Nuggets of Neuroscience 1: How to make conscious changes if 95% of brain activity is subconscious?

The next few short videos will be about some useful nuggets of neuroscience, because knowing a few simple 'mind-facts' can help us understand how to make changes.

Here's the first one: "How to make conscious changes if 95% of brain activity is subconscious?" about subconscious brain activity and ways to speak it's language.

More to come...

If you're interested in regular one-to one sessions, I am happy to offer you a free initial consultation to give you insights into the working of our brains and how sessions with me, at Clarity Flow Hypnotherapy, could help propel you forwards in being at your best and making what you want happen for yourself.

Maral Kojayan MA HPD
Clinical Hypnotherapist
www.clarityflowhypnotherapy.com

TO BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION* FOR CLINICAL HYPNOTHERAPY CLICK HERE

Most people would not associate Hypnotherapy with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), or would at least wonder if and how Hypnotherapy could help a person suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

This short article explains just how helpful Clinical Hypnotherapy has been found to be for people suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  

As a Clinical Hypnotherapist I see a large number of people struggling with all sorts of issues and conditions. IBS is just one of those and although it is a very real and physical problem, research has found that it can be influenced, often greatly, by psychological treatments, such as clinical hypnosis, not least because associated with IBS are many not physical conditions, such as anxiety, low moods, fears, lack of confidence and more...

At Clarity Flow Hypnotherapy, we practice a modern neurosciences based Hypnotherapy, which means, we take the best evidence-based methods from talking therapies and combine it with the powerful benefits of hypnosis, to help people make practical positive changes and find ways to get the best out of themselves and life. What our Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy sessions do is aim both to help a person cope better, and work on reducing the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Before going any further about how Hypnotherapy can help IBS, let's first take a moment to understand what it is.

What is Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
One of the first things to understand about IBS is that there are no visible abnormality in the bowel and there is no diagnostic test for it. However, this is not to say that it's in the mind, because there are many real, uncomfortable (to very painful) physical symptoms, such as: cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhoea/constipation or both or even nausea.  

Associated with IBS there is often anxiety, low moods, stress and worries, tiredness, poor sleep, fears and confidence issues. It is also very likely that a large part of these worries and anxieties are as a result of how the person suffering from IBS feels about their situation. They may be:
Worried about going out and being too far from a bathroom.
Embarrassed to go out with friends or eat out, in case they suddenly feel unwell.
Anxious about what to eat and how much, so as not to have a flair up.
Sometimes feeling hungry but worried about eating, just in case it causes them pain or discomfort.  

All of these physical and psychological conditions add up, making the symptoms worse and creating a vicious cycle that can make the situation very difficult for a person suffering from IBS. It is not surprising that the condition can have an effect on a person's work, productivity, relationships and sense of worth.

How does Clinical Hypnotherapy help with IBS?
According to Scientific research, Hypnotherapy is one of the most effective approaches for IBS. In most published research studies to date, the response rate to treatment is very high. In one large-scale study, with 1000 IBS patients, the positive response rate was 80% in the females and 76% overall for a study (Miller 2015).

What is also worth acknowledging is that it often helps individuals who have failed to get improvements with other methods.  You can imagine that most people who turn to hypnotherapy do so only after having exhausted the medical treatments available. This therefore means that hypnotherapy ends up proving helpful for even the chronic persistent cases of IBS, the difficult cases, the people who don't know where to turn to any more and start looking beyond what is most obvious.

Dozens of clinical studies have been published showing Hypnotherapy significantly improves bowel symptoms and often the associated quality of life and emotional symptoms.  For example in the study mentioned above of 1000 IBS patients, who received 12 hypnotherapy sessions over 3 months, both anxiety and depression were halved, as were the number of pain days reported.

