Dan’s Blog

Think Like Sherlock To Tackle Anxiety

by Dan Regan | Jan 8, 2024 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Think Like Sherlock To Tackle Anxiety – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

We are into the start of the new year as I write this, and the Christmas festive period is now well and truly over for another year. I’ve written before about my love for A Christmas Carol and all things Dickens over the festive period and there was certainly some of that. However, things were certainly much more dominated this year by another character and his creator.

I’ve loved everything Sherlock Holmes since I was a teenager and I first picked up the books. I’ve re-read them dozens of times over the years, along with many other Sherlock stories from different authors. Over Christmas, I watched a couple of Sherlock films that were on, a fascinating documentary series about Sherlock and his creator, Conan Doyle, as well as a less fascinating programme on the same subject. And things certainly went Sherlock crazy at home when my daughter received a present of a Sherlock board game.

In the game you are given a case to solve and with the game afoot, you then move around the board picking up clues along the way. It’s one of the most enjoyable games we’ve had and we all got involved with a new case each day. It requires a bit of strategy and some thinking and then nothing beats that ‘a-ha’ moment when you can put the clues together and work out the culprit, the weapon and the motive. Elementary, my dead Watson! (Although that phrase doesn’t appear in any of the Sherlock books!).

One of the things I admire about Sherlock Holmes and his methods is the way he approaches issues and solves things using evidence, science and logical thinking. It’s exactly the sort of mindset that can help you if you need to tackle anxiety, fear, worry and overthinking. Rather than the feelings and emotions of anxiety driving your thinking towards worst case scenarios, you want to be able to think clearly, evaluate what goes on inside your head calmly and so then be in control of your own thinking and subsequent responses. Whereas most hypnotherapists sadly do not draw upon any of the science and evidence in their methods, thinking like Sherlock can help you to successfully tackle anxiety, feel better and stay feeling better.

More Reasons for Quitting Smoking – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Jan 5, 2024 | Quit Smoking Hypnosis

More Reasons for Quitting Smoking – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

There are very few (if any) reasons for continuing to smoke and many, many good reasons for quitting smoking.

Top of the list whenever I help someone to quit is pretty much always your health. You know that smoking damages your health and, even if you’ve been able to make yourself ignore the unseen damage, there is always the lingering worry that sooner or later all those cigarettes are going to catch up with you. You could wait until you notice you get out of breath, that you have less energy, that you are coughing all the time and that things seem a bit harder for you now, or you could take action to change your habit and give up before the damage is too great.

Of course there are many other great reasons for quitting smoking too. You save an absolute fortune when you don’t smoke anymore. You’ll no longer worry about smelling of fags or needing to slip away and find the next opportunity for to smoke. And, of course, with fewer and fewer people smoking now, you can stop feeling like the odd one out when you are around others. You also get the freedom of no longer needing to rely on cigarettes, you will feel healthier as a non-smoker and you are no longer controlled by that old habit.

Many smokers think that their cigarettes help them to relax. However, there is nothing in a cigarette that does this, it’s just that you’ve got used to smoking in situations where you are already feeling calmer, such as when taking a break or having a few moments to yourself. And although nicotine plays a role, the biggest factor is your ongoing smoking habit is psychological. Having smoked so many times in the same situations, your mind creates a pattern that links the cigarette and the situation together and there is an ongoing psychological expectation of doing the same thing each time. That’s why smokers light up in the same sort of situations and may not even think about smoking when they are somewhere they have never smoked.

And as with any pattern and habit, with hypnotherapy and a bit of effort and action, it is certainly possible to quit smoking for good.

Control Eating Habits and Weight Loss Hypnotherapy

by Dan Regan | Jan 3, 2024 | Weight Loss

Control Eating Habits and Weight Loss Hypnotherapy

A major component of any successful and sustainable weight loss programme is always learning how to control your eating habits.

Rather than dieting and restriction, you can reach your ideal weight and still enjoy all the tastes, textures, smells and tastes of healthy and nutritious food. You simply learn to enjoy consistently eating the right amount.

So many of us learn eating habits that are less than ideal and then get stuck in a cycle of repeating them. Even if you make some changes for a while, without addressing the underlying psychological and behavioural issues, you soon find yourself back where you started. You may have been told when you were young that you needed to clear your plate (perhaps through the guilt of starving people in the world). You may have always eaten quickly, over-eaten or made less than healthy choices. And it’s quite common that once you had the freedom to make your own eating decisions then the calories came thick and fast (and perhaps sweet too).

Many eating habits get ingrained without you even realising until your weight is an issue. And, as with all habits, your brain is designed to repeat the same patterns, regardless of whether they are helpful or not. And so you eat too much, make unhealthy choices, crave certain foods, find it impossible to stop once you’ve started and mindlessly snack. You get stuck in a rut and, no matter how many diets you’ve tried, you can’t break free.

If your weight is an issue for you, you may already be trying to summon the motivation and inspiration you need to try and start yet another weight loss programme of calorie counting, restriction and deprivation. It’s a depressing prospect of struggle and likely failure.

