Recently I helped a young man, John, overcome his spider phobia.  He had this to say about his experience.  “I have had a spider phobia for more than 20 years.  It all started one Saturday night when I was having a sleep over with a mate and we watched the film Arachnaphobia.  The two of us became really scared watching this film – it freaked us out.  Leah introduced me to Emotional Freedom Techniques – meridian tapping.  She said it was really good at reducing stress, so I tried it out.  I tapped on some acupressure points on the upper part of my body and in about 20 minutes most of my tension and anxiety about spiders had gone.  I did a little more tapping on my own at home.  And a couple of weeks later a friend was telling me about her recent change of address and she found a nest of spiders and described how they spread out across a wall in her room.  Normally, I would be a bit freaked out hearing a story like this, and I noticed I was quite calm and kept smiling to her as she told me this story.  So, it seemed the tapping on those acupressure points has made all the difference about how I now feel about spiders”.

Here is what one of my clients had to say about her experience of using Emotional Freedom Techniques – meridian tapping to eliminate her fear of flying.

At first I was sceptical of using Emotional Freedom Techniques to deal with my phobia of flying.  I think it started after 9/11 happened and I became very nervous about flying in aeroplanes.  I had to visit relatives every year at Christmas, so it became a really difficult trip for me.  Leah explained  how EFT worked and gave me information about the tapping points and some research.  I did  tapping with her and before I got onto the plane.  And it really worked.  Now I fly several times per year to visit my relatives and travel to exotic destinations for holidays.  I don’t need medication or alcohol to calm my nerves for the flights.  I tried Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and that did help, although EFT was much more effective.  I’m planning my next trip now.

Sharon C.  Manager

EFT is a very quick way to help people overcome and eliminate a phobia.  I have helped people with phobias for spiders, flying, driving on the freeway, electronic equipment, going swimming, social situations, meeting new people, animals, public speaking, sports anxiety, performance anxiety or exam anxiety.   These phobias can have really negative implications for a persons’ career and social life.  Using EFT is a very quick way to help people reduce anxiety in their mind and body.  The initial anxiety is usually associated with negative events that happened several years ago – often in childhood.  Like watching a really scary film when you are a child and there are no adults around.

By talking through these issues/memories/feelings/limiting beliefs and tapping on acupressure points on the upper part of the body, many clients then feel a significant reduction of  stress and tension that has been stored in body and their mid brain – the limbic system, commonly called the emotional or mammalian brain.  This is the part of the brain that stores events that can cause us to be very emotional wary.  Its function is to protect us from re-experiencing more distress.

With EFT, the combination of tapping and talking through the issues acts as a way of discharging the emotions connected to those memories.  We still have the memories, but the charge of emotion has subsided.  Just like when you pat a dog, they become soothed and calmer.  It is the same for humans – our emotional brain has become soothed by the tapping. New neurological pathways have been established by the tapping and the results stick.

You can view many videos for free at www.eftuniverse.com in the resources section to see how it works of a wide variety of issues.

Many of the clients I see in my clinic come to stop smoking.  Almost half of them have stopped smoking at some stage for a couple of years.  The top reason they want to stop smoking is for health reasons.  And when they have experienced several years of non-smoking they can compare the differences in the way they feel in their body.

Another major reason to give up smoking is when they have children or even nieces or nephews.  They know they are setting an unhealthy example for these young impressionable minds to see.  They often hide the fact they are smoking from some relatives so they don’t incur any negative feedback.

All of the clients I see are really clear about these issues and are motivated to quit.  They have seen the diagrams on how the chemicals affect their organs, the repulsive images on the cigarette packaging and the latest advert on TV warning of the different kinds of cancer people can get from smoking – stomach cancer, lung cancer, mouth cancer etc.

Interestingly, saving money is usually down the list of reasons why they want to be an ex-smoker.  Some of them are spending $100 to $150 per week on cigarettes.  They would be saving $5,000 plus per year by giving up the smokes.

After completing a short assessment in the first session, I deliver a tailor made hypnosis session for about 30 minutes.  My clients are given an audio to listen to daily for the several weeks.  This helps entrain the brain to be different and utilising the power of the unconscious mind to find new ways to be free from smoking cigarettes.

Most people don’t have a second session to stop smoking because they don’t need it.  And if they do, that’s fine too.  I have many techniques to help people become an ex-smoker.  I use Emotional Freedom Techniques to help people reduce their cravings for cigarettes.   Its an excellent way to reduce stress and tension in the body.  And you can use it for many unwanted feeling states.

A couple of years ago I saw a client who wanted to lose weight.  In the assessment session she became teary when she spoke about a relationship in her past that had caused her some pain.  She had tried different ways to lose weight and had been successful for a time, then the weight returned.  She was concerned about developing some health isssues due to being overweight.

During the hypnotherapy sessions she was able to regain emotional balance with some personal and professional issues that had been causing her stress.  Her weight loss continued steadily as she renewed her interest in regular exercise and healthy eating patterns.  She was able to plan ahead what she would eat and drink when she socialised.  At the end of her sessions she stated she was much happier and more confident compared to when she first came to see me.

PHOBIAS

Recently Ive helped a couple of clients with phobias.  When they come and see me they dont usually say, Hi, I have a phobia, can you help me?

They usually describe some anxiety about leaving the house, going far away from home, travelling interstate and overseas, or some public speaking.

And with the process of doing some regression trancework, we have been able to find certain incidents/memories that happened a long time ago that they had forgotten.   And thats one of the amazing things about our brains and hypnotherapy.  The brain is like a huge computer and you input millions of bits of information everyday.  Most of it you are not consciously aware of.  So, in trance sessions we can go back and explore those moments that may have led someone to feel they needed to be hyper aware of a potential threat or problem.

It never ceases to amaze me what people remember when they are in a trance state.  Often we find something that was very significant in setting up the anxiety that they may or may not have remembered for years.  Its such a good thing to be able to help adults recover from those kinds of incidents that appear to have held them back  and wish them a safe and happy journey on their impending travels.

Brain scans show hypnosis at work

Now check out what they are saying about Hypnosis in Britain and how brain scans show hypnosis at work.

http://hypnosisbritain.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/brain-scans-show-hypnosis-at-work/?goback=.gde_2411348_member_229063117

Hypnosis for Smokers

Recently I’ve seen quite a few smokers who had some hypnotherapy a couple of years ago to help them give up.  They stopped smoking for a few years and then typically something happened that led to a relapse.  Usually it was something quite stressful that made them fall back on old habits.  So they ring me up and say things like, I just want to come in for a top up, I know I want to quit again, I just need some help”.  They know hypnotherapy works for them and they express an easy faith that it will work again.

After the trance session I give them one of my Stop Smoking audio to help deepen their powerful resolve to remain an ex-smoker.  I encourage them to listen to the audio if they have any cravings.  They leave my clinic looking happier and grateful that I have helped them to get back on track to being healthier again.