Tag: <span>therapist in Essex</span>

Harnessing the Power of Hypnotherapy for Men’s Mental Health: A Path to Healing

In today’s fast-paced world, mental health has become a critical concern for people of all genders. However, men often face unique challenges when it comes to addressing their mental well-being. The traditional societal expectations of stoicism and emotional restraint can make it difficult for men to seek help. In this blog, we explore an effective and often overlooked avenue for men’s mental health: hypnotherapy. We’ll delve into how hypnotherapy works, its benefits for men’s mental health, and how it can be a transformative tool in the pursuit of emotional well-being.

Understanding Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy, a therapeutic technique that involves inducing a deep state of relaxation and heightened suggestibility, has gained prominence in recent years for its effectiveness in addressing various mental health concerns. Contrary to common misconceptions, hypnotherapy is not about mind control or manipulation; it is a collaborative process between the client and the therapist. During a hypnotherapy session, the client enters a trance-like state, where they are more receptive to positive suggestions and can explore and address deep-seated issues.

Breaking Down the Stigma

One of the major barriers to men seeking help for their mental health is the stigma surrounding it. Men are often discouraged from expressing vulnerability or seeking therapy, which can lead to the suppression of emotions and unresolved issues. Hypnotherapy offers a unique solution by providing a safe and non-threatening environment for men to explore their thoughts and feelings without judgment. It encourages them to break down the walls of silence and stigma, paving the way for healthier emotional expression.

Benefits of Hypnotherapy for Men’s Mental Health

  1. Stress and Anxiety Management: Hypnotherapy is highly effective in reducing stress and anxiety levels. Men facing workplace pressures, relationship challenges, or other stressors can benefit from learning relaxation techniques and coping strategies through hypnosis.
  2. Overcoming Trauma: Men who have experienced trauma, whether it be from combat, accidents, or childhood experiences, often struggle with PTSD and related mental health issues. Hypnotherapy can help them process and heal from these traumatic experiences, providing relief and a path toward recovery.
  3. Anger Management: Traditional gender expectations can lead to suppressed anger, which can have negative consequences for mental health. Hypnotherapy can help men explore the root causes of their anger and develop healthier ways to manage and express it.
  4. Boosting Self-Esteem: Many men grapple with self-esteem issues but may find it difficult to address them openly. Hypnotherapy can uncover the underlying beliefs and insecurities that contribute to low self-esteem, empowering individuals to build a healthier self-image.
  5. Addiction Recovery: Substance abuse and addiction can take a severe toll on men’s mental health. Hypnotherapy can be a valuable complement to addiction treatment by addressing the underlying emotional and psychological triggers driving addictive behaviours.

Case Studies and Success Stories

To illustrate the effectiveness of hypnotherapy in improving men’s mental health, let’s explore a few real-life examples. John, a combat veteran, struggled with PTSD and anger issues. Through hypnotherapy, he learned to manage his emotions and find peace. Mark, battling addiction for years, found hypnotherapy invaluable in addressing the root causes of his addiction and maintaining sobriety.

A client I had, Jason, saw me for quit smoking and was so impressed he came back to give up alcohol altogether. Every year on the anniversaries he likes to send a text to remind me and himself how well he has done. He is now in his seventh year.

Another client, Ian, had been suffering from erectile dysfunction, something that many men really struggle to talk about. Working here, in a safe and confidential environment we were able to break down his anxieties and get his sex life back on track.

These success stories emphasize the transformative potential of hypnotherapy for men seeking mental wellness.

*Names changed to maintain confidentiality

The Role of Professional Hypnotherapists

It’s important to emphasize that hypnotherapy should be conducted by trained and certified professionals. These experts are skilled in creating a safe and supportive environment for clients to explore their subconscious minds and work through their mental health challenges. It is also a good idea to look at the experience of the individual therapist and how long they have been in practice. There are many new therapists qualifying and claiming, straightaway, that they can work with all manner of symptoms although many of these areas need specialised additional training. Make sure they are a member of a Professional governing body and CNHC registered.

Furthermore it is important to choose the right therapist for you.

In a society that often expects men to be emotionally resilient, hypnotherapy offers a unique and effective approach to addressing men’s mental health concerns. It empowers men to break free from stigma, heal from trauma, manage stress, and achieve emotional well-being. Through the guidance of trained professionals, men can harness the power of hypnotherapy on their path to healing.

How do we overcome negative suggestion?

A picture of Victor Meldrews head sticking out the ground.
How not be buried under negativity

How do we overcome negative suggestion? The term heterosuggestion means a suggestion from another person. All over the world the power of suggestion has played a huge part in everybody’s thoughts. Politics, religion and cultural customs all flourish through the power of heterosuggestion.

