So, what’s hypnotherapy for Yorkshire all about?
To put it bluntly, as Yorkshire folk do, it’s about helping your mind, so you can leave behind anything that’s troubling you.
Easy as that.
What is hypnotherapy for Yorkshire?
More later, but it’s a way of relaxing so I can talk to your subconscious and land a message there. It’s not mind control. It only works if you agree to ‘let me in’.
And why does it work on Yorkshire folk?
Hypnotherapy for Yorkshire plays to Yorkshire characteristics of being direct, pragmatic, friendly, warm and lacking pretension. And a money saver.
I’ll deal with all of these.
Direct. There’s nothing fancy about the language that’s used. In fact the simpler the easier it is to make a change for the better.
Pragmatic. It’s whatever words and ideas it takes to get you to change your thoughts, feelings and behaviours for the better. There’s no high falutin’ theory.
Friendly. The whole thing that underpins this is you being kind to yourself. Also from my point of view there’s no judgement, or chastising.
Warm. As above the whole process is about giving you more calm in your life. That’s the warmth and kindness. It’s also why I called my business the Gentle Mind - you make better/kinder decisions about yourself when you’re calm.
Lacking pretension. It’s the exact opposite. There’s no pretending. It’s you being true to yourself. Understanding that you are not your thoughts. You don’t even have to believe them. It’s you being true to yourself.
A money saver. Unlike some therapies I don’t intend to keep you long. What I do is quick to make a difference to most people. For example, quitting smoking or vaping is usually a couple of sessions. Stopping a phobia like spiders, flying, heights or needles is normally three sessions.
So what is hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy has been described as changing the mind from within.
It’s simply a way of relaxing so I can talk to your subconscious and land a message there.
It’s not mind control. It only works with your permission.
You’re not asleep, or under someone’s control.
Hypnotherapy for Yorkshire. Why is it growing?
There’s a rising interest in wellbeing and mental health across Yorkshire towns and cities like Leeds, York, Sheffield, and Harrogate.
This ties in with modern living - busy lifestyles, stress, the COVID legacy and the growing need for more health options.
10 examples of Hypnotherapy for Yorkshire.
(1). Work stress. Yorkshire has all sorts of careers and professions: barristers, bankers, CEOs, accountants, lawyers, self-employed, famers, academics, construction, logistics, in fact it’s a full nation in one county. And all work brings its own pressure and stresses.
Typical scenarios include:
A. You’ve reached the top and feel the pressure, feel imposter syndrome, feel disappointed and ask yourself, “Is this it?”, “Is this what I worked for?”, “Is this all there is?”
B. You’re confidence is having a wobble. For example, your sales figures are down, you dread public speaking especially in front of colleagues.
C. You’re neurodiverse and feel you can’t fit in. Your autism, dyslexia, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) makes the workplace hard.
D. After COVID you struggle going back into the office.
F. You’ve problems at home and it’s affecting your work.
(2). Break up and bereavements. Someone’s left your life who you thought would always be there. A parent. A child. Your partners cheated or left.
(3). Help for children. It can be tough being a child these days. Lost interaction because of COVID. 11+, GCSE, A level and Oxbridge exam pressure. Social media bullying. Coming to terms with a diagnosis of ADHD, Autism or Aspergers or dyslexia. All these things feed into children’s anxieties.
Also Yorkshire CAMHS waiting lists vary significantly by area and need, with urgent cases rightly prioritised, but long waits (potentially over two years for autism/ADHD) are common.
To be clear I can’t ‘cure’ ADHD, Aspergers, autism or dyslexia. But what I can do is make it easier to live with the challenge. Dial down the anxiety these conditions bring, so your child can get on with school and life.
Examples where hypnotherapy can help:
Feeling you don’t ‘fit in’ socially.
Disorientated by noise - especially in classrooms and school corridors.
Boost confidence, so you will ask when you don’t understand what’s said.
(4). Rural living. Over 80% of Yorkshire is rural, particularly in North Yorkshire where up to 85% is classified as “super sparse” meaning that living there you live in very small communities. Hypnotherapy for Yorkshire can help with the following:
A. Loneliness.When you live in a small village with limited access to transport (buses and trains) you can feel trapped. Also when you stay and all your friends move away for work or college.
B. Worry/stress. Working in farming and agriculture is lonely and stressful. Commodity prices, the pressure to keep the family farm that’s been in the family for generations, the feeling that you don’t fit it (especially sexual orientation)
C. Horse riders. It’s easy when horse and rider love each other. You have the bond. But sometimes it just isn’t there. When one side loses confidence in the other it’s hard - and dangerous. Being calm is something that your horse can pick up on and gives you a great chance to be ‘friends again.
Why? Horses have highly tuned emotions. In effect, horses can "eavesdrop" on human emotional states, sensing fear, anxiety, anger, confidence through facial expressions, vocal tones and body language.
This means they can react to a rider's anxiety, often showing increased heart rates themselves when riders are stressed.
And they remember how people have treated them, responding better to positive interactions.
This heightened awareness makes your horse a very responsive partner, but also why a calm, confident rider is crucial, as horses mirror your emotional states. Your horses trust and behaviour depends on your calmness.
