There are many claims by hypnotherapy providers that reading speeds can be increased using hypnosis- some even stating that reading speeds can be as much as trebled. Is speed reading simply a case of a skill that must be practised or is there really a way of learning this skill quickly and easily?

Speed reading works by taking in whole groups or sentences of words instead of reading each word individually. It is also common for a normal reader to “say” each word in their head as they read (inwardly vocalising), however speed readers tend not to do this, instead confidently absorbing the information ready for later recall, a bit like those with a photographic memory are able to do. They see and process the sentences but do not have to say the words to themselves as they read them. This means that with an increase of up to 800 additional words per minute when reading, the speed reader will also have a greater comprehension of what they have read- in some instances comprehending up to 25% more than the average reader.

Hypnosis can be beneficial to developing speed reading skills as suggestions can be given to increase confidence and trust that the information read is being absorbed and can be accessed easily later. Suggestion can also be made to help the reader ignore unnecessary distractions so that the mind is able to remain focused on the text and easily grasp each sentence.

Like any skill speed reading needs to be continuously practised in order to master it and the best way to do this is by reading as much and as many different types of texts as possible. In the early days however, it is important to feel that you are achieving to maintain your interest in developing the skill. This can be done by initially reading text that are meaningful to you.

There are also several practical steps you can take to help you develop your speed reading skills. For example, learning peripheral vision (expanded vision) will make it easier to take in whole sentences as you read rather than individual words. The kind of music you listen to as you’re reading can also have an impact on your reading speed.(Obviously lively tracks will likely increase your reading speed. It’s also important to read in the right environment- ensure that your material is at a good distance from your face and at a comfortable angle. Avoid reading in bed. Your bed is strongly linked to relaxation and sleeping so is unlikely to induce the right state for reading at speed.

“We worked with various techniques as well as hypnosis which were all very useful.”

By Gemma Bailey
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n today’s hectic society, it is easy to get caught up in a cycle of stress. Events in everyday life cause physiological changes in our body, adrenaline is realised in times of tension and we fail to burn it away. It then remains in our system as a toxin which leads to the aggravated state that makes our concentration lack, our tempers short, our sleep restless and our productivity low. This is called stress. Of course, we all need a certain amount of stress to perform, but we need to be able to regulate it.

Stress is a major problem for employers as it accounts for a large amount of sick leave. If companies are able to offer support schemes for staff, stress can be eliminated at the onset and employees can learn effective techniques to keep their stress levels at a manageable level.

On an individual basis, stress quite simply make you feel tense and exhausted. Until you have booked your hypnotherapy session, why not practice this simple relaxation technique, which will make you feel so much more relaxed and only takes a few minutes to perform.

1) Make yourself comfortable, ideally somewhere quiet, where you can close your eyes for a few moments.

2) Sit/ lay back and begin to concentrate on your breathing. With each outward breath, think in your mind the word “calm.” If you are aware of your heart beat, imagine the beat becoming safely slow and steady. Do this for 2 or 3 minutes.

3) Imagine a calming gentle light- whatever colour represents calm to you will be the right colour, and imagine the light slowly moving through your body. It relaxes every part of your body as it moves through you, as you continue your slow outward breaths, slow and steady and echoing the word “calm” in your mind.

4) Move the light up and down and through your body several times until each muscle and limb completely relax.

5) Take in some really deep refreshing breaths, imagining that the air is crisp and fresh, gently revitalising your whole body.

6) Open your eyes and think of the positive things you have, and will achieve in your day.

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If you’ve ever had the experience of literally “feeling” people’s eyes on you, you can understand the power that a public speaker can have. A master of public speaking will appear calm, confident, charismatic and completely at ease in speaking with his audience. His voice is as level as if he were speaking to his own best friends (even though the audience may be complete strangers) his tone enthusiastic and generating interest in his subject and his body language will be important in his communication but not distracting from the content of his talk.

