Today is Summer Solstice, and here on the South coast of England, we've had a couple of really sunny days that have made my dog walks and bike rides to the gym, all that much more pleasant after what seemed like a never-ending wet and cold Spring. My daughter just got back from her first nights away from us on her end of Primary school residential trip and though it seems like most of the ground floor of our home is covered with her sleeping bag and mountains of washing, I've been so proud of her and her being back home has certainly lifted my spirits after last night's dismal footballing display by England in the Euro championships!  Anyway, with it being Summer Solstice, I thought it would be nice to offer up a hypnosis audio I recorded a while ago designed to elevate mood, I hope you'll download and enjoy it, more details below. 

I've been crafting a programme based upon some of the research we've conducted at Bournemouth University that shows how to use self-hypnosis for advancing strength and phsycial capacity. I'm going to be offering my hub members a sneak peak at the theoretical side of it and will be announcing a SUmmer school real-life workshop at my gym in Bournemouth where we'll be applying that theory. I am thrilled that a government agency has expressed an interest in my research and it's application i a couple of areas much needed in primary health care and I look forward to sharing further details of both of these things in coming weeks and months. 
 

I've got a large number of video clips to share this week - a couple of them are snippets whereby I thought I was being funny (referring to very quirky research and having a swipe at Sigmund Freud, for example), and as Alan Partridge says to himself in his podcast series often; I "must try standup." That aside, there are some clips that I think you'll enjoy covering a range of topics of psychosomatic disorders, when hypnotic prescription of imagery goes wrong (!), hypnosis academics who influenced me, and why you don't have to be relaxed to be hypnotised.
 

I have a number of  new articles for you also - in particular one that sets out to show you how to bring more kindness into your life, one offering a critique of hypnosis in films, one that shows how to defeat 'amygdala hijack', one that shows a number of neuroscientific ways to boost mental and one that shows how to stave off cognitive decline! . 
 

Wherever you are in the world, I hope the sun is shining for you in all manner of ways. 

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Ok, let's get on with it, shall we?

1. Back in 2019 (in London’s finest ‘Bunker’ lecture theatre – if you know, you know) I gave a lecture entitled ‘Hypnosis Quirkology’ whereby I explained and discussed some of the quirkiest hypnosis research. In one section, I spoke of a number of studies that had modelled delusions of varying kinds using hypnosis – which was/is an amazing way to study certain conditions in the absence of willing or capable research participants. The full lecture can be found in my hypnotherapist development hub archives.

Watch Video here: Hypnosis As a Tool to Model Delusion.
 

2. Often as hypnotherapists, it can be important to de-pathologise our clients’ mental health challenges in order for that individual to develop self-efficacy, feel capable, feel more in control of themselves and establish a sense of hope about their mental well-being. I explained this in a lecture at the end of last year.

Hypnotherapy is ideal for helping overcome psychosomatic disorders as they share some similar mechanisms. When we additionally learn how to de-pathologise the presenting challenge, hypnotherapy helps clients presenting an underlying challenge without an apparent pathology find empowerment for healing.

Watch Video here: Understanding Psychosomatic Disorders: Creating a Path to Healing. 
 

3. The Fascinating Connection Between Country Music and Suicide Rates Revealed…

Further to the clip I shared last week during my 2019 lecture about the quirkiest hypnosis research studies, I framed the presentation by citing some winners of the Ig Nobel Science Prize awards – a satirical prize awarded to research that at first makes you laugh, then makes you think!

I mean, where would we be without such important research findings and unexpected correlations?

Watch Video here: The Quirkiest Scientific Research Ever?
 

4. In this clip, I had been explaining that one of the first times I was hypnotised by a hypnotherapist, I objected to being told to imagine lying on a beach… And explain my sensitivity in NSFW style. In the clinical environment, we are like to derive better responses if we agree upon what we’ll use with the client beforehand, or if we give enough room for them to project meaning onto the suggestions we give, so they can interpret them accordingly and they can make those suggestions their own.

Watch Video here: When Prescribing Exact Hypnotic Experiences Goes Wrong.
 

5. Last weekend, I was discussing the topic of anger and what the latest science had to say about the best and most effective ways to deal with it, and naturally I contrasted it to some rather dated notions and approaches from the past that still tend to pop up in mainstream thought from time to time. I spoke of Sigmund Freud’s notion that people are emotionally hydraulic and therefore need to vent their anger before it was displaced in problematic fashion – and before I explained that, I took the opportunity to have a cheap swipe at the man, even when he was not around to defend himself…

#sorrynotsorry

Watch Video here: Sigmund Freud – A Cheap Shot.
 

6. The top five academics and researchers who influenced my own research, clinical work, teachings and were cited most in my own published papers are Prof Zoltan Dienes (Uni of W Sussesx, UK), Prof Alamnda Barnier (Macquarie Uni, Australia), Prof Steven J Lynn (formerly Binghamton Uni, US), Prof Eva Banyai (Uni of Budapest, Hungary) and Prof Irving Kirsch (formerly Harvard Uni, US and Uni of Hull and Plymouth, UK). Feel so lucky to have met and spent time with them all discussing hypnosis.

