DebbieDona

Hypnosis Helps Create A Desire For Healthy Foods

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So you want to improve your eating, start making better choices in the foods you eat. Still you crave junk food and fast food. Well, guess what? Your brain is hardwired against you!

When you eat fatty or sugary foods the pleasure center in your brain lights up.  Just the mention of the word crispy lights up the same area of the brain, so actually eating crispy chips is addictive.

This causes you to desire more of the same, lessening your willpower. It started as a way of keeping us alive. Early man needed fatty fuels to burn and crisp meant fresh. Our food storage and preparation has changed and the brain hasn’t yet caught up.

However, there is hope. The answer lies within. You have everything you need to succeed. It isn’t the latest diet or appetite suppressant. It is finding balance and learning to listen to your body’s signals. Hypnosis can help you create a desire for healthy foods.

The subconscious mind wants to keep you safe and healthy. The cravings you experience for junk food is simply a misinterpretation of the mind. It believes you need those foods for survival. In hypnosis we can change that understanding and create a wonderful desire for lean, healthy foods.

A wonderful suggestion was created by a father-son hypnotherapy team, Herbert Spiegel and David Spiegel. It is “For my body, too much food is damaging. I need my body to live. I owe my body respect and protection.” You can create your own mantra. One 50-year-old client who shed 50-plus pounds repeats daily: “Unnecessary food is a burden on my body. I’m going to shed what I don’t need.”

Visualization is a powerful tool used in hypnosis. Like athletes preparing for competition, visualizing victory readies you for a victorious outcome. Imagining a day of healthy eating helps you envision the necessary steps to becoming that healthy eater.

Furthermore, picturing and imagining the foods that cause you to stumble as being sent down the river on a raft or flying off in a hot air balloon may sound silly, but it works. The language of the mind is imagery and it loves symbols and metaphors.

In hypnosis we have a saying, “there is no failure, only feedback”. If you fall off the wagon, it is an opportunity to learn something more about yourself. Looking at what triggered the relapse can give you insight into what is going on in your life that is out of balance and find a way to bring yourself back to balance.

Think long-term. If you stumble along the journey, it’s OK. Healthy eating habits are hard to establish, and change takes time. Stay positive. Keep your focus on healthy eating.

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Forget New Year’s Resolutions!

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To quote my son who is a scientist, “A year is merely one (roughly) of earth’s revolutions around the Sun, as it has done billions of times. It is a fact of gravity; an inanimate concept that we use to visualize time, and as such cannot be ‘good’ nor ‘evil’.”

Still, many of us said good bye to 2016 with delight. It was a challenging year at so many levels.  The hope for 2017 is to find our way to ‘happy’. In the attempt to find this possible bliss, many of us make new year’s resolutions to improve. Thus we have insured, at least a little bit, that the year will once again become a challenge.

New Year’s Resolutions are one more way to say we aren’t enough.

Not thin enough or rich enough or athletic enough according to the top resolutions people make. What’s more, after the initial exuberance wears off, often we give up. This reinforces our belief that we are broken and not enough.

What if instead of resolving to change, we embraced who we are? What if we began to play more instead of “work out”? Maybe we could experiment more with new healthy recipes instead of diet.  We could make a challenge out of finding ways to spend less and save more. It is really a matter of perspective after all.

I was told a story of a woman who bought a lovely home, her dream home near the water. She loved that she could hear the sound of crashing waves from her windows. Until the first night in her new home, when she heard dogs barking. It sounded like lots of dogs and lots of barking. It kept her awake and her anger simmered.

After several nights of the constant barking, she decided to find this kennel and put an end to the noise somehow. She drove in the direction of the noise and found herself going quite a ways, finally to a road that ran right in front of the beach.

She found the source of the barking. On a big rock, out from the shore were dozens of seals, having a grand time, barking at each other and doing whatever it is that seals do in the middle of the night. They were a long way from where she lived, but the noise carried over the water. She stood and watched and thought she would never sleep again.

Funny thing, she did sleep. In fact she slept peacefully. Somehow knowing it was the sounds of joy and seals gave her comfort. She found the noise reassuring, just like the sounds of the waves on the shore or rain on her bedroom window.

I have found the same to be in my life. The young boys from up the street wake me often when they walk with their dog and their father. Yes, on my days off I like to steal a few extra moments of shut eye, but the pride with which they tell their father how high they can count makes it all so sweet.

What if you believed you have value the way you are? What if you started to act as if that was true? What changes might come about if instead of making new year’s resolutions to change you decided to celebrate who you are now? I can only wonder, but you my friend can find out for sure.

