The Wait is over

According to The NHS Information Centre 26% of all men and women aged 16 and over in England were classified as obese in 2010 (see:

http://www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/003_Health_Lifestyles/OPAD12/Statistics_on_Obesity_Physical_Activity_and_Diet_England_2012.pdf).

 

The NHS report also cited an earlier 2007 study (by the Foresight team at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills), which projected that by 2025 47% of men and 36% of women would be obese.  That’s virtually half the male population and just over a third of the female population.  Sobering figures on many counts – not least the fact that men lead the way on the obesity stakes.

Yet, this seemingly inexorable rise in obesity is occurring at a time in history when access to information has never been higher.  Who, these days, doesn’t know about healthy eating and the importance of exercise?  It’s impossible to avoid such information – rarely a day goes past without a magazine, newspaper, television programme or Internet news site carrying an article or dire warning about weight, health, diet and the health dangers of being overweight or obese. 

It’s been estimated that the UK government has spent over £2bn tackling obesity (including public information advertising) in the last ten years see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/mar/11/obesity-children-healthcare-food-industry

Can we consider this a productive investment when the results are exactly the opposite of intended?  Could, in fact, this endless diet of advice and coercion be one of the factors fuelling our ever-expanding waistlines? 

There is certainly no doubt that many overweight people feel beleaguered by the constant pressure to conform to society’s views on attractiveness and the statistical norms of what constitutes a healthy weight for one’s age and height.

The ‘diet industry’ must also be part of the problem rather than part of the solution.  How many millions of people worldwide have tried every fad diet going only to find they go back to square one, or worse, end up heavier than they were before they started dieting?

Over the years I have worked with many people to help them lose weight.  Sometimes with fantastic results, sometimes not.  Many people consult a hypnotherapist hoping that they will be ‘hypnotised’ slim.  The truth is, except in very rare cases, this passive way of approaching change simply doesn’t work.  As with all therapeutic change clients must be active agents in the process.

Issues around weight are rarely straightforward.  It is undeniably true that if we take in more calories than we expend we are going to store those extra calories – typically as body fat.  At one level it really is that simple.  But as anyone who has ever battled with a weight issue knows, things in real life just aren’t that simple.  We might know, or sense, that our diet provides more calories than we need, and/or that we do not do enough exercise – but this knowledge alone does not lead to change.  We might be full of good intentions and yet still find that we eat ‘all the wrong things’. 

Over the last few months I have been working with a nutritional therapist – Kate Lomax (http://www.nutritioncliniclondon.co.uk/pages/therapist.php) - developing an integrated programme which combines nutritional, dietary and lifestyle advice with hypnotherapy and psychotherapy.  This genuinely holistic approach is designed anew with each client.  Some people might, for example, benefit from a more coaching/motivational approach, other people might benefit from a more in depth approach exploring limiting beliefs from childhood and so on.  

So, if you are struggling with a weight issue and are not sure where to turn to next, why not book an initial consultation with Kate and myself?  This one-hour meeting, with no charge, gives you the opportunity to meet us, find out about the programme, and decide for yourself whether our new approach is the answer you’ve been looking for.

Contact David on 07941 061795 or via email: david@corehypnosis.co.uk

© David Corr September 2012

David is a UKCP registered hypno-psychotherapist who has also trained to Master Practitioner level in NLP. He offers integrated psychotherapy and hypnotherapy at The Waterloo Body Station, The Aston Clinic in New Malden and also in Epsom, Surrey. For more information please contact David via his website: www.corehypnosis.co.uk

Overcoming a Fear of Flying

Do you dream of visiting Australia but settle for Bournemouth? If so you are not alone, fear of flying is a surprisingly common phobia that can limit your horizons both in business and pleasure. Using the powerful combination of Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP you can understand the fear of flying psychology. In a positive, quick and easy way you can overcome your fear and plan your dream holiday instead of talking yourself out of taking it.

Fear of flying is also known as aerophobia or aviphobia, it is caused by the unconscious part of your mind warning you that it is dangerous to get on a plane. This is an important part of our brain that helps to keep us safe and out of harm’s way. This part of your brain is developing all the time form the day you are born and on. Remember when you were growing up and an adult tells you “HOT” to stop you touching the stove. Your unconscious brain learns that when you're told “HOT” that you should be careful. However in the case of flying phobia that protection mechanism has become over sensitive, often from misinformation and is now a casing you to associate flying with danger.

Some people who are afraid of flying they have never even stepped foot on a plane yet they still have this fear. This fear would be appropriate if the plane was missing a wing or was obviously not in a condition to fly, but statistics show that flying is in fact one of the safest things you can do. Air travel remains statistically safer than crossing the road and flying has been proven to be twenty five times safer than driving your own car.

• 21,000 people (on average) die on the road in the USA in a 6-month period. This is approximately the same amount of all commercial air travel fatalities worldwide in 40 years
• More than 3million people fly every day
• A Boeing aircraft takes off or lands every 2 seconds somewhere in the world – all day, every day
• 1 plane in 5 million crashes. Even then people still survive plane crashes, going on to fly again

Hypnotherapy, CBT and NLP will help you to understand why you have this fear, where it comes from and help you to feel relaxed and safe when flying. In your tailor made session you will learn relaxation skills that can become automatic when practiced and perfected. Hypnotherapy can help you to learn a new pattern of behaviour, helping you to simply relax and start to enjoy the freedom of flying and all the wonderful places you can visit.

