The Edinburgh Reporter’s Mike Smith is a qualified hypnotherapist. In the latest of his series of articles on how hypnotherapy can help address unwanted habits or disorders, Mike looks at how this can help change your life if you feel you are stuck in a rut.
Autumn. That time of the year when the realisation that the long, warm summer days are but a distant memory and ahead of us lie dark, cold mornings and daylight disappearing before 4.00pm. Not only that but Christmas looms on the horizon with all the stress and expense that entails (and many shops are already festooned with Christmas ‘goodies’…)
Does this make you feel down? Do you feel your life has got stuck in a rut that you feel you’ll never get out of? Are you sick and tired of the same old routine, day in, day out, your life a ceaseless drudgery? Perhaps not. But, if this resonates with you, read on…
Of course, routine can be a good thing and we all need some kind of routine, otherwise life would be chaotic and potentially dangerous. We need some semblance of what is going to happen in order we can plan ahead. But it’s when this routine takes over and begins to make you unhappy that you realise something has to change. Have you ever said to yourself or a close friend or partner ‘there must be more to life than this?’
You may have said this if you are in a job that makes you unhappy. You yearn for Friday night but dread Sunday night and the prospect of going to work on Monday. It may be a high pressure job with its constant demands which cause you stress and undermine your confidence.
You may be in an unhappy relationship but because it has become a way of life you are frightened of changing it. This is particularly so of people who have been in a job or in a relationship for several years but are unhappy. ‘Ach, you’ve just got to get on wi’ it’ is an oft-used phrase. But you don’t. You can make the changes to your life which will improve it and make you happier than you are now.
Too much predictability can cause long-term damage to a person’s thought process. You feel trapped, stuck in a rut, feeling as if there is no escape. You do the same things every day, see the same people every day, stick to the same routine every day. There is nothing to stimulate you, nothing you find challenging. Yet, you dream of a new, different life, one which doesn’t necessarily have to be exciting but which is different to the tedium you are experiencing now.
Okay, I hear you ask, how can you change your life for the better? Well, firstly, you need to decide what it is about your life you want to change. Do you wish you could speak out more at work? Feel the demands of your job are too great but you daren’t say anything to your manager?
Perhaps the stressful nature of your job means you comfort eat. Possibly because you don’t have enough time during the working day to eat properly, you find yourself gorging high-fat, convenient food when you get home. ‘Ach, it’s been a hellish day, I’m going to have a chippy for tea’ I’ve been there myself but now my extra-large tee-shirt lies crumpled in the drawer…
Perhaps you feel stuck in a relationship that has been going nowhere for years but you feel it’s too late to change now so you have to put up with it. There’s the kids, the mortgage and the dog to think about. Fair enough. But perhaps you’re one of those people whose children are now grown up and have flown the nest and you still feel trapped in an unhappy relationship…
Or have you been smoking cigarettes for more years than you care to remember and now feel the effects this has on your health? If you’re like me, a fifty something, and have grandchildren, do you feel you can’t do the physical activities with them like you used to do with your children all those years ago? I don’t smoke but I know several people who do and wish they could stop for the sake of their health, their children and their grandchildren. My father died very suddenly nearly twenty years ago. One day his heart just stopped working and that was that. A year before he died he told me his GP wrote a prescription slip and passed it to him. It read ‘stop smoking’. My father tried but didn’t succeed. He was 58 when he died.
So, what to do?
If you’ve read this far and are nodding in agreement, then good! However, it’s not easy to change your life just like that, especially when you’ve been stuck in the same routine for several years. But there’s a solution. It’s a matter of coming to terms with what you’re doing with your life – and what you would like to do with your life. Change doesn’t come easy. It requires effort. But I can help you make the changes to bring out a happier life. And we could all do with more happiness in these troubled times.
Hypnotherapy can bring about the changes to your life you want – and possibly even need. Hypnotherapy can help you look at your life differently and guide you to think of doing things differently, in a way which will benefit you. Yes, you. Hypnotherapy can help your life take on a new sense of purpose and make it exciting again.
Firstly, you need to know what changes it is you want to make to your life. Once you do you can contact me and together we can discover the tools and techniques that will bring improvement to the quality of your life – and bring happiness and contentment. Life is too short to accept what we’ve got if we’re unhappy with it. Change for the better is all about you. When you discover the tools to make those changes then your hopes for a better life can be fulfilled.
Hypnotherapy can be applied to a wide range of medical, dental and psychological problems. Areas of application include anxiety and stress conditions, weight control and addictive behaviours and self-esteem and confidence issues. It is also used to enhance performance in several areas such as sport and public speaking.
Hypnotherapy gives you time for one of the most important things in your life – you. With relaxing techniques tailored to suit you, you will feel calmer, more relaxed and have a better understanding of your life, needs and aspirations as well as others.
Contact me today to arrange an appointment. After a free, no obligation initial consultation, we can decide together the best way to enable you to achieve your goals.
My practice – Mind Generating Success – is at 14-18 Hill Street, Edinburgh – between Castle Street and Frederick Street, so handily placed if you’re in the city centre.
Phone or text me on 07521353787 (24 hours) to arrange a date and time for an initial free consultation or email me at: mike.smith@mgs-hypnotherapy-services.co.uk
Home visits are available by arrangement.
Whether you wish to stop smoking, lose weight, increase self-confidence or overcome a phobia why don’t you advantage of a free consultation and take the first step to overcoming this by natural methods – the strength and power of your mind – by contacting me for further information.
We have but one life – so why not try and change your life for the better?
Author of The Team for Me - 50 Years of Following Hearts. Runs Mind Generating Success, a successful therapy practice in Edinburgh. Contact me if you want rid of any unwanted habits. Twitter @Mike1874
