Press Releases

As Christmas seems to be rushing towards us, are you aware of a growing sense of panic and fear? Is your list of 'things to do' longer than a roll of wrapping paper? Don't worry, help is at hand.

Trevor Eddolls, a Chippenham-based hypnotherapy master practitioner who supervises other hypnotherapists, is here to help you with your Christmas stresses and putting things into perspective.

If you're feeling a little bit stressed out by Christmas, you're certainly not alone. But if you follow four simple rules, you can have the wonderful Christmas you've been dreaming of.

• Christmas is not a competition: don't compare and despair! We often feel pressure to make Christmas 'perfect' and match everybody's ideal festive expectations. Perfection doesn't exist — Christmas is about being with those you love and care about.
• Christmas trimmings: make a long, long list of things you think you ought to do. Then trim it down. Then trim it down again. Don't be your own worst enemy; be kind to yourself; be realistic.
• The ghosts of Christmas past: identify any high-risk situations or triggers that may lead you to become anxious or stressed. Ask yourself how you can think about and manage those situations differently.
• Give yourself a Christmas hug: take time at Christmas for yourself. Even just a soak in a warm, scented bath can help you relax and unwind. You deserve it.

So, if you are looking for help to get over the stress of Christmas, contact Trevor Eddolls or visit ihypno.biz to see how solution-focused hypnotherapy could work for you.

Following Jamie Oliver's recent programme on Channel 4 called "Jamie's Sugar Rush", many people are trying to reduce the amount of sugar in their homes in an attempt to help reduce rising obesity levels.

To help with this, Trevor Eddolls, a Chippenham-based hypnotherapy master practitioner, was offering a free sugar elimination hypnotherapy session for anyone who drops off the sugary contents of their household at his practice.

This came after a British Medical Association report cast sugar as the villain of Britain's obesity crisis, with one in three expected to be obese by 2030.

Trevor said: "Using the language of the subconscious mind, I guide people to create their own meaningful new 'programs' for letting sugar go and replacing it with other more positive habits. After just one session many people find that their palate has already started to change and low-sugar foods start to taste really good."

Contact Trevor for more information at ihypno.biz.

We're barely into the summer and already people are starting training for those first games in the autumn — and many are using solution-focused hypnotherapy to gain that psychological edge when competing.

It is well known that professional sporting teams often use psychologists to help their players achieve that all important advantage, and solution-focused hypnotherapy can be crucial in providing that all important edge to help you improve your game.

Trevor Eddolls says: "We all possess what we metaphorically term a 'stress bucket', and when our bucket fills up then our ability to concentrate on our game can suffer. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help a client empty their 'stress bucket' through harnessing the power of positive thinking and using trance – which is a safe and natural process."

Solution-focused hypnotherapy can also help with relaxation before and after competing, and visualisations — so you can see and hear and feel yourself as a winner.

So, if you are looking to improve your game — or your life — contact Trevor Eddolls to see how solution-focused hypnotherapy could work for you.

Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. Trevor Eddolls, a fully-qualified and insured therapist based in Chippenham, explains that burnout can manifest itself in a number of ways.

The physical signs of burnout include:

• Being tired and drained most of the time
• Lowered immunity, feeling sick a lot
• Frequent headaches, back pain, muscle aches
• Change in appetite or sleep habits

The emotional signs of burnout include:

• Sense of failure and self-doubt
• Feeling helpless, trapped, and defeated
• Detachment, feeling alone in the world
• Loss of motivation
• Increasingly cynical and negative outlook
• Decreased satisfaction and sense of accomplishment

And the behavioural signs of burnout include:

• Withdrawing from responsibilities
• Isolating yourself from others
• Procrastinating, taking longer to get things done
• Using food, drugs, or alcohol to cope
• Taking your frustrations out on others
• Skipping work or coming in late and leaving early

Trevor explains: "Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is a fantastic tool for helping people to reduce their stress loads. It allows the client to work with the practitioner in a way that is entirely forward focused, so you don't have to delve into past issues. It also is based on positivity and on building a strong foundation for a brighter future."

As we get closer to those Christmas and New Year parties, you may find yourself looking at your wardrobe and thinking of ways to fit into that party dress or dinner jacket.

Trevor Eddolls, a fully-qualified and insured therapist based in Chippenham, says: "We work with a client to help them to reduce their stress levels and focus on positive ways to move forward in their lives. In doing so, we allow them to take control over specific areas that may have caused issues, which might have resulted in them overeating or indulging in certain foods."

