Did you know that scientific evidence supports using your imagination as a therapeutic device to improve your life? Amazing, right?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

CBT is one of the most evidenced therapies available to us and is the most recommended psychotherapy by NICE in the UK, as well as the most listed therapy on APA’s list of Empirically Validated Treatments. In 2008, Lars-Göran Öst published a meta-analysis on CBT for anxiety; he states, “There are no psychological or pharmacological therapies that achieve as good results as CBT in anxiety disorders.”

At its heart, CBT uses imagination because in reframing and retraining thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, clients imagine how they want to think, feel, and behave differently. And, they imagine outcomes of their particular situations based on these different thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Adding Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a powerful use of imagination, and in therapeutic usage, suggestions are agreed upon by therapist and client prior to entering hypnosis. One thing I love about hypnosis is that clients can choose to respond to suggestion or not; it is entirely their choice.

Hypnosis helps us imagine as if we’re really in a particular situation, and it’s also really helpful for helping us imagine if our beliefs are useful and imagining changing beliefs in situations.

When adding hypnosis to CBT, research has found that there is an additive effect, meaning combining the two increases the effects of both. Hypnosis can induce very deep relaxation which is sometimes extremely important in CBT treatments. Adding hypnosis to CBT can shorten treatment, as well. It is a future forward way of working; there is no need to delve into the past as we’re working on current thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and how we want to change them in the future. This can be done in a relatively short amount of time – anywhere from 4 to 12 sessions – compared to other forms of therapy.

As a further incentive to add hypnosis to CBT, a fairly recent meta-analysis was published showing that 72% of clients who had been through hypnosis had better outcomes at follow up than using CBT alone. (Nicolino Ramondo, Gilles E. Gignac, Carmela F. Pestell & Susan M. Byrne (2021): Clinical Hypnosis as an Adjunct to Cognitive Behavior Therapy: An Updated Meta-Analysis, International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis)

A wide range of subclinical issues can be treated using hypnosis and CBT. In fact, a report by the British Psychological Society (2001) states: “Enough studies have now accumulated to suggest that the inclusion of hypnotic procedures may be beneficial in the management and treatment of a wide range of conditions and problems encountered in the practice of medicine, psychiatry and psychotherapy.” Research on the effectiveness of CBT and hypnosis includes conditions such as:
• Tension headaches
• Warts
• Skin disorders, psoriasis, and eczema
• IBS
• Asthma
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Phobias
• Pain relief
• Anesthesia for medical and dental procedures
• Pain relief for childbirth
• Cancer support including pain relief, stress, and nausea
• Weight loss
• Changing patterns of thought and behavior (including performance enhancement and habit change)
• Menopause
• Insomnia

Contraindications

In some cases, hypnotherapy is inappropriate. The main case is where psychosis is involved; a client with psychosis should not be hypnotized and should work with a psychiatrist or other appropriate professional. Additionally, though controversially, clients with depression should not be hypnotized without first discussing with their psychiatrist or clinical psychotherapist. Epilepsy is another contraindicated condition for hypnosis.

Imagine How You Can Change

If you’re interested in changing some aspect of your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, specifically as it relates to some of the issues listed above, cognitive behavioral hypnotherapy is one of the best options available. And guess what? I can help you with that! As a Level 5 Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapist, I am trained to work clients to help them improve their lives through working with the imagination. Furthermore, I also hold a Diploma in Stress Management and Resilience Building and have the expertise to combine CBT, mindfulness, and hypnosis to help you decrease your stress and live more comfortably in your own skin. So, what would you like to change? How can I help you? Drop me a line if you want to explore using your imagination to improve your reality!

The idea of faith in self and faith in each other has come up multiple times recently; I began writing about it last week, but let’s explore it a bit further.

Having faith in oneself comes naturally for some and extremely difficult for others. It can often be an area of push-pull throughout one’s life, where some times and in certain situations they have faith in themself, but not at other times or other circumstances. Some people have been hurt so much that it’s hard for them to trust themselves and others. However, if we can have faith in ourselves and our ability to accomplish things, it builds trust. When we build that trust in ourselves, it lessens our anxiety — it’s the confidence of “we’ve got this!”. When we reduce our anxiety, we increase our stress reduction and our resilience to stress, which then feeds more trust, which then feeds our faith in ourselves and each other. In his book, Build Your Resilience, Donald Robertson (2012) offers evidence of how living according to our values decreases stress. Having faith in oneself and others works in the same way; when we live according to belief in our abilities, we reduce our stress and anxiety.

