma was do I push on and try and achieve work without sleeping or do I recharge my batteries allow my body to feel good so I then have a clear head for jobs? Today I chose the sleep. Other days I have continued and struggled until I finally gave in.  As I write this I am seeing many arguments for and against giving in to sleep but I will allow them to formulate more as I continue to work on regaining 100% health.

In 1997 I did a form of graduated exercise. I would love to hear details of what others have been put through on this so if you could share you experience with me please do. My experience was that I was asked to walk 50m a day. Then move up to 60m. Then 70m, 80m, 90m, eventually I was being asked to do a 2 minute walk a day. I could not manage the 2minute walk without debilitating myself so much the rest of the day was unbearable. I was taken back down and asked to build up again. I failed again. I was taken back done again and then the therapist dismissed me as her “first failure”.

I dismissed the label and still believed I would be able to build up and improve my life. I focused on doing things I enjoyed expecting the activity to move me forward so that I gradually discovered I was able to do more and more. I focused on being busy in my bedroom and only really went out to go to concerts. As can be seen from my records of concerts I have been too. I gradually increased the rate of going out. Each concert was a “one off special” event which was worth the suffering over the next 3-4 days. I know I took extra painkillers to go out but I have long since forgotten how I handled the “crash” periods. In 2000 I saw over 40 concerns and reading my own webpage on ME it appears I felt going to so many concerts in a year meant I had to cut back. I started looking for more solutions and decided perhaps I had not given Anti-depressants long enough on my first trial so I decided to try and have a longer trial. I still only managed 15 days apparently.

I knew how ME should operate. I knew what I was attempting. I knew ME was a physical illness. I knew Psychiatrists thoughts ME sufferers could move forward by exercise and I knew it wasn’t working for me. I was stuck. I had hope I would recover but I just didn’t know what that recovering would look like.

Jumping forward a few years I had found a new partner. Started taking my concert level of painkiller permanently as I now had a family life again and carried on with my life goal of “being happy but never at anyone else’s expense”. I felt a drain on society and I was constantly looking out for ways to give back to the world despite my condition. A particular set of circumstances meant I discover a course on Hypnotherapy and this fascinated me to the level of going to a concert. The presenter on the tapes I found seemed to work from the same principles as me. I somehow took the crazy decision of training as a hypnotherapist despite not know how I would cope. I did find a way of coping then I was qualified. I did a course on how to help ME sufferers improve their condition. I didn’t expect it to be of use to me personally. I was still stuck.

As a qualified hypnotherapist I knew I would I could deal with Pain. So I decided to work on my own pain. I was off my painkillers in 2 days. My main training had really taught me to challenge my views and perceptions and showed me that most clients go to a therapist because they are stuck in their thinking. I knew I had to think in a new way and I was experimenting with what my unconscious mind could do for me all the time.

Whilst not walking was frustrating it didn’t annoy me. What really annoyed me was seeing my neighbour going for a runner. I wanted to be a runner.  On my website site I had a picture of me running so I decided to combine a couple of principles I knew and focus on becoming

A key image in my improvement from ME/CFS. Running in Aug 89

A key image in my improvement from ME/CFS. Running in Aug 89

this runner from 1989. I set about going into trance and going for a run. I did it everyday for 6 weeks or so. I focused on being that healthy person. I visualised the runs and the feelings in as much detail as I could remember. I decided I was going to become that 23 years old again. I am already aware this article is getting too long and rambling so I will leave the effects I noticed for another time.

After this period I then had reason to test a cross trainer exercise machine. I did a really small distance but felt OK. I repeated it. I used my hypnotherapy skills to play with my experiences and the result is I can now happily run for 1hr.

I am still building up a picture of what was key in my story for the recovery of others, but what I believe is the key missing link is the mental rehearsal before embarking on exercise. CBT and graduated exercise are moving in the right direction but they are trying to exercise a body before it is ready to be built up.