For those who have difficulty with public speaking, they will be lacking in one or several of those skills. It is often easier for those who become nervous at the thought of public speaking to identify their need for help in this area because they have a feedback mechanism which lets them know that something is not working as it should be. They get an uncomfortable nervous feeling, begin to sweat, their voice may become unsteady or their mind may go blank. These people can be easily treated to overcome their fears, the NLP fast phobia intervention can be used and hypnosis can help the patient see themselves reacting in a much calmer way in the situations that had previously caused them problems. Hypnosis can also be used to offer suggestions for new behaviours, ways of thinking and more beneficial things to focus on as well as provided the much needed rehearsal of speaking in public.

Others who are confident in public speaking but are not engaging as speakers may find it more challenging to identify their problem. They will have either been informed by an audience member that their presentations are lacking a certain zest or may feel a disconnection from their audience as they present- for example they may find that the audience do not have eye contact with them throughout their presentations or appear disinterested in the subject. There are advantages to using hypnotic suggestion in this case and in addition it is very useful to include some basic training in body language and gestures. I like to teach the “Satir categories” which are a series of physical gestures that give off clues about a person’s thinking and behaviour. These were discovered by family therapist Virginia Satir who labelled 5 different physiologies that she commonly saw demonstrated in her therapy room with families who were experiencing problems and conflict. She found that members of the family would unconsciously use these gestures causing the other family members to make assumptions about what the gestures meant and how they must be thinking and feeling when using the gestures.

These gestures can be used in public speaking trainings alongside voice variation techniques and key sensory based words. The gestures can be used to emphasise certain elements in presentations and to maintain the interest of the audience.

“I have found myself getting less worked up in a meeting situations.”

By Gemma Bailey
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The first account of painless surgery using hypnosis was in 1838. Dr. Elliotson capitalized on the times by giving public demonstrations of hypnosis (which was at that time still referred to as mesmerism, a name given by Franz Anton Mesmer) at the London University College Hospital. Later in 1845 James Esdaile performed over 2000 operations including amputations in which patients were hypnotised. The patients reported feeling no pain throughout their operations.

In 1955 The British Medical Association approved hypnosis after it had been used successfully throughout the 2nd world war to treat post traumatic stress and to perform operations in on soldiers who had limited medical supplies whilst fighting.

Unfortunately no one can really say how hypnosis for pain control works, however, research seems to suggest that it is based upon a disassociation model, as seen in patients with Multiple Personality Disorder.

Dissociation can eliminate pain by placing it in a sort of psychological storage area, away from the consciousness of the patient. There are many accounts in history of hypnosis being used in place of anaesthetics.

This model of dissociation is commonly referred to as the “hidden observer” model of cognition.

NLP can also be a helpful tool in alleviating pain. If a person can elicit the submodalities of their pain (the coding the mind has labelled to the experience) the submodalities can be changed, by adjusting them to see what impact they have on the pain levels. More specifically, the submodalities of an area of the body which are not experiencing pain can be elicited (or the submodalities can be elicited when the body is not in a painful state to give contrast) then the submodalities of “pain” can be adjusted to the same as the submodalities of “no pain.” For example if one of the things a person says about their pain is that it is like a red throbbing ball, try changing it to a pink wobbly blob and see if it continues to be as troublesome.

Remember that pain is your body’s way of letting you know that something is wrong, so before using these techniques to override your pain, you must get the approval of your doctor.

“I had tried many other options. I had nothing to lose and an open mind. Gemma made me feel extremely comfortable.”

By Gemma Bailey
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For those who believe in the possibility of past lives, Past Life Regression can be particularly interesting. It works on the basis that a persons’ soul has lived in another body, experiencing a life before the life they are experiencing now. Some people believe they have had many past lives, some as men and some as women and occasionally some people believe they were animals in their previous lives.

Whilst there is very little evidence to verify the validity of the past lives people claim to have had, there are occasions when the regression has provided a great deal of detail about the past life, and facts have later been established as holding some truth.

Past life regression has become particularly popular in the world of hypnosis due to the ease at which information can be withdrawn from the unconscious. It is believed that the memories of past lives are not usually accessible to the conscious mind and any recollection is stored in the unconscious. Because hypnosis relaxes the conscious mind the unconscious is able to come to the fore and memories can then be shared usually with the client answering questions directed by the therapist. The therapist can keep a note of the responses given, as on occasions the client will not be fully aware of the responses they have provided.