Obviously, there are exceptions to this cycle of faith and trust. We may have been hurt by others in the past, and some people have chosen to not be trustworthy. This also does not apply to systems, including government and religion. But take some time to think about it. Is it applicable to you? Is there some work you can do to increase your faith in yourself to help reduce your anxiety and stress? As a Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapist with specialisms in spirituality and stress reduction, this is an area I can help you with. Contact me if you’d like to start the conversation.

NB This is one of those writings where I toe a line between “evidence-based” and “spiritual”. Coming from a background of mixing science and spirituality, it was and remains challenging for me to have completed a program where all of my spiritual work was degraded and dismissed. I am inherently spiritual and I will not hide it. I will cite evidence where evidence is available, and I will try to note intuitive ideas that are not evidence-based, but I cannot separate the two. Funnily enough, much of the science, particularly in cognitive behavioral therapy and hypnosis, is catching up to spirituality. At any rate, I am who I am and I endeavor to serve humanity as best as I can with my gifts and talents. Therefore, please expect to find a combination of science and intuition in my work.

They believe I can do it, so why don’t I?

It doesn’t matter who “they” are or what “it” is…the key is that second part: “why don’t I?”

As the new year rapidly approaches (in a matter of hours), this is a question I ask myself, particularly as it pertains to aspects of myself that I want to expand and/or stories about myself that I want to rewrite. Growing up, my mom told me on a daily basis: “You can do anything you put your mind to!” Somewhere along the way, in the midst of life and raising young humans and moving countries and all the other daily things that occur in adulthood, remembering that I can do anything I put my mind to fades and gets lost in the shuffle.

This time last year, I was preparing to undertake this new-to-me course on Cognitive-Behavioral Hypnotherapy. I wasn’t quite sure what I’d gotten myself into, if I’m being completely honest, yet I can say that it reminded me of a lot of things from my long ago journey in academia and I pieced together a lot of things from academia and my intuitive work. The science shows it, my intuition knows it, and my mother was right every single time she uttered the words: “You can do anything you put your mind to!”

Our brains are powerful, powerful tools that we can train. Think about it: when was the last time you talked to yourself? That’s training your brain! When was the last time you said an affirmation? That’s training your brain! When was the last time you sat and imagined how a situation would play out? That’s also training your brain! The issue then becomes are we training our brains in helpful, effective ways or are we training them in ways that make us feel and behave worse?

Furthermore, each of those training methods – self-talk, affirmations, and imagining situations – are forms of self-hypnosis, an evidence-based tool that we can use to relax, to guide and rehearse our thoughts and behavior, and to generally feel more confident and less stressed as we interact with ourselves and the world.

As we enter this new year, this new cycle of our lives, ask yourself if you believe you can do the things you want. If that answer is no, then think about how you can train your brain to help you achieve those goals. If the answer is yes, then great! Keep going! Use your brain to your advantage in either case. You can achieve your goals; I believe in you (and I’m working on believing in myself, too). (Currently channeling Elsa’s “Show Yourself” from Frozen II — go check out those lyrics!)

Many of us think that sitting in front of the tv or watching videos on our phone is a way to relax, but did you know that doing this can actually increase stress levels in some people? Stress can lead to so many issues from hypertension to headaches to asthma. It’s important to learn how to really, truly relax to help decrease stress and increase our ability to cope and be flexible in all sorts of situations.

Why should I learn relaxation skills?

Did you know that you can break your cycle of stress? It’s true! Learning relaxation skills can break cycles of stress, and they can be used any time anywhere, so that when you feel the onset of tension, you can deploy those skills and nip that tension in the bud.

Evidence shows that relaxation skills can help us be more flexible, both mentally and physically. And a benefit of all that flexibility? Greater ability to solve problems! When we’re more at ease, we can think through issues and communicate better, which leads to solving problems more efficiently.

Knowing that it’s possible to break that cycle of stress, that there is more flexibility, and that problems are solved more easily leads to greater confidence and self-effectiveness. We feel more confident moving through life when we are relaxed, because we know that small obstacles or negative remarks will not affect or stop us. We know that we can still achieve our goals when we are relaxed.

Finally, research shows that employing relaxation skills can heal the over-sensitized stress response system, including the brain. This means that when we’ve experienced chronic stress without trying to reduce it, we’ve weakened our parasympathetic nervous system. Practicing relaxation skills can heal the damage of chronic, unbridled stress.

