What happens when you quit smoking ?

Posted on 17th April 201820th May 2019 by admin

The nicotine in smoking causes your blood pressure to rise so, when you become a non-smoker, you reduce the risk of hypertension, heart conditions, and other health issues.

Smoking causes narrowing of the blood vessels which restricts blood flow to the extremities. So, don't be surprised when you find your fingers and toes feeling a little warmer soon after you become a non-smoker.

Even better, within 24 hours of your last cigarette, your risk of heart attack will have already decreased! Looking slightly longer-term, after 2 weeks to 3 months your blood circulation will have improved sufficiently to enable your blood to carry increased levels of oxygen around your body. So when you ask " What happens when you quit smoking ?", the short answer is: your heart will benefit hugely!

You'll find it easier to breathe

Yes, your carbon monoxide levels halve ... and oxygen levels return to normal

Within a few hours of your final cigarette, the nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in your blood will halve, and the oxygen levels in your blood will return to normal.

Carbon monoxide eliminated from your body

After 10 days, carbon monoxide will be eliminated from your body. Your lungs will start to clear out accumulated tar, so you'll be coughing a bit more. It's good news! You'll see real evidence of the good you're doing for your health and wellness. Your lungs are spring-cleaning themselves leading the way to easier, healthier breaths.

Exercise becomes easier

Within a couple of weeks of being a non-smoker, you'll find breathing becomes a lot easier. Your bronchial tubes will begin to relax. Your lung capacity will increase making physical exercise much easier.

Fewer coughs and wheezes after just 12 weeks

Three months in you'll notice fewer coughs and wheezes. The cilia inside your lungs, the tiny hair-like fibres that help to clear mucus, have regrown and cleared your lungs of the backlog of tar. In addition, your lung function will have improved by up to 30%.

Smoker's breath gone!

On the subject of breathing... great news! Your smoker's breath will have disappeared within just 24 hours of your final cigarette. We're only part way through the story of what happens when you quit smoking, read on to learn about even more benefits.

Longer-term what happens when you quit smoking?

Your heart will get a new lease of life - for the rest of your life

A year after becoming a non-smoker your risk of heart disease and heart attack drops by half. As you enjoy your new way of life your heart will continue to benefit. 15 years after you stop smoking, your risk of heart disease drops to the same level as a non-smoker.

Your risk of stroke, cancer and chronic lung disease reduces too!

The chance of you developing not only lung cancer but other cancers too will reduce in the medium to long-term, as will your risk of heart disease, chronic lung disease and, of course, stroke. So you know, the sooner you become a non-smoker, the sooner you start to cut your chance of developing these diseases.

The long-term benefits may seem too far off in the future to powerfully motivate you to stop smoking now. Know this: when you become a non-smoker (at any age) it increases your life expectancy, provided you stop before the onset of serious disease.

Even if you're diagnosed with a serious disease, you still benefit from becoming a non-smoker. As a non-smoker, your body will be under less strain and be more able to fight disease effectively.

You'll have more energy

With improved blood flow throughout your body, your energy levels will rise. You'll find it easier to walk and run.

You'll be more in the mood for love...

When you stop smoking you increase the level of oxygen in your blood, blood flow is increased and damaged nerve endings re-grow. Combine all these benefits and things look good for your love life.

Add to that the findings of a University of Bristol study that 'people find smokers less attractive' and your outlook for love is pretty good!

Your senses of smell and taste are greatly improved

The cocktail of toxic chemicals found in cigarettes dull your sense of taste and smell. So, after two days as a non-smoker, you'll be delighted to notice how much more you will enjoy your food and the, hopefully pleasant, smells around you!

Now you know what happens when you stop smoking, how will you choose to become a non-smoker?

There are many ways to kick the habit, and some are easier than others.

Nicotine replacement maintains nicotine addiction

Perhaps you've tried vaping, nicotine patches or gum? Did these help you to overcome your nicotine dependence? I guess not. There's a good reason for this, their purpose is not to break your dependence. Put simply, they keep you addicted to nicotine.

When it comes to your health, nicotine is a big part of the problem. Whether in the form of a cigarette, vaping, gum or patch, Nicotine stimulates your central nervous system. In response, your adrenal glands release a hormone called epinephrine which causes your blood pressure to rise and heart rate to increase.

