Dan’s Blog

Running Hypnosis: Run Faster By Unleashing Your Inner Cheetah

by Dan Regan | Feb 15, 2021 | Sports Improvement

Running Hypnosis: Run Faster By Unleashing Your Inner Cheetah

This weekend I was out as usual for my long slow run. For one reason and another it’s been a while but I’m now back over the ten mile mark and pretty pleased with that, especially given the freezing weather and strong winds we’ve been faced with for many weeks. Roll on spring and some warmer times and sunshine!

During my long runs I employ all sorts of psychological running strategies to help me keep going and complete my scheduled distances. I call upon everything from really associating with what I am doing, to dissociating and letting my mind wander, thinking about specific challenges, setting and imagining goals, breaking it down into each individual mile, calculating how much of my run I’ve completed and a whole host of other techniques depending on how I am running and what is the most useful at the time.

As long runs get longer, and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable and fatigue become things, I’ve always found it important to be able to manage that little voice in my head that comes out and can start to plant some negative seeds in my mind if left unabated.

Throughout my running over the last twenty years or more, I don’t think I’ve ever particularly regarded myself as a speed merchant (although I’m happy to share my sprint finish victory story and how fast I ran when chased by a chicken). My style of running and my body seem to be more suited to slower, longer stuff. That said, I’ve hit some faster milestones that I’m pleased with for myself, such as a sub-20 minute 5km, sub 40 minute 10k and sub 90 minute half marathon. I’m pretty pleased with those personal bests.

Running fast is a personal thing. It isn’t necessarily about being faster than everyone else; it’s about running harder and faster (in a safe fashion) to reach what you personally are capable of. It requires effort, persistence and the right mindset to push on (even when it gets uncomfortable).

In this article I’m covering a sports psychology strategy involving mental imagery that has been used by a world champion. It’s something I’ve used myself when I need a hard, fast burst, like when we run at bootcamp and there’s an element of competition. There will always be plenty who can run faster than me (and plenty I can run faster than, for that matter), yet it’s about doing the best with where you are and what you’ve got, to achieve that and run faster. As well as taking care of the physical aspects of running and training, you also need to work on the mindset and psychological side if you want to achieve your best.

Your Confident Self: Increasing Confidence, Self-Esteem and Self-Belief

by Dan Regan | Feb 12, 2021 | Confidence and Self Esteem

Your Confident Self: Increasing Confidence, Self-Esteem and Self-Belief

Over the last few months I’ve been busy learning how to play the guitar. Having not even picked up a guitar for over twenty five years, I’ve pretty much been learning all the notes and chords from scratch. And over the many weeks of practicing with online lessons from Fender, I kind of got to an ok level (think advanced beginner not Hendrix!).

At the end of last year I decided to start some online live guitar lessons with a great guy called Chris. Let me tell you, Chris can really play! Whilst I had a fairly ok level of confidence playing on my own to myself, that first lesson with someone who knows their stuff took me way outside my comfort one. In fact, in that first lesson with a pair of eyes watching me, I struggled to get my hands and fingers to co-ordinate in any sort of reasonable fashion.

Yet by the next lesson, and beyond, I’ve found myself able to play more confidently and to be ok with the inevitable mistakes that I make as I learn new things, and to feel good about the bits that go well and improve.

It can happen in any area of your life: you start something new, it takes you into a bit of discomfort outside your comfort zone, and then you adjust, adapt, learn and get better from perseverance. You learn that you can trust in your abilities, have faith in yourself and make some good progress.

It’s the same whether you train for your first race, meet someone knew, learn a new skill or do anything else new, different or potentially more challenging.

Yet sometimes, people struggle to have faith in their abilities and in who they are. They think they aren’t good enough or worthy in some way. They think they don’t deserve whatever it is. They dwell on mistakes and failures and things that didn’t go well and convince themselves it will always be like that. Their confidence, self-esteem and self-belief isn’t where it needs to be, or should be.

Your self-image, confidence and self-esteem can be shaped and molded by life experiences, people, places and a whole range of other factors. But of course your self-confidence and self-esteem are ultimately down to the thoughts, feelings, behaviours and beliefs you have about yourself, your own self-perception and view of yourself. And whilst your confidence and self-esteem may not be where you want them to be, it is definitly possible to grow in confidence, to have faith in yourself, to feel good being you, to back yourself and believe in yourself and to feel comfortable in your own skin.

