World Hypertension Day, 17 May

World Hypertension Day was set up to highlight the health issues associated with high blood pressure for example greater vulnerability to preventable stroke, heart and kidney diseases.  High blood pressure affects 1 in 3 people but almost 50% of people don’t realise that they have the condition.  This is particularly worrying because hypertension causes 62% of all strokes and 49% of heart disease cases.

Hypertension is often referred to as ‘the silent killer’ because it may cause no symptoms for a long time.  Most common symptoms are: 

•  Chronic headaches
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Blurry or double vision 
•  Drowsiness and general tiredness
• Shortness of breath
• Heart palpitations

If you any combination of these symptoms or think you may have high blood pressure it is important to consult your doctor.  

A complementary approach to the treatment of high blood pressure is Hypnotension ©.   The Hypnotension approach aims to help anyone with primary/essential hypertension to lower their blood pressure naturally.  The treatment puts the client back in control by identifying and addressing the lifestyle factors that contribute to hypertension.  Each client is assessed and a treatment plan devised to effectively address the factors that contribute to the client’s high blood pressure.

You can find Hypnotension practitioners in the UK, Australia and many other countries. 

Now where did I put my...

A research project was reported on the BBC PM programme recently which said that if you are looking for something you will be more successful at finding it if you repeat the name of the item out loud several times.

So how does that work?  I don’t know what the researchers concluded but I think that when you are looking for something you probably go into one of several everyday trances:

• Negative Hallucination -  where something is in front of you and you just don’t see it.  This could be because you are using focussed vision and you just do not see things around the periphery. 
• Age progression – this is where you start imagining the future in which there are negative consequences associated with not finding the lost item eg “I can’t find my purse and that means that I’m going to be late for work and my boss will be annoyed…”
• Age regression – this is where you start to imagine what happened previously when you couldn’t find something eg “The last time I couldn’t find a file my supervisor made me stay late to get the work finished…"
• Time distortion – you might imagine that you have been looking for the item for much longer than you have and this makes you anxious about being late.

Do any of those sound familiar?  Once you are in your trance, it makes the task of finding something more difficult as you become more stressed.  By repeating the name of the item you interrupt your trance and start to be more effective at looking for and finding things.

Now, where are my glasses, glasses, glasses….

National IBS Awareness Month

April is National Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Awareness Month in the UK.  IBS is a common gut problem which can cause a number of symptoms including constipation, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, flatulence and bloating.  Generally speaking, a combination of these symptoms need to have existed for 3-6 months before a diagnosis of IBS can be made.

It is thought that between 10-20% of people experience IBS at some point in their lives (www.nhs.uk).  It tends to affect more women (63%) than men (37%) and the average age of patients is 41 (Michael Franklin, 2005). Although this illness is not fatal it is painful and embarrassing for those who experience it.

Doctors do not know what causes IBS but there appear to be a number of potential factors including diet, parasites in the gut and stress.  Treatment by orthodox medicine is limited and sufferers may be prescribed medication to deal with the symptoms.  They are also likely to be advised to make changes to their diet and to try relaxation techniques. 

Studies have been done that indicate that stress and the general state of mind of IBS sufferers can have a profound effect on the severity of their symptoms. Therefore techniques for relieving stress and anxiety could enable sufferers to be in control of their IBS.

 

Research by The University of Gothenberg (2012) in Sweden showed that hypnotherapy alleviated the symptoms of IBS in 40% of the people tested and that the results were long term.  Cognitive Hypnotherapy can help control the symptoms through deep relaxation and individual hypnotic suggestions. Clients can also be taught how to use these techniques in their everyday lives.

In 2010, Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology, said 'Of the relaxation therapies available, hypnotherapy is the most powerful'.