"Solution Focused Hypnotherapy allows the client to work with the practitioner in a way that is entirely forward focused, so you don't have to delve into past issues. It also is based on positivity and the building a strong foundation for a brighter future."

The therapy can also help with stopping smoking, reducing stress, anxiety, anger levels, and OCD, together with dealing with phobias (such as a fear of flying). It can also help to ease chronic and persistent pain.

Chippenham-based hypnotherapist, Trevor Eddolls is urging the public to look for practitioners registered with the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), if they want to use hypnotherapy to help them give up smoking during the NHS's Stoptober campaign.

Many people use hypnotherapy to provide extra help when giving up smoking. The CNHC is the UK regulator for complementary therapists that was set up with government funding and support.

Trevor says: "Hypnotherapy is often used to help clients achieve the behavioural change needed to stop smoking but it's so important the public use someone who knows what they are doing."

Trevor added: "Hypnotherapy is one of 15 therapies registered by the CNHC. There are over 5,200 practitioners on the register and members of the public can search the CNHC register to find practitioners in their local area."

With the sunshine finally giving way to rain and the nights starting to draw in, it's not uncommon for people to experience a low mood in the autumn months — especially if we have enjoyed a summer break with a spot of sea, sun, and sand.

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help to improve people's moods. "We all have what we term a stress bucket", says Trevor Eddolls, a fully qualified and insured Solution Focused Hypnotherapy practitioner and supervisor.

"When we experience negative thinking, that metaphorical stress bucket starts to fill up until, eventually, it starts to overflow and then we can find it difficult to cope."

"We help people to empty their stress-bucket levels by encouraging them to focus on positive aspects of their lives and to work through solutions with them so that they can move forward in their lives."

"Each session also has a hypnosis aspect attached to it where the trained and qualified practitioner can work with someone when they are in a trance state. Trance is actually perfectly normal — we go in and out of trance on a regular basis every day."

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can also help with stopping smoking, weight, anger and sleep management, along with phobias (such as a fear of flying) and easing pain.

The fear of flying is a very common phobia. It is estimated that around 10 million people in the UK have a phobia and a common one is flying — with some people avoiding plane travel altogether, so missing out on holidays abroad, reunions, and even work opportunities.

People who say they have a fear of flying (aerophobia) may have a range of fears, including a belief that their plane will crash, fear of closed spaces (claustrophobia), fear of heights (acrophobia), a feeling of not being in control, fear of turbulence, or a fear of hijacking or terrorism.

Trevor Eddolls says: "As therapists, we see a substantial number of people who are afraid of getting onto a plane, but after four sessions with us then we find that the majority feel safe and secure when flying — with many actually enjoying the whole experience."

Trevor uses simple and effective techniques, which includes hypnosis, to help a person overcome a phobia. "Using hypnotherapy to overcome a phobia is a straightforward procedure because we effectively work with people to help them remove the fears from their mind so that we can then help them to find reassurance in themselves."

Hypnotherapy has helped people in a range of areas from overcoming phobias through to improving sleep patterns, reducing anger, assisting with weight management, easing general anxiety and stopping smoking.

Trevor Eddolls is warning of the dangers of prolonged stress on our psychological and physical well-being.

Our early ancestors faced very real hazards on a daily basis, resulting in the development of stress responses to enable our survival against predators and aggressors. We are hard-wired to respond to perceived threats by secreting the stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol.

"We're not that far removed from cavemen", explains Trevor, "and even though a company restructure, divorce, or exams are not life-threatening, they are the kind of situations that will cause clients to become stressed."

When we're under threat, we secrete adrenalin and cortisol, which have a profound effect on our bodies. Prolonged stress can even affect our short-term memory. Researchers from the University of Iowa found a link between high levels of cortisol and the gradual loss of synapses in the part of the brain that processes short-term memory.

Trevor can help clients lower their stress levels by helping them to relax, giving their mind and body respite from the hormonal onslaught, and then using solution-focused therapy techniques to help them respond to their situation in a more constructive way.

Trevor Eddolls is giving a big thumbs up to the organisers of Love Parks Week and is keen to remind clients of the importance of getting out in the open air.

Spending time in green open spaces, in contact with nature, can improve our mental and physical well-being, helping to reduce the symptoms of stress and improving our physical fitness. There's even a theory that we have an in-built bond with the natural world.