So, what can I do to relax?

One key technique to learn is progressive muscle relaxation, and then it’s key to practice it regularly! PMR systematically relaxes both the muscles and the mind, slowing thoughts completely. In my own personal experience, PMR makes me not care about anything! And after the first time, that intense relaxation was like a high that I kept wanting to chase.

Other relaxation techniques also use some sort of PMR, including applied relaxation or cue controlled relaxation, and they usually take less time so that they can be used situationally. For example, cue controlled relaxation can be used when we first experience the warning signs of stress.

Various breathing techniques also induce a relaxation response, including box breathing and alternate nostril breathing (which is also taught in yoga). One breathing technique I particularly like is to breathe in filling the lungs only halfway, holding for several seconds (usually to a count of 4 in my case), breathing in more to fill the lungs, and hold for several more seconds before very slowly exhaling. The 4-7-8 technique is also good: inhale to a count of 4, hold to a count of 7, and exhale to a count of 8. As with all relaxation skills, the more you practice, the better you will be at using them, and the more relaxed you’ll be generally.

Want to learn more?

If you’d like to learn more about relaxation skills or if you’d like to work with me, I offer both workshops and one to one sessions. See my workshops page or contact me about sessions. As a qualified Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapist, I can help you work through your stress, relax more efficiently, and help you be more effective in your life!

Why is mindfulness so important?

Learning to be mindful is learning how to be present in the moment. Research shows that when we are present in the moment, we are not worried about the past or the future, and this relieves stress. Being mindful means to take notice of everything in the moment, including thoughts and senses, without judgement.

Therefore, mindfulness helps us relieve stress by preventing our minds from running away with stressful thoughts, and without judging our thoughts or ourselves, causing more stress.

One of the key practices of mindfulness is meditation (of which there are many types), and research shows how beneficial meditation is when practiced daily. Research shows that meditation can change how our brains process information, as well as managing the effects of depression, anxiety, and stress. Practicing mindfulness can also improve sleep, which helps us not only function better, but also manage stress better.

Furthermore, when we practice mindfulness regularly, we become more resilient to stress, meaning we can cope better with it when it comes our way. Research shows that when people practice meditation in particular regularly, they are generally happier and calmer. This is also very helpful for managing stress and building resilience.

Mindfulness Practice Tips

You can do lots of things to practice mindfulness in addition to meditation:

1. Pay attention to your breathing without changing it, without judging it.
2. Scan your body, acknowledging areas of wellness and areas of tension without judgement.
3. Eat mindfully: notice the textures of your food, smell it, maybe even touch it prior to slowly putting it in your mouth, holding it in your mouth prior to gently beginning to chew. Notice how it feels and tastes as it breaks down in your mouth, and notice how it feels as it goes down your throat when you swallow.
4. Mindful walking: focus on your body as it moves, noticing the sensations of movement. Notice the environment with all of your senses.
5. If you shower: take a moment to feel the drops of water running down your body. Notice the smells and sensations of washing your body.

What other ways do you think you might use mindfulness in your daily life?

Want to know more?

Join me in an online Mindfulness workshop on Thursday, November 30, 2023, at 7.30pm UK time. It includes:

• Why use mindfulness for stress
• Practical activities that you can start implementing in your life immediately
• Handouts/Worksheets
• A recording of the webinar to keep

For more information or to book your place, email me at contact@taraolowoye.com. I’m offering this and a Relaxation workshop the following week at an introductory price: £30 each or £50 for both (that works out to about $37/$62) and is payable via bank transfer in the UK or PayPal internationally.

“Be Free – Live the life you want!”

This command was repeated in my head throughout the night, during those barely conscious rises to the surface, in dreams, and in waking moments, when I implored myself to remember the words. Part of it was remnants of a book I’d finished reading, where one character writes to another:

“Life the life you want.

Love whom you want.

And don’t forget to write.”

(And Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino)

The last line was a double meaning – stay in touch, of course, but also, for the character to spend time doing the thing she loves: writing.

In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), we talk a lot about personal freedom and what that means in terms of valued action, which is behavior or action that aligns with our values. It’s a good idea to take the time and really consider what “freedom” means personally, not what we’ve been taught, not what society expects…what does “personal freedom” really mean to us? How would we feel if we were free? Once we know that, what are our values that align with and support our personal freedom? How would we feel living according to our values and always in pursuit of our freedom?