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An Angel Award

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The Hypnosis Education Association graciously awarded me this year with an Angel Award. I am humbled and grateful.

angel-award

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How To Stop Sugar-Cravings With Hypnosis

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sugar-cravings

sugar-cravings

When Muriel first came to see me, she was already on a medical weight loss program. She could follow the diet plan and with the help of the appetite suppressants was eating smaller amounts. Still, she felt as though her sugar-cravings were out of control. In fact she shared with me that it was controlling her. She said it became real apparent to her just how out of control her addiction was when she realized that her own children would stop eating a piece of pie in the middle because they were full. “That had never occurred to me,” she stated, “it was unimaginable to leave pie on the plate.” While Muriel was happy her children didn’t have the same struggles “I did something right”, she beamed. She wondered why at 50 she wasn’t able to do the same thing.

Muriel was concerned that when she stopped taking the medication, she would balloon back up in weight because there would be no governor. This is a common experience of many who chose to go the appetite suppressant route, especially with those who crave sugars. She had a reason to believe this might happen because at a recent family dinner she “tried” a special pie a family member had made and not only ate her small piece, but was snacking from the plates of those who left any on their plates as well as “sneaking” extra nibbles as she helped in the clean up after the meal. She was desperate, she needed to stop sugar-cravings!

Ready To Stop Sugar-Cravings

In my hypnosis practice, I see more and more people who ask for help to stop their sugar-cravings. Hypnosis works really well because it helps the subconscious, emotional mind to find other, more resourceful ways of fulfilling the emotional needs that sugar is currently satisfying. Using the language of the subconscious mind, both visualization and emotion, I will guide my client as they create their own meaningful new ‘programs’ for letting sugar go. They then replace eating sugars with other more positive habits, beliefs and behaviors that they would like to create.

With Muriel, I asked her what would be different about her if she no longer craved the sweets. She instantly said she would be lighter and feel free of entanglements. She said it would restore a sense of hopefulness to her. I asked her if she would close her eyes and imagine herself free from sugar. Then I guided her through what that might look like, feel like and sound like. She told me her self-talk was more powerful and positive. She experienced herself bursting through a light of multiple colors and on the other side of the light she became her authentic self. She realized she had been impatient with herself in many areas of her life and that “success will come”, she just needed to give more power to the steps she was taking to reach her goals.

Since our appointment, Muriel has reported that her craving for sugar and sweets has greatly reduced, it is now manageable. Sweets are no longer her ‘go to’ when upset and taking a bite of something sweet doesn’t send her down the rabbit hole anymore. She has noticed that she has less brain fog, so that reaching her goals is more clearly defined for her. Her tummy is flatter as well.  As an added bonus, her skin is clearer. That really excites her as she knows that reflects what is going on inside her body as well.

Hypnosis can help with sugar addiction as it can assist you in taking back control of the cravings whether they are physical or in the mind.

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Thanksgiving Politics

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Surviving Thanksgiving Dinner When Your Family Voted Wrong

Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude, family and faith. Gathering together is meant to be a wonderful time to share and enjoy our friends and family. After this recent political season, many families are left in need of healing. The differences seemed expansive and the emotions on both sides of the aisle are raw. How are you going to handle  Thanksgiving politics over your dinner?

Start With Self Care

I encourage you to first work on your own coping skills. I have greatly reduced my use of social media for a while. I want to take a break from name calling, crying and anger that is running through my feed. There are just too many opportunities to escalate feelings or fall into destructive debates. Furthermore, when we witness stressful, high-pressure events, our brain identifies with it and even mimics the tone of whatever we’re seeing.
Spend some time in nature. Go for a walk. There is something very grounding about walking outside. For me, there is always something new that gives me pleasure, whether it is a bird singing, a new flower that has bloomed or simply the change in the tides. Additionally, moving while outside helps reset my brain to a more peaceful state of being.
It shouldn’t surprise you by now that I recommend taking deep breathes while walking and throughout your day. Deep breathes allow the oxygen to flow through your body, warming and relaxing muscles, clearing your mind and with a simple “Ahhhh” as you exhale it resets how you feel.
As you enjoy the breathes or the walks outside, squeeze your thumb and index finger together. Every time you have a moment that brings a smile, a laugh or any good feelings, squeeze those same fingers together again. The more you do this, the more you anchor good feelings into your system This will give you a simple method of feeling good at another time, a simple squeeze of the fingers.