Trevor says: "Part of my job is to help clients recognise that they have a choice about how they structure their lives. If they feel stuck or trapped, I can help them to identify options and help them take the steps necessary to implement the changes needed."

Find out more about Love Parks Week at www.loveparksweek.org.uk.

As we approach the summer solstice and the nights get shorter, local hypnotherapist Trevor Eddolls is highlighting the importance of a good night's sleep.

Sleep is important in so many ways. It's essential in enabling us to learn effectively and to form memories. As a rule of thumb, for every two hours we are awake, we seem to need an hour of sleep to download, process, and file the information we've gathered during wakefulness.

Sleep is important to our physical well-being too. It has a beneficial effect on our immune and endocrine systems, and there's evidence to suggest that obesity may be linked to a lack of sleep. Insomnia has also been linked with high blood pressure, accelerated ageing, depression, anxiety, strokes, and gastro-intestinal disorders.

Trevor helps clients to improve their sleep patterns, first by checking they have good 'sleep hygiene', and giving all new clients a free CD to help them relax into sleep. He also helps clients to deal better with the stresses in their lives, using solution-focused hypnotherapy techniques.

The beginning of March sees "Old Stuff Day" — a day to sort, sift, organise, and declutter our environments. But what about an environment that lives inside of us? Our brains!

Did you know that the average human brain thinks around 70,000 thoughts a day? Those thoughts can be neutral, optimistic, or pessimistic. If you lean towards the more pessimistic side, then it is likely that your brain could do with some serious decluttering.

The brain can be divided into two parts: an emotionally primitive part and a logical intellectual part. We need to learn to live our lives and manage our thoughts from the intellectual part of our brain — when we master this skill, we can see the positive aspects of ourselves and our environment.

Knowing how to identify which way your thought process leans is something that Solution Focused Hypnotherapy teaches you. We simply do this by learning how to declutter those thoughts and relax. Positive thinking isn't just a soft and fluffy feel-good term — those moments of happiness are crucial for decluttering your mind to be able to explore and build the positive skills valuable in all areas of your life.

As Valentine's Day approaches, we are constantly reminded of our lack of partnership if we are single. For some people, this can cause great pressure and, if untreated, can move from making us timid or shy into a more extreme form of social phobia.

Social Phobia was first recognised as a mental health condition in 1980. "Statistically, only 5% to 10% of people with social phobia in the UK currently get treatment for it", says Solution Focused Hypnotherapist, Trevor Eddolls.

The symptoms are anxiety-based and range from excessive blushing, breathlessness, stammering, mental blanking, sweating, butterflies in the stomach, and heart racing, to a full-blown panic attack.

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help with re-integrating the sufferer back into social situations in a gentle and incremental way, managing the anxiety, working on confidence and self-esteem, and helping the client view social situations in a more positive way.

Trevor Eddolls is encouraging people to let go of issues from the past in order to achieve their New Year goals.

"Ruminating about the past is one of the biggest obstacles to success", explains Trevor. "People often find it difficult to develop the new habits required to achieve their goal because they subconsciously repeat old behaviours, whether those behaviours relate to food, relationships, exercise, studying, or household finances."

Solution Focused Hypnotherapists actively discourage clients from ruminating about the past. Instead they encourage clients to talk about their 'preferred future'. Trevor explains: "I help clients by encouraging them to think about what they want, not what they don't want. By letting go of the past, they are better equipped to achieve their goals."

Trevor Eddolls is offering his services to help clients stick to their New Year's resolutions and achieve the goals they have set themselves.

Trevor employs techniques designed to help clients visualise their 'preferred future'. He explains: "By asking specially formulated questions, I help people to describe how their future will be when they have achieved their goal. I encourage them to provide as much detail as possible so that they can create a vivid mental image."

This visualisation exercise is followed by a session of hypnosis, a relaxed state in which the mind is more receptive to ideas and suggestions. Trevor warns: "It's important for people to understand that Hypnotherapy is not a magic wand that can change a person's behaviour without any effort on their part. Will power and determination are still needed, but hypnotherapy can be enormously helpful in maintaining a client's motivation."

Neuroscience demonstrates that when we imagine doing something, similar changes take place in the brain to when we are actually doing it. So we can accelerate the formation of new habits by simply thinking about the way we want to be.