Increasing Muscular Strength With Hypnosis

by Dan Regan | Feb 10, 2021 | Sports Improvement

Increasing Muscular Strength With Hypnosis

At my bootcamp, one of the favourite lines from our coach is about how your mind will give up before your body. In the midst of the high intensity training, the discomfort you feel physically and the levels of tiredness can cause that voice in your head to encourage you to fail even though physically you may be capable of continuing.

It’s the same with long distance running. As you get tired and those muscles are depleted, the mental demons can start to get louder and try to convince you that you can’t do it, or don’t want to. And anyone who has raced probably knows that the kind of images and self-talk that goes through your mind in the lead up, and on the starting line, can affect how you feel and how you perform.

We all know the importance of warming up before exercising to get your body ready for movement and exertion. Yet it’s just as important to get your mind in the right zone too. And whilst most athletes spend a lot of time on physical training (and sometimes kit!), the mental aspect of sport can often be overlooked. There’s a reason why all those sports people at the top of their game invest in their mindset and mental skills to improve their performance.

Hypnosis and other cognitive/mental imagery strategies can help you to tackle issues such as self-doubt, low confidence, anxiety, motivation or difficulty recovering from past events, frustrations and set-backs. Even better, sports hypnosis can not only remove obstacles, it can help you to enhance your performance too.

In this article, I’m covering some of the research on hypnosis and other cognitive strategies for improving muscular strength. Strength performance (e.g. maximal strength, local muscular endurance, and power) is pretty important across most sports, perhaps particularly in lifting, body building and power sports. We all use our muscles and all need muscular strength, so how can you benefit from hypnosis for increasing muscular strength?

Confidence: Using Your Hypnotic Hero To Increase Your Confidence

by Dan Regan | Feb 9, 2021 | Confidence and Self Esteem

Confidence: Using Your Hypnotic Hero To Increase Your Confidence

From very early on and throughout our lives we are constantly learning from others around us. We observe what others do in their interactions, with certain behaviours, skills, phrases, responses and we often absorb and integrate things we have seen and learnt into what we do and how we do it.

Recently, I’ve been learning to play the guitar. The most effective way to learn a new skill like this is through watching someone else play and then practising and learning that for yourself. If you are like me then it can take some practice and guidance, breaking things down into small chunks, and then more practice (and then even more!). Through watching online tutorials and lessons on the internet, and with the guidance and support of my guitar tutor, my playing has progressed massively since I started last year.

And it’s the same on other areas of life. When I joined bootcamp I had to watch what others did so I could learn and replicate it. In running, you watch and talk to other runners, you learn from their approach and attitude and you then seek to take elements of this and incorporate them into what you do.

Watching and learning from others involves a process of attention, retention, production, and motivation. Firstly, you pay careful attention to the person being observed. You then commit the observed act to memory through techniques and go about putting it into practice. To benefit, you need to be motivated to attend to, remember, and practice the observed behaviour in order to perform the skill accurately (Bandura, 1977).

Whether it’s a skill, behaviours, attitude or mindset, we can learn from observing others and seeking to replicate positive elements in a way that fits with who we are. If you want to be good at something, then it makes sense to find someone who is already good and observe and pay attention to what they do and how they do it (through observation, talking to them, reading about them and so forth).

One aspect of life that we can all improve upon in some areas is our confidence and self-belief. Some people worry that if they become more confident then they will become arrogant, but these are not the same things. Being confident involves thinking in particular ways, having certain beliefs, patterns, habits, thoughts and feelings. Sometimes you can get stuck in your own limitations of what you think is possible for you and think you can’t do something or that you are not good enough or not confident at that thing.

As I’ve mentioned we can learn from observing and paying attention to what confident people do and then ‘trying it on’ for ourselves, in a way that fits with our own values and desires. In this article we are using the concept of a ‘hero’ or ‘role model’ to help you become more confident in certain aspects of your life.