Wrangling Guests

Now that you have worked on you, it’s time to think about your guests. First of all, as you are ready to sit down, make a group agreement to leave politics off the table. This makes it a group effort and allows for everyone to be a part of the group gathered. If you want, prior to guests arriving, create a few code words to be shared with others that indicate it is time to redirect the conversation. Have some topics ready for discussion, such as the kids school year or upcoming travel plans.
I have suggested to some to have a bowl on the table for collecting money. Anyone who violates the no politics rule has to put $5 in the first time, $10 the second and on and on. At the end of the night the money goes to a charity of the host’s choosing. You can label the bowl the “GOOD DIGESTION” bowl as you will have better digestion without the stress.

Remember You Love Them

Remember you care about these people. When you’re talking with someone at Thanksgiving try not to confuse the importance of the topic you’re discussing with the importance of the conversation you’re having. No matter how sad, mad or disappointed we are about anything in our lives – be it politics or not – there is also joy in the world and it is always available to us. Try to keep that in mind, and find some joy in being with your loved ones this holiday season — even if they do all vote the wrong way.

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How Do I Stop Late Night Snacking?

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Do you find that you count calories all day long, behaving really well and then the evening sets in and the snacking/binging becomes out of control? Late night snacking has long been rumored to cause weight gain. In actuality, the notion that nighttime eating is more fattening than daytime eating or that our metabolism slows down at night isn’t based on recent scientific findings. Research says that it isn’t eating late that is the problem. A calorie is a calorie regardless of when it is consumed, the problem is that the total number of calories consumed and the amount of activity one has throughout the day.

If you have been “good” all day long, ask yourself what that means. Unfortunately for many people it means they skipped meals or eaten sparingly during the day. These people are trying to save up calories knowing they are nighttime snackers. That is a recipe for disaster. Depriving ourselves of food leaves us hungry, keeping food in our awareness more than those who eat to satisfaction throughout the day.

Furthermore, people eat at night for a variety of reasons that may have very little to do with hunger. Satisfying cravings, coping with boredom, stress or fatigue are contributors to night time binging. Often, after-dinner snacks consist of large portions of high-calorie foods (like chips, cookies, candy) and are eaten while sitting in front of the television or computer. This creates a lack of control and it becomes all too easy to consume the entire bag, carton, or container without thinking about it. Besides those unnecessary extra calories, eating too close to bedtime can cause indigestion and sleeping problems.

Lack of sleep disrupts appetite hormone levels which help regulate satiety and tell your brain you are full. Particularly true in the evening, this could be why people crave snacks after dinner. In addition, research found that sleep-deprived people with late bedtimes ate significantly more total overall calories and ate more late at night than well-rested people.

Ask yourself, ‘Why?’ What’s eating away at you, causing you to eat? Overeating at night may be depression or simply a deeply ingrained habit fueled by less serious but still insidious feelings like frustrations over the day, loneliness, anxiousness, or boredom. If you desire to reward yourself at night, particularly after a difficult day, reward yourself with non-food pleasures. Prepare a list you can turn to. It might include shopping, listening to music, taking a soothing bubble bath, getting a massage, going to the movies, going out dancing, playing a sport, or spending time with a friend.

Regardless of the reasons for your night time binges, you want to stop. You are done with the self-sabotage as you are trying to shed weight or simply maintain the weight you are at currently. Hypnosis can help with these issues. Whether your reason is emotional, habitual, sleep deprivation (or any combination) through hypnosis the cause(s) can be found. Then changes are made to assist you in stopping the late night snacking and binging.

Nine tips to help stop late night snacking:

  1. Make bedtime a priority and get at least seven to eight hours of sleep a night
  2. If hungry, eat a small, healthy snack in the evening to avoid binge eating.
  3. While watching TV, shoot nerf ball hoops, floss your teeth, take up knitting, or write notes to friends. Use hand weights during commercial breaks, stretch on the floor, walk on a treadmill, or ride a stationary bike.
  4. Create a future mind-set. Imagine yourself with your eyes closed looking and feeling the way you will once your weight goal is achieved.
  5. Keep a “food and mood” diary
  6. Structured eating and sleeping times will help you spread your food intake over the day so that you’re less hungry at night. Having a routine for meal and sleep times can help you break unhealthy cycles of behavior. This can help if you have no appetite during the day or tend to binge at night.
  7. If you eat due to hunger, include protein and a good quality fat at every meal may help curb your hunger. Protein will keep you fuller longer. (Good fats are nuts and seeds, avocados, coconut and olive oil)
  8. Don’t drink your calories: Sugary, liquid calories in the form of sodas, juices, lattes, sports drink  for example, will spike your insulin and blood sugar causing cravings.
  9. Drink a warm beverage such as an herbal tea.
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Scary Clowns

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One costume that has been making the rounds before Halloween is even here is the scary clown, not to be mistaken for the beloved circus clown. They have created a lot of fear as there have been sightings of these clowns along roadsides. Some reports speak of an attempt to pull children away from safety. Here is an article from Scientific American that explains a little bit about clowns and fear and the current trend going on. I found it interesting reading.