Wherever you are today, whatever you’re doing, take a few moments to think about what freedom means to you and what values are important to you. Write, if that’s how you process. Pursue your growth, pursue your freedom.

How can Cognitive-Behavioral Hypnotherapy help you manage stress?

• Relaxation techniques take you into a deeper relaxation than you may have experienced before.
• Using hypnosis, we can work through actual situations that you encounter, preparing to manage your thoughts, feelings, and actions prior to going through it in your daily life.
• Mindfulness can help you remain grounded and less stressed overall.
• Stress Inoculation Training can help prepare you for stress and make it less intense when you encounter it.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy trains you to think and behave differently, which can help you reframe the situation.

Here’s a short video where I explain a little bit about it:

I woke from a dream where I’d just been wailing at a loved one: “Why do you always make yourself suffer?”

Watching people choose to suffer has always been one of the hardest parts of being human for me. Of course, it’s easier to look at others and see how they are causing themselves to suffer than to look at myself and see my own causes of suffering.

I’ve been reading three books nearly simultaneously, and interestingly, they all discuss suffering and our (the human) addiction to it. Two of the books are evidence/research-based; one is on stress and resilience-building while the other lays the framework for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The third book, on shaman wisdom from a Native American perspective, is not evidence-based in the ways of Western science as the other two, but it certainly comes from a long-standing history of evidence that science refuses to recognize. At any rate, it’s fascinating that the three authors from three different approaches (two similar) address suffering, how we impose it on ourselves, and what damage that does to us. There really is no need for us to suffer in this life, beyond the important experiences of learning how to stop our suffering and learning what true freedom means and feels like when we put an end to our suffering.

Tangentially, I’ve been reading about the role of forgiveness in ACT as well as from the shaman perspective, and both agree that forgiving others, asking for forgiveness from others, and forgiving ourselves go a long way to reducing our suffering. These acts of forgiveness do not even have to be known to the other person(s); they merely need to be genuine and genuinely felt on our part. I personally find the self-forgiveness the most difficult of all and find my own addiction to suffering there.

Suffering causes us stress, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It helps us more than we know to step back and examine our suffering, work through it with exercises in forgiveness, and find our personal freedom. This is the area where I am most passionate (and obviously, it’s very much on my mind if I’m dreaming about it!). This is the area where using the tools I have can help others. This is my calling to serve.

A principal debate in hypnosis is the state vs. nonstate argument over whether hypnosis is “trance” and whether it causes hypnotic responses. State theories of hypnosis were more common before the 1950s, though they are used in some pop psychology, stage hypnosis, and some New Age therapy; state theories mean that hypnosis is about inducing a trance, where the hypnotist does the work while the client unconsciously responds to suggestions.
This is contrary to the nonstate theory, where hypnosis is considered to be a delivery mechanism for suggestions and the client is doing the work of focusing attention and consciously responding to those suggestions. Researchers in the 1970s found that it was client imagination rather than a special state that was the primary component of hypnosis.

Distinguishing between state and nonstate theories of hypnosis is important, because for hypnotherapy to be effective, a good working relationship needs to be established between therapist and client. If a client thinks they are being unconsciously controlled in hypnosis, it is not conducive for a good working alliance. However, nonstate theories of hypnosis assume a cooperative relationship between hypnotist and client, which is a preferable foundation to building a good working alliance.

Furthermore, nonstate theories of hypnosis are evidence-based, meaning research has been conducted and concluded that the methods of nonstate theories are effective. State models of hypnosis are not well evidenced, and therefore clients may not buy into hypnotherapy if they do not see potential benefit.

The factors emphasized in nonstate models of hypnosis are non-trance, mainstream psychology, active conscious involvement, strategy enactment, cognitive and behavioral strategies, continuity with other therapies, research oriented, contradictory attitudes, and neurological evidence. Nonstate uses concepts and terminology from mainstream psychology, using skills training to modify responsiveness, including using attitude, expectation, and motivation to explain suggestibility. Nonstate theories see that hypnosis is no different from any ordinary suggestion and that it is only slightly more powerful than other therapies (as opposed to state theories, in which hypnotists make fantastic claims about what they can do with hypnosis).

Hypnosis is considered to be a “non-deceptive mega-placebo” in the nonstate model, with hypnosis working similarly to cognitive-behavioral therapy. Overall, the nonstate theory of hypnosis puts the power of change into the hands of the subject, rather than some otherworldly, undefinable act of the hypnotist in the state theory.