Whether the past lives that people believe they have had are “real” of not, there is still a degree of therapeutic benefit that can be had from performing a regression. There have been times when a person has tried every conceivable method to rid themselves of a specific problem or ailment without success, then have later experienced a past life regression and found out not only the cause of the problem but also the means to resolve it. In one session of PLR I performed, a gentleman had had several sessions of hypnosis for anxiety but had not yet experienced any significant shifts in his discomfort. One day we were using some routine hypnosis when he slipped into a past life and began describing a scene in which he was a king in France, standing on a balcony looking down on his troops and preparing to take them to war. He felt that it was at this time he had first experienced his anxiety, and as a result of visiting this time and looking at it from this new perspective he was able to release the anxiety he suffered from in his present life. Whether this past life was real or true or not is of interest but at the same time not really relevant. It could have been that his imagination simply created this scene as a representation to help him release his negative emotions or there could have been some truth in it. Either way his problem was solved and it is in solving problems that PLR has its greatest value.

“Sometimes you need to take a step backwards in order to move forwards.”

By Gemma Bailey
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Nail biting is usually a persistent bad habit, or as a symptom of anxiety or stress. It is a behaviour that sometime occurs unconsciously, so that the patient is not even fully aware of the times when they put their fingers into their mouth and bite their nails. Others are aware of what they are doing, but feel compelled to continue, using snags or tears in the nail as an excuse to bite them.

All behaviours and habits are maintained at an unconscious level. Therefore it is in this region that the changes need to be made. Hypnosis is a useful tool in making changes to the unconscious mind and to unconscious activity. This is because during hypnosis, the conscious mind (which we use for thinking during our normal conscious and awakened state) is not as alert. This means that suggestions can be given and they are more readily accepted as the conscious mind will not filter or analyse the suggestions as much as it would during normal awakened consciousness.

Some people continue to bite their nails way past the nail bed, causing the fingers to become sore and bleed. But even those who do not have such an extreme habit could be doing themselves some harm by biting their nails. Many bacteria are found under nails, especially on unwashed hand, in some cases a bacteria called Staphylococcus can be found. This causes illnesses such as impetigo and toxic shock.

Nail biting can also cause damage to teeth, despite nails being made of keratin, the same substance that hair is made of, teeth can become damaged when they bang together quickly and with the force it takes to bite through a nail.

The most effective treatment I have used previously to help a patient stop nail biting, is hypnotherapy with suggestions for feeling nauseous each time the fingers enter the mouth. This offers not only a preventative measure for those who bite their nails, but also a sure way of bringing the behaviour into the patients conscious awareness. This gives the patient the opportunity to have choice about whether to continue with the behaviour or not.

It is also important to offer the client some alternatives to alleviate stress or tension if this is a contributing factor in the behaviour. Teaching self hypnosis or hakalau, can offer an alternative behaviour that induces a deep state of relaxation.

“Stress management has definitely improved, I don’t feel as tense.I think I’m am cured! My nails are starting to grow.”

By Gemma Bailey
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One of the most major irritants of IBS is the quality and compatibility of the food that is fed to the body. For example, those that eat a healthy diet of fresh fruit and vegetables and cut out takeaways, fast food and fizzy drinks, are less likely to suffer from IBS.

There is also an increased likelihood that an IBS sufferer will have some food intolerances or allergies. Diary, wheat and gluten are amongst the most common food intolerances. It is relatively easy to have an allergy test to discover if there are any such causes and it is also worthwhile experimenting with foods that are known irritants. If these are cut from the diet for 1 month then the client will be able to establish what influence these foods have upon their IBS symptoms.

So diet has an enormous impact on the effects of IBS, and so does stress. Many people who suffer with IBS are already aware of the link between their stress levels and their IBS symptoms. In fact the feelings of fear, panic and anxiety can have an almost immediate impact of the workings of the stomach. Many people have had the experience of becoming anxious and noticing a fluttering or shifting feeling in the stomach area. Some experience their IBS in this way, and are actually in touch with the emotional feelings that are affecting their health and wellbeing. It is thought that the saying “follow your gut feeling” relates to the experience of noticing the emotions within the stomach region and establishing whether those feelings are positive or negative feelings, in fact many cultures believe that the stomach is the second domain of the emotions. It could therefore be presupposed that those who experience IBS in this way have some other issue that would cause them to experience these negative emotions in the first place. It could be trouble in a relationship or at work, or it could be related to a specific fear, phobia or some other problem that causes the client to feel stress.

