Dan’s Blog

Anxious Thoughts and Feelings – My Latest Ely Standard Column

by Dan Regan | Jul 8, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Anxious Thoughts and Feelings – My Latest Ely Standard Column

I’m delighted to let you know that my latest Ely Standard column, about anxious thoughts and feelings, has now been published.

It’s estimated that, each year, one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem. Back when I used to struggle with anxiety, it was the anxious feelings that used to really trouble me and that used to escalate until they felt overwhelming and uncontrollable. These then fed into the anxious thoughts of dread and worry. Then came the classic anxiety response of avoidance to try and quell all those uncomfortable anxious feelings. This brings short term relief but only maintains the anxiety.

The anxiety cycle of thoughts, feelings and behaviours can just run and run. It’s like a ceaseless torrent of anxious discomfort. However, n matter how bad you feel right now, it is possible to overcome your anxiety. You can start to feel better and better in yourself.

You can read my article about anxious thoughts and feelings over on the Ely Standard website here:

Does Distraction Work For Anxiety?

by Dan Regan | Jun 20, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Does Distraction Work For Anxiety?

Recently I was talking with a client about this subject; does distraction work for anxiety?

Anxiety thrives when there is time and space for thinking. And because you feel anxious you have probably started avoiding things or feeling too low and exhausted to keep busy. You are less occupied and have more time to think. The more time you have to think, the worse you feel and the less you feel able to do. It becomes a negative cycle that chokes the enjoyment and motivation from your life. You spend more and more time thinking and the anxiety just moves from one thing to the next. All the while your feel worse and worse with tension, agitation, poor appetite and disturbed sleeping.

It’s like a river of thinking with a strong current that pulls you from one catastrophic thought to the next. Very soon your anxiety can quash anything positive and you feel helpless to deal with your own thoughts and feelings.

The human mind has a negativity bias anyway so when you feel anxious this just accelerates. Everything is tinged with worry, doubt, overthinking and dread. Even things you’ve done many, many times before now seem like a massive challenge that you struggle to face.

Now, of course, there are several facets to a successful plan for tackling anxiety. You need to learn how to interrupt, direct, disrupt and move on your own thoughts rather than being at the mercy of whatever happens to come into your thinking and awareness. You need to be able to bring anxiety down when it starts high and be able to cut if off early and quickly if it starts to grow and rise.

I’ve written many times before about the scientific support and research that shows that hypnotherapy is effective for treating anxiety so I’m not going to repeat that here. I’ve also covered the use of exercise, relaxation, gratitude, nature, music and a whole range of other things that have been demonstrated to contribute to reducing anxiety.

Hypnotherapy for Cricket

by Dan Regan | Jun 20, 2025 | Sports Improvement

Hypnotherapy for Cricket

Hypnotherapy for cricket can help you to perform at your best on the field so that you play better and enjoy your game even more.

Cricket season is well and truly upon us. England have just finished a series with the West Indies and are about to face India. The Championship is in full swing and the Vitality Blast is up and running. With summer here, cricket takes over as the main event.

With the season up and running, it’s the time of year where I work with a lot of cricketers on their performance. Sometimes their season hasn’t got started as they would like and for others, it’s about pushing on to the next level that they know they are capable of. As with all sports, your mindset is key when playing. Whether it is your batting performance, your bowling consistency or even both, you need to have focus, concentration, calmness and confidence. You need to be in the zone so that all your training instinctively comes to the fore and where you are making good decisions and handling any challenges.

Perhaps only like golf, during cricket there can be a lot of time for thinking. There is the time when your team is batting and you are just waiting to go in. There will be times between innings for your mind to wander. In the field it can be easy to switch off if you aren’t being called upon to do much. When batting or bowling you need to be making multiple decisions, handling whatever comes up, dealing with pressure and staying focused on the next shot or ball and managing the time between each action. If you make a mistake you need to be able to move on quickly rather than letting it linger. Even when you take a wicket or play a great shot, you need to quickly and effectively refocus and engage for what comes next.

