Hypnotherapy Directory

There's a new a website called Hypnotherapy Directory (www.hypnotherapy-directory.org.uk) which was launched a few months ago and is free to use. It is an online web directory listing hypnotherapists all over the UK. Each hypnotherapist has a profile stating what areas they specialise in, a bit about their background, and their qualifications. All the hypnotherapists registered with them have a relevant qualification and insurance cover or proof of registration with a professional body, so the organisation running the site are assured of their professionalism.

The site also has a wealth of information about various types of distress that hypnotherapy can help, as well as a blog about the latest health news. The search facility on the site means you simply type in your postcode or town which produces a list of all the hypnotherapists in that area, allowing the individual to browse through them and select one to contact.

Why not pay them a visit?

Hypnosis may ease inflammation in colitis

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Hypnosis therapy may help ease some of the bowel inflammation seen in ulcerative colitis, a small study suggests.

Ulcerative colitis is a disease that causes chronic inflammation in the lining of the colon and rectum, leading to symptoms such as abdominal pain and diarrhea. There a number of medications for the disorder, but there is some research to suggest that hypnosis could serve as an additional therapy.

For example, "hypnotherapy" has been shown to aid irritable bowel syndrome and ulcers -- conditions that, like colitis, involve inflammation and can be worsened by psychological stress.

For the current study, UK researchers had 17 patients with active ulcerative colitis undergo a 50-minute session of "gut-focused" hypnotherapy aimed at relaxation and relief of inflammation. Another eight patients, who acted as a "control" group, listened to their choice of music for 50 minutes.

Afterward, the researchers found, blood levels of IL-6 -- a marker of inflammation in the body -- fell by 53 percent in the hypnosis group, whereas music listeners showed no substantial change.

Similarly, certain other chemical markers of inflammation declined in the hypnosis group, but not in the control group, the investigators report in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

"This work shows that a single short session of hypnosis can return some of the chemical changes in the bowel associated with inflammation back towards normal in patients with ulcerative colitis," senior researcher Dr. David S. Rampton, of Barts and the London, Queen Mary School of Medicine and Dentistry, told Reuters Health.

Exactly why hypnosis might ease inflammation is not clear. According to Rampton's team, the therapy might have direct effects on colon activity or it might affect people's pain tolerance or perceptions of their symptoms.

The current findings, Rampton said, provide "a scientific basis for a properly designed clinical trial" to see whether hypnotherapy, given over weeks or months, might benefit people with ulcerative colitis.

He noted that it could also be worthwhile to study hypnosis for people with Crohn's disease, another form of inflammatory bowel disease.

SOURCE: American Journal of Gastroenterology, June 2008.

Hypno-Anaesthesia

From today's Times-On-Line

Hypnosis is best known as a means of inducing stage-show volunteers to act the fool but is also employed by some doctors and dentists. Its most startling medical use is in replacing general anaesthetics during surgery.

This technique, known as hypno-anaesthesia, has been practised for more than 150 years, according to the British Medical Journal. Only a handful of such operations take place in the UK but it is more widely used overseas. Sometimes in conjunction with a mild sedative or a local painkiller (see graphic), it induces a trance-like state in the patient and keeps their mind occupied. The advantages include reduced bleeding and a reduced risk of adverse reaction to anaesthetic.

Professor David Hatch of the Royal College of Anaesthetists says that while general anaesthesia is of little danger to most patients, some people, such as smokers and those with heart conditions or diabetes, have a higher risk of side effects. For them, hypnosis may be a solution. “It is not suitable for all patients but it has a valuable part to play and most anaesthetists would not be opposed. The fewer drugs you can use, the better,” Hatch says.

Hypno-anaesthesia has other advantages. Hypnosis patients do not need an artificial respirator and can often cooperate with the surgeon. During eyelid surgery, the doctor can check eyelid positioning before making final adjustments, for example. Some studies indicate that hypno-anaesthesia patients recover from surgery more quickly than other patients.

