Beyond The Swinging Watch - Hypnosis and Psychology in Everyday Life

  In 1977, Albert Bandura proposed an idea that your results are not a result of skill, they are dictated by what you believe, you can do. It was termed "The self-efficacy code.” Students, athletes, white/blue collar workers and leaders were studied. The were matched for the same intelligence, available resources and opportunities It was observed that people with talent failed while those without it succeeded. The difference wasn't ability. Why? Some people attempted challenges. Others avoided them entirely. Some persisted after failure. Others quit immediately. The outcome wasn't dictated by skill, it was the pattern of belief. Not positive thinking, Not confidence. A deeper belief: "Can I handle this?” Bandura suggested belief in your ability shapes your behaviour before reality. What you believe you can do determines what you try. What you try determines what you become. He called this belief Self-Efficacy. What behaviour does self-efficacy shape? What challenges y...

  How many times have you heard the advice: ’Just think positive’? It’s the ‘just’ part that bothers me the most. If changing negative thinking was a simple as just thinking positively, wouldn’t everyone do that? The act of challenging negative thinking is tough because it requires an individual to reappraise how they believe things are. It means having to change position in the our mental argument. We become fixed on a way of thinking and it shapes our expectations. Giving up what we have spent time mentally building and then admitting acknowledging there are more useful ways to think about things, is not easy. Take one look at a social media post about politics and you will get all the evidence you need to support just how difficult it is for people to consider a different point of view! Positivity has to be grounded in reality if it is to begin to change negative thinking. No amount of me thinking positively is going help someone run a marathon this afternoon, but using it to su...

  Anxiety is a common experience that affects millions of people worldwide. While it can serve a useful purpose by alerting us to potential dangers, chronic anxiety can lead to a range of long-term impacts that significantly affect an individual’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being. As a Hypnotherapist, I often work with clients struggling with anxiety. Mental Health Challenges Living with chronic anxiety can increase the risk of developing other mental health disorders. Anxiety often coexists with conditions such as depression, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The persistent worry and fear can lead to feelings of hopelessness, isolation, and sadness. Over time, this can result in a downward spiral of mental health, making it more challenging to manage anxiety and contributing to a complex interplay of symptoms that can be overwhelming. Physical Health Consequences The long-term effects of anxiety aren’t limited to mental health; they can also manif...

  What Is Meant By The Term Psychological Resilience? There are many definitions of reliance, but we could settle for the ability to be able to cope, adapt, recover and learn from life’s challenges. Coping usually refers to being able to ‘sit with’ unpleasantness/distress with the knowledge that you can weather that storm and things will improve. This particular interpretation and response to difficult circumstances makes us less likely to become overwhelmed. Adapting to stresses is a helpful aspect of resilience. It refers to altering your behaviour (and interpretation of events) about the demands of the circumstances. A lack of resilience leads us to respond in the same way: “Because that’s what I always do”. Linked to this is the ability to learn from events which of course informs how you adapt to future stressful experiences. That knowledge will also strengthen your ability to cope with further unpleasantness. Once all these elements are in play, your ability to recover from s...