Remember that during a session you remain in complete control, learning the skills you need to take them out of the session and put them into practice. You will leave the session feeling positive, motivated, confident and in control. All you need to do is bring you commitment and determination to become someone who can fly without fear.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.   

© EKTherapies

Does Hypnotherapy Really Work?

When I tell people I’m a hypnotherapist, they often ask “does hypnotherapy actually work ?”

For years within science, there were debates as to whether hypnosis existed or worked and sceptics often claimed that people in hypnosis were play-acting. But that has now all changed. In February 2002 the first conclusive scientific proof that hypnosis produces clear changes in the mind was presented by Professor David Spiegel of Stanford University School of Medicine in California at the America Association for the Advancement of Science conference.

Eight subjects were hypnotised and monitored using special scanning techniques called PET (Positron Emission Tomography) which measures blood flow to the brain.

Professor Spiegel said: “When people believe there is colour in the picture, their brains process the colour even if it isn’t there. They are not just telling you what you want to hear; the way their brains respond to the information is actually being changed. Under hypnosis, believing is seeing.”

Spiegel’s findings demonstrate that hypnosis has biological as well as psychological effects, disproving the cynics and supporting the application of hypnosis in a medical setting.

Spiegel said: “There has been a whole school of argument that hypnosis is nothing more than an exaggerated form of social compliance. This is evidence that they are not just telling you what they think you want to hear. They are actually perceiving things differently.”

For many of us, having scientific proof will help us to believe in hypnotherapy but there will be people who ask: “Is it all just a placebo?” With any therapy or drug there is always a placebo element to it – you believe that by taking this pill or receiving that therapy you will get better. By telling this to your mind it begins to happen. Hypnotherapy in that aspect is no different from any other treatment but it is also highly effective at changing the patterns we get into so that we can look at things in a new way and achieve our goals. Even the NHS has now recognised the benefits of hypnotherapy.

Look at other aspects in life where we are driven by our subconscious and the messages around us, such as in the media where the subliminal messages we pick up around us can influence our choices.

Marketers use branding to tap into our subconscious – take McDonalds for example. Their colours are red and yellow/golden, that’s because, according to the colour theory, these colours are known to subconsciously trigger hunger and/or induce excitement. These colours encourage guests to spend more and leave quickly, which is exactly what fast food restaurants want you to do. McDondalds has now started making the stores green, which is a colour we associate with health and the environment. As the world is becoming more conscious about the effects that certain foods have on our health and the damage we are doing to the planet, McDonalds is moving with the times making their fast food restaurants remain appealing.

Personally I have experienced many clients changing the way they look at a situation, their perception and becoming much happier people. I find my work so rewarding, seeing someone transform from the very first session full of anxiety to now enjoying life far more.

It is time to start working with your mind, take the first steps today to achieving your goals.

Click here to see what kind of things can be treated using Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP.


By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.     

© EKTherapies

Stop Smoking Discount. Today is the last day you can take advantage of 1/3 off your one-off stop smoking treatment ( quote blog ) - that's a 33% discount! *

Today is the last day you can take advantage of 33% off your one-off stop smoking session.*

Since the smoking ban came into force across the UK there have been changes in the country's overall health. Here are extracts from articles that illustrate this.

• Since Scotland introduced a ban on smoking in public places in 2006 there has been a 10% drop in the country's premature birth rate. Tobacco smoke has been linked to poor foetal growth and placenta problems. Plos Medicine analysed smoking and birthrates for all expectant women in Scotland before and after the ban. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17262897
• The number of emergency hospital admissions for heart attacks in England has fallen since the smoking ban was introduced three years ago, according to a new report. The decrease saved the NHS almost 8 and a half million pounds in just a year. 9th June 2010 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10271620  
• Ex-smokers Tracey Irving and Matthew Henderson knew smoking around their asthmatic young daughter Ellie was bad for her health, but did not realise that even smoking outside could harm her. Since they stopped smoking, Ellie's health drastically improved and she no longer needs an inhaler. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8583935.stm 

The government are now looking into banning smoking in cars; it is already illegal to smoke in cars used by the public such as taxis and buses, but it won’t be long before smoking in private cars will also be banned. Take the decision to stop smoking on your terms before the government forces you to stop.

You can take control of the power cigarettes have over you and take the first steps to enjoying life as a non-smoker in a positive and focused way. Book a one off Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP session today.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.    

*book by 19th March 2012 to receive 33% discount

A look at the History of Hypnosis

We are living in a world of technology but at the same time the world is also looking for different ways to help people help themselves. We are starting to question if prescription drugs always are the answer, or if there is another way. Can we look after our body and mind? We are beginning to understand more and more how the power of the mind is incredible and if we work with it we can achieve the most amazing things. As this awareness grows so does the understanding of hypnotherapy. Hypnosis is no longer just what you see on the stage, almost like magic where the hypnotist seems to have power over people. It is now becoming recognised its abilities to help people to work with their own minds. The NHS now offers hypnotherapy; for some treatments like IBS it is one of the first treatment they recommend.

