Anxiety in Harley Street

Perhaps it’s time for a challenge. It seems as though redundancy, a change of career and loved ones with serious illness aren’t challenging enough. Mind you, the latest research shows that a challenge response to stress is way healthier than traditional fight or flight. Maybe I’m on to something? So with plunge taken, leaping leapt and forward steps behind me I’ve decided to move on to Harley and his eponymous Street. Really. Harley Street. As New Year Resolutions go, this one definitely counts as a challenge…

…read more here

Hypnotherapy in Harley Street © Tony Burkinshaw 2105

Look Into My Eyes

You might have seen me before!
© Tony Burkinshaw 2012

It occurred to me a little while ago that many clients don’t know what to look for when they’re deciding who to approach about hypnotherapy. To help you decide, I’ve put a post together on my website which walks you through some things to consider.

If you’re interested, why no take a look?

What should you consider when looking for a hypnotherapist to work with? There are many therapies and many hypnotherapists to choose from. Unless you’ve been recommended to one, it can be daunting to have to decide who to choose.

Obviously there are more aspects to whether a particular hypnotherapist is right for you, but these 6 areas might help you make a more informed judgement about what you’re looking for. READ MORE…

Reblogged from Tony Burkinshaw Cognitive Hypnotherapy

Insomnia: TBTalks (again)

It’s that time of the month again…

Last month I was helping people rediscover sleep and I figures you might be interested, especially as I wrote & recorded a bespoke 20 minute Hypno-Slumber mp3 for you to listen to at bedtime. It’s free, gratis and for nothing. Entirely complimentary in a sort of no need to pay for it kind of way rather than being rather than being flatteringly nice. You might find you don’t remember listening to it once you wake up?

There’s always one more sheep

Here’s a quick excerpt.

Click on the link below to read more (or to get the link for the Hypno-Slumber mp3).

“…Estimates vary but it is thought that between a third and a half of British adults suffer bouts of insomnia. As the most common causes of insomnia are Anxiety and Stress, insomnia is a symptom that many of my clients are very familiar with.

The September edition of TBTalks looks at insomnia and how lack of sleep affects not only our ability to function but our health as well. Scroll down to find useful tips to help you manage insomnia and encourage restful sleep. 

The good news is that we can recover really quickly from lost sleep. Once your insomnia has gone, you’ll feel refreshed with just a few good nights sleep…” {READ MORE}

How do I get the newsletter?

If you want to get this month’s issue straight into your inbox, click here: {Subscribe me to TBTalks monthly magazine}

Change: The Anxiety (reblog from my new website)

I’ve been making changes. And dealing with the inevitable anxiety that change can bring.

It became clear over the last latter half of 2014 that I needed to upgrade my website and become more active in promoting my Hypnotherapy business. Whilst client flow was good and is mostly by referral, (many thanks everyone, it’s about as good a compliment as I could wish for), there are still a whole host of people I could help with their anxiety who just didn’t know I was here.

So I made the decision to upgrade the website, get my Facebook business page aligned with the business (it’s just been a forum for this blog until a few weeks ago) and generally increase my online profile. I even decided that it was time to begin that newsletter I’ve been considering.

This is a post I published in April in the new home for my blog, as part of my therapy website. Why not take a look around when you visit and maybe Follow me there so you get regular updates. Many thanks, Tony

…Read More Here

Are they all the same?
© Tony Burkinshaw 2015

Patterns of Anxiety

Algorithms; where would we be without them? Even though I know my mind is constantly firing off its equivalent complexes and striving to effect a cause, I still get caught out every now and then. There I was, having just vacuumed the hallway as you do pre-client, duly noting how there was no loss of suction in the way we’re primed to do by the no-so-young Mr. Dyson.

So far nothing out of the ordinary.

At exactly (and I mean exactly) the same time as I unplugged it to take it upstairs, the downstairs extractor fan stopped. Working on algorithmic autopilot, I found myself switching the socket back on to check that it hadn’t become the power supply for the extractor fan. Of course there is no connection but that doesn’t stop that still small voice of pattern hunting certainty from telling me that the extractor fan was now broken.

The really odd aspect of it all is that all the while, my Cognitive Hypnotherapist mind was telling me what was happening, even down to which algorithm was firing and which past experiences were colliding to form the triggers.

It made not one jot of difference.

Through trivial example, my Unconscious mind insisted on demonstrating how it tries to make sense of my universe. Needless to say, I defused the new pattern and laughed myself quietly free of a potential worry over miswired domestic circuitry.

It is from such misconstruances and misconnections that all manner of anxieties, fears and superstitions come into being. Coincidence isn’t something we’re wired to see. Cause and effect reasoning is much more persuasive. After all it gives us a far better narrative. Gods, demons and superstitions are born of such stories.

