When 26-year-old Rob Ward set up his own company he didn’t bank on one additional obstacle he’d need to climb; stress.

Only stress for Rob meant he suffered up to 4 panic attacks a day and it was affecting the quality of his life.
“I just wanted to go to bed all the time,” he said.
“The only time I felt safe from it was when I was asleep. But then sometimes I’d wake up and have an attack.”

Rob was even rushed to hospital at times because he genuinely thought he was having a heart attack.
But despite seeking help, he was told by doctors that it would pass and that he would have to live with it.
He was referred to a self-help group and was even prescribed pills eventually, but nothing helped.
Rob, who runs his own security alarm company in Coventry,  came to me back in April because, despite the fact that he was trying desperately to cope with these attacks and battling on, he had had enough.

“I drive a lot with my job and it was really getting to me. If I had left it any longer I think depression could have taken hold,” he said.
“But it took Russ a couple of hours to help me – not the months, years I’d been told.
“After the treatment I do still get a bit stressed out, but I can totally deal with it. I know the triggers and the warning signs and if I feel it coming on I know how to manage it. It is so much better than it was and it is no longer taking over my life.”

Helping people with panic attacks and anxiety is a subject very close to my heart after I suffered with this condition 15 years ago.
I wrote about how I lived with anxiety recently and I only wish I had taken the initiative to seek help straight away, like Rob.
I use a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy and hypnosis I aptly call the Bridge Technique to treat this. Anyone suffering with this condition or knows someone who is, direct them here and let them read Rob’s story - it IS treatable and avoidance only makes matters worse.

Picture: Dreamstime

It’s that time of year again when many, many people are thinking beyond the festivities to January and making promises to themselves that they will finally lose weight.
Well, let me tell you, if you’re thinking of going on a diet you’re likely to fail.

Diets do not work.

When you deprive yourself of anything you are more likely to obsess about food and then you’ll be in a vicious circle. You will think about food constantly and have to deprive yourself of something you’re constantly feeling you want.
It’s simply unsustainable.

I have had many years of experience of with weight loss.
And the only way to change for good – to keep the weight off once you lose it – is to change the way you think about food.

People tend to use food to escape an emotion – be that anger, sadness, insecurity, upset, loneliness. Emotional hunger is NOT physical hunger and yet they can feel the same. But obviously you will never be satisfied by food if you are feeding emotional hunger.
And this pattern of feeding your emotions can become addictive – THIS is why you need to learn how to spot the difference.

So if you diet and lose weight, the minute those emotions rear their head again, you will slip back into your old was and put the weight back on.
It’s simply exhausting to live like this, constantly having to think about what you eat or don’t eat.

So how do you recognise the signs? How can you tell the difference between emotional and physical hunger?
Well, first of all physical hunger has a slow and gradual build up.
Have you ever had an argument and reached for a chocolate bar or a biscuit to ‘fill a hole’? Or have you been in the house on your own, lonely, and found yourself standing in front of the fridge door to make you feel better?
This is not real hunger. You are replacing doing something about that emotion with feeding it.

So I say to you again. DO NOT go on a diet.
Unless you have addressed the underlying reasons for over eating, the minute something goes wrong, or you’re stressed or you take your eye off the goal, you will return to your old eating habits and the weight just goes straight back on.
You then feel like an utter failure and the cycle starts all over again.

I’ve had many, many success stories using my hypnotherapy for weight loss technique.

But don’t take my word for it; read the testimonials on my website and see for yourself the real people who have had real results and whose lives have totally changed.

If you have any questions or just want a chat about any of the Russell Hemmings’ weight loss methods call 024 76711184 or email info@russellhemmings.co.uk – all advice is totally free of charge.
You can also visit the Russell Hemmings blog at or visit the Bridge Hypnotherapy Clinic Facebook page where clients share their successes.

Two years ago I broke my back.
I lay in agony in a hospital bed, feeling down and miserable – and cursing ever climbing that tree!
But all of that was nothing to the anxiety, panic attacks and depression I suffered before becoming a hypnotherapist.