"The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitude of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." William James

So where did it all start? How long has hypnosis really been about? Here's a few of the people and organisations that have influenced hypnosis and hypnotherapy over the years:

Sleep Temples (2000 BC)

Ancient India, Hindus cure sick in sleep temples. This ideology was adopted by Imhotep, who was an Egyptian priest. Also by the Greeks – Hypnos means sleep

Paracelsus (1493‐1541)

Swiss physician. First to pass magnets over bodies. Claims of healing, as it was thoughtbody’s magnetism went out of balance with disorders and magnets could restore the equilibrium

Father Maximilian Hell (1720‐1792)

1771 Took up earlier theories about the body’s polarity and used magnets over naked bodies to heal. A Viennese doctor named Mesmer was one of his students

Dr Franz Anton Mesmer (1734‐1815)

Austrian physician investigated effects of using magnets and brought concept of Animal Magnetism to attention of Western scientists – also known as Mesmerism

James Braid (1795‐1860)

Scottish surgeon. Braid put forward the concept of “protracted ocular fixation” –prolonged gazing at an object, which he claimed fatigued certain parts of brain, causing trance. He coined it neuro‐hypnotism meaning “sleep of the nerves”. He later named it hypnotism

Sigmund Freud (1856‐1939)

Founder of psychoanalysis. Employed hypnosis in his early career but abandoned it, due in the main to being a poor practitioner of it and focused more on psychoanalysis. Defined sexual desire as being a prime behavioural driver

Carl Jung (1875‐1961)

Student of Freud but went on to disagree with much of his theories on psychoanalysis. Utilised hypnosis. Founder of analytical psychology, dream analysis and the concept of the archetypes, as well as synchronicity and collective conscious. Myers Briggs psychometric testis principally based on Jung’s philosophies

British Medical Association 1892

BMA unanimously endorse therapeutic use of Hypnosis, although they reject the theory of Mesmerism (animal magnetism)

Dave Elman (1900‐1967)

Helped promote medical use of hypnosis. His definition of hypnosis is still used today. No medical education, but trained the greatest number of physicians and psychotherapists in USA in hypnosis. Known for introducing and eliciting rapid inductions

Milton Erickson (1901‐1980)

Developed many ideas and techniques in hypnosis that differed from previous practice. His style, commonly referred to as Ericksonian Hypnosis, has greatly influenced many modern schools of hypnosis

British Medical Association 1955

23 April BMA approved use of hypnosis for psychoneuroses and also for hypnoanaesthesia, where it was accepted as beneficial for pain management in surgery and childbirth. BMA advised all physicians and medical students to receive fundamental training in hypnosis

UK National Occupational Standards (NOS) 2002 & 2010

2002 Department for Education and Skills first developed NOS for Hypnotherapy. Revised by Skills for Health and Hypnotherapy Regulatory Forum in 2010 Dave Elman’s definition. Hypnosis is a state of mind in which the critical faculty of the human mind is by passed and selective thinking established

Hypnotherapy today

Largely based on work of Milton Erickson ‐ regarded as “Godfather of modern day hypnotherapy”.  Erickson made use of the informal conversational approach, along with complex language patterns and therapeutic strategies. His  style was ‘modelled’ by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, founders of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)

So as you can see Hypnotherapy has been around a long time. I work using a combination of Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP. These three therapies work well individually, and extremely well together. Click here to see what kind of things these fantastic therapies can help you with.

 By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.   

40% of Cancers are Due to Lifestyle According to British Journal of Cancer

The BBC reported last Wednesday that over 40% of cancers are due to our lifestyle. As you read this  don’t feel down hearted, but realise that you can take control of your life and help yourself to have a healthy future. Even changing a few things can help you to feel fitter and healthier and to give your body the best chance of remaining healthy.

Michelle Roberts, the health reporter for the BBC, wrote a fascinating article. To read it in full please click here.

“Nearly half of cancers diagnosed in the UK each year -over 130,000 in total - are caused by avoidable life choices including smoking, drinking and eating the wrong things, a review reveals.

Tobacco is the biggest culprit, causing 23% of cases in men and 15.6% in women, says the Cancer Research UK report.

Next comes a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in men's diets,while for women it is being overweight.

The report is published in The British Journal of Cancer.

Its authors claim it is the most comprehensive analysis to date on the subject.
Lead author Prof Max Parkin said: "Many people believe cancer is down to fate or 'in the genes' and that it is the luck of the draw whether they get it."
"Looking at all the evidence, it's clear that around 40% of all cancers are caused by things we mostly have the power to change."
For men, the best advice appears to be: stop smoking, eat more fruit and veg and cut down on how much alcohol you drink.

For women, again, the reviews says the best advice is to stop smoking, but also watch your weight.

Prof Parkin said: "We didn't expect to find that eating fruit and vegetables would prove to be so important in protecting men against cancer. And among women we didn't expect being overweight to be more of a risk factor than alcohol."

In total, 14 lifestyle and environmental factors, such as where you live and the job you do, combine to cause 134,000 cancers in the UK each year.

About 100,000 (34%) of the cancers are linked to smoking, diet, alcohol and excess weight.

One in 25 of cancers is linked to a person's job, such as being exposed to chemicals or asbestos.
Some risk factors are well established, such as smoking's link with lung cancer.