Trevor Eddolls is turning his attention to insomnia — the inability to get off or stay asleep. Sleep is increasingly linked to many aspects of overall health and well-being, and it seems that more and more of us are finding it hard to get a good night's sleep.

Trevor says: "It has been found that people suffering from severe insomnia have a poor quality of life similar to those who have chronic health problems, such as heart disease. If you are suffering from insomnia, in addition to just not feeling sharp, it can affect dietary choices, concentration, memory, and can have a very negative impact on relationships at home and work."

Hypnotherapy is a form of therapy that is increasingly accepted in mainstream medicine as helpful for people experiencing symptoms related to lack of sleep. Trevor explains: "Hypnotherapy offers powerful techniques and strategies to enable you to deal with issues that can result in, or be as a result of, sleep and rest deprivation. It's a really very effective form of therapy for insomnia — it's relaxing and people enjoy it too!"

With summer drawing to a close, Trevor Eddolls is focusing on how hypnotherapy can help those who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Trevor explains: "SAD has symptoms much like depression, but it has a clear pattern, starting in autumn or winter and stopping in the spring and summer. People might experience loss of energy, low mood, wanting to socialise less, feelings of exhaustion for no real reason, and loss of libido."

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy (SFH) can help with SAD. "During the initial consultation we explain in detail about how the brain works. The Solution Focused approach encourages people to think in new and more positive ways. By means of imagery as well as suggestion, hypnotherapy also helps people who have SAD to change aspects of their behaviour, and refocus their thoughts in more positive ways."

Trevor is keen to stress that hypnotherapy is not a cure or replacement for medical intervention and that outcomes do vary.

OCD, or Obsessional Compulsive Disorder, is a crippling mental health problem that severely impacts on the functioning and quality of life of those children and adults that suffer from it.

Trevor Eddolls explains: "Solution Focused Hypnotherapy (SFH) can help with obsessional thoughts and disturbances, which can sometimes be exacerbated by anxiety. During the free initial consultation, I explain in detail about how the brain works and why it might react in the way it does. With the help of a Solution Focused approach, which is forward-looking and positive, we can help clients to change the negative thought patterns by supporting them to become calmer, more positive, and leave some of those obsessional behaviours behind as the anxiety and negative thinking reduces."

Trevor is keen to stress that hypnotherapy is not a cure or replacement for medical intervention and that outcomes do vary.

Local hypnotherapist Trevor Eddolls is focusing on how hypnotherapy can help with the management of birth and labour, after a rush of enquiries from people reading about Hypno-birthing.

He says: "Self hypnosis can help women who want a gentle, natural birth with minimal intervention. It's becoming very popular here in the UK." Hypnosis for childbirth has been used for more than a century now — it refers to a person being able to alter their own state of consciousness so that normally perceived experiences, such as pain, do not reach awareness or do so with less force.

Trevor says: "Hypnotherapy is a great way to reduce stress levels in general, and therefore it makes perfect sense that hypnosis techniques can be very beneficial in childbirth. The aim with hypnosis for childbirth is to develop a woman's natural physiological ability to birth through confidence, understanding and control."

Trevor points out that if there are any indications during pregnancy that a hypno-birth may not be suitable, they should listen to medical experts as safety and the well-being of both mum and baby are paramount.

Local hypnotherapist Trevor Eddolls is focusing on how hypnotherapy can help with the management of skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema.

Trevor explains: "The skin is very closely connected to our emotional responses. When we feel stressed, these emotional responses can make some skin conditions worse, or can in some cases bring them on."

Trevor says: "Hypnotherapy is a great way to reduce stress levels in general, and we believe that because stress and anxiety affect the chemical responses in the body and mind, hypnotherapy can really help to recreate that sense of balance. There is mounting evidence to show that hypnotherapy is very helpful for pain control too. We work in a way that helps the client to manage stressful situations more effectively, thus reducing the possibility of re-occurrence."

Trevor explains how Solution Focused Hypnotherapy works: "We encourage clients to focus on how they want things to be. We avoid problem-talk and instead help our clients to visualise their preferred future."

A local hypnotherapist, Trevor Eddolls, is focusing on the issue of stress caused by exams as many people start to revise for those all-important examinations.

Trevor says: "It is completely normal to feel some anxiety around preparing for and taking exams — a little bit of anxiety can act as a motivator. However, exam stress becomes a problem when it reaches a level where it interferes with the ability to prepare for and perform in exams."