Suggestion can be used as a tool to discipline and control ourselves. However, it can also be used to take control and command over others who have not been taught to understand the laws of the mind. If it is used constructively then it can be wonderful and positive. BUT if it is used negatively it is one of the most destructive response patterns of the mind. The result of negative hetero suggestion can result in negative patterns of failure, misery, suffering and even sickness.

From the day we are born we are bombarded with negative suggestions without, most of the time, realising it. Our subconscious mind accepts them and so then they become of our being, part of our experience.

 Here are some examples of negative  heterosuggestion. Read each one and think about if you have ever accepted any of these?

  • You can’t.
  • Things are getting worse all the time.
  • You’ll never amount to anything.
  • You’re too old now.
  • You mustn’t.
  • There’s no point in trying too hard.
  • You’ll fail.
  • What’s the use? Nobody cares.
  • You haven’t got a chance.
  • It’s not what you now, but who you know.
  • You’re all wrong.
  • It’s no use.
  • You just can’t win.
  • You can’t trust anybody.
  • You will become ill if you do that.
  • Everybody is out for themselves.

I’m sure we are all familiar with some of these and, of course, there are many more. By accepting these negative suggestions we collaborate in making them a truth in our lives. Especially as a child you are helpless when faced with the suggestions of others, especially if these people are important to you or an authority figure. You do not know enough about the mind to counteract these suggestions.

However, as an adult, you are able to make choices. You can use positive and constructive autosuggestion which is a reconditioning therapy. This will help change impressions made on you in the past. The first step is to make you aware of the heterosuggestions that have made a negative influence on your life. Hypnotherapy is a quick way of uncovering negative subconscious programming, especially using hypno-analysis. After these negative suggestions have been ‘weeded’ out positive and constructive autosuggestion can be used to help release you from negative behaviour patterns.

You only have to read the newspaper and turn on the news everyday to hear stories that sow the seeds of fear, worry, anxiety and impending doom. If you take these in then they can cause you to lose the will for living! BUT once you understand that you don’t have to accept them then you have the power to counteract all these destructive ideas.

Look back and recall how parents, friends, relatives,teachers and even other colleagues contributed negative suggestions. Study these and you will discover that many of them were nothing more than control by instilling fear in you. Whether people realise it or not they can be trying to make you think, feel, and act as they want you to, in ways that are to their advantage even if they are destructive to you.

So, your subconscious mind does not argue with you. It will accept what your conscious mind ‘believes’. If you say “I can’t do it” then your subconscious mind will work to make it true. So accept a better thought “I can do it!”

You have the power to choose so choose health, wealth and happiness. You can choose to be friendly or you can choose to be unfriendly. If you choose to be cooperative, joyous, friendly, lovable, then the world will respond positively! Choose to believe that something good will happen and is already happening. Choose happiness and abundance.

Choose to reject negative statements from others and affirm the good statements. YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHOOSE HOW YOU REACT!

Be careful what you say. You have to account for every word.Never say ‘I will fail’ or ‘I can’t pay the mortgage’ as your subconscious cannot take a joke. It will bring everything to pass.

Use your mind to bless, heal and inspire all people everywhere with positive thoughts and actions. What you put out comes back tenfold!

Do not let others do your thinking for you. Choose your  own thoughts and make your own decisions. You are the captain of your subconscious mind and the master of your very own fate. You have the capacity to choose.Choose life! Choose love! Choose happiness! Choose abundance! Choose health!

Remember whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. For further information contact me here

The Power Of Matrix Reimprinting

A picture of some DNA with a outer space background and the words Matrix Reimprinting

 

Anyone who knows me socially knows that for the past 27 years I have been suffering from Tourette’s syndrome. Or, as the doctors preferred to say, Tourette’s like symptoms. This is because it is only recognised that Tourette’s sufferers usually start getting their symptoms in their formative years. It is not recognised that, as in my case, you can start getting Tourette’s symptoms at the age of 19. Before this time I had no history of tics. When I was 19 I was involved in a serious hit and run accident. Being hit at between 60 and 70 mph and being left for dead in the road I was completely unconscious and my femur had been shattered and I had a severe head injury. Although I recovered well and learnt to walk again I was left with some vocal and physical tics. I used to make some strange guttural sounds, my left arm used to fling out of its own accord and I was also known to bark! My accident and recovery had a lot to do with what lead me towards a healing profession and using the power of the mind to heal ourselves.

