NEUROLINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING THERAPY (NLP)

“We are not afraid of what we think we are afraid of, we are afraid of what we think…” Ali Campbell

Our map of the world is based on our interpretation of events experienced through our five senses that we use to make an internal representation that triggers a certain emotional state. The sensory information is processed through metaprogramming, values, beliefs, conscious decisions and memories allowing the information to be generalised, deleted or distorted. How we perceive an event that has been filtered by our internal processing is why we see things differently to someone else. We do this to filter out what we consider non-essential information as to process it all would overload our minds and prevent us from being able to react quickly to a perceived threat. We also have a hierarchy of senses where one or more is dominant making us predominantly visual, auditory or kinaesthetic. We distort to make things fit into our expectations and also to filter out the other sensory inputs so we can focus on something in particular. We also distort what we perceive so our fight or flight can kick in. Unfortunately, our subjective assumptions through deletion, generalisation and distortion can also lead to us reacting irrationally such as seeing a black thread and thinking it’s a “dangerous” spider.

 NLP is used to make new associations in our neural pathways whilst reducing the perceived levels of state we are experiencing so we can change how we navigate our world. You will be changing how you associate new experiences to old experiences so you can break self-sabotaging or destruction patterns or habits. During the session, you will be guided through a series of memories focusing on the problems you are experiencing from a visual, auditory and kinaesthetic perspective so that you can change the way you feel, think and behave towards it. You will be changing how it affects you by changing your map of the world through reducing how it affects you. NLP can be used on its own but frequently it is used in conjunction with hypnosis to reframe your reference points allowing you to rediscover the calm, confident and relaxed you.

WHY CLINICAL HYPNOTHERAPY?

Fight, flight or freeze… depression is a primitive freeze response to keep you safe from the constant attack of stress, anxiety or overwhelming stimuli… if you are depressed you don’t want to do anything, you hide away in your internal cave… subconsciously safe… 

Essentially, hypnotherapy is about getting the logical conscious mind out the way to work with your subconscious that is the dominant force influencing your life. Whilst your subconscious always works to fulfil a positive intention, it still works at a primitive level that triggers behaviours, feelings or responses intended to keep you safe but these may not be the healthiest option and so hypnotherapy is used to reset or reframe how the subconscious deals with your experience of the external world and in turn how you react.

Hypnotherapy is a completely safe therapy that allows you to find new healthier ways and behaviours to replace the problems, condition or habits you want to change. It allows you to enter a state of relaxation that is similar to REM sleep, allowing your subconscious to identify the causes of your stress and anxiety and to find solutions. Most people experience self-hypnosis every day: day dreaming, meditation, driving on autopilot thinking about what you plan to do, going through your schedule, ruminating about your issues, and all the time you are driving, finding that you get to your destination and can’t remember half the journey but had you needed to be aware and react, you would have been able to instantly. 

In the same way, you will be fully in control at all times during your hypnosis session and if for any reason you need to be fully alert, you will be able to come out of trance immediately. I will not be installing any behaviours rather I will be asking your subconscious mind to re-solve the problem to find an alternative way that is healthier and more beneficial to you using guided instruction. During hypnosis you just follow my instructions and allow yourself to relax. 

NEUROLINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING THERAPY (NLP)

“We are not afraid of what we think we are afraid of, we are afraid of what we think…” Ali Campbell

Our map of the world is based on our interpretation of events experienced through our five senses that we use to make an internal representation that triggers a certain emotional state. The sensory information is processed through metaprogramming, values, beliefs, conscious decisions and memories allowing the information to be generalised, deleted or distorted. 

How we perceive an event that has been filtered by our internal processing is why we see things differently to someone else. We do this to filter out what we consider non-essential information as to process it all would overload our minds and prevent us from being able to react quickly to a perceived threat. 

We also have a hierarchy of senses where one or more is dominant, making us predominantly visual, auditory or kinaesthetic. We distort to make things fit into our expectations and also to filter out the other sensory inputs so we can focus on something in particular. We also distort what we perceive so our fight or flight can kick in. Unfortunately, our subjective assumptions through deletion, generalisation and distortion can also lead to us reacting irrationally such as seeing a black thread and thinking it’s a “dangerous” spider.

 NLP is used to make new associations in our neural pathways whilst reducing the perceived levels of state we are experiencing so we can change how we navigate our world. You will be changing how you associate new experiences to old experiences so you can break self-sabotaging or destruction patterns or habits. 

During the session, you will be guided through a series of memories focusing on the problems you are experiencing from a visual, auditory and kinaesthetic perspective so that you can change the way you feel, think and behave towards it. 

You will be changing how it affects you by changing your map of the world through reducing how it affects you. NLP can be used on its own but frequently it is used in conjunction with hypnosis to reframe your reference points allowing you to rediscover the calm, confident and relaxed you.

BREATHWORK AND 

MEDITATION/VISUALISATION

One of the ways we can reduce the symptoms of stress and anxiety is by switching off our sympathetic systems flight, flight or freeze response by activating our parasympathetic system. This can be done through breathwork and meditation as you deliberately slow everything down. Taking long slow measured breaths, pausing between inhalation and exhalation slows our heart rate down which in turn lowers our blood pressure and this together triggers the body to slow down as less of the emergency hormones are pumped around our body, switching off the subconscious mind’s perception of there being imminent danger. Combined with meditation and visualisation, you allow your body and mind to enter self-hypnosis and mimic REM sleep, destressing and reducing anxiety. The use of guided breathwork, meditation/visualisation gives you a focus, and as you follow the instruction whether that is in session or at home in between with a provided recording, it helps to prevent unhelpful thoughts chattering away, freeing you to relax further.