He says: "Hypnotherapy is a great way to reduce stress and create new positive study habits. It can help during study periods and also help on the day of the exam itself because you are feeling more in control and relaxed. It can also improve and restore confidence and the motivation to succeed."

Trevor suggests that Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can be beneficial for anyone taking exams, particularly students who have been away from study for some time and who are especially prone to stress.

Local Hypnotherapist Trevor Eddolls is focusing on helping people understand how Hypnotherapy can help individuals suffering from Fibromyalgia.

Trevor Eddolls says: "Fibromyalgia affects about 1 in 50 of us and is seven times more common in women than in men. In most cases, it first develops between the ages of 25 and 55. The main symptoms are pains felt in many areas of the body, and tiredness."

He explains: "A study conducted by the National Institutes of Health in the USA showed that Fibromyalgia sufferers undergoing Hypnotherapy reported 80% fewer pain symptoms than those who received no Hypnotherapy treatment, and also reported decreased muscle pain and morning fatigue and fewer sleep difficulties. That means there is more help available than purely relying on painkillers or just 'putting up with it'."

For more information on Fibromyalgia, go to www.ukfibromyalgia.com.

Local Hypnotherapist, Trevor Eddolls, is focusing on how Hypnotherapy can help people achieve their goals and get more enjoyment out of life as we head into Springtime.

Trevor explains: "This is a good time of year to take stock and give ourselves the opportunity to have a kind of mental 'spring-clean'. It's about coming out from that hibernating, wintery mind set and having a really good clear-out of things that might be holding us back."

"Negative self-talk can prevent us from doing things we want to do. Our minds cannot differentiate between imagination and reality, so if we keep thinking about things we should have done, or tell ourselves we will never be able to do something, that negative repetition impacts on us and becomes a habit."

Through Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, you learn how you can use your full mental resources to achieve your goals — and you get tools that you can use right now, and for the rest of your life.

1 March marks National Self Injury Awareness Day, and a local hypnotherapist is keen to help anyone who self-harms to deal with their underlying emotional issues.

Self-injury or self-harming is when someone deliberately hurts themselves physically to deal with emotional pain. The underlying emotional pain can be caused by issues such as low self-esteem, trauma, or perfectionism — all anxiety-related issues which can be helped by hypnotherapy.

Trevor Eddolls explains: "Self-harming seems to offer a release from emotional distress. By helping clients to deal with the distress that triggers the self-harming, they are better able to cope and can develop a more helpful perspective on life."

"I practise Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, which means that, rather than analysing the root cause of problems, I help clients to move towards their preferred future. Visualizing a more helpful response enables the clients' subconscious to form a more helpful pattern of behaviour."

Local hypnotherapist, Trevor Eddolls, is focusing on how hypnotherapy can help individuals keep their motivation levels high well into the New Year.

He says: "New Year's Resolutions can sometimes be an additional pressure that we put on ourselves. However, we need to understand our true motivation and understand the 'whys' of what we want to do before we can really fulfil our goals."

Goal-setting theory suggests we may all have some form of drive to reach an end goal, but the effectiveness of this depends on how far away that goal is, how hard it is to achieve, and how clearly it is defined.

Trevor explains: "We work with our clients to help them set their own realistic goals. We encourage them to break things down into smaller chunks or mini-goals, so progress can be measured and it's easier to see the movement forward. That in itself is a great motivator."

Local hypnotherapist Trevor Eddolls is keen to explain how Hypnotherapy can help with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

He says: "IBS is no joke for those who suffer. There is evidence that IBS can be helped significantly with hypnotherapy — in fact, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) includes hypnotherapy on its guidance for IBS."

In February 2008, NICE published guidance for GPs saying there was good evidence that hypnotherapy was an effective IBS treatment and that it could be recommended for chronic IBS. Research conducted by Professor Whorwell in Manchester also demonstrated high levels of effectiveness, helping all the symptoms of IBS with those improvements sustained over long periods of time.

Trevor explains: "IBS is defined by its symptoms, so if Hypnotherapy can remove the symptoms then the IBS will be reduced — which is so helpful for our clients."

As the winter holiday season approaches, a local hypnotherapist is highlighting how hypnotherapy can help clients who might be anticipating a less than happy Christmas season.