If no drugs are used, patients need to have had several hypnotherapy or home self-hypnosis sessions before surgery to acquire the ability to enter a deep trance. Whether hypnosis is an objective physiological phenomenon is debatable, but scientists have used brain imaging to show how its techniques can reduce the perception of pain.

Hypnotherapy To Help Bedwetting

From The Times June 7, 2008

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.”

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO SET GOALS ?

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." In order words, how do you know where you want to go if you don't have a goal?

Having a goal enables you to focus your energies on devising ways to achieve it. When you make a decision and begin focusing on achieving a specific goal (and even better in a specific period of time), your unconscious mind goes to work and begins testing ideas and developing strategies of various ways to successfully complete it.

Your conscious and unconscious start working on it and begin to develop an action plan. You will find you begin asking yourself questions about what needs to be done so you reach your goal. You may find yourselves coming up with amazing ideas and solutions to problems or obstacles that might have been in the way of achieving it.

Our unconscious mind is an extremely powerful tool. The more often you remind yourself of your goal, the more your mind will work on ways for you to achieve it. Some people find answers come to them when they are asleep and dreaming.

Have you ever noticed that there is no correlation between being wealthy and having a high IQ or a university degree? If there were, every doctor and university graduate would be wealthy, and as statistics show, most of them end up in the same situation as 95% of the population. The biggest thing that the majority of independently wealthy people have in common is that they set goals for themselves and achieved them.

Setting Goals.

1. Pick ONE Goal: This is important! You can only achieve your goals if you focus on them one at a time. Once your goal has been accomplished or made into a stable habit you can start on the next goal.

2. Start Small and Easy: The best way to succeed with your first goal is to pick something you are already doing, once in awhile, but want to do daily. This will build your self confidence as you achieve the goal and help prepare you to work on future goals.

3. Simplify: Choose a small, specific goal, or break up larger goals into small pieces that can be done on a daily basis. Big successes start with little ones.

4. Write It Down: Write your goal in large letters and place it where you will see it several times a day. Putting your goal to paper makes it official: You Want It!

5. Keep Track Every Day: This step is VERY IMPORTANT! If you don't keep track of your daily progress you won't progress. Everything we accomplish takes DAILY steps which turns the goal into a habit.

6. You Have To Want It: If you don't really want to do it, you won't succeed. Pick goals you want to achieve or change your attitude so you REALLY do want it.

7. Make the Time: You have to MAKE the time or you won't MAKE the goal. Pick a time when you will work on your goal, such as early in the morning, late at night, during lunch, when children are occupied. If you "just don't have the time" then wake up earlier. Most people only need 6 hours of deep sleep.

Can you forget going on a "Diet" forever?

In the US the diet industry is worth $40bn — the fifth largest industry. In Britain it is worth about £2bn and rising.

When you think about it, diet products are a marketing director’s dream: the failed dieter almost always blames herself — and then looks for another product. Not surprisingly many companies produce a range of products: slimming clubs, low-cal meals, books, videos.

Can you forget going on a "Diet" forever? You may find it helpful to consider this:

A tiny cherry-sized zone in the brain called the hypothalamus holds a key in controlling weight. The hypothalamus is involved in controlling hunger and thirst -in fact, almost everything connected with the hypothalamus has the power to affect the numbers you see on the scales.

When you are hungry the hypothalamus sends a signal to your stomach that says "Time to eat, expect food". Here's the interesting bit...

Whether you eat or you don't eat, 20 minutes later the hypothalamus sends another signal which says "We're full now. Stop eating".

Hypothalamus aside, let's consider what is common knowledge in regards to weight gain in simple terms:

We know that too much food equals weight gain.

We know that too little exercise can also lead to weight gain when we exceed our daily energy (food) requirements.

We know that when we're hungry, we receive a signal from the body in the form of a growl. The hungrier we are, the bigger the growl.

When your body craves fluids, it's impossible to beat water.