Mostly though, the connections are innocuous and leave us feeling just a little silly or out of sorts. Occasionally they are bold and brash and insidiously convince us that life is dangerous and filled with disasters waiting to happen. Herein lie the precursors of depression and anxieties; fears and phobias; destructive habits and negative self-talk.

So if you worry that something awful might happen or you’re frequently nervous, anxious or on edge, it might be interesting to unwind the patterns and triggers of the past and find yourself stepping out into a future happiness you didn’t think existed.

I’d be more than happy to be your hypnotherapeutic guide.

Effective connections

Feel the fear. Say it anyway.

Some stories have to be shared, no matter how scared it makes you feel.

I’m literally shaking at the thought of posting this, firstly because I’m unsure of the reaction I’ll get and secondly because it’s so important to me to raise awareness for this disease that I have suffered from for the past 4 years.

To read the rest of Rachael’s story: follow this link…

 

Feel the fear and say it anyway.

This is Rachael’s story.

My daughter’s story.

Tears and Tantrums

This one might stay with me. I’m not sure if I want to publish how I feel right now, which is a little weird because that means this 100 words a day habit could end up being a journal and that’s something I’ve never understood the point of.

Until now, I guess.

Prognosis has moved three times in the last 24 hours so in terms of rolling with the punches, I’ve given up. This is more about how hard can you get hit and still get up again.

And again.

In large part the determination comes because I have a choice. It isn’t actually happening to me, it’s happening to Rachael. I’m just playing a supporting role.

Sometimes the cracks appear and it’s time for tears and tantrums.

Sometimes they’re not cracks at all and it’s time to let the emotions out to play until the pent up pressure is released.

Yet again, the final answer is surgery next week.
Or perhaps not.

Ah well. Publish and be damned.

what’s down there…
© Tony Burkinshaw 2012

Plan? What plan?

I love it when new learnings lend themselves to practical issues. (Note the nominalisation, a concept my spell check still struggles with).

Complex therapy took place today.

Not the event itself, rather the immense internal barriers to a meaningful reframe. So with new found skills in hand, a neat segway into gestalt flowed seamlessly into words being spoken and forgiveness being freely offered and accepted.

It was really interesting to watch the therapy unfold as it followed apparently carefully planned off-the-cuff statements linking directly into the brains unconscious algorithms. When the time for resolution, the barriers simply had no option but to collapse and allow the reframe in.

Sunshine and light.
Calm where there used to be broken chaos and hate.

I love it when a plan comes together.

And it wasn’t even my plan?

Somewhat Zen
© Tony Burkinshaw 2014

The Choice Option

There’s a glimpse of sunshine. Perhaps two.

Option 1:

Here we go again. Dare to hope or hunker down and wait for the punch that’s always turned up so far.
Every time it’s improved, it’s turned around and slapped us.
Hard.
It’s beyond us. Out of our control.
Life just keeps on happening to us.

Option 2:

Every time it felt like we can’t carry on, there’s been hope. Something has come along and lifted our spirits. A new fact. Uncovering a way of looking at the problem, which gives pause for thought. Get’s the medics thinking again. Trying something new. Adjusting the balance.
Whatever comes along, we’re up to it.
We have to be.
No. It’s more than that.
We choose to be.

External Locus of Control vs. Internal Locus of Control

Simple.
Not easy.

I’ve made my choice.

Enough said.

It’s a delicate balance
© Tony Burkinshaw 2013

The Certificated Wizard

Maybe the tides have turned. For the first time in many weeks, we had a day in the same city. The hospital visit was only 15 minutes away and we even had the space to walk into town for a well-earned coffee/Panini. The sun was shining.

Not only that, since 9.30 there’s only been us in the house. We might even make it to the pub this evening.

On a different note, I’m considering a re-think on the Slight Edge habits. It’s come to my attention that I’m not feeding my Humour & Playfulness key character strength sufficiently well.

Jan, god love her, sent my Master Practitioner Certificate with a fun twist playing on my daughter’s conviction that I’m now officially a wizard. It exercised my playful instincts as I sadly realised that I’m not the kind of therapist who’d have a Wizard Certificate on his wall. Not in this universe anyway.

With the limits of playfulness duly stretched and tested, it occurs to me that I’ve stopped listening to music. So I’m writing this post listening to Uptown Special at reasonable volume on the Mac. I forget how much difference it can make.

So if I decide to switch one of my Slight Edge habits for listening to out-loud music, which should it be? In no particular order, here they are. One of them has to make room:

• Read 10 pages of something interesting
• Meditate for at least 10 minutes
• Exercise: raised heart rate for at least 5 minutes (I’m starting from a low base again)
• Write 100 words or more
• Keep a list of the day’s positive events

Which one gets shouldered out of the way so I can get to the front once more?

My life needs more noise.

just waiting for the Pizza
© Tony Burkinshaw 2013

Gill just came up and closed the door…