Others are less aware of the emotions in their stomach, and instead may be experiencing stressful or negative thoughts that later cause their IBS symptoms.

The best way to pin point what causes the symptoms of IBS will be through the use of a diary. The client will be asked to write down everything that they eat and drink and at what time over a two week period. This diary should also include the times when the IBS symptoms are experienced. This will help the therapist to highlight and discuss with the client any obvious links between the foods in the food diary and the occurrence of the IBS symptoms. If there are no obvious links, the therapist can then also begin to explore reoccurring emotions and the circumstances that create these. Techniques can then be used to deal with these negative emotions, plus techniques for relaxation to combat stress can be taught to the client. Hypnosis can also be used to offer the clients suggestions for healing and eating more healthily in the future.

By Gemma Bailey
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I once read a great story about clinical Hypnotherapist, Milton Erickson who had a patient visit him because he was not sleeping well. The advice he gave his patient was to get himself back out of bed if he had been laying there trying to get to sleep for more that half an hour. Then the patient had to spend the whole night polishing his kitchen floor, and then go to work as normal the following day. I think this only happened once or twice before the patient was sufficiently re programmed to get into bed and go straight off to sleep in order to avoid having no sleep at all and cleaning the floor all night.

For those who suffer from insomnia, the symptoms can vary. For some, there are problems getting to sleep in the first place, or they go off to sleep but wake to early and are unable to get back into sleep again. Others sleep a lot, but continue to feel tired, even though they may have had an adequate number of hours in the land of nod.

There are some practical points to consider when working with someone who has problems with sleeping.

Firstly, is the patient exercising their body enough? If the body is too energised, or full of adrenaline then regular exercise is a healthy way of using up any excess.

Adrenaline can also be created from stress, so what is stressing the patient, something at work or perhaps a problem relationship? They could be worrying about money or their health. If they are worried about not sleeping, then that worry is also going to cause further problems with the sleep pattern.

Is there a routine at bedtime? I know that idea might seem better suited to children, but your body likes to have the repetition of going to bed and getting up at similar times each day. If you’ve ever had jet lag, you’ll know how much your body and sleep routine suffer as a result of the change in time zones.

Are there any chemical factors- for example, is there any medication being taken, or is the patient drinking alcohol or any stimulant products such as coffee?

To overcome insomnia, there are many subtle and self explanatory changes that can address the problematic examples above. In addition, relaxation can be a useful skills to learn (many people have no idea about how to do it!) because it encourages both the mind and body to release tension. Quite often when a person is stressed, their mind will be racing with thoughts, and the muscles in the body will be very tense. When this is the case, sleep is unlikely to happen, or be very broken. Learning hypnosis or a meditation technique is a quick and simple way to get both the mind and body into a deeply relaxed state. It is also possible to give suggestions for relaxing deeply, easily and quickly when a person is in a hypnotised state and these suggestions will be more readily accepted by the subconscious mind than they would be when in a normal awakened state.

By Gemma Bailey
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If you ever have to communicate with another person, then you are using interpersonal skills. You have been using these skills your whole life already, and with varying degrees of success. Sometimes it is as easy as breathing to gain rapport and get your point across to others. At other times you might be feeling as if you’re an alien who has landed from another planet, leaving behind you all of the unconscious indicators that you give off and pick up, that tell others you know what you want to say and that you know how to say it. If the words “awkward”, “out of control”, or “totally lost” spring to mind when you think of a specific person or context that you currently interact with, then you need to improve your interpersonal skills.

Having good interpersonal skills will be important to you if it is necessary for you to make a good impression, or to sound as if you know what you are talking about, or need to appear confident and powerful or if you want to feel a connection with those you are communicating with.

