Sarah Merson
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Andrew Tan, 9, arrived at most early childhood milestones at a young age, and with ease. He walked at 9 months old. He was stringing sentences together and was potty trained when he was 2 years old. But when it came to being dry at night, Andrew had a different story. “We just thought that he’d come to it sooner or later,” says Joanna Tan, Andrew’s mum. “But at 6, he was still wetting the bed at night.”

According to the NHS, bedwetting when asleep, also known as nocturnal enuresis, is very common in children, especially those under 7. About one five-year-old in seven, and one child in 20 children aged 10 wet the bed, and it is more common in boys than girls. It can be caused by medical conditions such as cystitis or diabetes, or by some children’s inability to produce enough of the antidiuretic hormone, ADH, which controls the production of urine at night, or just by the fact that some children develop bladder control later than others. It may also have a psychological cause, because of problems at school or at home, for example.

Andrew overcame his bedwetting by means of hypnotherapy, which involves using hypnosis to treat medical and psychological problems. “He was approaching his seventh birthday and desperately wanted to go to Cub camp and sleepovers,” says Joanna. “He was still wetting the bed, though, and felt embarrassed, ashamed and even angry with himself. I’ve always wanted my son to believe he can accomplish anything he set his mind to, but with his bedwetting, his confidence levels were low. He was a bright chap, with a reading age of 9 or 10 when he was only 7, yet because of his bed-wetting, he felt like a failure. Then I read an article on hypnotherapy, which ended up being Andrew’s route to feeling good about himself again.”

According to the British Society of Clinical Hypnosis, being hypnotised feels like being in a trance state, similar to daydreaming, or like the moment before we fall asleep, in which there’s a deep sense of relaxation. During hypnosis, beneficial corrections may be given directly to the unconscious mind, which is a reservoir of unrecognised potential and knowledge, and the unwitting source of many of our problems.

“We discovered hypnotherapy after trying several conventional treatments from the age of 3, including sedatives,” Joanna says. “When Andrew was nearly 7 we saw the school nurse, who did a bladder test and told us that he had a small bladder. He was given the enuresis alarm, which wakes a child as he begins to wet the bed, but it soon woke everyone else but him!

“After four months with very little success, Andrew was then prescribed Desmopressin, a drug that inhibits the production of urine through the night. This had little effect either. Meanwhile, Andrew continued to be more and more demoralised.”

Waking up with a smile

Then Joanna came across Lynda Hudson, a clinical hypnotherapist with 15 years’ experience, who specialises in treating children as well as adults. Having trained at the London College of Clinical Hypnosis, Hudson also has an honours degree in psychology, teaches hypnotherapy to medical students and is currently writing a book on hypnotherapy for children. She is one of the few hypnotherapists in the country who treats them. “About 40-45 per cent of children I see come to me for bedwetting or other anxiety-based problems, which is why I produced a CD called I’m Dry at Night. This aims to change the mindset of a child who wets the bed, telling them that they can take control at the unconscious level. They can also listen to the CD in the safety of their own bedroom before they go to sleep at night,” says Hudson. Although Joanna knew a bit about hypnotherapy, she was a little apprehensive about Andrew being treated person-to-person.

“Using a CD felt different, though. I listened to it myself first, and it seemed so positive. Andrew was keen to give it a go, so he started to listen to it before he went to sleep. By the third night, he slept right through and was dry in the morning. Within a month, he was continuously dry but continued to fall asleep to the CD for the next three months because he found it so relaxing. He started to wake up with a smile on his face and rapidly regained his confidence,” she says.

On the CD, Hudson uses guided imagery. “I have used the idea of locking up the bladder with a large, strong and colourful key and standing sentry outside it. I’ve also included powerful suggestions for signals to be sent from the bladder (via the sentry) to the brain for the child to wake if necessary, or to keep those muscles tightly closed until morning. I can’t promise that this approach will work for every child, but it does for the vast majority,” she says.