Although my Tourette’s symptoms were quite mild compared to many Tourette’s sufferers it has been very hard at times living with tics that were out of my control. Although I developed many coping mechanisms over the years it did still at times, knock my confidence. After brain scans and neurologists looking into my problem the only treatment they could come up with were prescribed drugs to soften the symptoms due to their diagnosis of a ‘chemical imbalance’ in the brain. I took these for about two weeks,(very many years ago) and never took them again as they seemed to also soften all my senses. Psychoanalyst Sandor Ferenczi once described a tic as “An over-strong memory fixation on the attitude of the body at the moment of……trauma”. Tics are believed to be old memories from a trauma that was not resolved. The roots of traumatisation can be described as a threat to survival in the face of helplessness which leads to the fight/flight/freeze response. I’ve always believed there was a ‘part’ of me still stuck in that fight/flight/freeze response.

I have been a fully qualified hypnotherapist and psychotherapist for the past 16 years and a member of the association for professional hypnosis and psychotherapy which is my governing body for which I have to follow a code of ethics, one of these being updating my skills and knowledge every year. Over the years I have learnt some great techniques to teach my clients, as well as to use on my own Tourette’s symptoms. Luckily I was able to overcome any tics whilst working with clients. I believe this was mainly due to being so focussed on said client.  Several years ago I qualified in EFT (emotional freedom technique otherwise known as tapping) and it was very good for helping to relieve some of my Tourette’s symptoms. I could use EFT to somewhat lessen my public display of Tourette’s, however the urges to tic were still there and most of the time still not controllable, requiring a lot of effort and concentration. Having gone as high as level 3 with EFT I had been toying with the idea for a few years of attending a course on EFT Matrix reimprinting. I had read a lot about this evolutionary technique developed by Karl Dawson who is one of only 29 EFT masters worldwide and author of Matrix Reimprinting using EFT and Transform your beliefs, transform your life. My symptoms earlier this year had seemed to be getting worse and I was finding it was taking much more energy to focus. Anyone who has suffered from tics will tell you that it is very tiring concentrating all the time on trying not to do something! So in June this year I took the plunge and got myself booked on a matrix reimprinting course in Brighton which Karl Dawson himself was teaching. Little was I to know that the days spent on this course was about to change my life.

Matrix Reimprinting is a powerful technique that uses EFT to resolve traumas from our past focussing on core beliefs, so that practitioners can guide clients to a lasting change in their lives. This magnificent technique can help with everything from anxiety, grief, phobias and pain management to parenting, self-image and weight loss. In fact you can use Matrix Reimprinting to help clients change what they believe about themselves and the world around them. If we can change our thoughts we can change anything.

Matrix reimprinting is based around the theory that everything is energy. To work with Matrix Reimprinting there are four concepts that you need to understand:

1.Everything is energy.

2.Energy is organised into fields of information (morphic fields).

3.Our subconscious mind is located in our personal field.

4.We can tune into those fields of information.

When we experience trauma then that trauma gets stored in the subconscious as an ECHO. Echos are Energetic Conscious Holograms. Using matrix reimprinting we can follow a clients energy or ‘feelings’ to guide them towards echos that are sitting in the energy field disrupting our natural flow of energy therefore causing symptoms. By finding these echos we can then guide the client to tap away the trauma using EFT and reframe the memory positively.

I hadn’t previously remembered anything about my accident. When we suffer from extreme trauma our subconscious often blocks things out as it believes that is the best way to protect us. I had always believed that if I was able to remember my accident it would be a good way of accessing and working with the trauma and I would be able to relieve some of my symptoms. I had tried this many times through using hypnosis but to no avail. So I knew this echo was sitting there, somewhere, constantly reliving that trauma and causing my symptoms. Luckily for me, much of the course was practical work where learners were able to work on each other. I had previously discussed with Karl Dawson about my accident and Tourettes symptoms and he had assured me he would do his upmost to try and work with me. The day before I was to be worked on, we had been learning about how and when we experience trauma, and that trauma can get stuck in our energy field and I had always believed I had the symptoms of trapped trauma. For example it was only ever my left arm that flung out. Was this because I was hit on my left hand side and that arm would have flown up into the air or even I may have thrown my arm up as a form of protection? The strange whimpering sounds I made…. Could that have been me lying on the road in pain? Ok I couldn’t explain the barking which had come along later but all I can think of is that a bark can be a dogs cry for help. Please don’t throw me a stick!

So we had spoken on the course about big trauma and little trauma and how it can get stuck in the body and how trauma can sometimes distort our belief systems and now Karl, along with my training partner Neil, was going to see if we could access my accident trauma to release the trauma from my body and reimprint positively.

