Peacock hypnotherapy

These are my thoughts on anxiety, based on my experience with clients. I wonder if they resonate with you?

I’m sure my clients think I falsely flatter them to make them feel good. However, pretty much every person who walks through my door and shares their story leaves me genuinely in awe of how incredible and resilient they are.

The truth is, they often arrive focusing on their problems and “what’s wrong with them.” This becomes their central focus.

I, on the other hand, look at what has brought them to this point—what they do in life, their skills, hobbies, unique personality, and potential.

I suppose we could call this a lens. You might think I’m just seeing things through rose-tinted glasses, but perhaps it’s simply two sides of the same coin.

Is that all we need to do—just flip over the coin?

Well, I think in many ways, yes, but not necessarily consciously. Let me explain.

The human brain has between 86 billion and 100 billion neurons, more than the number of stars in the Milky Way. These neurons are connected by over 100 trillion synaptic connections.

The human brain can process 11 million bits of information every second. But our conscious minds can handle only 40 to 50 bits of information a second. So you can start to see how using hypnotherapy to tap into that resource would be really advantageous.

As mind-blowing as all this is, our brain simply wants to feel safe. And boy, do we find many ways to tell it that it’s not. Just like all living organisms, if it doesn’t feel safe, it will curl up and hide, or lash out in self-defense. How is your brain behaving? Is it curled up like a hedgehog? Or grabbing the bars like an angry, caged chimpanzee?

I see therapists who come into my room with all the knowledge, who look at the books on my bookshelf and say, “I’ve read all of them, and still I feel like this.” Inside, I’m thinking, “Pile up all those books, set them on fire, and toast marshmallows over them—that’s where your answers lie.”

I once had a client tell me six times that they were not anxious, which I found interesting since I never asked them if they were!

There aren’t many things in our world that are constantly on the go. Cars park, TVs turn off, washing machines stop spinning. When does your brain stop?

Eighty years ago, we didn’t have TVs in our homes; now we have over 600 channels to choose from. Fifty years ago, we didn’t have computers in our homes. Eighteen years ago, we didn’t have smartphones in our hands.

Imagine all the content and messages our brains must process from these three things alone, each and every day. Then we add in the small matter of our jobs, families, friends, etc.

The real question is: “Why wouldn’t you be stressed?”

Many things in our lives tell us when some kind of change is needed. Our car has a light that tells us it needs a service or more oil. The dishwasher has a light to tell us it needs more salt. The electricity fuse box trips out when we overload the circuit.

But what about you? You don’t have dials, lights, or fuse boxes, but your body is telling you that an adjustment needs to be made.

So what’s the answer, I hear you shout?

There is a wonderful word called homeostasis (HOH-mee-oh-STAY-sis).

Homeostasis is the state of balance and stability in the internal physical and chemical conditions of living organisms, which allows them to function optimally. It involves constantly adjusting body levels of many variables. The purpose of homeostasis is to maintain this internal environment without being disrupted by external stimuli.

When we create the perfect environment where homeostasis can take place, our wonderful minds and bodies start healing.

I witness this every week with panic attacks, nervous tics, health anxiety, pain—the list is pretty long.

My job is to hold your hand and guide you to this wonderful environment. You can kick, scream, and fight against it, but why would you?

Far from raking over old problems (the very things that got you here), we focus on what’s hidden away in your brain—the things you would like to be getting on with instead—discovering new hobbies, new interests, and a new and improved you.

This solution-focused hypnotherapy changed how I view and engage with the world. I’m still me, but I now value myself and have little time for people who don’t add some value to my life. When life throws me a problem, I know I have the capacity to face whatever it is.

We are here only once. Let’s give it our best shot.