There now seems to be a bit of a trend for giving things up at other times of year rather than just after Christmas. My attention was drawn the other day to ‘Sober for October’ when some are putting their minds to giving up alcohol for the month of October, and we already have ‘Stoptober’ for stopping smoking.

Sometimes it is good to announce that you are going along with a national campaign in order to motivate yourself, as it can seem that you are not alone and also, if a lot of people know about it, you feel spurred on to succeed as the alternative can be very embarrassing. But it may also be the case that you are concerned about how the change will affect you, and whether you will be able to do it.

It may be that you are deciding to give up alcohol or cigarettes but you are worried about how this will affect your stress levels and in this case hypnotherapy can make all the difference. Hypnosis sessions along with a CD to use at home can install a positive and lasting sense of wellbeing in a natural way, so that you will not feel those cravings but instead you will feel relaxed and calm and able to achieve those healthy goals much more easily than you thought.

If you would like to chat further about how I can help you do please contact me on 01449780352 or 07817158429, or you can email me on wendy@wendychalk.co.uk.

Good luck and best wishes,
Wendy x

Apparently, according to recent statistics, approximately one sixth of the UK population have some form of generalised anxiety disorder. This can be obsessive compulsive disorder, social anxiety, health anxiety, different fears and phobias and can seriously affect a person’s quality of life.

This anxiety can be caused by the stress of every day life, or it may be that there are past traumas that are at its root. Whatever the case it is very difficult to try to combat this anxiety on your own.

In my hypnotherapy practice I find that, of all the different issues that I treat, anxiety is most responsive to hypnosis. The actual process itself, once fully explained, can be deeply calming and many of my clients report experiencing such a deep sense of peace during the treatment that they liken it to the best night’s sleep they have ever had!

Added to this are the powerful hypnotic suggestions delivered during the session, all uniquely tailored to help each individual begin to let go of anxious feelings and worries so that ultimately they can look forward to feeling calmer, happier and more relaxed. This new way of being then becomes a sub-conscious habit, so that they are aware of being able to let go of anxiety and worry and replace it with a positive sense of wellbeing.

If you feel you may be suffering with a generalised anxiety disorder, then do please contact me on 01449 780352 or 07817158429 or email me on wendy@wendychalk.co.uk.

Best wishes,
Wendy x

I do hope that you have all enjoyed our wonderful summer. It does seem now that autumn has arrived quite suddenly with the need to get out those jumpers after what has seemed like a very long time without them.

Some people find this time of year quite difficult, with the days getting shorter and the temperature dropping. The prevalence of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is quite common now with many finding that they suffer from symptoms of depression, lack of energy and a need to eat stodgy comfort foods with these distressing symptoms only passing when spring arrives.

There are a number of things that you can do if you feel that you are suffering from SAD. It is, of course very important to see your doctor if you feel overwhelmed by symptoms of depression, as it may be that you need to consider a course of medication to help you initially.

But there are also lots of natural ways to beat SAD which I have listed below:

Eat a healthy diet, with lots of fruit and vegetables, lean protein and good fats found in oily fish, avocados, nuts and seeds

Cut back on caffeine, alcohol, refined sugars and white carbs (white bread, pasta, rice)

Try to get outside every day even if the weather is not too good, just having a brisk walk round the block can really perk you up

Try taking a natural supplement like 5HTP which can lift mood, also fish oil and Vitamin B Complex can be really good

Light therapy can really help, so it may be worth investing in a light box  or an alarm clock which wakes you up to natural bright daylight gradually.

Try to enjoy the nice things about winter – cosy fires, snuggling up under a blanket with a good book, hot water bottles, warming winter stews

You could also try to learn self-hypnosis or meditation, and get into the habit of spending 10 minutes a day quietly doing absolutely nothing. This can be wonderfully relaxing and also oddly energy-boosting. My clients who manage to regularly practice self-hypnosis at home find it extremely beneficial.

Keep warm and cosy,
All the best,
Wendy x

The weather may be making us feel its still holiday time, but there’s no getting away from that ‘back to school’ feeling that the beginning of September brings.

For some this may be quite a scary time as it means the start of a new school or university. Even just starting a new academic year can be quite frightening for some as you don’t know what the year is going to bring.

It is important to realise that it’s perfectly normal to feel this way when faced with the challenge of a new chapter in our lives. We tend to be creatures of habit and routine and any sort of change in circumstances can be unnerving. Even if we are fully prepared and feel quite excited about this new phase in our lives, we can have all sorts of thoughts about whether things are going to go well, if we have chosen the right course/subjects. It may also be that we have had to change direction as exam results were not quite what we expected.