My first experience of panic attacks and anxiety was back in 1995.
I was working seven days a week, 12 hours a day. My relationship had broken down and I was exhausted.
I had been working in financial services for 15 years and was starting to question my career; my life. I just didn’t want to go on any more. The pain of living was too great and I wanted out.
I was anxious and panicky and constantly felt like I was caught in the headlights of an oncoming train and I couldn’t move.
I was having regular panic attacks and mistaking them for heart attacks. I found myself calling for ambulances I was so frightened. Everything felt out of sync, I became disassociated and felt totally out of touch with the world.

I went to my doctor who prescribed anti depressants.

That has all changed now.
Through therapy I changed how I was thinking and in turn the way I was feeling.
I will never compromise my mental health again. I am able to manage my feelings and my moods instead of them managing me.
I can tell when I am doing too much and am able to ease off and remind myself that life is a journey – it’s not the arrival that counts.

†I now run one of the busiest hypnotherapy centres in the country and treat patients who suffer with depression anxiety and panic attacks.
Many of my patients feel depression is a weakness and we need to change this perception and talk about it in the open.
If you do something like break your back, everyone rallies around you because they can see the problem and so sympathise. But you are not seen as a hero with depression and if anything you are avoided.
You feel isolated and comments like “snap out of it” or “pull yourself together” do not help.

So what is the message to take from this?
Never ever take your mental health for granted.
Anyone can become depressed and many of us will indeed suffer from depression or anxiety at some time in our lives.
If you felt flu coming on, you would do something to avert it, so treat your mental health with the same care.
Recognising you are depressed can be difficult. You may have constant flat moods or feel you are taking on too much and you can’t cope with it. And your behaviour may start to change.
If this happens to you, seek help.
Sometimes you may not even be able to put your finger on what is troubling you but it is best to react quickly to any symptoms as the sooner you deal with your depression or panic attacks the better.
Speak to your GP – there are more routes to go down besides medication such as cognitive therapy.

So how can hypnotherapy help?
One of the most researched approaches is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). It focuses on inappropriate and negative thoughts about ourselves and our futures, resulting in unhealthy negative beliefs and feelings.
But of vital importance is to have a good therapeutic relationship with the client. And my background and the fact that I’ve ‘been there and done that’ means I know exactly what it feels like to be them. I know where they are coming from and I know the journey they need to make to get better.

The majority of my clients who come here with depression and anxiety-related conditions such as panic attacks, have been recommended by previous clients. And that is the greatest compliment a therapist can have.

Anxiety disorders come in many guises and the best way to find the road to recovery is to recognise it quickly. And it is important to challenge patients’ avoidance strategies.
People around you who have never experienced panic attacks will be able to relate to how you’re feeling. You may feel as though you are going to lose control, go mad or, worst still, die. But the worst thing than can happen is the panic attack itself.
It is the fear of one or more of these things happening that maintains the fears and prolongs the feelings generated in your body – feelings that would normally be generated if we were in danger (the fight or flight response).
But having experienced all this myself puts me in a very strong position to help others recover from these disabling thoughts and feelings.

Anxiety is a 21st century epidemic and I have made it my business to tackle it head on.
I have walked that path and found my journey of recovery has that has given me the tools to help other sufferers recover and stay that way.

What is it that stops you from losing weight?
Inactivity? A sweet tooth? Comfort eating? A mixture of all of these?
I hear it so many times ‘I’ve tried to lose weight but every time something stressful happens I turn to food’. Or ‘I’ve lost the motivation to get up and exercise’ or ‘the children come first’.
Essentially your unconscious mind is controlling you and your ability to get healthy.
Everything is an effort and you’re constantly having to make a conscious decision to NOT eat that, or eat the right thing, or get moving.

But it doesn’t have to be like that.

What if you could tell your unconscious mind that actually you don’t need food if something stressful happens, you need exercise?
And that instead of feeling compelled to sit around being inactive you feel compelled to get up and get out or get to the gym?
What if you could ‘think yourself thin’?

If your unconscious mind is telling you these things you will no longer have that internal battle with yourself about what you should and shouldn’t eat/if you should or shouldn’t exercise/if you should or shouldn’t finish off the children’s leftovers!
You won’t have that internal battle because your unconscious mind won’t even be considering it.

Essentially, to successfully lose weight and keep it off you need to make a lifestyle change.

It’s not about dieting or denying yourself food groups or killing yourself with exercise.
It’s about finding a happy medium that works for YOU and committing to live like that going forward. And hypnotherapy can help make that a reality for you.