NLP uses specific techniques that can help you improve your Interpersonal skills. For example:

Matching and mirroring- This is the process by which we use our physiology, voice and words to create a likeness to the person we are communicating with. People like people who are like themselves, and when you watch people who have good rapport with each other, you will notice that they seem to “speak the same language” or move their bodies with congruence. This is completely unconscious, however by learning how these processes work, you can begin to utilise them to your advantage.

Satir categories- These are the physiological poses that you naturally use. You have probably noticed that some people use their hands a great deal when they speak, but what message are your gestures and posture giving to those you are talking to? You can expect others to respond to you in ways that fit in with the unconscious signal you are giving them. For example, if you look aggressive, you can expect that others will be defensive.

Removing any significant emotional events from previous experiences that have damaged your confidence- Sometimes a bad experience from the past can leave a lasting impression on the way that we feel and behave. For example, if you were humiliated by a teacher in school as a child, you may now find yourself becoming nervous around authority figures. This can be a problem if you have to frequently liaise with your boss with a confident attitude. NLP uses techniques that can help you gain new perspectives on old events and therefore change the way you feel about old memories.

I have belief in myself, what I am saying. I have increased confidence to say thoughts without worrying about being judged on them.

By Gemma Bailey
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Eating disorders can take on many different disguises and have a variety of symptoms. The 3 most commonly identified eating disorders are Anorexia, Bulimia and Binge Eating.

The symptoms of Anorexia tend to be that the sufferer will eat very little, or not eat at all for a number of days, for fear of gaining weight. This obviously has a dangerous impact on general health as the body is not receiving all of the nutrients it requires. In some cases Anorexia is fatal, so it is important to get this condition treated as soon as possible. Sufferers of this condition have a distorted perception of their body when they look in the mirror. This may lead you to think that the problem is just with their body image, but the problem is really with their need to feel in control. Quite often, sufferers of anorexia are constantly seeking perfection, but rarely find it.

Hypnotherapy can help to alleviate the anxiety that comes from the pressure an anorexic puts themselves under. It can also be used to explore any unresolved negative emotions from events in the past, which may have contributed to the condition arising. NLP and Hypnotherapy can be used to increase self esteem, which is probably very low and this can be done by focusing on solutions for how the anorexic is feeling instead of creating more pressure by focusing on food and weight gain, which, certainly at the early stages is not what the anorexic wants to have to think about.

With Bulimia, the symptoms of the eating disorder are different. The Bulimic will eat large amounts of food (possibly because they have starved themselves), usually very quickly and will then make themselves sick. Sometimes they may also use laxatives which force the food they have eaten, out of their body. The person may go through phases of this behaviour every few weeks or months or even daily. They may also be binging in private.

As with anorexia, bulimia is largely linked to self esteem and other emotional problems however,despite being more common than anorexia, it is more difficult to detect because the bulimic will probably maintain a normal body weight(or just above normal) but the condition is still just as dangerous and will have a detrimental effect on overall health.

Hypnotherapy and NLP can also be used in this instance to overcome the emotional challenges the bulimic faces. Hypnotic suggestions for more positive behaviours can be given and early relationships and emotional events can be explored. It is also worthwhile using hypnotic suggestions to recognise the body’s own queues for fullness.

Not all eating disorder cause severe weight loss, obesity is a growing problem and within the next few years, it is expected that a third of the UK population will be obese. Whilst obesity is commonly linked with unhealthy diet, there is also the issue of binge eating to consider. Binge eating is when the person binges throughout the day and/or continues to eat when their stomach is already full. There are many long term health issues to consider here- such as heart problems, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Binge eating is often triggered by negative emotions. Eating when bored or to feel comfort can lead to a negative pattern being created, so that later when the feelings of boredom, or need for comfort occur, the person feels drawn to food. Hypnotherapy and NLP techniques can help to refocus the mind on what needs it is seeking to fulfil. Motivation to fulfil these needs in more positive ways can be created using hypnotic suggestions. When these suggestions are followed consistently, new habits will begin to be created.

“The Like to Dislike exercise was especially useful as it neutralized two of my biggest weaknesses- bread and biscuits which now have much less appeal.”

By Gemma Bailey
www.GemmaBailey.com

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