But others are less recognised.

For example, for breast cancer, nearly a 10th of the risk comes from being overweight or obese, far out  weighing the impact of whether or not the woman breastfeeds or drinks alcohol.

And for oesophageal or gullet cancer, half of the risk comes from eating too little fruit and veg, while only a fifth of the risk is from alcohol, the report shows.
For stomach cancer, a fifth of the risk comes from having too much salt in the diet, data suggests.

Some cancers, like mouth and throat cancer, are caused almost entirely by lifestyle choices.
But others, like gall bladder cancer, are largely unrelated to lifestyle.

The researchers base their calculations on predicted numbers of cases for 18 different types of cancer in 2010, using UK incidence figures for the 15-year period from 1993 to 2007.

Dr Rachel Thompson, of the World Cancer Research Fund, said the report added to the "now overwhelmingly strong evidence that our cancer risk is affected by our lifestyles".
Dr Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said leading a healthy lifestyle did not guarantee a person would not get cancer but the study showed "we can significantly stack the odds in our favour".

"If there are things we can do to reduce our risk of cancer we should do as much as we possibly can," he said.

Public Health Minister Anne Milton said: "We all know that around 23,000 cases of lung cancer could be stopped each year in England if people didn't smoke.

By making small changes we can cut our risk of serious health problems - give up smoking, watch what you drink, get more exercise and keep an eye on your weight."

Whilst not all cancers or any illness are completely preventable some cancers are. Start making the changes today to help your body and mind be as healthy as they can be - book a Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP session with Erika and begin to take charge of your health.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.   

Surgeons told to Hypnotise your patient

Came across this article by Amelia Hill written for The Observer in June 2009 and had to share it.

“Doctors should be taught to hypnotise patients not to feel pain instead of using general anaesthetics during some operations, the Royal Society of Medicine will be told today.


In what he has described as a "clarion call to the British medical profession", Professor David Spiegel, of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Stanford University in the US, will also call on the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) to add hypnotherapy to its list of approved therapeutic techniques for the treatment of conditions ranging from allergies and high blood pressure to the pain associated with bone marrow transplantation, cancer treatment and anaesthesia for liver biopsy. Nice has already approved the technique for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.


"It is time for hypnosis to work its way into the mainstream of British medicine," Spiegel will say at the joint conference of the Royal Society of Medicine, the British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis and the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis.
"There is solid science behind what sounds like mysticism and we need to get that message across to the bodies that influence this area. Hypnosis has no negative side-effects. It makes operations quicker, as the patient is able to talk to the surgeon as the operation proceeds, and it is cheaper than conventional pain relief. Since it does not interfere with the workings of the body, the patient recovers faster, too.


"It is also extremely powerful as a means of pain relief. Hypnosis has been accepted and rejected because people are nervous of it. They think it's either too powerful or not powerful enough, but, although the public are sceptical, the hardest part of the procedure is getting other doctors to accept it."

Professor Marie-Elisabeth Faymonville, head of the Pain Clinic at Liege University Hospital in Belgium, who has operated on more than 6,000 patients using hypnosis combined with alight local anaesthetic, said: "The local anaesthetic is used only to deaden the surface of the skin while a scalpel slices through it. It has no effect inside the body.

"The patient is conscious throughout the operation and this helps the doctor and patient work together.The patient may have to move during an operation and it's simple to get them to do so if they remain conscious. We've even done a hysterectomy using the procedure."


The theory behind medical hypnosis is that the body's brain and nervous system can't always distinguish an imagined situation from a real occurrence. This means the brain can act on any image or verbal suggestion as if it were reality. Hypnosis puts patients into a state of deep relaxation that is very susceptible to imagery. The more vivid this imagery, the greater the effect on the body.

Dr Martin Wall, president of the Section Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine at the Royal Society of Medicine, said hypnosis fundamentally alters a subject's state of mind. Hypnosis is not, he said, simply a matter of suggestibility and relaxation.
Nice said it would welcome submissions for hypnotherapy to be considered as an approved therapeutic technique on the NHS if it could be cost-effective, and consistent delivery could be guaranteed.

But Professor Steve Field, who chairs the Royal College of General Practitioners, said he was sceptical as to whether hypnotherapy could meet these standards.
"It is a useful tool used by some GPs and patients for relaxation, but I don't think it is something that we should support being rolled out to all medical students and all doctors,"  he said.


"We can't call on the NHS to support it without there being a firm medical and economic basis, and I'm not convinced those have been proved to exist."


It is brilliant to see hypnotherapy becoming more and more recognized for the amazing therapy it is. Although there is still a long way to go and there needs to be guidelines put in place for governing bodies etc, it is a great step in the right direction.


To find out what other things hypnotherapy, CBT and NLP can help with please click here.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.    

Does Hypnotherapy Really Work?

When I tell people I’m a hypnotherapist, they often ask “does hypnotherapy actually work ?”

For years within science, there were debates as to whether hypnosis existed or worked and sceptics often claimed that people in hypnosis were play-acting. But that has now all changed. In February 2002 the first conclusive scientific proof that hypnosis produces clear changes in the mind was presented by Professor David Spiegel of Stanford University School of Medicine in California at the America Association for the Advancement of Science conference.

