What tomorrow brings...

20% of population are not getting enough..... Sleep!

Around 20% of the adult population are said to be sleep-deprived at any one time. Experiencing mild to moderate sleep disturbance also causes problems in cognitive thinking and reaction times comparable to being drunk. Maybe you weren't expecting to hear that, but it has been shown to be true. Maybe you have felt drained when working to deadline or on a tough project and sleep has been the last thing on your mind.

So what if you are waking up several times during the night? what do you find yourself doing? Tell yourself you should stop thinking about something?

Do you turn over, plump up the pillow and fall asleep again or does your brain start to rev up and charge into action? Do you have to get up and make a drink or read a book to feel sleepy again? Can you sleep better in a chair than in your bed? Do you dread going back into bed? You are not alone. I've worked with people who suffered sleep deprivation and its' knock-on effects on their lives. It can be helped, it doesn't need to continue to have the impact it is.

If there are lots of things going on in your life, perhaps some things you have not tackled before, it can be difficult to drop off to sleep again. You see, I think of it like this, your brain is waking you up to help resolve the problem consciously. If our unconscious mind, the part that has all our previous experiences and values safely tucked away, cannot resolve a problem during REM sleep (the deepest part of sleep, when Rapid Eye Movement occurs), it requests the conscious mind get in on the act to help solve the problem. It's doing it's best to help in this situation. Perhaps this is not what we ideally want at 4am in the morning, so it can feel frustrating and tiring!

In the past, during difficult times in my life, I have found my normally regular sleep pattern destroyed temporarily. I found myself waking up in the wee small hours as if I was in an unpleasant dream. Then whatever had been playing on my mind earlier in the day came back to me. I was left considering what it was that I was being asked to solve. I was fortunate as sleep eventually descended after a while. Perhaps in part as I took a few simple steps to deal with the problem.

Writing my thoughts down was one way of tackling that shut-eye intrusion. Have you tried it? What did you find happened? Also making sure you switch off equipment like TV and phone at least 30-45 minutes before bedtime.

What else do you use to help with sleep disturbance/ insomnia? Or are you a master at super sleep habits? I look forward to hearing your own stories of sleep, how you get back to sleep or drop off to sleep in the first place? What do you think has helped you deal with sleeplessness?

I'd love to hear what experiences with sleep (or lack of) that you have had.

Believe and you can achieve

If you have a goal, keep reaching for it. The journey is as important as the destination and coaching and hypnotherapy can allow you to visualise and make those dreams a reality. 'Believe and you can achieve'

Let go of things you cannot control...

Merry Christmas to all my clients and to those in 2013

Sickness Return...?

Winter, don't you love it? Crisp, cold mornings where you get all wrapped up and ready to face the chill factor. It's also the time of year when illnesses like coughs, colds, flu's and viruses spread more rapidly.

There's things you can do to help yourself and others avoid some of these bugs. Washing your hands after sneezing and using paper tissues when you have a cold will help to avoid spreading it further. Making sure you keep hydrated and also eating healthily including vegetables to keep necessary vitamins and minerals topped up.

Taking time off work may be a worry for some people when they have an illness, particularly if they have already taken time off before. Maybe your company has a strict absence policy or perhaps you can't afford not to miss another day as you won't get paid? Worrying only makes you feel worse, so you crawl out of your sick bed and grudgingly return to work - only to find you feel ten times worse the next day and reluctantly have to call in sick again. I've done this a few times in the past and can say in hindsight it probably took me longer to get over an illness than if I had rested and allowed my body the chance to recover. In returning to work I also probably spread germs to other people. Even with the best will in the world you can't stop all germs from escaping. Think about the cascade effect - how many others affected by our choices? If you can recover a bit longer at home, your colleagues may appreciate it.

What happens though if you are fearful of germs and getting ill? More people than you might imagine see this as a real and frightening fear. It eats up any sensibility even in the most rational of people in every day life. I've worked with a number of people on dealing with fear of becoming ill, of being ill and of coming into contact with germs. I want to reassure you that there is the potential to get over the fear. It's not a magic bullet approach, although with support you can make changes to how you feel and deal with this, and to deal with the underlying reasons.

So if you wanted to know more about dealing with fear of germs or fear of becoming ill, give me a call. Book a free initial consultation to find out how I can help.
You can call the Norfolk Clinic reception on 01603 660792 or call me directly on 07773 610816.

About the Author: Angie works at the Norfolk Clinic Complementary Healthcare Clinic, 38-40 Magdalen Road, Norwich. She loves helping other people achieve their potential at work and in life and achieving happiness using a range of therapeutic techniques.
Twitter: angie_therapist
Facebook: Angie Giles Hypnotherapy

Love doesn't need to hurt

If there is one thing that can hurt more than anything, and from seeing and hearing the impacts of this in my work, it is the pain and consequences of a relationship ending.

Doing the 'leaving' may seem right, or it might have felt right at the time. It may be a pattern of someone choosing to end relationships once the initial euphoria and 'spark' has worn off. Unconsciously or consciously looking for the next exciting new lover in the same way that a drug addict chases the next 'high'.
Sadly, it can also be a person not believing they are worthy of being loved. It doesn't matter how many times they are told or even shown they are loved, they cannot believe it for whatever reason. As a result there is a need to escape or to push the other person away. Indirectly or directly achieving what they believed in the first place, that they were not worthy of that other person.

Or it could be that jealousy interferes with the relationship. A person fears what their partner might or might not be doing. They in turn are over-vigilant with their partner and it can damage trust. Clinging to their views about the relationship. In response the other person may not be able to match what the other desires and the relationship tips further and further out of balance.

The root of the upset often lies within an individual. Their experience has made them distrust others, they sometimes lack confidence and seek to have the relationship on their terms, instead of a mutually comfortable partnership. It does not matter what the experience - it is possible to overcome their past and look forward to a happier future. It may take a bit of work - and is it not worth investing in yourself if you are to invest your feelings in a relationship with someone else?

In order to look for a long term, healthy and stable relationship it helps to see beyond the first fizzy, heady exciting part of romantic love. To look and understand the person who may actually be the perfect partner. So what if they are a great kisser? (well of course it's nice) But - how do they cope under pressure - easily or angrily? Are they confident with others? Do people describe them as happy/ kind/ gentle/ fun or moody/ sulky/angry? How does that compare with what you thought when you had those first dates?

I know it's easy to write this, and I know, much harder to put some of this into practice! It can be achieved - you just have to step back a bit. What is equally important is knowing what you like about yourself. Gaining self-approval opens the doors to a happier state of being and of finding someone else to share that with and who respects you for who/ what you are.

Want more than a fling? Here's my top tips:
* Consider what you like about yourself - or, what do others value in you?
* Let go of trying to please someone else
* Look beyond the initial spark of a relationship and pay attention to what the other person is really like and how others describe them
* Create free-time for each partner, to do things separately - allowing breathing space in a relationship can be good for both of you

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection ― Siddhārtha Gautama

About the Author: Angie loves helping other people achieve their potential at work and in life and achieving happiness using a range of therapeutic techniques. Available via skype, telephone as well as face to face. Based in Norwich, Norfolk, UK.