Photograph of Hypnotherapist Brad Mace with Karl Dawson the creator of Matrix reimprinting

Brad Mace (me)  with Karl Dawson the creator of Matrix Reimprinting

Karl started off the proceedings by tapping on some of my EFT points and working with my energy using Matrix reimprinting techniques we had learnt. He didn’t take me directly to my accident straightaway, but cautiously guided me there indirectly. Exploring my feelings from my tourettes I was taken back to some previous trauma from my childhood that was also connected in the matrix as it was also an event that gave me the belief that the world was an unsafe place.  Then we followed the energy from there after Karl handed over the reigns to Neil and I was able to be taken not only to my accident but to the point of impact, and Neil worked with me to discharge the trauma from my body. Not only was the trauma discharged but Neil used matrix reimprinting techniques to reimprint this memory in a much more positive memory and change my belief around this memory that the world was not a safe place. I believe that this trauma in my body had been sitting there constantly in my energy field, reliving the event over and over again This session had been extremely powerful for me. I was dazed and drained for quite a while afterwards, but I also felt strangely at peace and liberated. This session took place on the last day of the course and I was to drive home afterwards. So after I had said my goodbyes and heartfelt thanks I started my drive home. I was feeling some sensation in my left arm like it was wanting to fling out but I was able to over ride it. I had no urges to make a noise but I did notice that my teeth were extremely clenched and I had a pain down the side of my face. I do believe that was trauma energy working itself out of my body.

It is now 10 weeks later and I can honestly report that I have hardly any symptoms at all and as time is going on they are getting less and less. From what I have learnt from this course I now realise that this is because the morphic field is getting weaker now that the trauma is released and I am no longer ticking. The less I practice this old habit the weaker that field will get and the habit will eventually completely disappear. My arm would fling out several times a day. It did it once last week and that came as quite a surprise as it hadn’t done it for ages. It also hasn’t done it since. There are no vocal tics. This is also without any further work. I should really be working on myself and I haven’t. If I was one of my clients I would be giving me a ticcing off! (pardon the pun). But to be honest I really haven’t felt a need to. Matrix reimprinting for me has been life changing. After 27 years living with a trapped trauma that was coming out in tics that were beyond my control I only wish that I had invested in this wonderful revolutionary technique earlier. I am now a fully qualified matrix reimprinting practitioner and already using this fantastic way of working with many of my clients and looking forward to using it much more in the future.

I do believe that my Tourette’s has been almost eradicated and is improving by the day, so who is to say that Matrix reimprinting couldn’t help others with Tourette’s? In fact I am now a firm believer that Matrix reimprinting could help with practically any negative symptoms.

When we change our energy field it also has an effect on everyone who comes into contact with us. We all know the difference of being around an energy field of someone who makes us feel positive and someone who makes us feel negative therefore draining us of our energy. We all owe it to ourselves to clear negative energy and trauma so that we can be able to live consciously without fear.

 

 

 

 

Your road to riches!

 

Are you struggling getting onto that road to riches? All of us have a fundamental right to be rich. We are here to lead an abundant life and be happy and free. This means that you should have all the money you need to lead a full, happy and prosperous life. We are here to grow, expand, and unfold spiritually, mentally and materially. You have the right to fully develop and express yourself in all your potentials. An important aspect of these rights is the ability, should you choose, to surround yourself with beauty and luxury.

Why should you be satisfied with just enough to go around when you can enjoy the riches of your subconscious mind? Sometimes subconscious blocks can get in the way of this and hinder our ‘friendship’ with money. Once you are able to make friends with money you will always have what you need and more! We shouldn’t let anyone make us feel doubtful or ashamed of a desire to be rich because at it’s deepest level it is a desire for a fuller, happier and more wonderful life!

Money is a symbol of exchange. To you it is not only of freedom for want but also of beauty, refinement, abundance and luxury. It can be a symbol of economic health for a whole nation. When your blood is circulating freely in your body you are healthy. When money is circulating freely in your life you are economically healthy. When people begin to hoard money, to put it away in boxes and become fearful of spending they become economically ill.

Once you understand the powers of your subconscious mind you have within your grasp a road map to riches of all kinds – spiritual, mental or financial. If you can convey the idea of wealth to the subconscious mind it will keep you supplied wherever you may be. You have to imprint subconsciously that money is forever flying freely in your life and there will always be a surplus available to you. If this is your subconscious belief then should there be a financial collapse tomorrow and everything  you possessed became worthless then you will still attract wealth. You would come through the crisis comfortably and likely even gain advantage from it!