Here are some easy steps you can do right now to lose weight:

1. Eat a balanced diet and only when you are hungry.

2. Put your knife and fork down while you chew your food.

3. Chew for longer. Eat slowly so you don't miss that signal from the hypothalmus that the stomach is full

4. When you are full – STOP EATING!!

5. Get exercise - this doesn't have to be a full on celebrity workout. Take a walk. The fresh air will do you good and lift your mood considerably.

CityTalk 'Phobias' Radio Interview 09.04.08.

Aside from my normal daily 'Life Tips' spot on CityTalk, I was a guest on Brendan Kearney's show this morning talking about phobias. You can listen to the interview here:



More information is also available via my website www.merseyhypnosis.com.

The Power Of Gratitude

Being grateful is absolutely vital to living a really good life. Over the years I’ve learned that it’s hard to be angry or upset and grateful at the same time. Of course, life can be hard sometimes and yes bad things happen, but despite what life throws at me I can always be grateful for what I DO have.

When you're grateful, you see the world in a completely different way. You learn to see that there are always good things behind everything that happens. You come to realise that your life is actually pretty wonderful.

So how you become a grateful person?

1. Realise how rich you are
So often we think that we need more and more money to be happy. This, probably, is one of the main reasons that makes us difficult to be grateful. But do you realize how rich you are right now? If you doubt this, visit Global Rich List, enter your annual income, and see the result. If you earn just £5,000 per year (and most likely you actually do earn more) you are in the top 13% richest people in the world!

2. Realise what a healthy and prosperous life you have.
Life expectancy over most of human history was only 20-35 years. Most of those lives were spent in diseases, poverty, and misery. Only in the last century has human life expectancy increased significantly to the current average of 67 years.

It is estimated that there are 106 billion people who have ever been born on earth, with 6 billions are living today. This fact coupled with Point 1 means most likely you are healthier and more prosperous than 99% of people in human history! You are in the top 1% of the healthiest and most prosperous people ever born.

3. Realise what a blessing it is to live in peace
No matter how rich and healthy you are, life will be full of fear and misery in the time of war. Can you imagine being in the midst of a city bombarded with bombs? Can you imagine being on the spot in countries at war? Just living in peace deserves your sincerest gratitude!

4. Open your eyes to see the good things in your life
We tend to see the bad things that happen in our lives but so often overlook all the good things. Even small things matter. If someone considers you a friend, that’s something you should be grateful for.

5. Maintain a “good things that happen in my life” journal
Why not write the good things that happen in your life in a journal? When bad things come and life looks grim and it can be difficult for you to be grateful, open and read your journal. You will soon start to see the wonderful life that you have and this will give you a renewed strength to overcome your problems.

6. Understand that there are ALWAYS positive things behind all the bad things that happen
This might be difficult for some people, but I firmly believe it and have had this proven to me time and time again in my own life. At the very least, bad things give you valuable lessons you should be grateful for. When you have this mindset, it’s not difficult to see the good things you could get out of something bad. This way you will always have reasons to be grateful.

7. Focus on giving
You will always be grateful if your mind focuses on what you have rather than what you don’t have. By giving, your mind will focus on what you have (you can’t give something you haven't got, can you?). Most people focus on receiving which makes their mind focus on what they don’t have. If you're always chasing what you don't have then no wonder it’s difficult for you to be grateful!

8. Decide to be a grateful person
It’s entirely up to you to decide whether or not you want to be a grateful person. If you decide to be a grateful person, then you will be one. The same thing happens the other way around. No matter what happens to you, it is still you who decides how you will respond. So make the decision to be a grateful person!

Hypnotheraphy success for IBS

Really good article from the Manchester Evening News today:

DOCTORS using hypnotherapy to treat irritable bowel syndrome claim it works in 70 per cent of cases.

More than 60 patients with the condition, which can include pain, cramps, nausea, diarrhoea and constipation, are being treated by a hypnotherapist each week.

IBS affects up to 15 per cent of the population and the team at Wythenshawe Hospital now has people from across the country wanting to join the 18-month waiting list for a course of 12 hypnotherapy sessions.