I have so many great stories of people turning their lives around through weight loss hypnosis. It is the best advert I can have for what I do; real people with real success stories.
Like mum of two Emma who dropped 4 dress sizes and now competes in marathons.
“I was disgusted at my lack of control over food. I was in denial – no one told me how fat I had become,” she told me.
And 36-year-old Sam who went from 13.5 stone down to 8 and says it has changed her whole family. “I remember someone once telling me ‘the bigger you are the smaller you feel’ and I can totally relate to that now. I am never going back. Never ever ever ever ever EVER!”

Emma and Sam were both treated with the Russell Hemmings Gastric Mind Band therapy, which is basically where your mind is ‘tricked’ into believing you have had a gastric band operation.
You think your stomach is smaller so you eat less and feel fuller, quicker.
These were both mums, with busy lives, who knew how to lose weight and get fitter – they just couldn’t do it. Their unconscious minds weren’t aligned!

But there are many other ways of helping you with weight loss, and just as everyone is different and their needs are diverse, so the hypnotherapy to help you will depend on your circumstances.
I have treated people with an addiction to Diet Coke – Claire came to see me because she was struggling to lose weight but she had no idea her addiction was causing her so much harm. In fact she had no idea she had an addiction!
And I’ve treated chocoholics with hypnotherapy, people who simply ‘had’ to have their fix of chocolate every day.

All of these are ways of helping to deal with the issues which prevent you from losing weight.

If you want to chat about weight loss hypnosis or just find out more about what it entails, drop me a line for a free consultation.
It could change your life.

Sam Alderwish is 36 and lives with her husband and her two young children in south Birmingham
And here in her own words is her experience of having gastric band hypnotherapy:

“Before having children I was always quite slim. I could pretty much eat anything – and I did!
But after my second child I just couldn’t shift the extra weight.
I didn’t really care to be honest, my priorities were elsewhere. I just wanted to focus on the children.
My husband would gently say things but I didn’t pay any attention. In fact, any time it was pointed out to me I would just rebel.
To be fair, my portion sizes were ridiculously large, but I didn’t want to hear it.

In May this year (when this ‘before’ photo was taken) I went to a party and when I saw the photos I felt fat and not at all confident.
By July I had put on even more weight.
I tried to diet, but I’d have a good couple of days and then the minute something bad or stressful happened I was back to square one and it would all go to pot.

I was trying to lose weight for a wedding we were invited to.
I remember trying a dress on in a shop and I got stuck in it – mortifying. But I just didn’t have the willpower to do anything about it.
Then, at the wedding one of my cousins was brutally honest with me, I came away feeling really crap but I think it’s what I needed to hear to spur me into action.
Then a couple of days later I watched Lorraine Kelly on TV and saw something about gastric band hypnotherapy and decided there and then that I would look into it.
I found Russell after researching online, phoned him, liked what he said and that was it.

He has literally changed my life
I have gone from 13.5 stone down to 8 after my first session in August.
I had 4 sessions; the second one was to ‘fit’ the gastric band and I can honestly say my weight loss has been easy.

I immediately went out and bought an exercise bike and it’s become a daily ritual now.
it has changed the way I eat. My portion sizes have dramatically reduced, I drink lots of water and lots of fruit (which I NEVER did before)
It is no longer a constant battle for me. In fact I’d say weight loss is easy
Plus my children get to see me exercising and eating healthily and my husband has even set himself up a little gym in the shed!

I can’t believe how it’s changed our whole family. I didn’t feel like I was in control before, now I have more energy, much more confidence – and I am constantly shopping because I keep going down dress sizes!
I can have a treat now and not feel like beating myself up about it, because I think it’s really important not to deprive yourself.
I remember someone once telling me ‘the bigger you are the smaller you feel’ and I can totally relate to that now.
I am never going back. Never ever ever ever ever EVER!
All my old clothes have gone now anyway so I can’t!”

Let me tell you, Sam looks amazing and it’s great to see how her transformation has has such a positive effect on the whole family too.
She has been charting her success on the Bridge Clinic Facebook page also, so you can see more photos of her success there!