Why Clowns Creep Us Out

Just a reminder, if you have an irrational or paralyzing fear of clowns, hypnosis can help you!

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Halloween Costumes Interpreted

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Halloween can be such a fun holiday for children and adults alike. The decorations, costumes, parties and trick or treating all add up to creating a festive mood. Creativity soars as we look to create fun decorations, carve interesting jack o’ lanterns and inspired costumes. costumes
Halloween in recent history was thought of as primarily children dressing up to go trick or treating. Today more money is spent on adult costumes than children’s costumes – nearly 1.25 billion dollars. Plus another $330 million will be spent on pet costumes.
Halloween costumes can allow us to dress up and try on an alter ego. Costumes are a way to explore who you aren’t. For example, it’s unlikely a nurse will dress up as a sexy nurse – or any other type of nurse for that matter. But she might choose a sexy waitress and the waitress might choose the nurse or another profession.

Here is a quick review of how some Halloween costumes might be interpreted:

Disney Princess
If you are going as Elsa, Cinderella, Snow White or another Disney princess, it is likely you are sentimental and romantic. Cinderella was your favorite movie when you were 12 and you know all the words to “Let it Go.” Wearing the dress of your favorite princess reminds you of your childhood when life was simple, anything was possible, and every little girl was royalty.
Fantasy Characters
Stepping out as Obi-Wan Kenobe, Gandalf or Arya Stark? If dressing up as your favorite fantasy or sci-fi character is your top costume choice for Halloween, perhaps you enjoy the escapism of these fantasy worlds. This is your chance to step into the shoes of your favorite character and play for a night in a fantasy world.
Historical Figures
Going as Amelia Earhart, Abraham Lincoln, or Cleopatra might indicate that you are a bit of a realist or that you have a strong connection to a particular period in history. Although such representations  are often romanticized notions about particular eras, the figures are usually legendary people who have left a powerful mark on history. Stepping out in the character of such a figure could indicate a need to be larger than life, powerful, and celebrated.
Horror Creatures
Zombies, vampires, monsters, witches, and frightening ghouls are perhaps the figures we most often associate with Halloween. By wearing these costumes, you might be exploring your darker side. It does help to minimize the power of that which frightens us. For example, people fear death, so dressing as the Grim Reaper helps us to make light of that fear. Macabre and grotesque both terrifies and fascinates us.
Last-Minute DIY Costumes
You waited until the night of the party and wrap yourself in an old sheet and grab a wreath for your head. You are most likely no stranger to procrastination, in fact, it is likely you putoff things in your everyday life as well. It could simply mean that you are too busy doing other things to give serious thought to a once-a-year event. Either way, you probably don’t think too much about your costume, or really care what other people think about it either.
Superheroes
If you’re dressing as your favorite superhero, whether it is Iron Man, Wonder Woman, or Captain America, you might be trying to get in touch with your own inner hero. It is a common fantasy to daydream about being the hero or saving the day. Superhero costumes help feed into this fantasy. It is also possible wearing such costumes might be an attempt to overcome underlying feelings of inadequacy or weakness.
Sexy Costumes
Wearing a sexy or revealing costume might mean that you’re an exhibitionist and that you want to be noticed or conversely it is possible that you are very conservative in your normal daily routine and this allows you to explore an alter ego normally kept hidden.

Costumes are communication devices

They say something about yourself to others and are meant to elicit a response. They reveal a bit about our inner fantasy life and are meant to elicit a response. Normally one doesn’t put on a costume to sit home alone. Costumes are vehicles of social connection. So, be creative, have fun and send the message that you want others to get!
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Exercise For The Lazy

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I love my daily walks, several of them with my dogs. I am getting lots of miles covered, according to my Fitbit, I am well above average when it comes to the steps I take. However, just like my clients, I know I need to do more. Yoga is one form of exercise I love, bike riding, even working with light weights.dog walking for exercise
Over the summer though, it gets hot and humid. Really hot and really humid. So, I don’t enjoy the walks as much, I set a goal of daily yoga and I plan on bike riding. Then life gets in the way and after all, it is hot and humid. So, exercise can get forgotten. That is until my waistline screams at me because clothes aren’t meant to stretch that much.

