Hypnotherapy and BWRT in Cornwall with Trevor Wales for the effective treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder
Face 2 Face Hypnotherapy or BWRT ® appointments available at my clinic in Par, St Austell, Cornwall or in the privacy and comfort of your own home throughout Cornwall where practical.
Appointments also available world wide online via Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp and Facebook Video.
To make an enquiry or booking please call 01726 816947 or 07740 190261.
Alternatively you may send me an email enquiry via the contact form on the contact page to:-
Feeling the Winter Blues? Tired and run down feeling sad?
We all know that the winter is for many a very difficult time.
Cornwall,without doubt is a wonderful county of great beauty,but the long spells of cold and continuous wind and heavy rain in the winter months along with the last few wet miserable summers have been very hard for many people to deal with and can leave you feeling tired depressed with little energy with very little to feel good about.
If this is you ,you may be suffering from SAD.Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Awaking in the early morning, perhaps to a cold house. Perhaps you didn't sleep too well, because of worries and stress?
Looking out of the window you see another grey wet and windy day that makes you want to retreat back under the covers, or perhaps as it is December you see flurries of little tiny white snowflakes drifting down and settling to form a crisp white carpet?
Sounds like a scene from Raymond Briggs’ ‘The Snowman’ doesn't it? And even though such a scene may be most welcome to some, making school children dash for their sledges, it can cement feelings of dread in other people.
As the winter days get shorter with very little sunshine and the winter months get longer and spring seems so far away, the winter blues start to tighten its grip on the people who suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder.)
What is SAD?
It is a condition that affects many people who otherwise have a normal cheery disposition and who start to feel very down in the dumps for no apparent reason and experience lethargy and depressive symptoms as the days grows shorter and darker. Often a feeling of bleakness and dread sets in.
Frequently described as being sad or having the winter blues, this disorder detaches the sufferer from the joys and festive spirit usually associated with this time of the year. Unable to enjoy celebrating with family and friends the sufferers begin to feel an onset of hopelessness.
These symptoms are usually temporary for many people and often clear up as the seasons change.
For many years Seasonal Affective Disorder went unrecognized. However SAD was formally described and named in 1984 by Norman E. Rosenthal and colleagues in the USA at the National Institute of Mental Health.
Seasonal Affective Disorder is becoming better known nowadays through exposure in the media and publicity in the doctor’s surgery
What causes SAD?
Our internal ‘body clock’ is regulated by the amount of light hitting the retina. Opposite to summer, short, dark winter days would appear to trigger a reverse ratio of serotonin, (thought to regulate happiness, well-being, mood etc.) to melatonin (typically only released at night to facilitate sleep).
What are the treatments available?
There are many different treatments for classic winter-based seasonal affective disorder, including light therapy with sunlight or bright lights, antidepressant medication, cognitive-behavioural therapy, carefully timed supplementation of the hormone melatonin and Hypnosis.
What symptoms may a person suffering from SAD have?
Depression, anxiety and/or low mood
Sleep problems: difficulty getting up, feeling constantly tired, needing an daytime nap
Increased appetite: Overeating, cravings for carbohydrate rich or high fat foods
Feeling anti-social or emotionally disconnected
Finding it difficult to cope with daily tasks, struggling to concentrate
Diminished libido and relationship difficulties
If you identify with any of the above, this may all sound like doom and gloom, but there is a very good solution which can yield fast sustainable results and that can help permanently overturn SAD and it is the use of Hypnotherapy.
In addition to using hypnotherapy there are also plenty of other things you should do too, to help yourself further.
I recommend hypnotherapy be used as a natural complement to self-help because through the use of the intervention of hypnosis it allows you to make permanent and positive changes at a subconscious level which is where many of our problems lay that affect our unconscious behaviours.
What you can do to help yourself
See the light! Expose yourself to sunlight to boost serotonin. Get outdoors or use a lamp especially developed for SAD therapy for at least 20 minutes a day.
Reduce Stress levels. Chronic stress both physical and emotional, increases adrenaline and cortisol and destabilises serotonin. Commit to making the necessary changes to your lifestyle and ensure that you include regular relaxation.
Take regular exercise. Physical activity helps to lift a low mood.30 minutes of walking, jogging or cycling raises serotonin levels for up to four hours.
Vitamins. B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin) and B6 (pyridoxine) as well as folic acid, selenium, calcium, magnesium and vitamin D are needed to make serotonin. Vitamin D alone has been seen to positively impact mood and increase immunity. Only take the recommended dosage.
Balanced diet. This is a topic in and of itself. Look into some of the advice that expert fitness and nutritionist Dax Moy’s elimination diet plan gives. Give your body a dietary detox and start a whole new healthy eating regime.
Heat therapy. Perspiration helps to rid the body of toxins associated with low mood and lethargy. During the winter, a sauna, perhaps twice a week for at least 10 minutes will help in detoxing the body. Alternatively add calming or energising products to a warm bath. Both sea salts and algae are high in trace elements and help to replenish depleted vitamins and minerals such as calcium and iron. Add essential oils such as lemon, lime, orange or eucalyptus to energise the mind or basil to lift the spirit.
Body Massage. Studies show that massage can increase serotonin by 28% and decreases cortisol (the stress hormone) by 31%.
Why choose hypnotherapy for the treatment of S.A.D?
Hypnotherapy is a powerful way to overturn and resolve negative emotions like fear, guilt and anger. The fewer emotional barriers there are in our lives result in much reduced emotional stress leading to a more balanced life.
Using hypnosis one can learn to successfully manage stress and negative thought patterns, identifying and exploring/resolving emotional or psychological blocks that may be triggered by SAD and other depressive states.
Through the use of hypnosis negative self-talk, limiting beliefs & worrisome thinking may be dramatically reduced, restoring a sense of calm, confidence & self-esteem whilst bringing in new feelings of positivity, motivation and general confidence.
This in turn will help bring in a more naturally relaxed state which will also lead to better regulated sleep patterns.
A new re framed outlook and hope will allow the sufferer within a few sessions to permanently change their own views of this time of the year and start to be more optimistic and be more motivated to make necessary lifestyle adjustments ,i.e., diet and exercise etc.
Within a short period of time, who knows the individual may awaken the Joie de vivre and rediscover the spirit of Christmas they felt as a child and even start to enjoy the seasonal changes
If you have never been hypnotized before, you will find the whole experience very pleasant and relaxing. It’s very much like daydreaming. Hypnosis is completely drug free with no unpleasant side effects like feeling zoned out with no energy.
Every client receives a copy of the hypnosis session recorded onto cd to help with maximum reinforcement to assist in permanent change.
I work with a very wide area of the treatment of emotional problems in Cornwall and SAD is just one area I work in. I have helped clients successfully deal with anxiety, fears, phobias and panic attacks as well as Agoraphobia and Claustrophobia. My services are available either at my treatment rooms across Cornwall or in the comfort and privacy of your own home . Why not take a look at my testimonial page to see the positive feedback my clients have left me
Call me today for a free no obligation,discrete and confidential consultation of up to thirty minutes so that I can determine the best type of treatment for you.
To make an enquiry or booking please call 01726 816947 or 07740 190261.