Eight subjects were hypnotised and monitored using special scanning techniques called PET (Positron Emission Tomography) which measures blood flow to the brain.

Professor Spiegel said: “When people believe there is colour in the picture, their brains process the colour even if it isn’t there. They are not just telling you what you want to hear; the way their brains respond to the information is actually being changed. Under hypnosis, believing is seeing.”

Spiegel’s findings demonstrate that hypnosis has biological as well as psychological effects, disproving the cynics and supporting the application of hypnosis in a medical setting.

Spiegel said: “There has been a whole school of argument that hypnosis is nothing more than an exaggerated form of social compliance. This is evidence that they are not just telling you what they think you want to hear. They are actually perceiving things differently.”

For many of us, having scientific proof will help us to believe in hypnotherapy but there will be people who ask: “Is it all just a placebo?” With any therapy or drug there is always a placebo element to it – you believe that by taking this pill or receiving that therapy you will get better. By telling this to your mind it begins to happen. Hypnotherapy in that aspect is no different from any other treatment but it is also highly effective at changing the patterns we get into so that we can look at things in a new way and achieve our goals. Even the NHS has now recognised the benefits of hypnotherapy.

Look at other aspects in life where we are driven by our subconscious and the messages around us, such as in the media where the subliminal messages we pick up around us can influence our choices.

Marketers use branding to tap into our subconscious – take McDonalds for example. Their colours are red and yellow/golden, that’s because, according to the colour theory, these colours are known to subconsciously trigger hunger and/or induce excitement. These colours encourage guests to spend more and leave quickly, which is exactly what fast food restaurants want you to do. McDondalds has now started making the stores green, which is a colour we associate with health and the environment. As the world is becoming more conscious about the effects that certain foods have on our health and the damage we are doing to the planet, McDonalds is moving with the times making their fast food restaurants remain appealing.

Personally I have experienced many clients changing the way they look at a situation, their perception and becoming much happier people. I find my work so rewarding, seeing someone transform from the very first session full of anxiety to now enjoying life far more.
It is time to start working with your mind, take the first steps today to achieving your goals.

Click here to see what kind of things can be treated using Hypnotherapy, CBT and NLP.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.   

How to Choose the Right Therapist for You

The benefits of hypnosis are becoming more and more recognized, with the NHS using hypnosis as the main treatment for certain conditions and a supporting therapy for many more.


But how do you find the right hypnotherapist for you? With the knowledge of the internet at the click of the button, the amount of information we can access can be overwhelming, and which person to see can become a hard decision to answer. Just because someone has a flash website or is at the top of the search engines doesn’t necessarily mean they are the best therapist for you.

When I am asked by my clients how do I find the right therapist for me? I always say the best option is to have someone recommended to you, but this is not always possible. Even if you have someone recommended it is always very important to talk with the therapist and make sure you can see yourself working with them, that you like their working style and approach.

Any therapist should be happy to have a phone conversation with you. Talk with the therapist and see if you like how they sound. It is important that you feel comfortable with the person, that they fill you with trust in their abilities and also that you trust them to keep your sessions confidential.

Lots of therapists including myself offer a discount for the 1st session. I offer the first session at half price. The reason I do this is so that people can come and meet me, find out more about what hypnosis is and my working style and how we can work together.The first session normally contains a short hypnosis so that you can feel what hypnosis is; you leave the first session with a new excitement, empowered that you can achieve your goal.

To find out more about how I work please give me a call for a non-obligation chat and see how Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can help you to take the steps to achieving your goals.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.    

Hypnosis Becoming More Recognised

The world of hypnosis is changing. Not so long ago the only version of hypnosis people knew was from stage shows, but hypnotherapy is becoming more recognised and accepted for the amazing changes it can make.

Hypnotherapy is now more widely available on the NHS, with the NHS even recommending it as the main option for certain treatments.

This report from the BBC in June 2010 states that “Hypnosis should become a standard technique on the NHS to treat a range of conditions. The hypnosis and psychosomatic medicine section of the Royal Society of Medicine says the technique can be used to relieve pain and treat stress-related conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome.” Full article and video at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13664587

Whilst hypnosis is currently an unregulated practice, unlike acupuncture, the industry is taking the steps to have a government recognised qualification. I did a 1 year training course with a qualification awarded by NCFE - the HPD is the first national accredited diploma in hypnotherapy. I also belong The GHR  who are taking the steps to make hypnosis become a governed therapy. When this happens the GHR will be one of the bodies that complies with government standards.


We have already seen this change take place in massage, with massage now being widely accepted for its amazing healing qualities.


We are becoming more and more aware that we can take control of our thoughts and feelings and change the ways that we approach a situation, affecting its outcome.
To find out how Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can help you to achieve your goals please contact Erika for a non-obligation chat.

Click here to find out what kind of things can be treated.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.    

Smoking Ages You

We all know smoking is bad for our health; there is no hiding from the fact any more with cigarette packets carrying shocking images and smoking being banned from advertising. But the fact that smoking ages you will be a lurking demon in many people’s minds.The beauty industry is worth billions of pounds, but the most effective product available to help your skin remain youthful is stopping smoking.