As an aside I’m the official hypnotherapist for Horse & Hound.
(5). Sports performance. Hypnotherapy for Yorkshire isn’t all about removing a negative. It can be about making you even better. An even higher performer. Across the region I work with professional footballers and rugby players and those wanting to get better at their game. I’ve worked with the following:
Golfers. Typically when your swing goes, you get the ‘yips’, or when you feel judged by other when you play through.
Tennis players. All aspects of the game. It’s best explained in The Inner Game of Tennis.
Racing drivers. Improving your chances of making the next level or attracting the attention of an F1 team
Runners. Fell running is big in Yorkshire. And, for example, sometimes runners can loose confidence in running down hills. They feel they’re out of control.
(6). Weight management. This is not dieting. This is about you changing your relationship with food. Not thinking of food as the answer to your stresses, anxieties, or a habit that gives comfort. You learn to enjoy the right amount of food and that’s it.
(7). Phobias. A phobia is a fear. Something you’ve built up in your head. It’s not rational and it acts against you, holds you back. These are some of the more common ones that Hypnotherapy for Yorkshire deals with:
(a). Flying. For most people this is based on a lack of control. Even before you arrive at, say, Leeds-Bradford or Robin Hood airport your heart’s racing and you’re sweating. Then, on the plane, you worry what will happen and dread any turbulence.
(b). Heights. You can’t climb a ladder. Or may even feel nauseous at the top of the stairs. Dread high views. Looking down from towers, or the top of skyscrapers
(c). Rollercoasters. It’s usually a combination of flying and heights. There’s a loss of control, fear others will judge you for not going, the doom
(d). Needles. This can stop you having blood tests, getting inoculated, or make it challenging if, say, you’re having cancer treatment.
(e). Food. Usually this is a legacy of childhood. It can be existing foods or the fear of trying new. This can impact on going out for meals - with work or on dates - and your overall health.
(f). Spiders. This is usually a learnt behaviour. For example, you’ve seen your mum squeal and jump on a chair. You pick this up and take it on board as your own behaviour. Most commonly a fear of spiders stops people from travelling to exotic places as they fear the topics and jungles. Also buying an old house as a fixer-upper, people feel there will be creepy crawlies in there.
(g). Enclosed spaces. Lifts, trams, or crowds. All can be a problem to some people. You’ feel there’s a loss of control: no way out.
(h). Germs. Especially after COVID you might feel that it’s hard to tell what is clean. Typically a fear of germs closes your world down. You don’t like going to new places, it’s hard to eat out, or be in public spaces. All situations that can be dialled down.
(i). Social situations - you’re out of sorts thinking about a party, even meeting lots of the family and public speaking fill you with dread.
(j). Vaginismus. The involuntary tightening of vaginal muscles, making penetration (like intercourse, tampon insertion, or medical procedures) difficult or painful.
(k). Vomit/emetophobia. You fear going out, especially to parties and pubs in case anyone is sick. It can also play into your fear of flying, or having a baby
(8). Sleep improvement. Sleep is so important. It’s where we repair cells and boost the health of our immune systems. But so many things can create a restless ness. Worry, late night scrolling, restless legs, a partners snoring, the menopause.
(9). Addictions. I cover smoking, vaping, drugs (heroin, cocaine, crystal meth, cannabis, ketamine), gambling, sex and porn.
(10). Pain management. Pain signals travel from the body to the brain. The brain, in turn, interprets them as pain. We’re looking to work together to ‘dial down’ this feeling. Be it acute pain - a sudden onset for a short duration, often linked to injury, or chronic pain that lasts beyond normal healing (often for more than three months). I also work with fibromyalgia sufferers and cancer patients.
Hypnotherapy for Yorkshire. What’s the science behind hypnosis?
Okay, so there’s stage hypnosis for entertainment. But there’s also clinical hypnosis known as hypnotherapy. This is where hypnosis is used to cure a medical complaint like the ones I’ve outlined above.
And there’ plenty of evidence to support it’s success. That’s why it’s recommended by the NHS, The Royal College of Psychiatrists and The Royal Society of Medicine (where I do my professional development). Also The American Psychological Association and American Medical Association have recognised hypnotherapy as a valid procedure since 1958.
If you’re interested there’s a good article here.
Hypnotherapy for Yorkshire. What's a typical session like?
It starts with me working with you to figure out what exactly the challenge is. I then teach you hypnotherapy. And to be clear it only works if you want it to. All I have is words and I need your belief in the process.
Basically I’m giving you the tools to change your mind for the better about anything that’s happened to you and leave you a calmer, more confident version of yourself.
Also you will only accept suggestions you to choose to accept. Hypnotherapy isn’t mind control or a trance state: it’s simply you relaxing and letting me ‘talk’ to your subconscious
And, to be clear, hypnotherapy is entirely confidential. I’m bound by The Data Protection Act 2018.
Where you’ll find me in Yorkshire.
Hypnotherapy for Yorkshire is based in Leeds, York and Harrogate. You can chat to me at jamesthomas@thegentlemind.co.uk or call me on 07787563099 any time.
I’m open 8 am to 9pm Monday to Friday and can do weekends too.
I call my business The Gentle Mind because I believe we are a better version of ourselves when we're calmer.