Claire Brunton, 22, from Offerton, suffered cramps from IBS so badly that she stopped wanting to eat and was on the verge of anorexia. She also had panic attacks with worrying about becoming ill.

But during the hypnotherapy she learnt techniques to stop the panics and cope with the pain. Now a year after finishing the treatment, she found it helped her cope with final university exams and gave her the confidence to started working as a recruitment consultant.

Claire said: "Hypnotherapy is a very strange thing to try to describe, your therapist helps you to relax slowly but you are awake and conscious throughout - it feels like the last few moments before you go to sleep when you still know what is happening around you.

"IBS was taking over my life. I had started to worry I would not be able to hold down a job and I didn't want to eat because I felt like everything I ate made me sick, so I'd tried all kinds of herbal remedies and acupuncture before the hypnotherapy."

CityTalk 105.9 Interview

Last Sunday I recorded an interview with CityTalk DJ Roy Basnett. We talked about what hypnosis is, how it works and how it can help. We ended up with me hypnotising Roy during the interview. That part will be broadcast in the near future.

In the meantime you can listen to the interview here:

David Laing CityTalk Roy Basnett Show 10.03.08

Reduce Your Workload

Everyone is so busy at work. We say "yes"to superiors because we want to please them. But when eventually we take on too much and can't continue, we let them down, we become stressed out and we feel guilty. Here's a terrific way to reduce your workload and your stress levels:

When a superior asks you to do a new urgent task;

1. Say that you've no problem doing the new task but remind them that you are working on other projects that they've already identified as top priorities. Managers are very busy people. It's possible that your boss has forgotten the many other things they've already asked you to do today.

2. Ask your boss for help in deciding where the new task should fall on the list of priorities – which do they want you to do first? This takes the pressure off you. If your boss says put another task on the back-burner, it's their decision not yours and you're in the clear if it's a bad judgement call.

3. Point out that you might be able to do everything, but not to the usual high standards that are expected.

If it's really urgent your boss will reallocate either the new task or one of your existing to a colleague with a lower workload. This takes the pressure off you!

Building Up Your Confidence.

Self-confidence is about with how we feel about our abilities. But sometimes even the most confident person can feel that they are not good enough, or that they don’t matter. Being good at something may still not make you feel worthwhile. So building confidence is only one part of the story. Having low self-confidence can really have an impact on many parts of your life: how you think, feel, behave and it can also affect your body.
Some common things that happen when someone is lacking in confidence:
A person thinks or says...
"I can’t"
"That’s too difficult"
"I don’t know how"
"I won’t be able to handle this"
"It won’t be good enough"
"I just can’t decide what to do"

They can feel..
Apprehension and worry
Frustration and anger with themselves
Fear of the unknown, or of encountering new situations
Resentment of other people – "they seem to do it so easily"
Discouragement and feeling demoralised

A sufferer's behaviour can be...
More passive than active
They find it hard to make suggestions or put themselves forward
They avoid taking on anything new or making any changes
They are hesitant and require a great deal of encouragement

People lacking in confidence are often given away by their body because...
They tend to stoop, or retreat into themselves
They avoid looking people in the eye
They often fidget
They can be tense and nervous
They can be Sluggish or lethargic

People often feel less confident than they appear to everyone else. Confidence comes from the inside. A person can develop confidence with practice and a real desire to change. Practice at any skill makes it easier and it's no different with improving your confidence. Everybody makes mistakes while they're trying to learn something new, and if you let this undermine your confidence, this will get in the way of success. If you try to avoid all mistakes, you run the risk of ceasing to learn.

Over the years research has consistently proven these terrific ways to improve your confidence:

Acting confident: If you're faced with a situation where you feel lacking in confidence, for example a social gathering, first date or work meeting, imagine how you would behave if you felt really confident. Adopting the behaviour of confidence – the posture, actions and thoughts tells your body and unconscious mind how you want to be. This starts an upward spiral of increasing self-confidence.