Whatever ‘new beginnings’ you are contemplating, you can prepare yourself by ensuring a calm and balanced state of mind by experiencing hypnotherapy and then setting aside a regular self-hypnosis practice. You may feel over-burdened by things and hypnotherapy can bring you back to a calm and relaxed state of mind, so that you feel ready to face any challenge. In addition, if you can set aside a little time each day for quieting the mind, you will find that it reaps huge benefits in the longer term, giving you a new sense of clarity and focus that you may not have experienced before.

Do contact me if you would like to find out more – my telephone number is 01449 780352 or 07817158429. Or you can email me on wendy@wendychalk.co.uk.

My very best wishes to all of you,
Wendy x

I was thrilled this week to hear about the safe delivery of William and Kate’s baby, Prince George. I know that there has been probably a little too much coverage of the event, but there is nothing like the arrival of a new baby to warm our hearts.

I do wish the royal couple well – they seem like a really sensible pair, determined to bring their baby up as ‘normally’ as they possibly can, and I do hope that the press give them space to do this.

New parenthood is really quite a scary prospect – there is really nothing that can truly prepare you for the arrival of a baby, as I can well remember when we had our first son, Olly, now nearly 20. Everyone wants to give you advice, from feeding to bathing, to changing nappies and the whole thing can seem quite overwhelming. Looking back, I think the best advice I can give to new parents is to go with your own gut instincts, as these are often the most reliable. There really is no right or wrong way, and as long as you are doing what you feel is right, then that’s the best thing you can do.

There is an advert at the moment which I love which is actually for a certain brand of formula milk (and I’m not going to get into that argument) it shows new mums coping with looking after a baby, and the end shot is a frazzled woman soaking in a bath picking up one of the baby’s bath toys – which I think is one of those turtles that move around. The end comment is something like ‘take it from us, you’re doing great’ and I love the sentiment behind this, that its not easy being a new parent, its a huge adjustment, so cut yourself some slack, be kind to yourself and go with the flow.

Perhaps most of all, enjoy this time, that baby smell does not last for long  – I should know, having recently had a houseful of teenage boys …

To all new mums and dads, my warmest wishes,

Wendy x

It has been recently reported and will be investigated on Panorama tonight that the number of servicemen and women who committed suicide last year exceeds the number who were killed in combat. This would suggest that the armed forces are not managing to care well enough for those who fall prey to mental illness whilst on service, or indeed when they leave. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a very real condition which, according to statistics given by ‘Combat Stress’, affects between 4 and 7 percent of soldiers at some time or other. There may well be a number who fail to report their symptoms, but suffer nonetheless.

It is vitally important that effective treatment be given for PTSD, as the wrong type of help could possibly make things worse. Endless counselling sessions can sometimes result in, at best, feeling no better, but at worse finding that symptoms increase.

In my hypnotherapy practice I have seen and treated people suffering from PTSD, who then go on to find lasting relief from their suffering. Treatment is very relaxing and often the client feels the benefit straight away. Certainly there is no need for numerous lengthy sessions of therapy – I find that between 3 and 6 sessions is normally enough to restore a feeling of wellbeing. In order to reinforce the work that we do in the sessions, I also provide a CD to use at home, as well as teaching simple techniques such as self-hypnosis and mindfulness.

If you, or a loved one are suffering from PTSD and would like to try hypnotherapy, then do contact me on 01449 780352 or 07817158429.

Best wishes,
Wendy x

I have just started watching BBC3’s new series ‘Don’t call me crazy’ which focuses on a teenage mental health unit in Manchester. It makes for fascinating but also extremely sad viewing.

These are young people suffering from a host of different problems including depression, anxiety and hallucinations which then result in negative behaviour patterns such as self-harming, eating disorders and suicidal tendencies.

 Some of the teenagers are sectioned which means that they cannot leave the unit, or at least only for very short periods of time. One of the patients, Beth, a strikingly pretty girl who suffered from an eating disorder, had appealed against her section and was expecting to be able to leave the unit, but had her appeal refused. It was all the more distressing as another patient, Gill, was taken off section that same day and – like any teenager really – was celebrating loudly without showing any sensitivity to Beth. Interestingly, Gill had responded very well to mindfulness therapy.

Many of the patients seem to have suffered some sort of trauma during childhood, and this could be neglect, abuse or family break-up. Their resulting difficulties in adolescence are then quite simply self-protecting strategies which they have developed during their childhood in order to be able to survive.