If you do not have enough money it could be that you are silently or even openly condemning it. Some people refer to money as dirty, filthy or the root to all evil! Some people may even have a subconscious feeling  that there is a special virtue about poverty! All our subconscious patterns are due to early childhood training.

This is not to say that money should be your god. Money can be very much a part of a balanced life. Love of money to the exclusion of everything else would cause you to become unbalanced. After all if you just focus on the money area of your life excluding everything else you may gain a fortune but at what cost? We are here to lead a balanced life so you must also satisfy your need for peace of mind, harmony, love, joy and perfect health.

Both hypnotherapy and Emotional Freedom Technique are a great way for clearing subconscious blocks in all areas of your life and has been used many times for clearing blocks to wealth. You need to remove any superstitious or weird beliefs about money. Do not ever regard money as evil or filthy. If you do it will fly away from you! You lose what you condemn and you cannot attract what you criticize.  By learning some simple techniques to retrain your subconscious to learn the law of attraction then you can bring financial abundance into your life. You can learn to imagine , see and feel the reality of being rich. Learn to live with the idea and sustain, nourish and love it. This conviction will then attract money into your life. First of all though any subconscious blocks to abundance need to be addressed. For help doing this please look at my website. www.positivelycalm.com.

Although based in the Essex area I am also available for therapy on skype. For further details please contact me.

 

Free yourself from Fear!

A picture of a tree with a pale blue background with the words "The fears we don't face become our limits"

It could be argued that people’s greatest enemy is fear. Fear is often the very thing behind failure, sickness, stress and poor human relations. Millions of people are afraid of so many things including fears of the past, the future, old age, dementia, death and illness. Many fears can become a phobia such as fear of flying, spiders and water to name but a few. But fear is just a thought in your own mind which means that all you are actually afraid of are your own thoughts! It’s never too late to free yourself from fear.

If you imagine a small child can be fearful of a monster living under the bed because a playmate has told them that the monster would grab them in the night. But when a parent turns on the light and shows them that there is no monster under the bed then he is freed from that fear. The fear in the  mind of that child was every bit as real as if there was really a monster there. When he was made to realise that the thing that he feared did not exist then he was healed of a false thought in his mind. In the same way, most of your fears have no reality.

The great nineteenth-century philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “Do the thing you are afraid to do, and the death of fear is certain.”

I remember when I was 19 being asked to be best man at a wedding. In fact it was a very big wedding. I was filled with unutterable fear at the thought of standing before an audience and speaking. I believe that if I had given way to this fear, as terrible as it was, I am sure you would not now be reading this blog. I would never have been able to share with others what I have learned about the workings of the subconscious mind. The way I overcame this fear was to follow Emersons advice. Quaking inside I went before the audience and spoke. It was tough at first but as the speech went on I gained a little confidence and by the end I was almost enjoying it. Admittedly it was quite a while until I spoke in front of an audience again but I used this experience as a benchmark and in my line of work now I have to engage in public speaking all the time and I actually enjoy it. I did the thing I was afraid to do and the death of fear was certain.

When you affirm positively that you are going to master your fears, and you come to a definite decision in your conscious mind, you release the power of the subconscious, which in return flows in response to the nature of your thought.

Try this technique for overcoming fear. Suppose you were afraid of swimming. You can retrain your mind with this simple technique. Try and sit still for at least two to three times a day for five or ten minutes. Now imagine that you are swimming. Mentally project yourself into the water. You feel the coolness of the water and the movement of your arms and legs. It is all a very real and vivid and joyful activity in your mind. What you are experiencing in your imagination will then be developed in your subconscious mind. When you next swim it is the joyful action that will surface as this is the law of the subconscious.

The same technique can be applied to other fears. A hypnotherapist can induce an even deeper state to instill positive suggestion and sometimes may work with regression to find a root cause for the particular fear and release the negative emotion that has been buried within the subconscious mind. Emotional Freedom Technique is also another good way of clearing those negative feelings.

Remember to give your focus to what you want to happen not what you are afraid might happen instead. For example If you are fearing failure then focus on success!

For further help and support in overcoming your fears please do not hesitate in contacting me.

 

 

Hypnotherapy discount for emergency service and care workers

In the fast-paced and high-stakes world of emergency services, the mental and emotional well-being of personnel is often …

Revolutionising Mental Health: BWRT – The Therapy World’s Storming Solution

  In recent years, the world of therapy and mental health has witnessed a paradigm shift in the way we approach and …

Breaking the Silence: The Celebrity Shield in Sexual Abuse Cases

In recent years, the world has witnessed a growing wave of movements and campaigns aimed at raising awareness about sexual …