For some people, the festive season exacerbates existing symptoms of depression and anxiety, and for others, they approach it with dread rather than excitement. Typical sources of Christmas stress can include trying to balance all the demands of family with shopping and social engagements, unrealistic expectations, financial worries, and bereavement.

Hypnotherapy can help by assisting people to overcome negative thinking styles while in a safe, supportive environment. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy (SFH) uses practical, modern, and well-researched strategies to help people make significant, positive changes in their lives in a relatively short period of time.

Local Hypnotherapist Trevor Eddolls is enthusiastic about how hypnotherapy helps clients at this time of year. "I have been able to help many people deal with holiday sadness, depression, and anxiety. It is such a powerful and truly positive technique because we are able to work with what the client wants to happen rather than focus on negatives."

A Hypnotherapy Association is turning its attention to a nationwide problem as it focuses on National Stress Awareness Day. Twelve million adults see their GP with mental health and stress-related problems every year.

Latest research suggests that 'psychological distress' appears to be an important factor in how quickly age-related diseases occur. Stress brings about imbalances in the body, such as high cortisol, glucose, and insulin, and these may lead to unwanted responses that potentially impair the normal cell ageing processes.

Solution focused hypnotherapy (SFH) can help people manage their stress levels. Local Hypnotherapist, Trevor Eddolls, explains: "Hypnotherapy offers powerful techniques and strategies to enable you to deal with stress, helping you to think and behave in a more positive way, and that has many health benefits."

Trevor Eddolls, a Chippenham-based hypnotherapist, is urging the public to look for practitioners registered with the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) if they want to use hypnotherapy to help them stop smoking during the NHS's Stoptober campaign.

Trevor says: "Hypnotherapy is often used to help clients achieve the behavioural change needed to stop smoking but it's so important the public use someone who knows what they are doing."

"Hypnotherapy is one of 14 therapies registered by the CNHC. There are over 5,000 practitioners on the register and members of the public can search the CNHC register to find practitioners in their local area."

World Mental Health Day raises public awareness about mental health issues. Trevor Eddolls is a local hypnotherapist who has helped many clients improve their mental well-being.

Using Solution Focused Brief Therapy techniques Trevor encourages clients to develop a positive image of how they would like their life to be. He explains: "People are very good at listing everything that's wrong in their life. It's my job to work with them and help them describe what life will be like when they feel better."

Such techniques can be used to help a variety of symptoms, including not wanting to meet up with friends or avoiding situations, sleeping more or less than normal, feeling irritable, upset, miserable or lonely, or being overly self-critical.

For more information about World Mental Health Day, visit the WHO website.

As the holiday season gets in to full swing, a Hypnotherapy Association is highlighting how Hypnotherapy can help clients who have a fear of flying.

Fear of flying is often more about the "what might happen" rather than what actually IS happening, and these thoughts trigger a reaction in the body that causes the person to be really fearful and anxious. The impact can be massive — some people have lost jobs or job opportunities due to the air travel required on business.

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy (SFH) can help with specific phobias like fear of flying by using techniques that assist the client to visualise a preferred future, combined with relaxation therapy. It has been seen to be effective in as few as three or four sessions.

Local Hypnotherapist Trevor Eddolls is enthusiastic about the efficacy of the approach. "Clients are often relieved to learn that there are ways to help them and it is something that can often be worked on quickly. I have been able to help many overcome their fear of flying — it is such an amazingly powerful technique."

Samsung Bike Week local hypnotherapist Trevor Eddolls is keen to explain how Hypnotherapy can help with motivation and performance.

Local Hypnotherapist, Trevor Eddolls explains: "I often see clients who appreciate how beneficial physical exercise can be, and would like to get started, but lack the confidence or motivation to do so. Using Solution Focused Hypnotherapy techniques, I help them to visualise what aspects of their lives would be better once they are exercising regularly."

Hypnotherapy uses mental imagery for many different areas including sports performance, and the efficacy of the technique is well documented. An overview of research of mental imagery in athletics indicated that mental imagery has been used successfully with a wide variety of sports and has been found effective not just for improving performance but for skill acquisition, anxiety management, self-confidence enhancement, and pain control.

For more information about Bike Week, visit www.bikeweek.org.uk.

Local Solution Focused Hypnotherapist Trevor Eddolls is helping to mark Mental Health Awareness Week by highlighting how hypnotherapy can help clients cope with stress by generating positive images of the future.