Watch Video here: Hypnosis Academics Who Influenced My Own Work the Most.
 

7. A great many people associate hypnosis and hypnotherapy with being relaxed. Many therefore assume that in order to be hypnotised, they must be relaxed, and if you struggle to relax, you might therefore assume you’ll struggle with hypnosis. However, evidence shows us that hypnosis and relaxation are not correlated and certainly not dependent upon one another.

There is a large body of evidence showing active alert applications of hypnosis can be just as effective and are in fact more desirable on occasions.

This is great news for our anxiety clients who may respond poorly by a hypnotherapist insisting that they relax. Perfectly fine to tell those people that although we may plan to help them relax, they do not ned to relax in order for the hypnosis to happen or for it to be effective. Saying as much will often actually help them relax, ironically.

Watch Video here: You Don’t Have to Be Relaxed to Be Hypnotised!

New Articles:

All articles are founded in science and have references for you to explore should you wish: 
 

Back in 2012, I wrote an article that stated..... Sometimes we don’t need to go for a deep, lengthy therapeutic procedure. Sometimes we just want to give ourselves a lift, especially if we have been in a bad mood for a while, or maybe been subjected to a number of problems in our life that have made it seem difficult to snap into a great mood, or perhaps we’ve been ignoring good stuff or felt that there has not been a lot to get excited about… Well todays process is absolutely for just getting a pep up, a mood advancement process.

The reason I refer to it being ‘first aid’ for a bad mood is because it deals with symptoms of a bad mood.

I can remember being at an NLP training in the late 1990s, watching Richard Bandler on stage presenting and he suggested that we all force a smile on our faces three times in succession and to observe closely what happened within us. All those of us that did it felt better and got a shot of well-being, though it varied in intensity. It was a great way to alter mood. It actually started me off with a fit of giggles at the time and just thinking about that experience continues to make me smile.

Likewise, when I think of Frank Spencer or Tommy Cooper and their hilarious facial expressions in their comedy routines and old TV shows, I get a shot of humour and joy in my head that advances my mood for sure… I am also one of those people who laughs at comedy shows where there is some misfortune experienced, so I laugh at facial expressions of disgust or failure sometimes too.

Then there are funny sounds. I think most boys find whoopied cushions hilarious and therefore farting sounds make them laugh, but there are many things that are considered hilarious by us all when we hear them or imahine hearing them. The classic circus clowns music or the Benny Hill theme tune also seem to be the kinds of sounds that are impossible to maintain feelings of misery when they are playing and make me smile. Here, try it yourself… (If you force smiles onto your face at the same time, in time to the beats of the music, it is even harder to remain miserable!)

So if all that stuff can help you feel better, and offer up some first aid for a dip in mood, then why not combine it all?

That is what Assen Alladin offers up to help deal with initial symptoms of depression, using a process detailed in the Handbook of Cognitive Hypnotherapy For Depression.  Of course, if you have depression, then you’ll need to see a qualified professional and get tailored solutions and not rely on snippets, generic audios and techniques offered up by people such as myself. I can’t claim that these processes are anywhere near as effective as proper therapeutic solutions offered up by a therapist who tailors things for your specific requirements and needs.

So back in 2012, I compiled a number of those processes and combined them in an audio as a means of generating a great mood. It does not have to be used only if you have a bad mood, it can be used as a pick-me-up or a booster of some kind too. My Summer Solstice celebratory gift to you. 


Hypnosis Audio Download: First Aid for a Bad Mood.


Useful resources for hypnotherapists and budding Self-Hypnotists: 

Visit this page for lots of resources for hypnotherapists.

Visit this page for loads of resources and tuition about self-hypnosis: Learn Self-Hypnosis. 
 
My Hypnotherapist Development Hub.

There is so much education, support and resources included and that can be accessed if you are a member of my Hypnotherapist Development Hub. Visit the link here for full details on how to subscribe to it monthly or annually. 
 

The evidence based hypnosis meme of the week is  below....

Evidence based hypnosis meme of the week. 
A double blind trial aimed to investigate the effectiveness of hypnotherapy on the pain intensity of endometriosis patients treated with dienogest.  Participants were divided into a control group and an intervention group and both groups were given 2 mg of dienogest tablets daily as prescribed by the gynaecologist. The hypnotherapy group also received 8 weekly sessions online for 30 - 45 minutes.   Dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia severity scores reduced significantly and pelvic pain was reduced on average among the hypnotherapy group controlled to the control group.  Authors conclude that hypnotherapy, along with drug treatment, was more effective in relieving endometriosis pain than drug treatment alone (Shahriyaripoor et al., 2023).   Link to full research paper given in my college Facebook group.... 
 

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