The start of a New Year is a classic time to decide to change our lives, get rid of an unwanted habit and make a new start, and after the excesses of Christmas, there is often plenty to work with. This is where New Year Resolutions come in.

It is often reported that we eat around 8000 calories on Christmas day itself, not to mention all the Christmas get-togethers and New Year celebrations. We exercise less and indulge ourselves more. Because of this, afterwards, quite a few of us vow to make modifications to our way of life. Quitting cigarettes or alcohol, stress reduction or taking on new and healthier habits are the prime targets for a healthier lifestyle. But will it really work?

The problem with new year resolutions

The problem is that most of the changes that we need to make, to abstain from alcohol, control our stress or give up smoking cigarettes are ingrained in our habits. Generally, making changes is quite tricky to do. Despite the fact that we are good at learning it is much harder for us to unlearn something without help. Do you reckon you could possibly forget the way to read or write?

When you consider this, it starts to become clear why it is challenging to make changes.

How can hypnotherapy make a difference?

The answer is in replacing old thought processes with new and better ones. Hypnotherapy gives us access to the unconscious mind, where our habits are stored; we can basically overwrite the old behaviours and exchange them with new ones.

Perhaps you find yourself repeatedly reacting to work in a way that leaves you stressed and tired. Or keep meaning to go to the gym and never quite get there? Hypnotherapy may help you change that unwanted behaviour into the one you’d like instead.

Hypnosis may help with all these habitual behaviours, regardless of how long you’ve had them. I help people like you all the time. Just how much easier would it be to get fit when you had no more mental blocks to exercise? How easy to get that promotion when you sorted out your presentation nerves? Or how simple to be calm and relaxed if you no longer allowed people to “push your buttons?” What would you like to change in 2016?

Avoid the failure cycle

Wouldn’t it be great to avoid making and breaking the usual resolutions every year? That’s what it actually means to make transformations at a subconscious level. That’s because making subconscious change is way more effective than a half-hearted and possibly tipsy New Year resolution.

I can help you, whatever the changes you want to make – please contact me.

Author: Debbie Waller is a professional therapist, specialising in stress, anxiety and related issues, including gut-directed hypnotherapy to help with the symptoms of IBS. She also offers EMDR/Blast which is used for trauma, PTSD, phobias and OCD. For more information on any of these services, phone 01977 678593. 

Researcher: Rae Waller is an experienced researcher and writer with a special interest in mental health issues. Rae offers drafting, fact-checking, proofreading, and editing for anything from a leaflet to a website, a blog or a book, and can also provide diversity reading, especially for LGBTQ+ and autism-related issues. Please contact rae@debbiewaller.com for further information.