It seems that worrying thoughts and imagining unpleasant situations can produce physical stress in the body. A study found that performing guided imagery of moderately unpleasant situations results in physical responses such as accelerated heart rate, faster breathing, and sweating.

Trevor explains: "If we ever needed proof that worrying is not good for us, well here it is! The good news is that the converse also seems to be true — imagining positive events can make us feel better."

Trevor concludes: "I use Solution Focused techniques to help clients replace unhelpful, negative thinking patterns with more beneficial thought processes. By thinking more positively, their anxiety levels reduce enabling them to cope better with life's challenges."

For more information about Mental Health Awareness Week, visit the Mental Health Foundation website.

The Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is marking Asthma Awareness Week by highlighting how the therapy can help clients cope with the condition by reducing their levels of anxiety.

According to Asthma UK, 5.4 million people in the UK are currently receiving treatment for asthma. There is an inter-relationship between anxiety and asthma — for some people, anxiety can be a trigger for asthma; for others it is the asthma itself which causes anxiety.

Hypnotherapy combines psychotherapy with hypnosis and can provide clients with effective coping mechanisms aimed at reducing their anxiety generally. There is a large body of research on the effective use of self-hypnosis, guided imagery, hypnosis and relaxation in asthma in both adults and children.

Local Hypnotherapist Trevor Eddolls says: "Clients are often relieved to learn that we will not be dwelling on their problems or on how bad things are. They soon get the hang of thinking in a more positive way — describing how they want things to be, rather than how they don't want them to be. It sounds simple, but in fact it is an amazingly powerful technique."

Hypnotherapy can help insomnia sufferers by dealing with the underlying factors that contribute to the condition. Around a third of people suffer from some form of insomnia at some point in their lives, including difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the night or waking up too early in the morning.

Local Hypnotherapist, Trevor Eddolls, explains: "Anxiety is a common cause of insomnia, and of course worrying that you're not sleeping only makes the problem worse. It's not long before a vicious cycle sets in and the harder you try, the more elusive sleep becomes."

Hypnotherapists work with clients to alter their habitual responses to problems and develop more helpful coping strategies. By changing unwanted patterns of behaviour, clients' anxiety levels reduce and sleep often improves naturally.

Trevor says: "It's amazing to see how much better clients feel after just a few good nights' sleep."

How long do your New Year's resolutions last? Hypnotherapists often report an increase in enquiries during March and April when people's commitment to New Year's resolutions has worn off.

Trevor Eddolls says: "Part of the problem is that people tend to focus on external outcomes without addressing what's going on inside. Weight management is a classic case in point — some people think that once they lose weight they will be happy."

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy helps people to regain control by helping them to focus on how they want things to be — their preferred future, rather than focusing on the problems. "It's wonderful to see the transformation people can make to the quality of their lives, once they stop focusing on problems and direct all their energy towards thinking positively instead. And because the client has addressed their internal thought processes, the changes are usually long-lasting."

A new Hypnotherapy Association is marking Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW) by highlighting how the therapy can help clients deal with the emotional issues that often underlie these debilitating conditions.

It is estimated that 1.6 million people are affected by eating disorders in the UK. Eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating are often an outlet for a range of emotions including anger, anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy tackles these conditions by reducing anxiety and helping clients to regain a sense of perspective. SFH differs from earlier forms of therapy by encouraging clients to formulate a positive image of their problem-free future rather than analysing the cause or symptoms of problems from the past.

Local Hypnotherapist Trevor Eddolls says: "It's amazing how so many conditions improve simply by reducing anxiety. Many clients are simply not aware that their negative thought processes cause or exacerbate their problems. Once they can visualize their preferred future, their mind can find subconscious ways of making that future a reality."

Local hypnotherapist, Trevor Eddolls, is urging local employers to show how much they value their staff by marking National Stress Awareness Day.

According to Mind, "British businesses lose an estimated £26 billion each year in sickness absence and lost productivity". With greater awareness and mental health support, businesses could save one third of these costs.

Trevor explains: "Anxiety, like many stress-related conditions, tends to creep up on people. Busy lives, pressures of work, relationship issues, or financial worries all take their toll. It's not unusual for clients to be caught in a cycle of negative thinking — negative thoughts heighten anxiety levels, anxiety leads to negative thoughts and so on."

"Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is a modern research-based combination of psychotherapy and hypnosis, aimed at encouraging clients to focus on how they want things to be. We avoid problem-talk and instead help our clients to visualise their preferred future."