It worked well for Andrew. “He’s a thinking child, who wanted it to work, and the fact that hypnotherapy gave him back control of the situation was the catalyst for change,” says Joanna.

Where Andrew was once withdrawn at school and in social situations, he now has high self-esteem, and even put himself up for school council this year. “But the best testament to his new-found confidence is that he agreed to be featured and photographed for this article,” says Joanna. “I warned him that he might be ridiculed for being a bedwetter, but he said, ‘Well, I did it, Mum. I don’t wet the bed any more’.”

MORE than a million Brits are hooked on the UK’s most habit-forming substance.
Every day they battle terrible cravings – and tempting hits are available on almost every street corner for as little as 30p.

I’m talking about chocolate.

To many it is the world’s most addictive foodstuff and kicking the habit can be as hard as coming off drugs.

I’ve been hooked on my sugary fixes for more than 20 years and have tried almost every way to quit.

I’ve been through hypnotherapy, aversion therapy, willpower, diets and even sniffing vanilla oil, which is supposed to counter craving. Nothing worked.

But now a new therapy claims an 80 per cent success rate for overcoming chocolate addiction.

Called Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT, it involves a therapist tapping on meridian pressure points on the head, neck and arms – like acupuncture but without the needles.

Practitioners say it can help people overcome phobias and end addictions in just a couple of sessions.

Lily Allen recently used it to help her lose weight. Madonna is rumoured to be a fan too.

I’ll admit I was sceptical, but after just one session I have conquered my cravings.

My session took just over an hour.

It started with Carey asking me to hold and sniff my favourite chocolate bar and give it a rating out of ten for how much I wanted to eat it.

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I answered ten out of ten – then Carey tapped out a simple sequence on my wrist and face, while asking me to repeat: “I control chocolate, chocolate doesn’t control me.”

I felt daft and was convinced it would not work. Yet when she handed me back the chocolate two minutes later, it no longer smelled so good and my craving rating was down to eight out of ten.

After another 40 minutes of the tapping sequence, I could happily throw the chocolate in the bin.

Carey describes the treatment as a “magic bullet” and says: “EFT works on the subconscious and as more than 95 per cent of what we do is subconscious, it’s the most effective way to work.”

The treatment is so simple that clients carry on using it at home themselves.

While my cravings have not disappeared completely, I can now control them with a simple tap to the hand or wrist.

And since my session, I haven’t eaten chocolate for a week.

At £80 a time, EFT is certainly expensive – but it’s cheaper than a lifetime’s shelling out for chocolate.

Boffins define choc addiction as having “strong daily cravings” and eating more than 12 bars a week. It affects more women than men and is the most common food addiction.

But eating just one bar a day could make you pile on 2st in a year and it can mask signs of clinical depression.

By Caroline Ryan

Hypnosis can double the success of IVF treatment, researchers have claimed.
A team from Soroka University, Israel, found 28% of women in the group who were hypnotised became pregnant, compared with 14% of those who were not.

The study of 185 women was presented to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Berlin.

But other experts said the research failed to account for key differences between the two groups.

The Israeli researchers were looking to see if hypnosis could make the embryo transfer stage of IVF more successful.

During this stage, the embryo is transferred into the womb. However, if the womb is contracting, it can affect the chances of the transplant being a success.

It was hoped hypnotherapy could help women relax and therefore improve the chances of success.

Stress

Women undergoing IVF were assessed to see if they were suitable to be hypnotised.

Eighty-nine women were then given hypnosis while their embryos were implanted. Some underwent more than one cycle of IVF treatment.

Ninety-six other women underwent embryo transfers without hypnosis. All received one cycle each.

Dr Eliahu Levitas, who led the research, told the conference: “Embryo transfer is known to be a stressful time for patients, and it may be that the procedure is the peak of their stress in IVF.

“Hypnosis may be related to a tranquilising effect.

“Performing embryo transfer under hypnosis may significantly contribute to an increased clinical pregnancy rate.”

But experts said the study failed to take into account key differences between the groups which would have a major influence on their chances of conceiving.

