Insomnia, Distraction and Mind
We have never in our history been as distracted as we are now. With lifestyles getting busier and busier and with the distractions we have all around us, there is something being ignored and the consequences for some are beginning to show.
In Brighton and Hove, I work with the issues created by distraction, insomnia is one of them and can make someones life feel exhausting and like hell.
Tim
Tim is a top salesman and he has come to see me due to Insomnia issues. His mind won't switch off at night. Not only does he find it hard to sleep but he also wakes up in the night which is exhausting him completely. His Doctor has prescribed a sedative to help shut his mind down but in reality this is not what he needs right now.
Tim's day starts with getting up and commuting to London, he works on the way up to prepare for the day. He works very hard as success is important to him and then works on train on way home. Goes to gym and then eats, watches television and then bed. This happens for 5 days a week and the weekend is filled with socialising, chores and catching up on favourite shows etc.
Tim's day and week is so full that his mind is constantly distracted, but his mind wants to focus on life, dreams, worries etc but is not given the chance to do so. There is no time to literally think, but the mind is very clever and waits until there is time to think and of course the distractions end at bedtime. Cue the thought processes which have been pushed to one side in favour of other priorities.
Is this insomnia or bad thought management? I got Tim to spend 30 minutes during his commute home to focus on thoughts that wanted to address aspects of his life.
Here is part of my simple therapeutic process which tends to work with insomnia and other anxiety disorders:
I can use NLP, IEMT, EFT, MET and hypnosis to make it really hard to remember insomnia in the past which creates thoughts of fear for future nights sleep.
Help create new positive memories to be referenced which helps future predictions of what a nights sleep would be.
Tim learned to breath correctly to calm down and also be more body aware as he his awareness was too focused within the mind which created an imbalance that needed to be addressed.
I can with some great techniques with the unconscious make sleep a lower priority, as when it's too high and out of context it can cause anxiety as it's too high a priority. Of course this has to be in balance with the individuals life.
I also taught Tim to slow down and switch off his mind and address his caffeine intake which was not helping at all. His sleep increased over the next few weeks his sleep issues became a distant dream, soon to be forgotten. Tim is now more empowered, energised and managing his mind in a more productive and balanced way.
Your mind needs time to think and with distractions at their highest with television, internet, smart phones, gaming, social and work lifestyles it is becoming rare to hear of people spending time dealing with their thoughts. Anxiety can kick in as the mind hates uncertainty and distraction can also be an avoidance strategy to move away from dealing with important issues. This can't last forever and will come and bite you on the bum as the mind is getting stressed and starts becoming overactive and over reactive.
Todays modern society are training themselves to have shorter attention spans, they rarely can watch a movie without checking their smart phones or laptops. They don't read web pages as they skim the information instead. Shorter attention spans create a stressed mind when having to focus on something too long.
Spend some time with your mind, write down and address worries and aspects of your life which need improvement. If you keep avoiding them through distraction then they will chip away your mind until you have to take note and by then it's not a pleasant experience. Put down the phone and focus your attention on what you are writing, reading or watching. train your mind back into clarity, focus and attention.
Life is too short to be overly distracted, have sleep issues which can be addressed and not learn to work and manage your brilliant mind.
If you suffer with insomnia or feels affected by distraction in Brighton and Hove and would like to visit me for a free consultation then please contact me. I can also work via Skype worldwide so please ask me about that too.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Training to be allergic
It is that time of year again where people start complaining about symptoms of runny eyes, sneezing, sore throat and itchy skin. They blame various things for their symptoms including pollen, dust mites, cat hair and now volcanic ash. Some new age and natural health forum sites are full of people saying that they can feel symptoms increasing due to the volcanic ash now in the air.
Powerful suggestions in the media and on these natural health sites are telling people what symptoms to expect and guess what?? They do!
Studies over and over have shown that when we expect to or think we will have symptoms from something that may cause an allergic reaction, we begin to develop them. People in some studies were exposed to a spray with a toxin which they then were told would cause rashes, sneezing, runny eyes, nose and sore throats. Suddenly the sneezing started, hives, rashes and other symptoms followed which increased by the minute. Another spray was introduced and they wee told this would counteract the allergic reaction and sure enough it did with people in the study feeling better very quickly.
Both sprays were just water and the scientists were studying the Nocebo effect which is the manifestion of negative symptoms through being exposed to a substance which would have no effect unless there is a pessmistic or negative belief that it will do so.
Our minds are so powerful and really do create what we focus our attention onto.
You can remove these old patterns of belief through various techniques and I treated my own allergy to pollen through self hypnosis, NLP and EFT a while a go. Sometimes the mind thinks it's phobic to a substance when it simply is not. I have treated lots of clients to let go of beliefs like this so they can enjoy the outdoors, foods, pets or whatever they feel allergic too.
So if you notice powerful suggestions that you will experience a negative reaction, be aware that you do not have to and could do something about those symptoms by using the power of your mind.
Another poweful suggestion by the way is how hard it will be to let go of habits like smoking, this is training the mind to act that way when it comes to thinking about letting it go. No wonder some people find it so hard to let habits go when they tell themselves it will be near impossible to do so.
You can train your mind to release those brain patterns which hold you back and create new ones which make life a lot easier!