When you visualise something your brain processes it as if it is really happening. My brain therefore felt it had be going for runs. It felt I was a runner and it started to make the necessary adjustments in my body. That is how I view it. There could be many more explanations such as thinking of being a runner running 3-4miles a day why would such a small distance on a cross trainer make much difference to my body? I no longer needed to feel the anxiety over the exercise.

The key is I have now helped several ME sufferers. They are not being forced to exercise. They are not doing something before they are ready mentally or physically. When I am given enough time to work with them they are understanding the process and they too are chipping away at the symptoms and regaining their lives. They are doing it because they can and they naturally discover they can not because they are being told to do a pointless task that drains them of their “limited” energy.

I need more ME patients to work on. I need to get a fuller picture on cases stories. I need to see what kind of blocks need to be worked around and I need to see what really does work and what is misconception.

If you have ME or you know someone with ME please get them to get in touch with me. I believe a lot of what I do can be taught over the internet with video links. I believe ME sufferers can get better and that there is hope. I hope I am someone that because of my experience as a sufferer and also as a professional can help make a difference.

If you disagree with what I write please do make your points to me. I welcome all views both good and bad I am interested in finding solutions not protecting ideas that don’t work.

I also have the requirement to do some basic research in 2012. If I can find enough cases of ME to work with I can do the research on ME. If I can’t I will have to do the work on something I am less passionate about.

No Comments

Silver Weight Loss Package

The Silver Weight loss package is for you if you know you want the security of a block of 3 sessions so that you can learn as much as you can and make a good start on your weight loss.

With this package you pay for 3 sessions after the first session. Because you are committing to three sessions you make a saving of 20% on the price of the Bronze Weight loss package. So instead of paying £150 you pay just £120.

Book your session now by calling 01857 600708 and discover how easy you can become a healthier person.

No Comments

Bruxism – Teeth Grinding

Do you suffer from Teeth Grinding or Bruxisum?

Bruxism is the powerful, unwanted forceful clenching of the teeth, which can be associated with lateral movement of the jaw.

The number of suffers in Europe and USA is claimed to be at least 20 million. So you are not alone.

It doesn’t matter if your Bruxisum is Diurnal – day time based, or Nocturnal – the night time version, working with Jon Hinchliffe Hypnotherapy you can get to the route of the problem, save your teeth and reduce any jaw pains.

Teeth grinding for many people is not a big problem. However once it has escalated to a diagnosis of Bruxism it can cause the following problems:

  • Dentine, the whiting coating of the teeth can become worn leading to pain
  • Teeth can be chipped
  • Jaw muscles can be come fatigued and painful.
  • The living tissues in the jaw can start to die causing teeth to drop out.
  • Tempero mandibular joint (TMJ) problems may occur. This where the jaw starts to move from side to instead of just up and down.
  • Relationship problems – The noise could be the causing of friction in your relationship.

How Bruxism conventionally treated?

  • Mouthguards – However these can be uncomfortable and fall out.
  • Botox – Is being considered since is weakens the facial muscles. However there are risks with this approach.
  • There are drugs such as Diazepam which can help
  • Biofeedback mechanisms – these detect the clenching and give an audible alarm.
  • Some people benefit from a change of diet switching from hard foods like nuts

All of these solutions don’t address the usual cause of the problem. They are just addressing  the symptoms.

Bruxism is hard to treat conventionally because it is mainly an unconscious process.

However the unconscious mind can be made aware that it is causing a problem for you and this is why Jon Hinchliffe Hypnotherapy can help you.

Call 01857 600708 now or use the Contact Me page to leave Jon a message

No Comments

Cat Allergy Update

That’s Life Magazine Issue 2 from 13 January 2011 features the story of Lizzy who I helped overcome a life long allergy of Cats.

The story of Lizzy who over came a life long allergy to cats and now has her own.