Sometimes players get anxious, nervous and lack belief before and during a match. Those thoughts and feelings lead to tension, negative self talk, a lack of trust in your playing and poor decisions. This can have a knock on effect into your next game as you worry about playing poorly again. That then leads to even more lack of belief and anxiety. Sometimes you know you have more to give yet somehow you keep getting in your own way.

Hypnotherapy for cricket can help you to take control over your thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions when you play. You can feel calm, focused and confident and keep your mind and attention in the game. Hypnotherapy boosts your self belief and a belief in your own capability has been strongly linked with best performance.

Hypnosis For Running

by Dan Regan | Jun 19, 2025 | Sports Improvement

Hypnosis For Running: Marathon Running Mindset

The sun is shining and there are many, many running races taking place every week, which makes this a great time for talking about hypnosis for running.

If you’ve been reading my articles for a while, you’ll know that running is my passion. I love getting out and getting some miles in, especially when the sun is shining and I can get down along the river and into the areas of nature around Ely. Running and exercise are key parts of how I manage my physical and mental health and well-being. I’ve been pretty inspired by some of the stories that I’ve been hearing recently from people who have come for hypnosis for running sessions. It’s got me online and eagerly checking out what Autumn marathons may be happening nearby.

Every runner knows that you have to get out and get the training done. Whether on your own or with others, you want a mix of shorter and longer runs and at faster and slower paces. Yet one area of training that is so often overlooked, and that can be the difference between running well or crashing out, is the mental side of your performance.

Sometimes it can be about the negative thoughts and excuses that stop you even lacing up your trainers to get out and run. It could be elements of self sabotage or a lack of belief in your own capability to do more or go faster. You may struggle with anxiety and self-doubt about running and racing. And when you do run and you start to get tired, you definitely need to know how you can counter that nagging little voice in your head that is telling you to slow down or stop.

Your mindset is important for your training and racing. You need to have the focus, confidence, motivation and self belief to get in the zone and consistently do what you are capable of doing.

For inspiration, here is what one of my clients, Steve, had to say after his hypnosis for running sessions that helped him absolutely smash his marathon:

How To Lose Weight and Keep It Off with Hypnotherapy

by Dan Regan | Jun 18, 2025 | Weight Loss

How To Lose Weight and Keep It Off with Hypnotherapy

Do you struggle with knowing how to lose weight and keep it off?

You’ve probably followed diet after diet and diet you lose some weight. But slowly and surely all those pounds creep back on again. Every time you go back on another diet it seems harder and harder to shift the weight and to stick with it. You’re probably tired of the yo-yo dieting and constantly draining your willpower to try and lose weight and keep it off.

You want to lose weight so that you feel healthier, happier and more comfortable in yourself. You want to feel good when you look in the mirror, feel more confident and enjoy life more.

Yet those eating habits keep holding you back. It all seems like hard work, effort and a struggle. Maybe it’s the eating habits, maybe you are emotional eating and maybe you’ve done the same things with food year after year and now you don’t seem to be able to take back control over food and eating. You eat when you aren’t hungry, make unhealthy choices, snack too often and use food to manage your feelings.

You probably know what you need to do to lose weight but your mind sabotages you. Weight loss hypnotherapy can help you to take back control over your own thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions around food. You can take control over your eating habits, feel motivated and enjoy eating the right amount for you.

If you need some help to successfully lose weight then hypnotherapy can help you to move forward towards a slimmer, healthier, happier you. Getting your mind in the right place is how to lose weight and then keep it off.

Ely Hero Awards Most Amazing Professional

by Dan Regan | Jun 16, 2025 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Ely Hero Awards Most Amazing Professional Nomination

I’m delighted to find out that I’ve been nominated in the Most Amazing Professional category in the 2025 Ely Hero Awards.

The Ely Hero awards were created to acknowledge the hard work, dedication, and impact of individuals and organisations within Ely and the surrounding villages. It really is a great honour to be nominated regardless of what happens next in the judging process.

And, of course, massive thanks to whoever of my clients nominated me in the Most Amazing Professional category. Thanks so much!

There are ten categories and this one is designed to recognise community professionals who make a difference and who have gone above and beyond.

I always do whatever I can to help my clients to overcome issues such as anxiety, low self-esteem, unhealthy habits, confidence issues, fears and phobias. You can find just some of the positive results my clients have achieved over in the reviews on this website (go and have a look here: Hypnotherapy Reviews).

