Dan’s Blog

Ely Business Awards Finalist – Hypnotherapy in Ely

by Dan Regan | Dec 3, 2021 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Ely Business Awards Finalist – Hypnotherapy in Ely

I’m delighted to confirm that Dan Regan Hypnotherapy has reached the SME Ely Business Awards Final 2021 in the Service Excellence category.

As anyone who has followed this website or who reads my posts knows, getting a positive result for my clients is the top priority in everything I do so I’m thrilled to have become a finalist.

The winner of the category will be announced in late January at the awards ceremony (should I start writing an acceptance speech? Haha!). (note: the awards ceremony has since been moved to March due to the pandemic).

A huge thank you to all of my awesome clients who have chosen to work with me and to those of you who have kindly left feedback on how much the hypnotherapy sessions helped you, and who continue to recommend me to your friends and family. Thank you!

Health Anxiety – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Nov 11, 2021 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Health Anxiety – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Recently a client with health anxiety was telling me how he couldn’t even put the TV on listen to the radio without coming across several mentions of health-related issues. There’s an almost constant stream of adverts and stories about illness, heart disease, cancer and other health issues. And, of course, over the last couple of years, all the mention of COVID-19, long covid and death from the pandemic has presented a challenge to anyone who struggles with health anxiety.

When I work with health-anxiety clients, they often tell me how any slight physical sensation or niggle gets magnified and amplified inside their imagination. Rather than being able to calmly consider and assess that slight pain, discomfort or niggle, their health-anxiety quickly escalates to a worst-case scenario where it is something serious like cancer (and then there are the fearful thoughts about everything that would come with that from impacts on them and their loved ones, to uncomfortable treatment, anxiety and the panic over their potential death).

Whilst the internet is a wonderful thing, with health-anxiety it can become a source of vague information that always points to a serious health condition (just about any physical symptoms can probably be directed towards something catastrophic like cancer).

And, of course, anxiety itself can cause physical sensations, for example in your stomach, chest or muscles, which adds more fear and anxiety to an already racing mind. Your health anxiety can lead to more sensations and aches, tension and pains, which then only adds to your worries about your health and maintains the things you are feeling in your body.

Now, of course, we shouldn’t just ignore every physical sensation and put it all down to anxiety. Yet, like my clients, you can develop the ability to calmly assess what you are feeling, to consider what may have caused it and to decide upon and calmly take any actions that may be needed to treat it. And, of course, the calmer you are able to be, the more clearly you can think, the better your decision-making processes will be and the easier it will be to consider what you are experiencing (without anxiety creating or exacerbating it). And so rather than thinking that twinge in your chest is a sign of a heart issue, you can calmly recognise that you probably strained a muscle exercising.

COVID-19 and the pandemic have certainly added to the health-anxiety levels of many people, whether from a rise in stress or anxiety about catching the virus and being seriously affected. And health-anxiety and the fear of contracting COVID-19 is something I’m covering here today.

Anxiety and Exercise – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely

by Dan Regan | Nov 10, 2021 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Anxiety and Exercise – Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely

Knowing from experience how horrible and limiting it can be, helping people to overcome their anxiety really is my passion. There is no greater feeling than helping a client move from despair, lowness and overwhelm from their anxiety, to a place where they feel lighter and happier. I love it every time when someone tells me how they now feel calmer, more confident and more in control of their thoughts and feelings, no matter what challenges come their way.

Hypnotherapy for anxiety relief has good evidence to support it, as well as the wealth of positive feedback my previous clients have kindly left about their sessions.

And, as I’ve covered before, exercise can also help with reducing anxiety symptoms, and works well alongside hypnotherapy. I’ve also drawn upon exercise to support my positive mental health, and I firmly believe it now helps me to stay in a good place and to deal with whatever comes my way in life.

I enjoy exercise, with my weekly bootcamps, gym work and running. Yet, I know some people (like my wife!) shudder at the very thought of structured exercise. Especially if you had unpleasant experiences with exercising in the past (my school P.E. experiences were largely miserable!), then you may not enjoy the thought of getting exercising. Below I cover the evidence that suggests that sitting less and moving more in some form, really can help your mental health effectively.