There are a list of other benefits to using hypnotherapy for IBS:

• Firstly, it has no negative side effects, because it is a drug-free therapy.
• Furthermore, not only does it have no negative side effects, you could say it has bonus positive side effects of improvement in other problems such as migraine, tension headaches, social anxieties etc. As hypnotherapy it holistic , it helps the person's overall well-being.
• Moreover, it is relaxing, easy and very enjoyable, so if anything, it feels like a treat to have a hypnotherapy session, not at all something you have to 'suffer through' in order to feel better.
• Another valuable benefit is that it's empowering, because it utilizes the power of the person’s own mind.
• Finally, its beneficial effects last long after the end of the course of sessions. According to research, individuals can generally look forward to years of reduced (or no) IBS.

For all of these good reasons, Gut-Directed Hypnotherapy (GDH) comes highly recommended, from no less than The British National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).  Nice recommends that, "People living with IBS who do not respond to pharmacological treatments after 12 months, [should] consider a referral for psychological interventions, such as Hypnotherapy.”

Of course, a person suffering from abdominal or other health concerns should always consult their doctor first to rule out other diagnoses.  However, as NICE recommends, if you've been suffering from IBS and would like to see how Hypnotherapy can help you, Clarity Flow Hypnotherapy offers a Free Initial Consultation* which is very easy to book.  Simply click the link and choose your preferred time for a video meeting with Maral Kojayan, a qualified and experienced Clinical Hypnotherapist.

During the 30-40 minute Initial Consultation, we will assess your needs, discuss how hypnotherapy can help you and answer any questions you may have.  You will also learn more about how the brain works and already start to get some insights into understand what changes to make and how.  

So, if you feel you'd like to start hypnotherapy, feel free to book yourself in for the free consultation offer and we looks forward to helping you towards helping yourself to get more peace of mind, and body.


Maral Kojayan MA HPD
Clinical Hypnotherapist
www.clarityflowhypnotherapy.com

TO BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION* FOR CLINICAL HYPNOTHERAPY CLICK HERE

*Only one Free Initial Consultation booking per client pending therapist's availability. You must have a genuine interest in starting Hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy is a complementary therapy. A Clinical Hypnotherapist is not a medical professional. You should always consult with your physician/GP or a medical/mental health provider regarding your health concerns.

Reference:
V Miller, H R Carruthers, J Morris, S S Hasan, S Archbold, P J Whorwell. 2015. 'Hypnotherapy for irritable bowel syndrome: an audit of one thousand adult patients'. Aliment Pharmacol Ther.41(9):844-55.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25736234/

Did you know that our brains can't tell the difference between what we call real and what we imagine or visualise?

It's probably something that most of us haven't stopped to consider, yet this is a fact worth knowing. Especially when it comes to learning or developing new habits, which we could call programming the brain.

It turns out that the brain can be programmed equally well by practising an activity just in the mind, using our imagination and visualisation, as by physically practising the activity. Dancers, actors and instrument players have known this intuitively for centuries as they are used to rehearsing by running a piece through in their mind or by 'marking' things through. In fact, we probably all know this intuitively because almost everyone has experienced waking up from a dream feeling emotionally moved by how real it felt. What most of us have sensed to be true through experience has now been proven, through scientific study, to be a measurable fact.

A study, published in the Journal of Neurophysiology in 1995, tested this by asked two groups of people to practice learning a 5 finger piano exercise over 5 days. They found there was almost no difference in brain changes between the group which practised the exercise physically on the piano and those who practised only in their mind, using their visualisation.

The significance of this study is that it showed the brain was just as plastic—meaning just as able to learn and change—with mental effort directed at learning something specific as with physical effort to do the same thing. This suggests that if a person spends time visualising in detail something that's practically doable, the brain develops in a very similar way as if they were to actually do it physically.