A classic case of this was Louise Wilson from Coventry.
Louise suffered with a severe stair and heights phobia for 38 years.
The 43-year-old mum struggled through, putting up with her condition.
But it was having a massive impact on her life.
Shopping in the city centre became a nightmare because she couldn’t negotiate stairs in any of the stores, at parents’ evening at her son’s school, his teachers would have to come down the stairs to see Louise which also meant she couldn’t go up to his classroom as see his school work.

It had totally taken over her life. But then she decided enough was enough and she came to visit me and ask if I could help.

Here, in her own words, is Louise’s story of overcoming a life-long phobia.

“I truly don’t remember a time when I wasn’t scared of stairs and heights; it’s just always been there.
I would get panicky and full of adrenaline – I didn’t know what it’s like to NOT be frightened.
My earliest memories of my fear is walking up open slatted stairs in a castle, gripping on to the wall and crying, my mother really didn’t know what to do with me.

The phobia didn’t really start until I was an adult. It’s open slatted and open sided stairs I can’t cope with.
I would get all dizzy and feel sick and want to grip the floor.
There were so many jobs that I failed to even get to the interview for because of the stairs. Times when I had to explain to interviewers that “I’m sorry but I can’t get up those” and then you get ‘the look’. They must have thought I was insane and I certainly didn’t get that job!
In my twenties I went up the escalator in M&S (which as long as I don’t look to the left – the open side – I was ok with) but then realised that the only way down was a very long staircase.
I ended up having to go down on my bottom while hanging on to the rail! It was very busy at the time. I think they all thought I was drunk or something. Not many of my friends know about this problem as I have kept it secret as much as I can. If I was out with a friend and we needed to go up some stairs then I would admit to it, otherwise I kept quiet. I found the problem embarrassing to be honest.

When my son was a baby and I had to push the pushchair everywhere it was almost easier because you can’t use the pushchair up stairs so I had a reason to avoid them.

On holiday I find it frustrating when I have to be left behind while the rest of my family go to the top of the tower, or around the battlements of some castle. Most of my holiday photos are of them waving to me or of me sitting on some rock waiting for them to come down.
Although my husband understands I still felt alone, worthless and pretty much a burden to my family. 
The straw that broke the camel’s back was on the way home from our holiday, we decided to stop for a burger at the service station, only to find that the burger place was on the other side of the motorway and the only way to get there was across a glass enclosed bridge. I stood and watched my family go across as I didn’t want them to miss out, it was a poignant moment for me and I decided enough was enough.

I’ve walked past Bridge Hypnotherapy Clinic a hundred and one times before and not given it a second thought, except this time I noticed that it said they helped people with phobias.
Luckily the stairs to the clinic are enclosed although when I got to the top I couldn’t look down them. Just think if they had been open slatted I wouldn’t have been able to get up them!
Hypnotherapy has always been in my mind as a cure for my phobia, as just facing my fears alone felt too daunting. I have tried that before and it just seemed to make it worse. Once I had looked around and met Russell, I felt more relaxed and hopeful about my situation and I didn’t have long before my first appointment.

And after my first session I was standing at the top of those clinic stairs able to look down them without any fear! The first time in years. 
Then Russell took me out to Central Six, a local shopping centre, to help me face the stairs and bridge with him rather than alone. 

That evening I had a clear memory of falling off a slide on to concrete when I was about 4 years old and I phoned my mum to confirm it, although I still have the scar on my face. Russell was then able to use this memory in our next session and I feel this was the key to our success. I can now walk up the stairs and across the bridge at Central Six as if I have been doing it for years. I still have a few fears of heights when confronted by some stairs that I don’t know but I am still able to get up them! Still as they say practice makes perfect.

At the moment I am enjoying being able to get up and down stairs in all the shops in town with just a few that are really open but that won’t be for long, as the world is my oyster! If I ever have any problems I know that Russell is there to help and it’s very simple to book another session.
I managed to cross a bridge into town today and my sense of achievement after doing that was just huge!
Now I’m looking forward to next years holiday because I intend to not be the one sitting on a rock but instead looking at the views with my family.
I am a work in progress!”

Such a fabulous success story there from Louise whose life will be all the better for being free of her phobia.
And it’s also a good example to show that it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been suffering for, you can always be helped.

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Last week I talked about how children’s issues can be treated with hypnotherapy and shared the wonderful case study of the young teenager who suffered with a stammer.
His life has now totally changed thanks to a few sessions – one of the reasons I love working with children as it’s so satisfying to see these young people benefit from hypnotherapy.