I really liked the comment made by the head of the unit when he said that their aim was not to create ‘the perfect teenager’, but to equip these young people with new, more healthy and positive strategies which they can use in times of stress, instead of resorting to negative behaviour patterns.

When I think of my own lovely, but sometimes difficult boys, I feel so blessed that they are well and reasonably happy with life. It is difficult as a parent, but if you can support and encourage them and help them to find ways of dealing with life’s challenges in their own way, then you are not doing too badly.

If you feel that your teenager needs a little bit of support, do contact me as hypnotherapy has great results with this age group.

Best wishes,
Wendy x

It is my great privilege to be able to offer support to couples undergoing fertility treatment. This is an aspect of my work which I find really enjoying but immensely challenging, as the rate of ‘success’ – if you measure success as becoming pregnant – is much lower than the success rate of the other treatments that I offer.

But when that success comes, it is quite wonderful and I was so pleased to hear wonderful news from two of my clients this week. Obviously, until they hold their babies, they experience a great deal of worry and stress, and so I am happy to support them through this time.

Very often, little support is given to childless couples, and it really annoys me when this condition is viewed on by the NHS and others as not as an illness to be treated, but something that ultimately has to be accepted. There is a distinct absence if counselling or any psychotherapeutic help for people undergoing fertility treatment.

I have seen first hand the devastating effects this can have on couples, many finding that they spiral down into depression, due to the sadness that they feel. In this case, a large part of my work is to help them get through such a difficult time, whatever the outcome.

I am qualified to use hypnosis with couples going through fertility problems, having mean trained in the fertile body method, www.fertilebodymethod.com, so if you feel that you need some support in this area, please do get in touch on 01449 780352 or 0781 7158429, or you can email me on 0781 7158429.

Best wishes,
Wendy x

The power of hypnotherapy never ceases to amaze me, and it is my sincere wish that one day it will be available as a treatment on the NHS.

Whilst the mainstream seem to be quietly acknowledging that hypnotherapy can be a valuable treatment for some conditions, witnessed by the fact that I seem to be receiving more and more ‘referrals’ from local GPs – there still seems to be a certain distrust of this type of therapy, and a feeling that it is practiced by weirdos and charlatans. Of course, I do realise that the NHS like to see clinical evidence of something working before they are happy to recommend it, and this is only right and proper. Sadly, there is a lack of research into the efficacy if hypnotherapy treatment, although this is beginning to change, and more resources are being put into clinical trials to assess the value of hypnotherapy to treat certain complaints.

The drug companies have a big advantage in this area, as they can afford to conduct research into the effectiveness of their own drug treatments, and they can win the medical profession over by producing statistical ‘evidence’ of the fact that the drugs that they are producing are effective.

Hypnotherapy is not an exact science and it is extremely difficult and expensive to carry out clinical trials which test its effectiveness.

However, with more people finding out for themselves how powerful the treatment can be, I believe that it is only a matter of time before it can receive the same acceptance as osteopathy or acupuncture, for example.

By the way, my sincere apologies for not posting sooner, but May has been an extraordinarily busy month. Things are now settling down to a calmer pace, thankfully, and I welcome any enquiries and comments.

Best wishes,
Wendy x

Whilst our cars need to have regular servicing in order to ensure road worthiness, we are often notoriously bad at checking our own bodies and minds, and tend to take it for granted that we can carry on through stress, overwork and an unhealthy lifestyle.

When the wheels do eventually fall off, it comes as a shock to us and then forces us to have a look at our lives, and how we can re-gain good health once again .

Very often people talk about good health as a ‘lucky’ thing, something you presumably have no personal control of. Obviously when it comes to genetically inherited diseases this is the case of a bad  fall of the dice and it is not within your control. However, I believe that you can have a profound effect on your physical and mental health through good diet, regular exercise and finding ways to reduce the amount of stress in your life.

Physical health checks are offered routinely now as a preventative measure, but mental health checks are unfortunately much rarer.

I have a number of clients who remain healthy and well, but continue to come for regular hypnotherapy sessions – perhaps once per month – to help ensure their mental ‘wellness’. This is a really good way of avoiding a possible burnout.

Why not book a regular mental health MOT in the form of hypnotherapy treatment and feel the benefits straight away.

Contact me by email wendy@wendychalk.co.uk or by telephone 01449 780352 or 0781 7158429 to book an appointment now.

Best wishes,
Wendy x