It's important to know that
Although you might have tried to change many times and perhaps feel like you've failed, with the right support
......Lasting Change IS possible.
There's a seat here with your name on it.
When you understand what's going on, you can then learn how to change
I used to ask myself...
"Why do I keep doing this when I know it's not helping me?"
If you're anything like me (and many others), I'll hazard a guess that you have listened to podcasts, read books and followed numerous Facebook and Instagram accounts, all offering you different advice. If it was actually as easy as just 'knowing what to do', you and everyone else just like you, would have done it already!
The way we think and how we behave in certain situations develops over time. We have certain responses to situations, emotions or experiences and as we repeat these over and over they become automatic.
When you're struggling, its easy to doubt yourself and your ability to change, but instead of asking "How do I stop?"
A more helpful question might be to gently reflect and consider:
"What's keeping this pattern going?"
And from that glimmer of understanding comes the beginning of change.
Behaviour Change Therapy helps you understand why you think, feel and act in a certain way.
We work together to understand:
how your thoughts influence your behaviour
how you feel emotionally as a result of those thoughts
how your behaviour has led to the habits that you have developed over time
what situations trigger those thoughts, feelings and habits
new, more helpful and productive ways of responding
Understanding how your thoughts, feelings and behaviours connect means you will no longer feel that you have to rely on willpower alone. When you understand how your mind works you are able to develop new coping strategies which can be used daily to create lasting behavioural change.
One of the main functions of our brain is to keep us safe and because it likes predictability it looks for patterns. Sometimes these are helpful, often they're not. For example
Avoiding a situation might reduce anxiety for a short time. Turning to food might provide temporary comfort. Alcohol might help you switch off after a stressful day or feel more confident in social situations. Overthinking might feel as if you're fully prepped for every eventuality.
Every one of these behaviours serves a purpose at that particular moment in time. The trouble begins when that short-term relief is repeated again and again, it begins to reinforce the pattern and over time it becomes the default pattern and this is why it can feel so hard to change.
Lasting change begins when you understand what is keeping you stuck, not because you tell yourself you to think positively or try to muster up more willpower.
During therapy we work as a team to explore what's keeping the patterns going and challenge the unhelpful thoughts that have reinforced it.
These new ways of thinking, feeling and acting are reinforced during hypnosis and with repetition they become more natural, replacing the old thoughts, habits and patterns that used to hold you back.
Small, consistent changes can lead to significant long-term results.
Understand the pattern •Change the behaviour • Transform the way you live.