Practice: Make building your confidence a habit. Try something new at work to develop a new skill and build your inner confidence.

Flexibility: If what you're doing isn't working do something else. People who lack self-confidence often feel they have to follow a rigid path to avoid pitfalls. But no two situations are exactly the same. The pitfalls are only in your imagination and the fear of going wrong will only hold you back.

Make the most of your mistakes: Mistakes are a lesson that we can learn from. That means we can avoid doing the same thing next time. Welcome mistakes positively, try not to repeat them and don’t let them knock your confidence.

Don't blame yourself: Instead of listening to a critical inner voice that has a go at you for past mistakes or failures, use an encouraging voice and make sure you can hear it loud and clear. This will help to bring out the best in yourself.

Be kind to yourself: This is crucial for building self-confidence. If you learn to treat yourself right instead of punishing yourself, your self-confidence will grow.

Ditch Perfection: No one is perfect, so don’t expect perfection from yourself or others. Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it.

Visualisation: Use your imagination to show yourself managing a difficult situation more successfully. Top athletes use this technique to show their unconscious mind the results that they desire. You'll find that visual rehearsals boost self-confidence and enable you to take a more positive approach to a difficult task.

Be responsible for yourself: We don't have control over much of what happens to us during the day, but we have total control over how we interpret what happens. Always look for a positive take on every situation. It doesn't matter how bad a situation is, there are two sides to every coin.

It's also helpful when you visualise your confident self to have a favourite tune that makes you feel good. Whenever you feel your confidence wavering, sing or hum it to yourself. This reminds your mid and body to go right back to bringing back your confidence.

Past Life Regression

I was approached by a magazine this week to undertake a Past Life regression with one of their readers who has had a cleanliness and tidyness obsession his entire life. The gentleman in question also hates other people touching his things. It began to manifest itself about aged 2 or 3. He would, as a child, feel compelled to tidy up and to put his toys in order etc.

As the problem had always been there but steadily got worse, his family approached the magazine to investigate whether the problem originated in a previous life. Whilst this isn't something I do a great deal of, a Past Life regression has sometimes enabled people to let a problem go so I was happy to help.

We couldn't find anything that pointed to a starting point in this lifetime, only very early memories from 3 or 4 years old of tidying toys away so I took him back further...

The story he told was certainly of a bad life in the past. Lived on the street and had no possessions. He stole from the local market to feed himself. He fell ill in his early teens and was carried off by soldiers in a cart with other ill people and some dead bodies. He apparently died of some sort of plague on the floor of a dark room.

Who knows? It could explain why he "protects" his things by keeping them clean and tidy and why he doesn't like anyone else touching them. If he was used to having nothing then what possessions he now has will be doubly precious. It could also explain his desire for cleanliness in case the disease returns...

Road Rage - A Growing Problem

There was a really interesting programme on BBC1 earlier in the week discussing the growing problem of Road Rage.

It's a really strange thing isn't it? Most of us are rational human beings going about our normal daily lives and wouldn't dream of harming another person intentionally. Very often the perpetrators of violent attacks due to road rage were just ordinary people going home after a hard day at work. Often, the incident that caused the person to become enraged may have been something quite simple and even trivial.

Let's face it we all get annoyed sometimes. The difference is how we deal with it. We all have anger, it's an important human emotion and if we don't manage our emotions in the car then we can all be subject to extreme road rage. Something strange happens when we get behind the wheel of a car. The problem isn't unique to the UK, it's the same around the world. People can switch from a rational human being to a lower mode - a state Psychologists sometimes refer to as 'reptilian thinking'. If we perceive that we have been attacked by another driver then we flick into that 'reptilian' mode and it can easily escalate into a duel.

Usually it consists of a bit of shouting and the odd unflattering hand signal, but it can spill over into something far more dangerous - sometimes with fatal results. For example, a person may become so angry over an aggressive driving incident that he or she overreacts and retaliates with some type of violence. These violent acts can range from a physical confrontation to an assault with a motor vehicle or a weapon and have sadly, on occasions, even resulted in the death of one of the parties involved.