Your Best Possible Self: Improve Well-being, Optimism and Positivity

by Dan Regan | Feb 4, 2021 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Your Best Possible Self: Improve Well-being, Optimism and Positivity

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, it’s clear that there has been a substantial detrimental impact on the mental health and well-being of many of you. The Office for National Statistics reports that well-being and happiness levels in the UK are at some of lowest ever recorded levels.

This makes it even more important than usual (although it’s always more than usually important) to take effective action to improve your optimism, well-being, positivity and to support your mental health. Recently I covered one technique, the three good things, that has evidence and research to support the benefits of adopting it as a regular practice in your life.

Today I’m talking about another evidence-based intervention that you can use to boost your optimism, well-being and positive mood, and to help reduce negative or low feelings. The Best Possible Self technique involves thinking about your best possible self in a future where you have achieved everything desired, after working hard towards it. As I’ll cover here, there is a mass of evidence to support its effectiveness, and given that it only takes a few minutes, it really is worth utilising it if you want to feel better in yourself.

Hypnosis and Cancer: World Cancer Day

by Dan Regan | Feb 2, 2021 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Hypnosis and Cancer: World Cancer Day

This week marks World Cancer Day, a day set up to raise awareness, improve education and to encourage action in the challenge against cancer. It’s about saving prevantable and premature deaths and improving access to the best cancer treatment.

Cancer is the dreaded word for anyone to hear. I think we all know people who have battled it. I lost my Dad to cancer several years ago and have known many others who have faced cancer (which is why I’ve raised money to support the awesome work of MacMillan cancer support in the past).

At every stage of the journey there can be mental distress, anxiety worry and fear. There can also be the impacts of treatment on your mental and physical well-being. And whilst hypnotherapy and hypnosis can’t cure cancer (in fact it is illegal for anyone to claim they can), there are many ways that it can help with the things that come with it, from cancer treatments or symptoms, such as anxiety, nausea, distress and so on.

So, with it being World Cancer Day it seems appropriate to have a quick look at some of the evidence for the use of hypnosis with cancer patients.

Anxiety and Imagination During the Covid-19 Pandemic

by Dan Regan | Feb 1, 2021 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Anxiety and Imagination During the Covid-19 Pandemic

There’s little doubt that the current Covid-19 pandemic, and everything that goes with it, has had a detrimental impact on mental health and well-being. I’ve covered before about the mass of studies and research that demonstrates this impact upon mental health.

You may have found yourself experiencing symptoms and feelings of anxiety, irrititability, stress and even loneliness from being unable to see family and friends in ways you used to and would ideally wish to. As I write this (during lockdown three), positive tests and deaths are falling and the number of people getting the vaccine is accelerating, so let’s all hope that these green shoots continue.

And with it being Time To Talk Day this week, if you are struggling with anxiety or depression, or your mental health has been impacted in some other negative way, then please do talk to someone you trust. It is possible to get through what you are experiencing and there are those around you who want to listen, help and offer support.

Today I’m covering some research about the association between anxiety and your imagination.

Having a good imagination can be a positive thing; it can help with creativity, working things out, coming up with ideas and planning ahead. However, your imagination can have a ‘dark side’ that is linked with higher levels of anxiety, emotional distress, rumination and catastrophising. If you struggle with anxiety then these things may seem all too familiar in the cycle of anxiety, thinking the worst, dread and feeling you can’t cope with things.

So what does the research tell us about anxiety and your imagination during the Covid-19 pandemic, and how you can also use your imagination to effectively extinguish your anxiety?

Hypnotherapy For Irritable Bowel Syndrome

by Dan Regan | Feb 1, 2021 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP

Hypnotherapy For Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder than can cause symptoms such as stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and constipation. The uncertainty, unpredictability, pain and discomfort can have a hugely deterimental impact upon your well-being and quality of life.

When I help people with IBS, they often avoid certain places and situations due to the anxiety, stress and worry that their IBS will strike. I’ve come across clients who have avoided going out, who don’t eat all day to avoid the discomfort or who suffer extreme anxiety about finding a toilet or the possibility of being embarrassed in front of others (e.g. from needing the toilet a lot, from not being able to find a toilet in time or from letting people down if the IBS is too bad). The very nature of IBS means it is often one of things people don’t like to talk about or tell others about, which can add to the stress and anxiety about how your symptoms might be.