The Real Causes of IBS by Michael Franklin, Positive Health Magazine

Effects of gut-directed hypnotherapy on IBS in different clinical settings Lindfors P; Unge P; Nyhlin H, Bjornsson E, Abrahamsson H; Simren M; University of Gothenburg 2012

Dr Roland Valori http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8572818.stm

Hypnotherapy in the treatment of IBS by Wendy M Gonsalkorale and Peter Whorwell 2005 Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins

Controlled trial of hypnotherapy in the treatment of severe refractory IBS by Whorwell PJ; Prior A; Faragher EB., The Lancet 1984

Getting into Good Habits

The last time I had an essay to write I found all sorts of jobs to do instead.  Suddenly tidying the cupboards, washing the kitchen floor and even cleaning the drains seemed very urgent – anything that meant I didn’t have to sit down and concentrate.

Delaying things, procrastination, is a common problem.  It is part of the ‘freeze’ response that our subconscious activates to protect us from anything new or that has a fear attached to it.  Setting up good habits can take a while to achieve.  Whether it’s starting a new fitness regime, studying or doing something new at work, overcoming procrastination starts with recognising what is going on and planning to do something about it.

The first thing to do is to set yourself a goal and plan the steps towards achieving it. Writing down the goal and the plan makes it more real – don’t just think it, ink it! If you can commit to your goal and plan in front of other people that will make it even more powerful.

Next, identify the things that are stopping you from getting on with what you need or want do.  At this stage you can be easily put-off by small obstacles or distractions.  In a book I read recently* the author suggested that if you want to go running in the morning, sleep in your running clothes – that way you won’t have the excuse of looking for your gear and putting cold clothes on!  If the Internet and emails distract you, make it harder to switch the computer on or put in additional passwords.  To make studying easier, keep your books, notepaper, pens etc in one place so that you can get going quickly.

If there’s a fear that’s attached to the task, what can you do to overcome it?  Could you get advice from someone you trust?  Do you need some training or a new skill?  Could you do some research?

Finally, set yourself some rules that you know you can stick to.  For example ‘I’ll study for forty minutes and then I’ll have a 10 minute break to look at my emails” or “I’ll run for 10 minutes, walk for 5 minutes and run for 10 minutes”.  Once you have the good habit established you can start to break the rules.  

You’ll be surprised how much happier you will feel when you just get on and do that thing that’s been bothering you.  So, make a start today.

*The Happiness Advantage, 2011, Shawn Achor

Sleep - why is it so important?

This weekend in the United Kingdom, we moved to British Summer Time and lost an hour’s sleep.  I’ve blogged about sleep a lot but I’m not apologising – it’s important.   I run courses designed to help people overcome sleep problems and when I mention this to other people I can guarantee that they say “I wish I could come on that” which just shows how common sleep issues are.

Common problems are short or interrupted sleep and these can be caused by a variety of issues such as stress, life events, environmental factors and medication.  Adults sleep on average about 7 hours a night and this can become less as we grow older.  This is much less than people slept in pre-industrial, pre-electric lighting times.  

Prolonged periods of short or interrupted sleep can lead to physical and mental health problems.  One problem relates to weight control.  Lack of sleep elevates the creation of the hormone ghrelin*.  This forces up the consumption of carbohydrate by up to 35-40% which can lead to weight gain.  Individuals with restricted sleep tend to be heavier.

Poor sleep can also affect the immune system.  Natural killer cell activity is down by 28% after one night’s disrupted sleep.  Levels of cancer are higher in people with disrupted sleep and shift workers.  A study of medical students in America, who work long and irregular hours, have shown that it impairs performance and can lead to accidents at work and at home.

There are some simple things you can do to get a better night’s sleep.  Start with your bedroom environment and make your bedroom a sleep haven.  Make sure your bedroom is cool, dark and well ventilated.  Remove the TV and computer from the bedroom.

If it is worry or stress that is keeping you awake, there are lots of techniques that you can learn to use such as breathing techniques, visualisation and meditation. Consider seeing a hypnotherapist for some help.

Sleep well!

 *Sleep: A Very Short Introduction, 2012 by Stephen W Lockley and Russell G Foster