Ely Business of the Year Silver Winner!

by Dan Regan | Jun 8, 2025 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Ely Business of the Year Silver Winner!

This week the SME Cambridgeshire Business Awards took place. And I’m delighted to share that I brought home the Silver award for Ely Business of the Year.

There are so many awesome businesses in Ely so I’m thrilled to have won this award. A huge thanks to Kings School for sponsoring the awards and to the SME award organisers.

And massive thanks to everyone who has worked with me over the last year, And thanks to all of you awesome people who continue to support and encourage me in helping as many people as I can to take back control over their own thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions.

I feel so blessed to have achieved another award for doing what I love. And, of course, whilst awards are wonderful, it is successfully helping people that gives me a real buzz. Just check out all of the awesome reviews over here: Hypnotherapy Reviews

I’ll now add this latest award to my roll of honour!

Music For Anxiety and Stress: My Latest Ely Standard Article

by Dan Regan | May 16, 2025 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Music For Anxiety and Stress: My Latest Ely Standard Article

I’m delighted that my latest Ely Standard article, about music for anxiety and stress, is now live on their website.

As I mention in my article, recently I attended a music concert at Ely College. It was a fantastic event and I was blown away with talent on display. I was hugely impressed with the students for getting up on stage and doing what they love (and well done to the staff who organised it all too!).

Research has shown that music can help you with anxiety relief and as an emotional coping tool, even during stressful and challenging times.

Music has been associated with reduced anxiety, enhanced mood, mental well-being and as a coping strategy. It has been shown that it may help to improve depression symptoms and has been shown to be associated with a decrease in overall self-reported anxiety. It is all strong support for the notion of making deliberate use of music if you want to experience some relief from your anxiety and stress.

You can read also my first Ely Standard article, about how nature can boost your mental health here:

Six Ways Hypnosis Can Help You

by Dan Regan | May 2, 2025 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Six Ways Hypnosis Can Help You

Today I’m covering six ways that hypnosis can help you.

Hypnosis is a powerful tool that can help you to improve your health and well-being. Rather than being stuck with anxiety, stress and unwanted habits, you can use your focus, imagination and other psychological processes to make constructive changes. Instead of feeling powerless and being controlled by your own thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions, hypnotherapy can help you to make changes and feel better in yourself.

We are all creatures of habit, pattern and repetition. That means that you can get stuck in a repeating cycle of doing things in the same way and getting the same (unwanted) results. Hypnotherapy can help you to change those patterns so that you take back control over your own thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions.

Research, and the many reviews on this website, demonstrate how effective hypnotherapy can be with issues such as weight management, sleep problems, stress and anxiety, pain management, quitting smoking and alleviating IBS symptoms.

If you could use some help to change how things are for you now, and to start feeling calm, confident, healthy and happy, then do get in touch and ask to book your free initial consultation.

Does Hypnosis Work For IBS?

by Dan Regan | Apr 23, 2025 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Does Hypnosis Work For IBS?

Does hypnosis work for IBS?

IBS can cause stomach pains and cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation. And all of these come with discomfort, pain and stress. You may not ever be quite sure when it will strike and so you’ve probably developed routines and habits that seem to help most of the time. There are certain foods you’ll avoid, or maybe you just don’t eat if you are going out. You may need to factor in plenty of extra time for the toilet before you leave the house. You may feel anxious going somewhere new if you aren’t sure where the toilets are. And you may worry about your IBS striking whilst out with others.

One of the most frustrating things about your IBS is that no one can tell you why it started or how to eradicate it. You may worry that perhaps it is something more serious that hasn’t been picked up by the doctors yet. Stress and anxiety make it all worse but it’s hard to avoid feeling on edge if you know you may end up in a ball of pain or needing to run to the toilet.

Your bowel movements and stomach issues can be debilitating and they can start to rule your life.

Whilst there is no specific test to diagnose IBS and no specific treatment for it, it is possible to experience more calmness, relief and control over your stomach. There is a whole wealth of evidence and research that demonstrates that hypnosis can work for IBS to help you manage it and feel better in yourself.

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