“For smokers, middle age starts in the early 30′s as the tell tale wrinkles around the mouth and eyes begin to appear. Young female smokers are likely to be wasting their money on anti-ageing face creams if they continue to smoke,” says Amanda Sandford from Action on Smoking Health.

Smoking ages women more than men, a fact supported by many years of research by reputable medical bodies. The ageing effects of smoking on the skin are worse for women, who are much more likely to develop“smoker’s face” than male smokers. For women smoking and ageing are inextricably linked. Smoking is also linked to early onset of menopause.

Remember, when you look at your skin some of the damage caused by smoking won’t appear until ten to twenty years after you began to smoke. So if you haven’t been smoking that long and you don’t see much damage yet – don’t assume it won’t happen.

“Smoking exerts such a noticeable effect on the skin that it’s often possible to detect whether or not a person is a smoker simply by looking at his or her face. Smokers have more wrinkles and their skin tends to have a greyish pallor compared to non-smokers,”says Professor Young, Head of Dermatology at Guy’s School of Medicine, London.

So just how does smoking affect the skin in both men and women?

• Smoking restricts blood flow through the capillaries (tiny veins near the skin’ssurface) preventing oxygen and nutrients getting to the skin
• Smoking increases production of an enzyme which breaks down the supply of collagen to the skin’sstructure. Collagen supply is vital to the skin’s elasticity; it decreases with age but smoking cigarettes accelerates this process
• Smoking reduces the body’s store of vitamin A which provides protection from skin damage
• Smoking gets in the way of absorption of vitamin C – a vital antioxidant for skin protection and health
• Smokers’continual puckering from drawing on a cigarette and squinting in reaction to the cigarette smoke results in deeply wrinkled skin around the eyes and mouth –classic signs of ‘smoker’s face’

Smoking statistics will clearly tell you the risk of death and disease from your smoking habit. This is frightening enough but the fact that it ages us too is something we should be aware of.

This is what you might expect your skin to look like if you continue to smoke:

• Dull appearance to the skin – loss of skin glow and vitality
• Discolored skin (an ashy look on white skins)
• Deeper wrinkles around the mouth and eyes
• Loss of tone and elasticity above and beyond the normal ageing process

The damage done from smoking cannot be completely reversed, but the sooner you stop and begin to look after your skin and diet then you can begin to get back your youthful skin and body.

Take the first steps today to becoming a non-smoker in a positive and focused way. Your commitment and a one-off Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP session is all it takes. Hypnosis makes it 10 times more likely that you will quit smoking for good. During the session we will look at all your smoking triggers and make sure you have the coping mechanisms, motivation and determination to become and remain a non-smoker. Why wait until the damage of smoking is showing on your skin and in your body. Take control today, call Erika see how you can take the first steps to becoming smoke-free today.

“I haven't touched a cigarette!! Today is my 16th day as a non-smoker - I'm so proud of myself but don't want to get complacent. The first few days were really tough, but since then it has got easier and I think about it less andless. I've even been out with people at work or pub and have just stood with them whilst they smoke and it’s actually been fine . I'm starting to feel better in myself, have a bit more energy and plan to start jogging next week. So thank you very much! I'm still taking it one day at a time but those days are getting easier.” Lisa, London who had a one-off Stop Smoking treatment with Erika at EKTherapies.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.    

What does Hypnotherapy feel like?

What does Hypnotherapy feel like? This is a question I get asked a lot. The world of hypnosis is becoming more recognised now, with the NHS even recommending hypnotherapy to treat certain conditions such as IBS, Anxiety, Insomnia ect. But what can you expect to feel when you come for a hypnotherapy treatment?


The feeling of a hypnotic trance is something we experience every day. It is the feeling when you become absorbed in one thing, lost in thoughts, daydreaming, driving your car and zoning out, driving on auto pilot, going for a walk, or perhaps simply through meditation. There are so many different ways that we enter into this completely natural trance-like state every day.

Being in a hypnotic trance is a similar feeling to just before you fall asleep, where you are still aware of things but are beginning to drift off. You are able to hear and sense things around you but at the same time your muscles become relaxed and your mind begins to release the stresses from the day. There is a sense of distance from where you are as the passage of time gets distorted and often you feel the pleasure of deep relaxation allowing both your body and mind to relax completely.

Everyone’s experience of hypnosis will be personal and slightly different and you may find that you feel different every time you get hypnotised depending on the level of relaxation you reach. As you begin to feel more comfortable with the hypnotherapist and the more you work together, you begin to allow yourself to relax further entering a deeper state of trance. Although you don’t need to experience a deep trance state to be able to have life a changing experience, it can be enjoyable to experience a deep trance and allow yourself the pleasure of letting go completely and being guided through suggestions.

As you enter hypnosis, your awareness is withdrawn from the normal alert state that we walk around in and goes inward. The power of hypnosis is your ability to harness the full potential of your mind without the normal restrictions of the critical mind. This is when a hypnotherapist can help you make dramatic changes in your life, with the suggestions you listen to and how much you embrace these new ideas.

Hypnosis feels very relaxing, the big difference is in what you are guided to experience during this relaxation. A hypnotic trance is simply a naturally relaxed state of mind, which almost everyone can achieve at some level. You are still you, with your own thoughts and beliefs. You remain in full control the whole time, being able to bring yourself out of the trance at any point.


