Isolating Brits are being invited to join in the world’s first mass online HYPNOSIS session.
Tonight (Fri) at 8pm experts will provide a hypnotherapy service to help people relax after one of the most difficult weeks in living memory.
Devised by wellness guru Kim Palmer, the session will be available via Clementine's Instagram channel @clementineappuk.
The programme, led by cognitive hypnotherapist Hazel Gale, aims to alleviate the stress and worry felt by millions of people as they come to the end of their first week of self-isolation and social distancing.
Kim, 40, from London, said: “It has been a very weird, unsettling time for a lot of people and hypnotherapy can help reset our balance.
"Hypnosis can guide you to a peaceful, meditative place. It’s a bit like when you’re daydreaming and the world falls away – you’re neither fully present nor fast asleep.
“In this state, your brain is really receptive to new ideas.
“Once we’ve helped you to relax, our recordings will tap into your subconscious thoughts – suggesting new ways to deal with everyday niggles as well as bigger, more difficult situations.
“Neuroscientists believe that hypnosis is the quickest and easiest way to make changes to your thought processes, as it’s when the mind is most durable and adaptable to change.
“That’s why you will “wake up” feeling positive, calm and better able to cope."
The sessions will take place every Monday and Friday night at 8pm until further notice.
Hazel has compiled four top tips on how the nation can feel less out of control right now:
· Focus only on what you have the power to control
We can never control what happens around us in life, only how we respond to it.
At times like these, it’s essential to hold boundaries around our energy. We have to consciously decide on what we give our attention to. And what we don’t.
Ultimately, just because there’s a lot we could be worrying about right now doesn’t mean we have to worry about it.
Instead, we can choose which thoughts to entertain and which to let go of.
Here’s how:
If you find yourself feeling anxious about something, ask yourself this question, “Is there anything I can do about this right now?” If the answer is “yes”, go ahead and do the thing. Your fear will have served a purpose.
If it’s “no”, however (and it is more often than not), then your worrying serves no purpose other than to stress you the hell out. In that case, you have every permission to let it go.
· Do what brings you joy
These are uncertain times, yes. But that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to smile. Be kind to yourself and do what makes you feel good.
Laugh, joke, stretch, play games, talk to your friends… These are days of your life, just like all the other days.
Make them good ones by filling them with activities that will feed a positive, resourceful and connected mindset.
Just imagine how tomorrow could go differently if you did the following:
1. Instead of googling Coronavirus stats, you listen to an insightful podcast
2. Instead of watching the news headlines on repeat, you reach out to old friends and reconnect
3. Instead of wondering if you’ve panic-bought enough food, you come up with creative ways to eat those three-year old tins of tuna
4. I have a virtual game of Trivial Pursuit planned with buddies who’ll meet over video conference, and I can’t wait. So much better than hiding under my duvet with a bottle of Dettol.
· Breathe!
Deep, slow controlled breathing can help you regulate your anxiety.
It’s easy to forget that we have this incredible tool at our disposal - maybe because it seems too good to be true - but it’s available at every moment of every day. Let’s use it.
Breath work as a means to calm your nerves does, however, require a little consistency.
Start practicing once per day while you feel calm, as well as at any time you notice your anxiety spiking. With a little repetition, it can become a friend for life.
Here’s a simple protocol to follow:
1. Breathe in through the nose for a count of four
2. Breathe out through the mouth, slowly, for a count of six or eight (whichever feels most comfortable for you)
3. As you exhale, gently encourage your muscles to relax
4. Repeat for five minutes
· Finally, stay true to yourself
Panic can make us do things we wouldn’t usually. We can snap at loved ones, act selfishly and make choices we later regret.
These things are normal, so don’t beat yourself up about them, but remember that you do have a choice – you, and only you, are the master of your own behaviour.
If there’s one way to make all of this 10 times worse, it’s to forget our own values.
Stay true to yourself, treat others with the respect and support that you’d want to receive from them, and remember what’s really important to you.
Wouldn’t it be good to come out of this without the added burden of residual guilt?