On average, women in the non-hypnosis group had been trying to conceive for 7.4 years, compared with 4.7 years for those who did receive hypnosis.

Dr Francois Shenfield, of University College London Hospital, UK, said: “One of the very important confounding factors in this field is the duration of infertility.

“The longer a couple have been trying to conceive, the less likely they are to conceive spontaneously, and with technical help.”

Stop Job Interview Nerves

All the practical preparation in the world doesn’t help you when you can barely remember your own name because of anxiety!

Of course practical preparation is essential, but it’s all wasted if you fail to…Prepare Emotionally, as Well as Practically

Getting the wrong emotional response when the critical moment comes can lay all your best plans to waste.

How can we help?

We can help you Relax in interviews, Relax properly so you can do yourself justice. After all, that’s all you can ask isn’t it?

Being calm and relaxed enough to show the interviewers just what you can do, then you can leave the interview knowing that you did your best.

After that, it’s out of your control. After all, no-one can guarantee they will get a job!

But you can make it more likely by preparing emotionally.

not sleeping well?

Can you remember the last time you had a proper night’s sleep?

Have you just got used to taking hours to fall asleep every night?

Not being able to go to sleep quickly is very frustrating, especially when it becomes a regular sleep pattern. Just one night’s sleep leaves you feeling tired and under par. When it’s taking you ages to fall asleep night after night it can quickly wear you down.

I am sure like most people the more you worry that you can’t sleep, the longer you take to go to sleep and the more anxious you feel. “I’ll never get to sleep”. “I’m going to be exhausted tomorrow”, may often run through your mind at night. You may also be constantly trying to work out how to fall asleep fast.

This problem means that sleep is no longer the natural process that it should be. You have probably reached the point of losing your patience with always ‘trying’ to go to sleep. Right now you probably find going to bed unappealing and you may be putting it off by staying up later and later which makes you feel even worse.

Are you feeling the effects of your lack of sleep?

I am sure you have noticed the effects this lack of sleep has had on how you feel both mentally and physically. Since sleep has become a problem for you, you have probably seen your concentration, energy and confidence decrease. You may have even become too tired to complete your usual day to day tasks and think straight.

Do you find yourself not being able to make decisions very quickly or perhaps become easily irritated by others around you? Your friends and family have probably noticed a change in you as well. For those of you that have regular sleep problems feeling depressed, negative and anxious are also fairly common effects which just make this cycle of sleep problems continue. Even to the point where you want to give up doing the things that you normally enjoy, such as meeting up with friends.

What’s stopping you falling asleep?

It may be that at the moment the pressures of every day life such as work or family problems are causing you to be stressed, anxious or angry. All of these emotions can easily interfere with your ability to relax and therefore disrupt your sleep patterns.

Do you find yourself still trying to solve problems at the end of the day or have lots of thoughts running through your mind whilst lying in bed? Just this alone can make sleep difficult- even if you don’t feel like you’re stressed.

You may have problems falling asleep fast because of noise around you, drinking caffeine before go to bed or because there have been changes in your routine or diet. All these things not only delay you falling asleep but can affect the quality of sleep you have making you still feel tired in the morning.

A habit that can be changed

Like most people who can’t go to sleep you might have tried lots of short terms fixes such as sedatives and sleeping pills to get you to sleep quickly. This may have worked for the odd night or two; however these quick fixes probably didn’t make you feel any better the next day. This is because you tend to get less deep sleep by taking these kinds of pills.

Even though you may have had sleep problems for a while now, let me reassure you that your unstable sleep pattern that has developed can be changed. It is just a habit that has got in the way of the natural processes of sleep. When it comes to bed time you now just expect to take ages to fall asleep so your mind is anxious and active. In order for the natural process to happen the mind and body needs to be relaxed.

How hypnosis can help you fall asleep fast

By retraining your mind and body to relax and wind down this will gently soothe you into sleep quickly and naturally. I know it sounds unlikely right now but try and be patient and allow your self to prepare for sleep. Relaxation, darkness, quiet surroundings and getting your body temperature right are just little things that will help you fall asleep fast.