To find out the kind of things Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can help with please click here. Take the first step today to understanding the power of your mind and how you can help yourself to achieve your goals in a positive and focused way.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.      

How Does Stress Affect Your Body?

Stress is a word that is commonly used today but how much do we really know about how it affects our body and our moods?

One simple description of stress is as a state when a person has insufficient resources to meet his or her demands.

•  Too many demands + too few resources = stress, distress
• Too few demands + too many resources = boredom, apathy
• Demands match resources (or match resources at a stretch) = coping, interest

Each person deals with stress differently, depending on the resources available to them and the way they approach the situation. You can put two people in the same situation and they can produce different reactions. One may cope well with the situation where the other might struggle or even collapse emotionally.

A certain level of stress or challenging yourself is needed in life to keep you on your toes. Think how actors get butterflies before they go on stage, the adrenaline in their body begins to pump and they get the buzz for doing their job. This adrenaline helps to keep their performance fresh and exciting. Once the performance has finished the adrenaline levels go back to normal in their body as they relax after the show. This is a normal/healthy level of stress, keeping you driven and motivated to do the task at hand.

The effects on your body can be :

• Pupils dilate
• Mouth goes dry
• Neck and should muscles tense
• Heart pumps faster
• Chest pains
• Palpitations
• Sweating
• Leg and arm muscles tense for action
• Breathing faster and shallow
• Hyperventilation

It also has hidden effects too:  

• Brain gets body ready for action
• Adrenalin released for flight or flight
• Blood pressure rises
• Liver releases glucose to produce energy for muscles
• Digestion slows or ceases completely
• Sphincters closes or relaxes to empty bowls
• Cortisol released, this depresses the immune system

These effects are all part of the fight or flight mode. They are helpful in daily life, helping us to be ready to deal with situations. Like when you’re in the car and you hear the screams of an ambulance siren warning you to get out of the way. You start to look for a way to move your car and you realize you are bumper to bumper. You enter the stress zone, inside your body the alert goes out. “Attention all parasympathetic forces, urgent! Adrenalin is beginning to pump through your body, the chemical cortisol has just been released mobilising all internal defences.

Your body is full of adrenaline ready to tackle any situation that comes your way, your senses are heightened, you're“running on adrenaline”. This is the stage that people get in when they perform “superhuman” acts of strength, like a mother lifting a car off of her child.

When the danger finally passes or the perceived threat is over, your brain starts a reverse course of action attempting to bring your body and mind back into balance. This is when you tend to feel your heart pumping and you feel "wow that was an adrenaline rush".

Our bodies are built to deal with this level of stress, it is a vital part of our survival.

The problem comes when we continue to keep our bodies in the heightened state, stress state. Our body/mind can’t differentiate between a real threat and a perceived threat. You can get the same chemical reactions just by thinking about a stressful situation, for example, a bill needing to be paid, going over a situation you experienced – reliving it in your mind or worrying about an upcoming situation; then when it happens it was so much better/easier than you thought, but all that energy you spent worrying about it has had a harmful effect on your body. Our body tries to rebalance but the hormones are still flying around, gradually they begin to have a permanent effect on our health, long term health problems start to develop.

The wonderful thing to read is that you can control this; you can learn what your stressors are and how you can de-stress yourself.  A hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP session can help you by working out a range of mechanisms with Erika which will equip you to deal with stress better for the rest of your life.

Here are a few ways you can start to do this:

• Write down your personal strengths and support network· Things you are good at and people respect you for; your areas of good experience, etc
• Family, friends, networks; powerful contacts; resources you can draw on – assets, your standing etc
• Next, list your personal weaknesses and limitations in your life· Areas where you’re aware that you are not strong, or things that people fairly criticise you for;
• Lack of resources – where others at your level have access to these resources, or where the absence of resources impacts on your situation
• Bad situations – where you experience problems with your job or relationships, or where you have a poor living or working environment

Then brainstorm the opportunities available to you:

• Work through strengths you’ve identified. Ask yourself how you can draw on them to manage stress
• Work through the weaknesses you’ve identified. These are opportunities for positive change and for development of new skills

Finally, consider real-world practical opportunities open to you if you took advantage of those opportunities, to improve your stress management

• Look at managing your time and your expectations for the day - are they realistic?
• For threats, consider consequences of leaving your weaknesses uncovered· Consider damage to relationships, career and happiness that would come from failing to manage stress
• Use this consideration of the downside as a spur to ensure that you take stress management seriously

These are just a few things you can start doing today. To find out more about how you can manage your stress levels further, finding time in your day and coping mechanisms that you never knew you had, contact Erika and find out how Hypnotherapy, CBT and NLP can help you to take the steps to a more relaxed happy you.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.     

Stop Smoking on Your Terms

It wasn’t that long ago that you could smoke anywhere. Many of us remember the days when smoking was an accepted thing, even being advertised on TV with cigarette brands being proud sponsors of the Grand Prix or Snooker tournaments. But with the introduction of the UK smoking ban in 2007 stopping you being able to smoke indoors in public places, it has now become less and less socially acceptable to smoke. Cigarette packets now carry shocking images on them to convince smokers to give up and as a further deterrent the government has also increased taxes on tobacco which has in turn raised the price of a packet of cigarettes.