Today I’d like to share another lovely story with you. That of Joe*, who suffered with a tic.
His worried mum went down the ‘conventional’ specialist route but it just didn’t work for him. So then she brought him to see me!
Here is mum Zoe’s* story in her own words . . .

Joe started having tics in Year 1 at school. It started as a sort of cough at first which we thought nothing of really. But then it slowly got worse and started to manifest itself in various other forms.
After 12 months we took him to a specialist who told us to ignore it as he would grow out of it. But he didn’t and then his tics started to get more physical.
He had this neck twitch which looked so painful for him.

Of course, by now the other children were starting to ask questions and at the age of eight, it was starting to get him down.
It was time to try something else! So I looked into hypnotherapy.

Joe has had four sessions of hypnotherapy, but after the first session I knew things would change. Only when he’s really tired now does it manifest itself but it is nothing like before. He’s so much better.

Generally he’s a really happy little boy and he’s got loads of friends and support so we really couldn’t understand why it was happening to him. But we discovered it was all wrapped up in him moving to a mixed class in Year 1 at school and we’d never picked up on how stressful he found it.
As a parent you want to try to help your child in any way, but you can’t. So hypnotherapy has been wonderful; for us all.

Joe had most of his treatments over the school holidays so of course the real test for him was when he went back to school with a new teacher and a new routine. But he was absolutely fine.
Now we feel much better as a family; we’re not worrying about him all the time. Right from the start Russell put Joe at ease and really connected with him. There was no pressure and he clearly explained what was happening all the time.

I only wish I had thought to do it sooner!

* Names changed to protect identities.

Such a lovely story.
To find out how a consultation would work, what to expect from hypnotherapy with me and what issues I can help with, visit the children’s hypnotherapy part of my website.
Or just give me a call; I’m always happy to have a chat.

There are so many children suffering with anything from confidence issues and exam fears to bed wetting, anger issues and  stuttering; ALL things that can be treated with hypnotherapy.

Picture: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Imagine if you’re a parent and your child is really struggling at school.

So I guess the short answer to the question is, yes, gastric band hypnotherapy really does work.

But as the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding, and I have had some amazing feedback from clients who have undergone this procedure.
They are the real people who can really tell you whether it works or not!

So how can hypnotherapy help?

Many will have heard how gastric band hypnotherapy has had amazing results for those who have tried it.
It’s been all over the press, with celebrities opting for the method instead of the usual, more invasive methods.
I have had many success stories myself using this method – remember the story of Emma and how she totally transformed herself after the HypnoBand therapy?
I’ve been all over the world to speak about this phenomenon.

But hypnotherapy can help in many other ways too. I’ve treated ‘chocoholics‘, people who use food as a reward, for comfort eating and even those who use food as a replacement for something that is missing in their life.
The important thing to remember when using hypnotherapy for weight loss is to find a therapist who understands that a weight problem is about more than just eating too much or being ‘too lazy’.
A good therapist will know exactly which hypnotherapy method is right for you. Because, like every thing in life, one size doesn’t fit all and just because the HypnoBand has worked for someone else, doesn’t mean it’s the right treatment for you.

For anyone who has been trying to lose weight for any amount of time, you have probably been on a journey of failed diets, slimming clubs, trips to the gym. And your emotions will have been on a similar rollercoaster journey.
But calorie counting isn’t the answer. Neither is denying yourself food, training yourself into the ground or sitting around waiting for a miracle to happen.
None of these will work because you have an underlying problem that is stopping you from losing weight.
You.

A course of hypnotherapy will access your unconscious mind – your inner voice – and encourage you to enjoy the right kinds of food, eat for the right reasons, eat at the right times and enjoy your food. It will also encourage you to STOP eating when you are full.

Sounds too good to be true?

Well, don’t take my word for it. Read all the testimonials from people whose lives have been transformed after undergoing hypnotherapy for weight loss. There are no greater advocates for any hypnotherapist!
However, be warned. The healthiest way to lose weight is NOT necessarily the quickest. But hypnotherapy WILL put you on the road to long-term success.

If you have any questions or just want a chat about any of my weight loss methods just drop me a line on 024 76711184 or email info@russellhemmings.co.uk – all advice is totally free of charge.