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Making Christmas Memories
Everyone is fearful of another lockdown at Christmas, another year in which we can’t see family and friends. There may be some empty seats at the dinner table this year and more than the usual number of toasts to absent friends.
It is more important than ever before that we take time to sit back and relax this year and to enjoy being reunited with our family. Many people spent last Christmas alone, only speaking to loved ones on the phone or via zoom.
In 2021 it is important that we don’t get overwhelmed by the desire to make a perfect Christmas. Christmas isn’t about the perfectly wrapped present or the beautiful table centre. Christmas is about making memories and having fun.
Whoever is doing the cooking you make sure they don’t miss out by being in the kitchen all morning. If the pigs in blankets are from the supermarket and not home-made does it really matter? (And if someone says these are the best you have ever made, smile and keep your secret).
If you are feeling overwhelmed don’t mutter to yourself in the kitchen, ask for help. Plan your day in advance thinking who will be present and allocate tasks like laying the table or peeling the potatoes. Don’t ask or wait for them to offer, explain what needs to be done. They might not realise you’re overwhelmed.
Christmas is for having fun not being a martyr. So what if the custard is lumpy – it can become part of Christmas folklore. The best Christmas memories are made up of conversations that go “remember the Christmas when…”.
If you need a break – five minutes alone away from the noise and the chatter -then take it even if it means locking yourself in the bathroom for a while.
Christmas is all about friends, family and the festivities, but self care is still important. This doesn’t have to mean another glass of sherry or too much wine, it can mean a much needed cup of tea and peace and quiet. If the weather permits, five minutes outside in the fresh air can restore tattered nerves.
We don’t have to try even harder to make up for last year. Enjoying this year is what is important.
Whatever your plans are for Christmas I hope this year they go ahead for all of us and that you have a Very Merry Christmas!
I have worked as a hypnotherapist in Leatherhead and London and I also teach hypnotherapy and train new hypnotherapists. I offer a full range of services including anxiety coping mechanisms, stress relief, weight loss, stop smoking and treatment for phobias online via Zoom. Please get in touch to find out more.
Covid secure treatment
Lockdown is coming to an end and we are returning to a new normal. Life has changed for almost everyone in some form or another. The newspaper headlines can still be frightening and many people are not sure quite what to do now.
Many of my clients have put on weight during lockdown and have realised that their eating habits need to change if they are going to lose weight and keep it off. Other clients have decided that now is the time to stop smoking and want to do it before they return to work.
Anxiety is still causing problems for many. Health anxiety is on the increase and a number of people have found that their general anxiety levels have increased.
All of these problems and others including fears and phobias can be helped with hypnotherapy.
Whether we have returned to work or we are still working from home life is different and will be different for a long time. This doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy life. During lockdown we began to enjoy the simple pleasures of a walk in the park or the local woods. We should still make time for this and not allow any return to work to completely stop these new pleasures. Taking time out to relax, meditate or just stand and stare helps reduce anxiety levels.
We managed to get off the treadmill for a few weeks. Let’s make sure we at least slow it down or step off occasionally and enjoy our new normal.
Please get in touch for a chat and find out how hypnotherapy can help you.
Leaving lockdown
Is your anxiety rising now we are coming out of lockdown?
It is a very worrying time now that we are allowed to socialise more. The conflicting information that is in the press and online is adding to our stress.
Here at my Leatherhead hypnotherapy clinic I have had a number of clients whose anxiety is on the increase. Health anxiety is a major problem of some. They find themselves constantly checking Doctor Google for signs and symptoms of the virus.
Those who have been sheltering for various reasons are now worried about going out and about again and the increased risk of catching the virus. Parents are worried about their children returning to school and nursery and some children are themselves suffering from increased anxiety.
These challenges have to be faced; we have to restart our lives. Spending the rest of our life on the sofa isn’t really an option.
Some clients have put on weight during the lockdown and they have lost control of what and when they eat. They face going back to work with clothes that are straining at the waistband. Others have found it difficult to control their drinking habits.
Now is the time for us to gain control of our lives again. We have to believe that life will return to some kind of normal over the coming weeks and months. Many of our plans have been cancelled and we are unable to do all what we would have liked over the last few months.
We have enjoyed glorious weather and many of us have found new hobbies in gardening, knitting, crochet and dozens of other long forgotten skills. Other people have found time to relax read those books we always wanted to read and recharge our batteries.
Whatever we have been doing, now is the time to look forward. If anxiety is stopping you moving forward, even going out now that the doors are slowly opening, hypnotherapy can help to calm those fears. Don’t let anxiety control your life in the future.
Get in touch to discuss how hypnotherapy could help you.
Can hypnotherapy help with anxiety
Anxiety can affect people in different ways.
Here at my Leatherhead hypnotherapy clinic recently I had a client whose anxiety had become so overwhelming that he couldn’t travel outside of a half-mile radius of his home.
This was affecting not only his own life but also the life of his partner and their child. Going out for the day or even a trip to the park caused a major anxiety attack resulting in the client avoiding more and more things. This avoidance then increased his anxiety.
Using hypnosis to strengthen his confidence and then setting small goals each week eventually he was able to learn coping mechanisms and begin to enjoy his life again.
Anxiety can be triggered by events in our lives and then our thoughts about those events develop until we begin to avoid situations where we believe there could be a problem.
Modern day life is very busy and stressful and anxiety can become an increasingly normal part of people’s lives. This can lead to worrying internal thoughts like ‘What might happen?’ ‘Can I handle it?’ ‘What if something goes wrong?’
Another client lived in a road where she was having difficulty parking near her house. Every time she left home in her car she became worried and anxious about finding a parking space on her return. This eventually lead to her having panic attacks about finding a place to park. Using hypnosis this worry could be reduced and she learned to accept that sometimes parking a little way away from her front door was not the problem she had created in her mind.
Anxiety is often seen as the anticipation of a future problem and techniques like hypnotherapy and mindfulness can help clients to deal with everyday life more easily.
Contact me to find out how hypnotherapy can help you.