The question still remains though that if smoking is so bad for you then why do the government allow cigarettes to be sold at all?

Councils in the UK are now talking about making it illegal to smoke in certain parks and even in cars containing children. This move has already taken place in New York, which earlier on this year became a no smoking zone, with a $50 fine if you were caught smoking.

The UK is slowly becoming less and less tolerant of smokers.

Why wait until the government tells you that you have to stop smoking? Make the decision for yourself, take the plunge today and find out how you could become smoke-free in a positive and focused way. There is no need for nicotine patches or gum, the nicotine from your last cigarette will be out of your system within 48 hours: all you need is your commitment and a one off Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP session. You are 10 times more likely to remain a non-smoker if you give up using Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP, this is because during the session we will look at all your smoking triggers and make sure you have the coping mechanisms, motivation and determination to become and remain a non-smoker.

“Having been a smoker for over 14 years I am very pleased to say that after my hypnotherapy session with EKTherapies, six months on I am still not smoking. It has been extremely easy (most of the time) and I now very rarely think about it. I am very happy that I am now a full non-smoker! So thank you so much, everyone is amazed at how easy I have found it.” Kate, London

“I haven't touched a cigarette!! Today is my 16th day as a non-smoker - I'm so proud of myself but don't want to get complacent. The first few days were really tough, but since then it has got easier and I think about it less and less. I've even been out with people at work or pub and have just stood with them whilst they smoke and it’s actually been fine . I'm starting to feel better in myself, have a bit more energy and plan to start jogging next week. So thank you very much! I'm still taking it one day at a time but those days are getting easier.” Lisa, London

I am not saying I agree with the notion of banning things; I believe that we need to educate people and then leave them to their own freewill. I understand that with smoking, people do have issues with second-hand smoke or with littering caused by cigarette butts being left on the ground. But by banning smoking it becomes an underground and exciting thing to do. I am not supporting it either; being a non-smoker I don’t personally enjoy walking through a cloud of someone else’s smoke but I accept that as part of city life. I am sure there are things that I do that not everyone likes either.

To find out more how you can become smoke free in a positive and focused way on your terms before the government forces us to do so, please contact Erika for a no-obligation chat.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.    

Drinking: Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can help you take control

According to official figures alcoholic liver diseases in under 30s has risen by half in the last ten years. Whilst there is nothing wrong with having a drink or two, it is important to make sure alcohol doesn’t have a hold on you; you can have just as much fun on a night out without drinking.

With doctors warning of the growing impact of alcohol on young people’s health, after findings have shown a quarter of the population drink too much, I thought I would share an article with you from The Sunday Times by Minette Marrin. Full artcle at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/minette_marrin/article3177713.ece 

“As a scientific materialist, I have always been sceptical about alternative therapies. There may just be something in black boxes or Rolfing or homeopathy, but there just isn’t enough evidence - or in some cases any evidence - that they work. There certainly isn’t enough scientific evidence about any of them to justify chancing National Health Service money on them. All the same, hypnotism seems to have done something remarkable for me.It began when my GP, who is a friend and knows I love medical talk, was discussing treatments of fashionable obsessive compulsive and eating disorders: he remarked that hypnotherapy seemed to work surprisingly well for some people. “Does it work for drinking?” I found myself asking. He replied that it was worth trying and recommended someone nearby.

If I had expected someone alternative looking with a beard I would have been disappointed. I was met at the door by a middle-aged man in a suit, who led me through an elegant house full of books, and spoke of an earlier career in business in the Far East. His manner was that of an Oxbridge don, though gentler. He told me he might be able to help me, and that it would quickly be obvious whether he could or not. In any case, I would need two sessions at the most. He would give me a CD and he would teach me the beginnings of self-hypnosis as well. This inspired confidence – my experience of alterative therapists, and I have trawled round many for journalistic reasons, is that they are not usually inclined to say that it will quickly be obvious if they cannot do anything – rather the reverse.

My hypnotist’s process seemed simple. We were to prearrange a suggestion for myself – I decided mine should be to refuse all drinks, except one or, at most, two glasses of wine once a week to overcome writer’s block, if necessary, when writing this column. Then he would make this suggestion to me while I was under hypnosis.

All I can say is that it worked. I am sorry to say that I haven’t used the CD or the self-hypnosis technique. Even so, through the Christmas parties, the trials of Christmas itself, the dark days of the end of December, I did not drink, except for a glass of wine a week. I still haven’t. I have sipped fizzy water. I have wanted to say no. The only exceptions – which revealed something surprising to me – were on my birthday, a week before Christmas, and on New Year’s Eve.

I feel extremely well, I have hugely more energy, my memory is better and although I haven’t lost any weight, I’m told I look much better. Best of all, I have proved to myself that I can stop drinking if I mean to. As to whether it is hypnosis that stopped me, I shall probably never know. Perhaps the sessions were just a rite of decision-making, a formal recognition that I had made up my mind. Perhaps on the other hand, hypnosis does work, at least for some of the people some of the time.”

If you feel, like Minette, that it is time to take control of your drinking and know your own limits then give Erika a call and see how hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can help you. Remember, like Minette, you can decided whether or not you want to give up alcohol completely or just have a more control over it.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.