Of course, if you wait until you feel like exercising then it may never happen! I know that at 6.25am on a cold and dark winter morning I really do not feel pumped and excited about being at bootcamp! Instead, I focus on just doing it, on making it a routine behaviour (like brushing your teeth or going to work, just something you do regardless) and focus on all the positives that I’ll get after exercising, such as positive feelings, reduced anxiety and enhanced mental health.

And as the science in this article shows, by calling upon exercise and hypnotherapy, you really can find relief from your anxiety and start feeling better and better in yourself.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Anxiety Disorders – Hypnotherapy in Ely

by Dan Regan | Nov 8, 2021 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Anxiety Disorders – Hypnotherapy in Ely

If you struggle with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) then you’ll already know how unpleasant, uncomfortable and limiting the symptoms can be. Although intensity and frequency of symptoms can vary, they include abdominal pain and bloating. People generally suffer with constipation, diarrhoea or a combination of both.

If you have IBS you may also struggle with mental health issues, such as anxiety. I’ve worked with clients who get anxious about leaving the house, being in situations where they are uncertain of access to toilet facilities, or any other situation where they may feel ‘trapped’ in some way. I’ve known of clients who need to allow over an hour of additional time before leaving the house and those who won’t eat all day to try and minimise their symptoms. You may feel anxious about going to new places, long journeys and other situations where your symptoms could impact or you feel they might embarrass you.

Of course, one of the common symptoms of anxiety is itself uncomfortable feelings in the stomach. And so there can be a negative spiral of anxiety and IBS, and IBS and anxiety, where each exacerbates the other. The end result is with anxious thoughts and feelings, frustration, stress, annoyance, catastrophising and limiting or avoiding situations.

Perhaps even more frustratingly, there is no certain test or procedure that can medically confirm the IBS. With severe symptoms, you may have undergone multiple investigations and tests, which can rule other things out, but which frustratingly can’t confirm that you have IBS (they just confirm that you don’t have the other conditions).

And because the symptoms of IBS can be unpredictable, and you may have better and worse moments, your anxiety can lead you to worry about the worst happening this time, or what if you have that bloating, discomfort, constipation or diarrhoea. Worse, what if others notice or you experience intense symptoms in front of people you would rather not know about your IBS, or where you just can’t get to a toilet quick enough, or where you just need to be in the safe environment of home?

Help To Quit Smoking – Hypnotherapy in Ely

by Dan Regan | Nov 1, 2021 | Quit Smoking Hypnosis

Help To Quit Smoking – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Are you looking to successfully quit smoking? If so, you’ll already know all the good reasons why you should quit, yet somehow you either put it off or struggle to successfully kick the habit.

There’s no doubting all the good reasons for stopping smoking, and in this article I’m covering some recent research that looks at the estimated increase in risk of certain diseases from each cigarette smoked (not just from being a smoker but from each cigarette). Many smokers use cigarettes as a way of dealing with mental health issues such as stress and anxiety and you may worry about your mental health getting worse if you no longer have that crutch. If this is you, I’ve also taken a look at the association between smoking cessation and mental health in this article.

More and more people are being encouraged to switch to e-cigarettes because they are considered to be less harmful to your health than cigarettes. But does the evidence support e-cigarettes as helping you to stay off cigarettes?

I work with many people who want to quit their habit, and whether they are smoking 10-15 a day or more, and no matter how long you may have smoked, it is certainly possible to successfully quit. You may think you need to smoke, that you get something from it, and you may expect that giving up will mean all sorts of struggle and unpleasant withdrawal.

Yet with hypnotherapy, many people can and do quit for good. As with any goal, it requires some motivation, time and effort, yet the rewards for your health, for being their for your loved ones, for being free of having to always think about when you’ll get the next opportunity to light up, and for your finances, make a little bit of action very worthwhile. So as you know all the good stuff that will come with being a non-smoker, isn’t it time you made it happen?

Mental Health and Pets…And Sad News of Nibbles the Rabbit

by Dan Regan | Nov 1, 2021 | Dan's Blog, Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Mental Health and Pets…And Sad News of Nibbles the Rabbit

A few years ago I wrote an article about the mental health benefits of pets. Having a pet can help if you have a mental health condition, and I think the sense of connection, emotional support and sense of purpose are valuable benefits to us all.