WHAT I WAS LIKE From birth I was a sickly child, wheezy and congested, When I was four my GP discovered it was an allergic reaction to cat fur. At the time we had an Abyssinian short-hair, Phoebe. We kept her, hoping I’d outgrow my allergy. But by seven I was dependent on steroids and inhalers to help me breathe, and Phoebe had to go to a new home. If a friend invited me for tea I’d tell them: “Only if you haven’t got a cat.” And if I was going to a house where they did have a car, my chest would tighten and my anxiety increase as I neared the front door. But as long as I avoided cats I was OK. WHAT I DID At 27, I met a hypnotherapist at a do and he said he might be able to help. I was sceptical but my partner Rob said: 'What have you got to lose?' The first time I was hypnotised the therapist told me to gaze at a spot on the ceiling. I remember he spoke in a monotonous voice but I can't recall what he said. Next thing I knew I was waking as if from a lovely refreshing sleep. A few days later we visited Rob's dad. He had a cat and, to my amazement, I sat in the same room with it and felt no ill effects. In fact I didn't have any problems near cats for about six months. Then I noticed a slight tightening in my chest again so I went for a second session. A few months ago Rob and I took in a stray kitten. We called him Jammy Dodger. Six weeks later I felt some symptoms again, so I had a hypnotherapy top-up. Each session cost £50. These days I keep inhalers but I haven't had to use them. Doctors say hypnosis can't cure allergies. So maybe I grew out of my allergy a while back and it was just the thought of having breathing problems near cats that made me panicky. Whatever the reason, hypnotherapy has worked purr-fectly for me.

After this story made the press I was contacted by another Cat Allergy suffer. They just wanted to be desensitised to their allergy and just before Chrismas another stray cat found a new home! Another cat allergy suffer discovered they could be free from their problem and so chose to have a cat of their own.

So how is this happening? Did these people not have real allergies?

My understanding in both cases was the allergies was real and physical.

So why has a talking therapy helped them?

The truthful answer is we will probably never know. During my sessions I focused their immune systems on the problem and asked it to come up with new solutions that allow the client to be healthier. I got the clients to focus on what they want.

When we have a problem we normally focus on the problem itself. This is a kind of negative self hypnosis. If we repeat something enough we start to look for it and we start to see it and believe it to be real. When you look for a new car you go to a show room and see one you like. When you are driving it around you are then amazed at how many other people have bought the same model and colour. You had never noticed them before and now because it is familiar you see them everywhere. Equally if you are not sure how something is happening you start to think of possible reasons. If you think something bad happens every full moon you perhaps start to watch for it happening. If something bad happens you feel reassured that the pattern you have spotted is correct and you tend not to notice when it doesn’t. Shark attacks occur more when Ice Cream sales are high. This is a proven fact but does it mean that sharks attack people with Ice Creams? It doesn’t the link is there are more people in the sea/ocean when it is hot and hot weather increases the sales of Ice cream.

In the That’s life article it is suggested that Lizzy might have grown out of the problem but not realised it. This is of course a possibility. It is very easy for us to develop a limiting belief and then see the proof that it still exists long after the problem has gone.

The more I help people with Hypnosis the less important I feel the why is. In fact I often find it is the why that holds people back and once they can let go of the why and see what they want, the sooner they more forward on their issue.

If you want help with an allergy or in any other area of your life call Jon Hinchliffe on 01857 600708 and discover what changes you can make in your life with his expert help.

No Comments

The Gold Weight Loss Package

With this package you are very serious about becoming a new fitter healthier you. You are committed to a long term 5 session plan which will help you achieve you goal and this time keep the weight off.

After the first session you pay £185 which is a saving of 26% on the price of the The Bronze Weight Loss Package.

As an added bonus you also get a free 1hour photo shot with Peter Evan Photography and 1 free photo worth £40.

Book your session now by calling 01857 600708 and discover how easy you can become a healthier person.

No Comments