Allowing your self to be deeply relaxed and by using the relaxation techniques taught will help create the same internal conditions as the ‘pre-sleep’ phase. With regular relaxation your mind will start to be cleared of racing thoughts and this will kick start the natural sleep process.

The relaxation technique that you will be taught and by changing any habits that you currently have before you go to bed (like having a cup of tea) will make it possible for you to have a good night’s sleep. And believe it or not you will become to enjoy going to bed and will be able to fall asleep quickly without even thinking about it.

You can imagine now what it would be like to have a long, good night’s sleep, just like you used to. Waking up feeling refreshed, feeling happier and calmer instead of being stressed and exhausted. And with these changes you will begin to feel more confident and efficient both mentally, physically and socially. Allowing you to get back to the ‘real you’ again.

Try not to get impatient though if you don’t fall asleep straight away, as deep relaxation is often as refreshing and good for your body as sleep. Once you have used hypnosis to go to sleep a few times, you won’t be ‘trying’ to fall asleep anymore.

What to do next

Call 0800 612 7113 now or email info@hypnoticclinic.com to arrange your initial consultation and just see how much more relaxed and refreshed you feel when you can enjoy a long, comfortable sleep.

However, for some people, anxiety prevents them from living their life in the way that they would like. They experience frequent and intense feelings of fear, apprehension and worry in situations that most people would not find threatening. When their anxiety starts to control their lives, it becomes a real problem. This is what is known as an anxiety disorder.

One of the symptoms of anxiety is panic attacks / anxiety attacks. Panic attacks can be described as a sudden, intense wave of fear. The symptoms include chest pains, breathing difficulties, nausea, dizziness, terror, fear of dying, fear of losing control, flushes or chills and a tingling or numbness in the hands.

The experience of panic attacks can be so terrifying that many sufferers will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid situations that may cause another distressing episode where panic disorder sets in.

Sufferers of panic attacks often worry about the implication or consequences of their attacks. For example, a person experiencing a panic attack may think they’re having a heart attack, or that they are losing control or “going crazy”. These episodes can be frightening and confusing.

At the Hypnotic Clinic we treat all types of anxiety disorders:

Phobias (including social phobia, agoraphobia)
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Panic disorder
General Anxiety Disorder

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy for anxiety (general anxiety) and panic attacks

Anxiety disorders can have a detrimental effect on your work, home and social life. Life is much more challenging when you have to contend with an anxiety disorder as well as all of life’s usual ups and downs.

Anxiety disorders can cause tremendous amounts of apprehension, stress and worry not only to the sufferer but to the people around them as well.

Anxiety disorders are more common than you might think. Around 10% of people have a phobia of some sort and approximately 16% of adults are suffering from an anxiety disorder at any one time. This means approximately one in six people. The good news is that hypnotherapy has been helping people to treat this condition. At the Hypnotic Clinic we specialize in enabling people to find a permanent solution so they can live a life completely free from anxiety.

How can you control anxiety?

The simple answer is, not very well. Anxiety and panic attacks are involuntary. Trying to stop the symptoms is like trying to stop blinking. You can try, but the unthinking, subconscious part of the mind will override your attempts and that physiological response will take over automatically once again. Some people will try distraction techniques. Some attempt to avoid certain ‘triggers’ to prevent the anxiety occurring. But unfortunately, none of these methods resolve what caused it in the first place, and so eventually the anxiety will just keep coming back, and the anticipation of panic will never go away.

How can hypnotherapy help?

The most effective way to cure anxiety disorders completely and permanently, is to resolve what’s causing it; if there is no longer any cause, there can be no effect.

So why do you suffer from anxiety? You have probably puzzled over this many times before. Looked for reasons, triggers behind it. Perhaps you know why; an early upsetting experience caused you panic. Perhaps it’s been triggered by stress or depression. But knowing this doesn’t make the problem go away. Or maybe you can’t think of any reasons to explain it. But that doesn’t mean there is no cause, because for something to exist it has to have been created. It has to come from somewhere.