And whist it is usually a lifelong problem with no known ‘cure’, and with no universally agreed understanding of what causes it, the good news is that hypnotherapy has been shown to be very effective in helping you to alleviate your symptoms.

Three Good Things: Positive Psychology To Enhance Your Well-Being And Mental Health

by Dan Regan | Jan 26, 2021 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

Three Good Things: Positive Psychology To Enhance Your Well-Being And Mental Health

As I write this, we are still in the middle of the third Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. In my last article, I wrote about a couple of research-supported positive psychological interventions that can help promote your well-being and support your resilience to things.

Today, I’m going into more depth about one of these techniques, the three good things, and the benefits of carrying our this straight forward exercise each day.

Despite its many challenges and its adverse impact on mental health, perhaps one positive of the pandemic has been a sense of appreciation about, and gratitude for, things that we may have taken for granted before. We can all feel grateful for our health, our loved ones, the roof over our heads, the ability to get out and move, the kindness of others, the awesome dedication and effort of NHS staff and other key workers, and a whole host of other things.

Having the ability to get out and exercise is something I’m certainly appreciating, both because of the possibility it could be taken away, and because of the benefits to my mental health, especially if I incorporate some time in nature too. I value conversations and time with family in an enhanced way, and one of the pluses of working from home is having more interactions with the kids throughout the day, and spending more time in the evening doing things with them (at the moment playing ‘keepie uppie’ with balloons is a favourite bit of fun!).

One of the tasks I often set my clients is to spend a few minutes at the end of each day thinking back on three good things, or positive things, from that day. With anxiety, depression, stress, worry or overthinking the tendency is to spend more and more time thinking about negative or bad things or the kind of things that made you feel anxious, low or down in some way. Thinking about three positive things starts to counter that by deliberate and conscious focus on things that are going right. In conjunction with our hypnotherapy sessions, it starts to shift thoughts and feelings more towards how someone wants them to be.

And it turns out that there is a lot of evidence supporting this psychological technique. Consistently adopting the three good things practice can promote your well-being, increase positive emotions and happiness, lessen negative emotions and support your resilience. As I’ll cover here, this gratitude activity really does have positive psychological benefits for you.

How To Promote Your Sense of Well-Being During The Covid-19 Pandemic

by Dan Regan | Jan 25, 2021 | Anxiety Stress and Panic Attacks

How To Promote Your Sense of Well-Being During The Covid-19 Pandemic

There’s little doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has had an adverse impact upon mental health, and that is illustrated in data that has shown a rise in anxiety and depression levels for many years.

During the pandemic, restrictions and lockdowns you may have found yourself feeling more anxious, feeing low, stressed or worried, and have experienced a dip in your well-being and mood. I’ve covered before how things like sleep, alcohol consumption and self-esteem have also been impacted upon. All of the research, data and surveys have provided ample evidence of the current adverse impact upon mental health.

If you are struggling with anxiety, stress or worry, whether pandemic-related or otherwise, I’d strongly suggest looking through some of the articles here on my website for information, advice, strategies and things that you can do to support your own mental health and well-being. There are many steps you can take that can alleviate unwanted feelings and interrupt unwanted thoughts.

During stressful events that change our normal lifestyle and routines, we can find ourselves thinking back fondly on life before the pandemic, with a sense of loss or longing. Alternatively, you may just be focusing on each and every day and getting through it, or maybe savouring the better moments. Or you may find that you tend to look ahead and think about your life after lockdown.

When I work with clients, elements of thinking back, focusing on the present, and looking forward can all have benefits, if utilised in the right way. You can draw upon things that have gone well, successes, accomplishments and overcoming previous adversities to remind yourself that you are capable right now. It can be useful to focus on what is going right and the positives from each and every day to boost your mood and interrupt any tendency to only focus on issues and problems. And, inside your imagination, you can prime your mind for how you want to be thinking, feeling, acting and reacting in the future.

Thanks to some recent research, we now also know where you should direct your focus, and how, if you want to promote your well-being and feel better during the challenges of a lockdown. So would you benefit most from thinking back on things from before lockdown, paying attention to the present, or by looking forward to life after lockdown?

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