How do you start and end your day and how does that decision effect your mood?

Our gadgets have become like second nature. Notice, do you automatically reach for your phone or tablet when you wake up and right before you go to sleep? 

There is no question that technology can make our lives easier; however, our brain and nervous systems are “old-equipment”. What that means is that they are easily triggered—our mind and body, which are connected, cannot distinguish between real and imaginary events and they respond the same way. What we focus on can influence our physical and emotional state in both positive and negative ways. When our mind decides an experience or information (real or imaginary) is dangerous, it sets off the fight or flight response.

Reading articles or social media postings that can wind you up are jarring, disappointing, upsetting, and complex can create a chain reaction of stress in our body. Our mood, outlook for the day, and our sleep can also be effected.

How do you use social media? Are you comparing yourself to others? Is your brain exposed to disturbing pictures or content? Notice how that effects your sleep or your mood? 

Rather than automatically reaching for a gadget, consider creating rituals in the morning and before bed. Rituals can allow you to set an intention and pave the way for thinking or feeling states to begin or end your day. It could be as simple as picturing your favourite place to be or a person to be with. It could be taking several cleansing breaths or as complex as a series of stretches, yoga poses, verbal statements, or even singing a favourite song. All of these options and anything else that resonates with you can become foundations of your wellness plan. These are many of the Embodied practices I teach my clients to calm their internal environment.

Next time your hand automatically reaches for a gadget, play with a different choice and notice the results.

I am feeling more stressed than ever… what can I do?

Everywhere we look in today’s world it seems we are bombarded with stressful messages about the state of the world.  So much of what we are reading or viewing is out of our control.  What we can control though is what we choose to watch or listen to.  If you have been finding yourself feeling more anxious, stressed or agitated than normal, observe what media you have been exposing yourself to.  Follow these simple steps to start shifting your focus.

  • Wake up and take a few moments to open your eyes, breathe and visualize or mediate briefly.
  • Have a healthy breakfast and stretch or exercise if you have time before you check your phone, email or social media.
  • Block sites that you notice trigger worry or agitation.
  • Choose to avoid the news, focus instead on uplifting articles or stories they are just as real.
  • At the end of the day turn off your phone, email and social media.

If you find your mind continues to race, your mood is angry you feel depressed or anxious for more than a few days seek professional help.  Therapists like myself have a variety of techniques such as; thought work, hypnotherapy and mind/body techniques to help you resolve anxious or depressed moods. Very often clients I work with begin to feel better right away.

Living Now!

The New Year is always a time for people to reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the year to come. Often the goals we set involve changing behaviours and habits we have lived with for a long time. It takes time to replace old habits with new ones and in the moment we often feel energized to jump into to “our new way” and then many people become discouraged when habits are not immediately different.

I encourage everyone to focus on the present right now and begin to embrace changing one small thing at a time,enjoying the process of now rather looking towards the future.

Today find one small thing you are comfortable with and wanting to do differently, whether it’s moving your body just for today! Putting healthy nutritious food into your body just for today! Notice how empowering it feels to allow yourself to make that change. Notice how good it feels to be able to do that for yourself. Your confidence and self esteem increases with every little moment of change you choose to allow yourself to make and tomorrow is another day to do the same!

Now smile and enjoy it!

Gained Confidence

Two years ago I had taken up horseback riding as an adult. I love horses and I love the sport but was overwhelmed by frustration because I was allowing my anxieties and fears to block me from progressing and fully enjoying the experience of being on horseback. I was physically and emotionally frozen by my fears and unable to think in the moment.

After my sessions with Jill I was able to break through many barriers and work towards and gain new skills that I never even thought possible. I am now able to jump a course and feel the exhilaration of jumping it with the horse instead of feeling the terrors of possibly making a mistake.

Happily, I would also like to add that this new gained confidence from riding has spread into many other areas of my life. Any expectations that I may have had of hypnotherapy had been greatly exceeded.

NT

Anxiety & Flying

Just to let you know I have flown across the country this summer. While it is still not my favourite experience, with just one tranquilizer before the flight I was able to fly and even look out a window. Without your help I would be taking tranquilizers a couple of days before the flight and then spend my vacation worrying about the flight home. The anxiety has lessened considerably.

KC

Hypnosis

Hypnotherapy : Does it Really Work?

Pretend for a moment, that your mind is like your lawn out in front of your home. Even some of the best cared for yards, if you look close enough, are going to have a couple of weeds! Weeds are interesting because they are so persistent. You see, most of the yard is made up of good green grass, shrubs, and flowers (the good things about yourself).

The grass has good roots, but the weed’s roots go much deeper. That is why if you try to remove a weed by cutting it off, or pulling it up, and you don’t get all of its root, it is most likely to just come back, and sometimes there are more weeds (symptoms or problems) than when you started.

Taking this example a little further, you could look at the weed and divide it up into three distinct areas: first there is the area where the roots are, the soil, that is equivalent to the subconscious mind; the second area, where the grass is, is equivalent to the conscious mind, the part that is easy to see; and finally, there is the part that sticks up into the air for yourself and everyone else to see, the weed, the part of ourselves that we don’t like.

The part we don’t like might be a bad habit like biting your finger nails, or something more serious like smoking, a phobia, or even some diseases like ulcers.

Some treatments just deal with the behavior or the outward symptom, and that would be like mowing off the weed, it is likely that it will return. In the short term you might feel better, like going on a diet, losing the weight, and then the weight returns, because the real cause of the excess weight was never eliminated! Then you feel frustrated, and may even gain more weight (more weeds!).

Hypnotherapy done properly will remove the problem at the root, by helping the client to see or experience the situation, thought or idea, that started the problem differently. If the root is removed, then the problem ceases to exist!

Hypnosis can help you with the following and more:

  • Stop Smoking
  • Weight Loss
  • Anxiety
  • Remove Fears
  • Drug Abuse
  • Motivation
  • Public Speaking
  • Anger Issues
  • Concentration
  • Test Anxiety
  • Improve Sports
  • Sexual Issues
  • Stress
  • Remove Habits
  • Shyness
  • Relationships
  • Alcohol Abuse
  • Childbirth
  • Stage Fright
  • Pain Management
  • Procrastination
  • Self-Esteem
  • Self-Confidence
  • Improve Mood