However, with weight loss hypnotherapy it certainly is possible to take control over your eating habits and so to then successfully lose weight.

Happy New Year From Dan Regan Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Dec 30, 2023 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Happy New Year! Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

As this year draws to a close, I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy New Year!

A massive thank you to everyone who has made this year such a great one. A massive thank you to all of my face to face clients and to everyone who has downloaded one and benefited from one of my hypnosis downloads. I’m massively grateful for all of your ongoing support and special thanks to everyone who recommended me to friends and family and who has very kindly left me a positive online hypnotherapy review.

It’s been a very successful year of hypnotherapy and I continue to love helping you to deal with issues such as anxiety, fear, overthinking and worry. I’ve also helped many people to take back control over their eating habits and to quit smoking for good.

Earlier in the year I was very fortunate to win another service excellence award at the Ely Business Awards and, outside work, I’m super happy to have completed my first marathon for seven years (and then an ultra marathon too).

As the current year ends, I always like to take a few moments for a private reflection of some of the highlights of the year and the things I’m pleased with and grateful for.

Tame Your Inner Critic – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Dec 27, 2023 | Confidence and Self Esteem

Tame Your Inner Critic – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Every waking moment you have a constant stream of thoughts running through your mind. You have ideas, you make decisions, evaluate things, replay things, imagine things and talk to yourself in an ongoing stream of thought as you go about your day. Much of the time you may not even notice this is particularly happening. Sometimes these thoughts are encouraging, positive and helpful and there may be moments where they are random or unfocused and your thoughts just seem to flow in all sorts of directions.

And, of course, there are those thoughts that cause negativity, low mood and that limit you and hold you back in a variety of ways. Sometimes the things you might say to yourself in your head are not that kind. You can berate yourself, criticise yourself and put yourself down about something you have or haven’t said or done or a mistake you think you’ve made. Long after everyone else has moved on and forgotten about it, you can still find yourself criticising yourself over and over inside your own head.

You may even judge and be harsh about yourself as a person, putting down who you are, what you do and what you are capable of achieving. You wouldn’t let a stranger talk to someone you loved in the same way yet there you are putting yourself down all the time. And it has real life consequences in how you feel and what you do.

This inner critic is that part of you that grabs hold when you put yourself down and criticise yourself. You tell yourself you’re a failure, that you always mess up, that you’re a loser and that you aren’t good enough. And perhaps the worst bit is that this inner voice of yours follow you around all day, reminding you of every little mistake you’ve ever made.

Yet because this all occurs inside your own head it is very possible to tame your inner critic and to learn how to encourage and support yourself in ways that all you to move forward confidently and capably.

Merry Christmas from Dan Regan Hypnotherapy

by Dan Regan | Dec 17, 2023 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Merry Christmas from Dan Regan Hypnotherapy

At this busy time of the year, I just wanted to take a moment to wish you a very Merry Christmas!

It’s been a very busy and successful year here and I’m looking forward to having some time to relax and have fun with the family over the festive period (along with getting out for lots of running and having a bit of time to practice playing the guitar!). I’m already getting booked up and busy for the New Year. And I’m already excited for when I’ll be coming back refreshed and recharged and ready to help many, many more of you to successfully deal with issues such as anxiety, overthinking, weight loss, fears and much, much more.

Thanks so much to everyone who has worked with me this year, and a special thanks for all of the very kind positive reviews that you’ve left about your sessions and about my hypnosis downloads (new titles coming early next year!).

The Ageing Impact of Stress – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Dec 15, 2023 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

The Ageing Impact of Stress – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

In my last article, I wrote all about the stress response and the negative impact of stress on your mood, mindset, thoughts and feelings.

Stress can easily start to negatively effect your thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviours in ways that make you feel worse and worse. You may feel anxious, depressed, overwhelmed and on edge. You can struggle to think clearly, make decisions and plan things. You may feel like you have no control over your life, or conversely, you may start to try and control every small detail. You struggle to relax and switch off. And there can be impacts upon your motivation, enthusiasm and general energy levels. Your sleep is disrupted, your eating and drinking habits can change and, all in all, you feel burnt out, lost and exhausted. If your stress has been going on along time then it may seem like there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

Stress clouds your mood and mindset, you feel like you are carrying a weight on your shoulders and you struggle to take a grip of your own thoughts and feelings. As I mentioned in that article, hypnotherapy can help you to start feeling calmer and to take back control over your thoughts and feelings. You can feel more enthusiastic, stronger and more self assured to tackle the challenges and problems that come your way. You develop the personal resources that will help you to deal with the demands placed upon you.

However, the impact of stress goes beyond the negative thoughts and feelings you experience. Recent research has also investigated the impact upon your biological age in response to stress.

The Stress Response – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Dec 14, 2023 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

The Stress Response – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

The stress response can have a massive negative impact upon your thoughts and feelings. When it feels as though the demands upon you are too great to cope with, you can easily start to spiral into a cycle of negativity and stress. And when your stress just seems to run and run, it can impact upon you detrimentally and start to weave into all the other aspects of your life too.