Beneath all the triggers and confirmation there is a single, root cause stored away in the subconscious mind. It’s something you can’t think of. Something small, easily forgotten, easily overlooked. It’s like that bit of grit in your eye. Once you find it, it can be hard to believe that something so small could have caused so much trouble.

It can take years for our problems, conditions and symptoms to get a good hold over us. Something that starts out as a minor irritation gets worse and worse until it causes us so much suffering that we eventually seek help to put it right.

How can hypnotherapy cure anxiety?

The therapist approaches each person without theories or preconceptions except for one that the answer to your anxiety lies only within your subconscious mind. With Hypnotherapy there is no need to suppress or manage your symptoms. By resolving and correcting the true cause, your anxiety – along with any apprehension, worry and panic – will automatically fade away, until eventually your problem is nothing but a vague and distant memory.

Next step

If you would like to explore further about how hypnotherapy can help with anxiety disorder, panic attacks or other anxiety related issues, then please contact us to book an initial consultation.

• Do you want to lose weight easily?

• Would you like to feel really happy with your body?

• Do you find it hard to get up and motivate yourself to do exercise?

• Do you find yourself craving rich fatty foods?

• Do you get disheartened about your eating habits and your weight?

Hypnosis can help with Weightloss

We probably do more weight loss sessions than any other issue, and it seems that most of these clients are coming in by referral. Clients are coming in and saying “Do to me what you did to my Mum! (or Dad, Best Friend, etc.)

If there is a strong desire to eat healthily, hypnotherapy is of great value in helping with issues of weight control. By accessing the resources of your subconscious mind we can help you to restructure your approach to food, allowing you to eat consciously and remain in control, enabling you to balance food intake and exercise. Through hypnosis you begin to enjoy treating your body with respect, and gain the control over your life that you really need.

Whether you’re overweight or just looking for assistance in maintaining your ideal weight hypnosis can help naturally and safely:

Stay motivated with your weight loss goals.

Improve your self esteem

Stop emotional eating

Develop a positive body image

Stop eating junk food in front of the T.V

Stop Binge eating

Stop food cravings

Loose your sweet tooth

Boost motivation to exercise

Scientific Research

In a study of 60 women separated into hypnosis versus non-hypnosis groups, the groups using hypnosis lost an average of 17 pounds, while the non-hypnosis group lost an average of .5 pounds (Cochrane, Gordon; Friesen, J. (1986). Hypnotherapy in weight loss treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 489-492).

Adding hypnosis to other weight loss methods increased weight loss by an average of 97% during treatment, and increased the effectiveness post treatment by over 146%. Hypnosis continues to enhance weight loss results and the effect may grow stronger over time. (Kirsch, Irving (1996). Hypnotic enhancement of cognitive-behavioral weight loss treatments. Another meta-reanalysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64 (3), 517-519).

The success of Hypnosis, NLP and Tapping for weight loss have recently received widespread coverage with the overwhelming success of Paul McKenna’s TV show I Can Make You Thin and Channel 4’s TV’s Supersize vs Super Skinny with Anna Richardson receiving Weight Loss Hypnotherapy.

What to do next

The Hypnotic Clinic ‘Ideal Weigh’ programme will devise a bespoke programme using the latest psychological techniques tailored to YOUR individual needs to help you achieve your ideal shape, size and weight. Call 0208 123 2514 now to arrange your initial consultation.

The treatment involved her being ‘put under’ and talked through every step of the medical procedure as if she were in a real operating theatre.

Before … Marion as she was
SWNS
At the end she was told her stomach had been shrunk to the size of a golf ball — and her brain has accepted the illusion.

In the four months following the treatment Marion saw her weight drop to just over 11 and a half stone and her dress size from a 22 to 14.

The mum-of-three says she now feels full if she tries to eat anything other than a small portion of food.

Marion, of Whiston, Merseyside, said: “I’ve tried every other diet and exercise plan the world has to offer.