Lazy Labels Are No Good, So exercise Caution!

Then, like everyone else, I need to get myself motivated again. It is then that I have to dig deep, beyond the instant gratification of getting inside to the air conditioning and instead, move it! I want to do things that will help me enjoy exercise, playful movements. I also want to remember that that labeling myself as lazy isn’t helpful.
It is important that I think of myself as someone who exercises or someone who is healthy. I choose an exercise-friendly identity that I want to adopt.  You see, the human psyche goes to great lengths to be consistent with one’s identity.  The subconscious mind is very willing to accommodate the belief that I am lazy.
I hear from clients all the time that they believe they are lazy because they haven’t included working out into their routine. However, when they tell me all they do, I know it can’t be true. Sometimes it is just a matter of revamping their daily routine to include exercise, sometimes it is getting a workout buddy so that there is not only accountability but company!
So thinking of yourself as a harried, stressed-out person creates a self-fulfilling prophecy with little room for exercise.  But thinking of yourself as a really busy healthy person might create just the tweak your mindset needs. I use self-hypnosis to help me get motivated for exercise and get myself back on track. How about you?
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Smoke Cessation Questions

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smoke cessation is neededSo  many times when I answer the phone, the caller on the other end (often a smoker) doesn’t wait for me to say much of anything as they dive into, “I need to make an appointment for smoke cessation, but first I have a few questions. How does hypnosis work, what is your success rate for smoke cessation and what if I can’t be hypnotized?” I have to take a breath and begin with one question at a time.

How does this hypnosis work?

I explain that hypnosis is safe, non-invasive and a natural occurrence. Awareness of a problem is the first step, desire to change is the second. Next comes taking action. By calling me, the future nonsmoker has begun to take action. The subconscious mind is receptive for any ideas we want to embrace.

If your first associations with smoking were positive (status among peers, a sense of maturity, an opportunity to step away from a stressful situation) then that is what the subconscious mind has connected with smoking, regardless of the threat of illness. It is our goal to uncover those early associations along with smoking triggers. Triggers are related to the habit of smoking. They can be things such as finishing a meal, having a cup of coffee or tea, driving, talking on the phone, etcetera. Then we rewire our habits and associations. No longer is smoking cool, smokers are not banished to the outside for their habit. We find alternative behaviors for the former smoke breaks. We work on breathing exercises, stress management and even address eating and exercise. All of this together makes for a smoke free, more confident and authentic you.

What is your success rate?

While I can tell you that I give it my all and most of my clients leave nonsmokers, I would be very creative to give you an actual percentage rate. I know about the success stories when they write me six months or even several years down the road to say they are still smoke free. But, if someone falls off the wagon and is too embarrassed to admit it, I might never know. There are those in my field who claim 95% success (or something similar), I cry foul!

It is important to remember that tobacco has had a brilliant marketing campaign for years. During the second World War our brave soldiers were given cigarettes by the government! Many veterans have told me they began smoking during basic training, because, smokers got a break and nonsmokers had to remain in formation at attention. Smoking was a fashion statement, a rite of passage and a reward. It became  a way of life for many, even a part of a smoker’s identity.

So, while I love seeing my client leave the office smoke free, I never judge if they pick up the habit during a stressful time. What I ask is that they let me know right away. It makes it easier to reverse, go back to living smoke free.

What if I can’t be hypnotized?

For many reasons people will believe they cannot be hypnotized. Perhaps they have been told that you must be gullible or artistic or visual. Actually you can be any of those or none. For hypnosis is a natural occurrence. The same brain waves that are experienced (and have been measured) that one experiences during the day, when daydreaming or when falling asleep are the brainwaves measured during hypnosis. If you have a good imagination, if words sting you easily, if you become so involved in a sporting event that you tense and try to assist them with your own body movements while sitting on your couch you are probably a good candidate for hypnosis. You can have any of those qualities or all of them. For more information on hypnosis and a fun little quiz to determine how hypnotizable you are click here: Hypnosis FAQs. For the test scroll down to the bottom of the page.

If you are tired of smelling like an ashtray, coughing and hacking or even just being exiled to the outdoors or being controlled by BIG TOBACCO, maybe you are ready to stop smoking. Call me today for your smoke cessation session and let the smoke clear and give yourself the gift of a healthier, longer and better quality life!

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