The stress response evolved to help us to navigate immediate and external threats and dangers. Stress hormones mobilise your resources for action. Blood and oxygen is directed to your muscles, adrenaline is released, your heart beats faster and you are ready to deal with the threat through fleeing or fighting. And although this is helpful when there is an immediate danger to deal with and where you need to act quickly, it can be less helpful when seeking to manage your life and to deal with more modern challenges.

And many of these modern challenges can come from things like relationships, other people, employment and other things that can be ongoing over a much longer period than out stress response system was designed to deal with. In many cases, it can be our own thoughts, perceptions, expectations and thinking patterns that stress us out and lead to endless worrying. And dealing with things over the longer term and that continually fire off your stress response can be pretty exhausting (mentally and physically).

The negative effects of stress can lead to a range of physical issues such as exhaustion, burnout, digestive problems and high blood pressure. You might feel overwhelmed, anxious, tense and struggle to think clearly or to make decisions. And, as a result of the physical depletion and mental fog, you will start to struggle with sleeping and healthy eating, and you might feel angry, apathetic and start to avoid things you usually enjoy. And, of course, all of these things just add to your stress load, making you feel even worse.

Yet no matter how much your stress response is negatively impacting right now, it is very possible to take back control over your thoughts and feelings. You can feel calm and more confident as you orchestrate your own internal thinking and feeling patterns and as you deal with whatever external challenges and problems may come your way.

Weight Loss Motivation – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Dec 4, 2023 | Weight Loss

Weight Loss Motivation – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

A lot of people struggle to believe me when I tell them that when I was younger I was very overweight and hated all exercise with a passion. Up until my mid-teens, I considered P.E. to be a form of mental and physical suffering and unpleasantness. And my unhealthy snacking meant I was probably the biggest kid in a school of about a thousand students. I had no interest in sport or being active, I was eating too much rubbish and I was often the brunt of fat jokes, jibes and insults. I probably wasn’t too happy with how I looked and felt but I could go home and forget about it because we didn’t have social media or messaging.

At some point in my mid teens (or thereabouts) I started doing something about it, but mainly just because my mates all played football after school and I didn’t want to be left out. I can also vividly remember at some point being so depressed about my weight that I would bike ten miles on an exercise bike at home most evenings. Then I ditched most of the rubbish and started enjoying football with mates and a little bit of running. For someone with anxiety and low self-esteem, i found that eating a bit healthier and exercising made me feel better in myself. I’ve written elsewhere on my website about the science and evidence for running and exercise benefiting your physical and mental health.

After getting a bit fitter and healthier, running became something enjoyable that I actually wanted to do, a mindset that still continues.

I work with a lot of people seeking help with their weight loss motivation and consistency with exercise. At the heart of all eating is learning how to be in control over your eating habits, rather than food running (and ruining) your life. You increase your weight loss motivation, take control over eating habits and then, feeling healthier and happier, you can continue to tweak and nudge things forward. When you have a healthier relationship with food, everything gets easier.

And sometimes people want help with exercise motivation. Maybe they’ve not done any exercising for years, or they’ve lost their motivation for it and want to enjoy being active again. And that comes from building a little bit of motivation and perseverance and then positive habits set in.

If you are desperately seeking some weight loss motivation then hypnotherapy can certainly help you with your thoughts, feelings, habits and behaviours around food and eating.

Running Therapy for Depression and Anxiety Disorders

by Dan Regan | Dec 4, 2023 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Running Therapy for Depression and Anxiety Disorders – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Recently I wrote all about completing my first marathon for seven or so years when I finished the Ely Marathon. And now I’m very pleased to report that I’ve finished an ultra marathon too!

The St Edmunds Trail Race is a well organised event that takes place around Ickworth Park and surrounding villages, near Bury St Edmunds. It was a cold, wet, icy and muddy affair and I was pretty happy when I finally crossed the finish line. Ickworth Park is a National Trust site and it was lovely to jog around some paths that I’d never been down before. After that it was a case of heading out across some increasingly muddy paths before heading back into the park again. I had some nice chats with other runners on the way around and I’m massively grateful to all of the marshals who stood out for hours in the wet and cold cheering us on (and making sure we didn’t get lost!).

My main goal was to finish the 50km in six hours which, allowing for a few minutes, I successfully did. And, as always with these sort of things, there are plenty of learning points for next time (once my legs recover and I can manage stairs again!).

Many people I work with are runners or do some other form of exercise. This may be to support their weight management, to help with their mental health, or simply because they enjoy it. Sometimes as part of their sessions they want to improve their running, others want to get back started and sometimes they want to get their motivation for running back and to start enjoying it again.

Whether your thing is running or some other form of exercise, there are massive benefits for your physical and mental health from moving. Running and exercise have a wealth of research to support how beneficial they can be if you struggle with anxiety or depression symptoms.

And a recent study, that I’m covering in this article, has examined the effects of anti-depressants versus running therapy on both your mental and physical health.

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