Beyond The Swinging Watch - Hypnosis and Psychology in Everyday Life

There was a blockage in Boots the other day; not the footwear…the shop. I don’t usually go in there because if I’m honest it’s all a bit too prawn sandwiches and neon lights (to quote Victoria Wood) for my liking, but it is a useful shortcut to the high street. The hold-up was the ever-extending queue for the prescription counter. As I and my fellow short cutters snaked our way through the shop, I noticed a stand with an array of sleep aid products. From nose clips and tapes to stop snoring, to herbal remedies and neck pillows; it confirmed what I already know from my private practice; sleep is an all too common problem.  Clients tell me they use all sorts of methods to help them gain some precious hours of shut-eye, but it seems with varying success.  Some people swear by stopping caffeine intake early in the afternoon, and never in the evening. Others make sure they don’t eat too late. Most follow the advice to stop using electronic devices before bed, the blue ligh...

  One behaviour people experience from one time or another is being an imposter; the feeling that they might get ‘caught’ out for not being as good at what they do as people assume they are. Imposter syndrome is where an individual doubts their accomplishments and abilities and these are converted into a fear of being exposed as a fraud. Interestingly, this still happens when there is plenty of evidence to the contrary.  What do you attribute your successes to? Unjustified feelings of being an imposter are an attribution bias. It is a tendency to attribute successes to luck or poor judgment on the part of others’. In a self-deprecating way, the assumption is that they are ‘just getting by’ and if others saw the real them then they would less than impressed. When we feel this kind of imposter syndrome, we failing to have any internal acknowledgment of our own achievements, something which is characteristic of those suffering from anxiety, and unsurprisingly, low self-estee...