Half the difficulty is the awareness gap between what people consider aggressive driving in themselves and what they recognise in others. A recent survey and found that, on average, people say that 85 per cent of drivers are aggressive, but only admit to being aggressive themselves three per cent of the time.

If you get wound up when driving it might help to consider the following points:

1. You wouldn't get angry if someone stopped suddenly or changed direction without warning whilst you were out walking or cut in front of you with their shopping trolley at the supermarket. Why should it be any different now?

2. Roads are like “moving communities where the drivers around you are your neighbours, not your enemies. You'd most likely hold the door open for someone at the bank or shop. Why not hold the space open to let them through?

3. If something negative happens on the road, ask yourself the following question:

“Will it matter tomorrow?”

If the answer is no then ask yourself the following question:

“Will it matter in an hour's time”

When you think about it, it's extremely unlikely that it will. Why not let the matter drop now?

4. Tell yourself how much better it is to stay calm and rational, how much you prefer being this way, how you want to be more tolerant and supportive, and how you don’t need any hassles, etc. Congratulate yourself on overcoming your anger.

Have the courage to conquer your road rage! Make life on the road more enjoyable, more comfortable and safer for everyone.

New Year Resolution To Stop Smoking?

If you're ready to quit smoking in 2008 as part of your New Year resolution why not try my new DVD 'Stop Smoking Easily'?


It's available either via my website www.merseyhypnosis.com or on Amazon ASIN: B00118VUJ0

Hypnosis Helps BiPolar

An interesting article on Google News today:
Russian biophysicist and molecular biologist Pjotr Garjajev now has scientifically proven that affirmations along with meditation/ hypnosis (another term for meditation) will raise consciousness, increase well-being, and balance chemistry in individuals even changing DNA. Bipolar Disorder is no longer a lifetime sentence.

Over time working with holistic counseling that uses therapeutic hypnosis and other energy raising tools suggested by Pjotr Garjajev, people are finding a new life free of their past debilitating illness. With the help of an appropriate counselor that works with the body, mind, and spirit, changes in emotions, attitudes, and a new life style release the root causes and conditions of this disease.

The full article can be read here

Keeping Your New Year's Resolution

In my last post we looked at a technique for ensuring that your New Year's resolution is being made at the right time and for the right reasons. In this post we will look at ways of strengthening that resolve.

1. Create a Plan
Setting a goal without taking the time to formulate a plan is just wishful thinking. In order for your resolution to have any degree of success it must have clear steps in place that can be put into action. Your plan will tell you:

1) What to do next

2) The steps required to complete the goal.

2. Create Your Plan Right Now
Most people forget their resolutions completely after the first few days of January. In order to to harness your motivation, it is vital that you begin creating your plan immediately. Decide how you will deal with the temptation to have one cigarette or skip that exercise class. This could include calling on a friend for help, practicing positive thinking and self-talk. (Hypnosis can be a terrific help. Why not purchase my 'Reach Your Goals' audio CD?)

3. Write Down Your Resolution and Plan
Once you have formulated a plan it is important to write it down. By committing your resolution and plan to writing in a notebook or journal, you have something tangible to stick to. Keep track of each small success you make toward reaching your larger goal. Short-term goals are easier to keep, and small accomplishments will help keep you motivated. Instead of focusing on losing 3 stone,focus on losing that first 5 pounds.

4. Talk about it
Don't keep your resolution a secret. Tell friends and family members who will be there to support your resolve to change yourself for the better or improve your health. The best way is to find friend or family member who shares your New Year's resolution. You can then motivate each other.

5. This Is for All Year Not Just The Start Of New Year
Nothing huge can be accomplished in one day. Resolutions can be set in a single day, but are accomplished with hundreds of tiny steps that take place throughout the year. New Year's resolutions are merely a starting point. You must develop a consistent habit of revisiting your plan. Don't beat yourself up. Obsessing over the occasional slip won't help you achieve your goal. Do the best you can each day, and take each day one at a time.