I can still remember the excitement when Nibbles the rabbit joined the Regan household and she soon became a part of the family. The girls would hug, feed and groom her, and I know all of us enjoyed our little interactions in the garden (and all those private little conversations you have with your pets when no one else can hear you!!).

During lockdown one in particular, I used to go out into the back garden each morning and do a bootcamp routine that had been shared online (as we weren’t allowed in groups back then). As well as killing the grass with what seemed like a trillion burpees, I used to love interacting with Nibbles (who probably wondered what on earth I was doing but she kept quiet as long as the grass kept coming her way!). As soon as I went into the garden, up she would come running to remind me of my grass picking and feeding responsibilities, and every time I rested there she was giving me that little ‘I’m just a poor starving bunny, even though I’ve eaten a ton of grass already’ look that I couldn’t ignore.

Of course, she did have her moments, like the time she escaped and it took us over an hour to get her out from behind the neighbour’s shed. And I think she scratched my daughter a few times and even peed on the living room floor (while getting hugs from the kids).

But despite those occasional little bunny strops, she was very much a part of our family and it was a very sad day indeed when she didn’t come home from the vet last week. Poor little Nibbles.

Fear of Flying – Another Success Course with the Flight Simulator and Anxiety Hypnotherapy

by Dan Regan | Nov 1, 2021 | Phobias and Fears

Fear of Flying – Another Success Course with the Flight Simulator and Anxiety Hypnotherapy

As with most forms of anxiety and fear, the number one strategy for dealing with it, is to try and avoid it. Avoidance makes you feel better in the short term because of the relief it brings to you from the anxiety and stress reducing. However, it doesn’t solve the problem or make it go away; it just postpones it until the next similar situation.

It’s estimated that up to about 25% of people struggle with flying anxiety to some degree. There can be forms of general flying anxiety from even seeing a plane or talking about flying with others. Most flying phobics have elements of anticipatory flight anxiety where you feel anxious as you think ahead to your flight and you overthink and catastrophise even before you set foot on a plane. And then there’s the flight anxiety itself where you may worry about something bad happening, feel tense and on edge and become very panicky around every sound and movement of the plane (especially that dreaded turbulence!).

But if avoidance has been your main anxiety-coping strategy, what happens when you need to fly? How can you cope with the anxiety, fear and worry that you may start to experience even weeks before your flight? That’s where the fear of flying course comes to your rescue. Based upon sound research, and incorporating elements of psychology, virtual exposure and knowledge and information about anxiety and flying, you can start to feel more calm and relaxed around flying. Rather than feeling out of control on the plane (and perhaps almost wanting to take back control by flying it yourself!), you can learn how to take back control over your own thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions.

Anxiety Help in Ely and Newmarket – Dan Regan Hypnotherapy

by Dan Regan | Oct 22, 2021 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Anxiety Help in Ely and Newmarket – Dan Regan Hypnotherapy

When you struggle with anxiety, it can seem like there’s no escape from all those unwanted thoughts and unpleasant feelings. Those intrusive thoughts, filled with worst case scenarios, negativity and dread can dominate your mind and your thinking. And those uncomfortable anxious feelings just lead to more worry and uncertainty.

It can be exhausting trying to cope with everything you are battling with internally, as you try and get through each situation or each day.

And, of course, the natural reaction to anxiety and dread is to avoid things, to get out of them or get away from them as quickly as possible. Yet that avoidance just exacerbates anxiety and means that the same unwanted pattern keeps repeating over and over.

Whether your anxiety is about something specific, like work or social situations, or is much more generalised, anxiety has a way of creating its own cycle of misery. You feel anxious and struggle with negative thoughts and you avoid things or have to struggle through them. There may be moments of relief when you feel a bit better, but that same anxiety pattern comes right back at you when faced with a similar situation or circumstance again.

In fact, because anxiety is so unpleasant you may even start to dread the anxiety itself and worry about being anxious, all of which just adds to that internal mixing pot of unwanted thoughts and feelings. It could be said that the more anxiety you experience, the more anxiety you will experience. It can take over, stop you thinking straight, keep you awake at night, make you feel tense and sick, destroy your confidence in yourself and curtail your ability to engage in things and enjoy the things that you used to.