“I’ve tried tablets, WeightWatchers, Atkins, Slimfast, milkshakes and even a personal trainer, but none of them helped me.

Revolutionary

“Now I am able to shed up to three pounds a week because I believe I’ve had a band fitted into my stomach.

“Bizarrely, I can remember every part of the ‘procedure’ – including being wheeled into theatre, the clink of the surgeon’s knife and even the smell of the anaesthetic.”

Marion underwent the hypnotherapy in Spain last August when she was living there.

She heard about the Elite Clinic in Marbella from a friend who used it to give up smoking and discovered they carried out the revolutionary ‘gastric mind band’ therapy.

‘ Bizarrely, I can remember every part of the ‘procedure’ – including being wheeled into theatre, the clink of the surgeon’s knife and even the smell of the anaesthetic. ’
After a consultation with therapist Marion Shirran, an expat who runs the clinic with her British husband Martin, she booked herself in for five sessions.

They began with preparation sessions without hypnosis, using a real model of a stomach and a real surgical gastric band to familiarise Marion with the forthcoming ‘op’.

In the hypnosis sessions she was told to touch the same tummy model and band as her mind was tricked into thinking she was undergoing the procedure.

Computer-driven equipment pumped a range of aromas into the room to mimic the smells of a hospital ward, operating theatre and even the recovery room.

There was also a recording of surgical tools being picked up and put down playing in the background.

Marion started losing weight after the fourth session — the first with full hypnosis — and after the fifth she began to feel a tightening sensation in her stomach.

She added: “Now if I try and eat a large portion I feel a pulling sensation in my tummy as if my stomach is stretching.

“I simply cannot eat large portions of food any more.

“I did manage to force down a KFC burger once but I felt really sick, as if it was stuck in my throat, and I had to lie down for three hours afterwards.

“I am thinner now than I ever have been and if I can lose another stone I will be exactly the weight I want to be.

“I feel like I fit in now. People don’t stare at me anymore.”

Clinic owner Martin began working on perfecting the Gastric Mind Band after a client he helped quit smoking asked him whether it would be possible to convince him he had one fitted.

Martin said: “This treatment is good for the client, for the NHS and is also ideal for the many overweight adults and teenagers who are sadly part of ‘Obese Britain’.

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“Although this form of ‘imagined surgery’ isn’t in itself new, its application in the weight loss field is believed to be pioneering.

“And this non-surgical approach has many benefits – no general anaesthetic, no risk of DVT or MRSA.”

Martin, who himself has lost 50lbs, said: “The different therapies help patients rethink their whole attitude to food so they adopt a new lifestyle of healthy eating.

“It is not a temporary solution. It is a long term thing.

“We believe our therapy can be immensely beneficial for individuals who want to control their eating habits for self esteem or health reasons especially the growing number of people, young and old who are developing type 2 diabetes in ever increasing numbers.”

Jacqui Lowdon, dietician and spokeswoman for the British Dietary Association, said: “This is quite a novel idea and I’ve certainly never come across it before.

“Gastric bands are available on the NHS to those who have problems with their weight, but there are a lot of side effects.

“If this works and people can achieve the same kind of weight loss without surgery, it is important they are getting the correct dietary advice as well.

“It is also important to have a target weight and to know what your ideal weight is.”

Elliott Wald, resident hypnosis expert on ITV’s This Morning and spokesman for the Hypnotherapy Association UK, said: “In essence I see the possibility of being able to create a visual gastric band in the mind, but as yet I haven’t seen enough evidence to support it.”

ENZO MACCARINELLI had hypnosis to prepare him for his world cruiserweight title unification clash with David Haye.
Maccarinelli, 27, has undergone several sessions with Nick Cook over the last two months.

He revealed: “I’ve had full hypnosis a couple of times but mainly it’s been a mild form to make sure that I have never once lost my focus in the build-up.

“It’s been nothing to do with my confidence but this is a massive fight and I wanted to do everything right.

“I sit there with my eyes closed and it opens up my sub-conscious – any negative thoughts are gone.”