Thinking like magic

So, you might see me at TK Maxx occasionally going up and down in the lift holding the hand of an anxious person. Or accompanying someone on an escalator. Perhaps standing on the edge of a balcony. Capturing a spider for close inspection.

The life of a therapist can be quite varied. When I am helping people to overcome their fears, phobias, and anxieties it often helps to experiment, but only once we have got to a point where the individual feels more confident and willing to face their fear. Afterwards, they feel relieved, proud, and more confident in themselves. 

Facing your fears

It is surprising at the moment just how many people have a fear of travel, flying, driving, or simply going out into situations that were once considered normal – visiting London for example.

Fears can become compounded over time, and I often see people who say they wish they had come to see me years ago, but they hesitated to take that first step. Unfortunately, the fear hasn’t gone away, it has worsened and takes longer to overcome. 

I always tell them that they have already taken the most difficult step as that first contact is the hardest – acknowledging you need help and reaching out for support. Once you have decided to take an action, even if you are not sure it is the right one, it will propel you forward and help you to become unstuck.

The pandemic and subsequent lockdown has had a major impact on mental health. We all suffered a global trauma and experienced a sustained level of cortisol (stress chemicals) in our brain over such an extended period of time. 

Staying mentally healthy

Staying mentally healthy is a critical part of modern life as we know. 

You might ask how I can:

• Manage my stress? 
• Get my anxiety under control?
• Stop overthinking and catastrophising?
• Recognise and treat depression?
• Stop people-pleasing?
• Manage imposter syndrome?
• Overcome low self-worth?
• Feel more included?
• Become confident to speak up?
• Live a happier life?

Fortunately, there is one therapy that is better than all others at dealing with stressful situations, whether they exist in the past, present, or future.

Cognitive behavioural therapy and hypnotherapy

Recommended and used extensively by the NHS in the UK, it is called cognitive behavioural therapy or CBT. It addresses logical thinking, emotions, and behaviours and how we use our conscious mind to navigate and cope with the difficulties in life. 

The key difference in the way I work, is to couple CBT with hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy uses the power of the subconscious mind to change how we operate and build our confidence. The power of positive suggestion is surprising. 

Altering the language we use when we talk to ourselves is one of the most useful things we can do to manage our mental health. We can change the voice of our inner critic to become that of our wise, inner advisor – a kind and compassionate voice of reason.

One way to do this is use of the phrase ‘I can…’ We all have the potential to succeed in our goals, no matter how negative we might feel about our capability.

In my recent online book, ‘Thinking Like Magic’, I show how the human brain is faulty, how it tricks and deceives us but how we can use this knowledge to overcome rigid, extreme thinking, to better manage our emotions and change how we behave. I show how CBT works and give you some simple tools you can use yourself to feel well immediately. Thinking Like Magic: Transform your Mental Wellbeing.