Disputing Your Irrational Anxious Thoughts – Hypnotherapy in Ely

by Dan Regan | Oct 5, 2021 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Disputing Your Irrational Anxious Thoughts

There can be few greater simple pleasures than spending half an hour or so reading at night before going to sleep. Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve loved reading detective stories, with anything containing Sherlock Holmes always being a favourite (in fact, I seem to recall that I based my English GCSE exam story composition upon a Sherlock Holmes story I’d been reading beforehand!). Agatha Christie’s Poirot is another favourite, and I love anything in the British Library Crime Classics collection.

In these stories there’s no need for excessive violence, there are no computers or mobile phones or DNA to call upon, and it’s all based upon deduction and reasoning to bring the plot to a successful conclusion. Perhaps it was this love of the logic and rational thinking and reasoning that led me to study my law degree (or maybe it was watching LA Law on TV, if you’re old enough to remember that one!).

Poirot calls upon his ‘little grey cells’ to evaluate, analyse and solve cases, and there’s perhaps no detective more famous that Sherlock Holmes for rational thinking and calling upon the facts (although he never actually says ‘Elementary, my dear Watson’ in any of the Conan Doyle stories).

And so I was delighted and excited recently when I found out that my daughter’s English class were studying Victorian Crime and Detective Stories, and particularly Sherlock Holmes’ stories. I’d have loved that at her age, and even now I would happily go and sit at the back of the class so I could listen in! Ah here, I thought, was a shared thing that my daughter and I would be able to discuss and dissect with a shared passion for old detective fiction. Only it turned out she wasn’t that bothered about the stories, so that was the end of that!

So why am I talking about these great-thinking detectives here today? It’s because very often, inside our own minds, our thinking gets distorted, generalised, embellished, catastrophised and we suffer from all sorts of thinking errors and biases. We can jump to conclusions, give meaning to things, make assumptions about what other people are thinking, make erroneous predictions, catastrophise and imagine and create all sorts of worst-case scenarios. Emotions like anxiety can lead to these kinds of negative and irrational thoughts, and the thoughts (which may or may not be accurate) can create emotions like anxiety.

If you struggle with anxiety then you will be familiar with the overthinking, worst-case scenarios and ‘what if’ thoughts. Your anxiety can latch onto a train of thought and before you know it, it has been amplified and magnified inside your head and your anxious feelings increase. An initial thought can move down that rabbit hole of thinking that moves further and further away from the current situation, and where things get worse and worse in your mind.

So there is certainly benefit in bringing thoughts back to the present, and to the facts, rather than letting emotions like anxiety, stress, fear and worry take over. To take control over our thinking and feel better in ourselves, perhaps we all need to think a bit more like Sherlock in these moments when he said, “whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I place above all things” (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign Of Four).

Improving Football Performance with Hypnosis – Hypnotherapy in Ely

by Dan Regan | Sep 28, 2021 | Sports Improvement

Improving Football Performance with Hypnosis – Hypnotherapy in Ely

I’ve written many times before about the research and evidence for improving sports performance using hypnosis and sports psychology. In any sport, including football that I am talking about here, your mindset plays an influential role in your performance.

Using hypnosis can help you to improve your soccer performance through management of your emotional levels, effective visualisation and harnessing your self-talk constructively. You can draw upon previous successful performances, learn from role models, build your sense of self belief and capability and prime your mind for successful performance.

Using these psychological techniques and strategies can help you with staying focused, decision making, skill development and handling challenges. When things aren’t going well for you or the team, or you make a mistake, how you orchestrate your thoughts and feelings will have a massive impact on whether you bounce back or let your performance deteriorate.

I find it fascinating watching football due to the emotions and psychology involved. Some players rise under pressure and goading from the opposition and perform at their best, while other sink under the weight of it all. Some players look like they want to be there and to play and seem to have endless energy and insight, while others are lethargic and lack belief in themselves. And when things go wrong, such as missing a penalty, losing the ball or a mistimed tackle, a player can either refocus and get back on with it, or a lack of belief or the ‘red mist’ ruin the rest of their game.

Whatever your position on the pitch, you will benefit from confidence and a belief in your own ability. You can call upon psychological techniques to improve your ability to bring the ball under control, to complete successful passes and to make successful tackles.

Research suggests that hypnosis can help you to improve your soccer performance. If you want to consistently play at your best, then hypnosis for football performance may be the strategy that helps you get there and stay there.

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