6. Reward yourself Along The Way
Celebrate your success along the way by treating yourself to something that you enjoy that does not contradict your resolution. This, of course means that you don't eat an entire box of chocolates if your resolution is to diet. Instead, If you've been sticking to your promise to eat better, for example, perhaps your reward could be going to a concert or movie with a friend.

5. Stay Flexible
Life has a strange way of throwing unexpected things at us. It's extremely likely that that your plan can and will change. Staying flexibile is paramount in completing anything but the simplest goal. Sometimes the goal itself will even change as you do.

Planning Your New Year's Resolution

At the beginning of 2007 an estimated seven million Britons made New Year's resolutions - half of whom apparently make the same resolution every year, according to surveys.

A total of 46% of people pledged to sort out their finances, Of 1,000 people questioned, a fifth planned to lose weight and eat more healthily and 8% to give up smoking.

One in four said they had given up on their previous years resolutions within a week.

And 39% of good intentions had been abandoned by the end of January.

Of those planning financial changes, half wanted to save more and half wanted to budget better.

A third pledged to get out of debt and the same amount wanted to invest more.

A quarter of people hoped to get on to the property ladder during the year and one in 10 people planned to sort out their pension.

Just under a tenth promised to take more exercise and 4% said they would cut down on alcohol.

Over the next few posts I'll be giving you some help to enable you to keep that commitment strong and make those New Year resolutions a reality. But first you might want to think about it properly beforehand:

Is this the right time for you?
If you're deciding to make a new start in your life, then you have to be 100% sure that the time is right for you. Just because January is the most obvious time to make resolutions, it doesn't mean that you'll stick to them. There's no point whatsoever making a resolution if you don't even think you'll make it through the first day. Be true to yourself. If you don't feel ready, spend a while longer getting your head around it. If you're serious about changing your life, why not consider a date that isn't so loaded with expectation - one which you can work towards on your own terms?

One of the ways you can determine if it's the right time to change is by using a method called Cartesian Logic:

Cartesian Logic
In order to ensure that this is definitely the right time for you to change, it's important that you examine this decision from every perspective. There are many parts of your life, for example family, work relationships,friends etc. This decision may have an effect on those parts so it's helpful to make sure that we don't gain from one area at the expense of another.

Find a pen and paper. Divide the paper into four sections and write down the following questions as headings:

What WILL happen if I do this?

What WON'T happen if you do this?

What WILL happen if I DON'T do this?

What WON'T happen if you DON'T do this?

Now answer these questions as honestly as you can. Review all that you've written and only if, having done the exercise, you are certain that your commitment remains strong should you consider the resolution.

Christmas Anxiety Helpline 0844 87 31 312

This week sees the start of my Christmas Anxiety Helpline 0844 87 31 312 (U.K. Lo-call Rate).

Sadly, Christmas for many people can be the unhappiest time of the year. Perhaps through family troubles coming to a head as members meet for the big day, or through the despair of having no family at all and feeling desperately lonely. This can be a particularly difficult time for people who are dealing with personal crises, such as marital breakdown or the loss of a loved one. Individuals who are completely on their own with no partners, families or friends can experience a heightened sense of isolation.

There are many reasons why the festive period can be very difficult for people. There is a great deal of pressure to enjoy yourself, and the anticlimax of New Year can hit people particularly hard.

It's available from 1^st December throughout the holiday period. The helpline offers practical advice to help you to reduce your stress and anxiety. This is not a premium rate call.

If anyone has any concerns, let me assure callers that there are no hypnotic suggestions used and they will not be hypnotised during the call.

It's UK based and the number once again is 0844 87 31 312.

Stop Smoking Easily DVD

I've just released my new DVD 'Stop Smoking Easily'. It's available to buy direct from my website at www.merseyhypnosis.com

You can also view excerpts from it.