This has huge and far-reaching implications because it means that when we focus our mind and repeatedly imagine doing something well, we'll get better at doing it well. The reprogramming of the mind could be applied to many areas where people sometimes struggle in life, it could be to improve confidence in work or social settings or public speaking, it could be getting better at getting up on time in the mornings or it could be retraining yourself to be calmer or kinder to yourself or other people in your life. If you can simply imagine yourself in the new way, you are already starting the rewiring for that change of habit to happen easier. Conversely, what it also means is that if you don't see yourself changing and improving, if you don't see yourself as overcoming your anxiety or lack of confidence or if you cannot see a realistic path to uplifting yourself, you make it harder for yourself to put these changes you want into practice. And worst still, if you practise giving yourself negative messages, such as “I'm no good at...”, “I'll never be able to...”, “I'm such a...” all you do is teach and train your brain to get very good at thinking and being what you don't want to be.

Moreover, as your brain can't tell the difference between what you're really experiencing now and what you're imagining or remembering, whatever circuit you light up in your brain will be real for you. Even if it's an old feeling from years back or something completely imagined, you live it as though it's real in the present moment. This alone is reason enough to learn to choose your thoughts with care.

Ultimately, what this study proves is something I have seen a great deal of evidence for in my own Clinical Hypnotherapy practice. This study has proven both how powerful visualisation is and how a person's mind is plastic; able to change and create new patterns. At Clarity Flow Hypnotherapy, we use the power of visualisation within hypnosis to help individuals make significant important changes and take great leaps forward in many areas of their lives. In the process, a person learns to consciously choose their thoughts with care and become very mindful of the movements of thought in their mind.

If you'd like to teach your mind to practice you preferred thought and make positive practical changes in your life, you can book a free Initial Consultation to get started with this rewarding process.

​
TO BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION FOR CLINICAL HYPNOTHERAPY CLICK HERE

Maral Kojayan MA HPD
Clinical Hypnotherapist
www.clarityflowhypnotherapy.com


Reference:
Pascual-Leone, A. et al., 'Modulation of muscle responses evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation during the acquisition of new fine motor skills', Journal of Neurophysiology, 74(3), 1995 Sep, pp. 1037-45.
https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.1995.74.3.1037

I have shared Dr Bruce Lipton's work before, but I think it's such important science that it's worth sharing again, here in a very casual conversational format discussing epigenetic control, and how the mind effects health and more and the importance of understanding that we have TWO minds to make changes!

Interview with: Dr Bruce Lipton
Subject: How to Hack Your Health with Beliefs & Super Learning
Video by: 180 Nutrition
Source: https://youtu.be/k2EqqBdHB-c

Talk by: Dr. Ilona Boniwell
Subject: Educating For Happiness and Resilience
Video by: TEDx Hull
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbC18wFkHNI

Talk by: Shawn Achor
Subject: The Happiness Advantage: Linking Positive Brains to Performance
Video by: TEDx Talks
Source: https://youtu.be/GXy__kBVq1M

Very important theory for understanding our body reactions when experiencing extreme stress/trauma and psychological and physical responses.  The Polyvagal Theory helps us to re-frame, better understand and even be grateful for some of our body responses that we have found difficult to understand or accept, which in turn can prolong issues and lead to other psychological issues.

This is a very short sample of the Polyvagal Theory, which has huge implications for many areas of physical and psychological health.

Interview of: Stephen Porges
Subject: Polyvagal Theory: How your body makes the decision
Video by: meg-rottweil
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivLEAlhBHPM

"our meaning, reward and pleasure system is more powerful and plastic than our academic textbooks have ever dared to imagine" Hesler (2016).

In a recent issue of "Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Gregor Hasler (University of Bern) analyzes the neuroscientific implications of the pursuit of well-being... Promising findings show strong and lasting effects of currently available well-being therapy in severe psychiatric conditions such as major depressive disorder" (Medical Epress September 8, 2016)

See this article for more
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-09-pursuit-well-being-brain.html

Reference: Gregor Hasler. Well-Being: An Important Concept for Psychotherapy and Psychiatric Neuroscience, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (2016)

This is a nice analogy for what we do in Solution Focused Clinical Hypnotherapy.
We help you see when, how and howlong you're holding your stress 'glass' and how to learn to manage it.