If you're strong-willed going 'cold turkey' may work for you. But you must be very strong-willed. Smokers that choose this route often feel they are still smokers at heart. They are smokers who are determined not to have that next cigarette. This is because they made the decision to become a non-smoker using their conscious mind, and the conscious mind is responsible for will-power. These determined non-smokers may give up smoking, but in the back of their mind is the ever-present thought of a cigarette.

While quitting this way will deliver many of the health benefits it is a challenging approach to quitting smoking. Oftentimes, people who quit smoking this way lapse and become smokers again.

Change your 'unconscious' mind and make quitting easy

Becoming a non-smoker is a whole lot easier when you get the co-operation of your unconscious mind. When you install a belief in your unconscious, your unconscious mind believes it, no arguments! If a hypnotherapist communicates with your unconscious mind and installs the belief that you are a non-smoker the challenge of becoming a non-smoker is easy. Get your unconscious mind involved and your body, mind and behaviours all respond accordingly.

So, to become a non-smoker easily, you must get your unconscious mind on-board with your desired beliefs about yourself and your new behaviours.

A treatment designed especially for you

The easiest way to harness the immense power of your unconscious mind to quit smoking is by working with a hypnotherapist, like me. Hypnotherapists take care to understand how you approach smoking. They will take time to understand your personal history as a smoker. Additionally, the hypnotherapist will help identify pressures in your life because they may contribute to your habit or, more importantly, pose additional challenges to you becoming a non-smoker. A significant proportion of your therapy session will involve gathering this information and getting to understand you and your habits as a smoker.

You don't have to make any effort, just sit back and relax

Next is the easy bit. While you sit back and relax, hypnotherapists use the information gathered about you and your old smoking habit and use it to reprogram your unconscious mind with your desired behaviours, beliefs and habits. You see how easy it is! A relaxing hypnosis session is the step you need to take to easily become a non-smoker and improve your health and well-being.

Start to benefit from all these health improvements, make a booking!

You can start to have all the benefits detailed in this article with the help of a qualified hypnotherapist, you can even book to see me. It only takes one hypnotherapy session lasting around 2 hours to become a non-smoker.

When you overcome your nicotine dependence for good, there's no doubt, you'll enjoy life more and your health and well-being will benefit enormously!

So, what's stopping you? Book your Stop Smoking appointment today!

To book your Smoking Cessation session in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL8 7NQ, call Heather Denny, The Hypnotherapist on 07834 754608 now!

Celebrities, Sportsmen and Now Royalty Use Emotional Freedom Techniques!

Posted on 26th September 20173rd November 2018 by admin

Many celebrities, and sportsmen, know how effective Emotional Freedom Techniques or ‘tapping’ is to alleviate anxiety or resolve negative emotions and now it seems so do royalty.

Royalty Use Emotional Freedom Techniques, or more precisely The Duchess of Cornwall does, for Fear of Flying

Revealed in a new biography “The Duchess: The Untold Story” by Penny Junor, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, taps to ease her anxiety around flying.

So Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, joins the likes of Lily Allen, Michael Ball, Deepak Chopra; and of course, myself and all my clients who’ve discovered the wonderful effects of EFT and easily and effortlessly:

manage anxiety;
swiftly and effectively get into the zone and deliver peak performance;
calm fears of flying;
address diet and weight issues;
or even clear negative emotions that is are well past the ‘use-by’ date.

The Trigger for Your Negative Emotions May Surprise You!

One of the amazing things I find with Emotional Freedom Techniques is that very often the process of ‘tapping’ reveals the triggers, or the hidden aspects that drive one's negative response. I recall the moment when one client discovered his fear of flying was associated with waiting in the departure lounge, and not the flight itself. It was the gentle ‘tapping’ process that helped to reveal the cause of his apparent fear of flying. We simply tapped away all his negative memories around waiting in the departure lounge, and queuing to board the plane. This was sufficient to release his fear of flying completely. He was able to calmly anticipate his next business trip and confidently took his next flight without any anxiety. Now there's nothing to get in the way of either his career or taking his family abroad for a holiday.

Emotional Freedom Techniques really can move emotional mountains!

EFT – 10 Reasons Why You Should Try It

Posted on 16th July 201526th June 2019 by admin

If you’ve not come across it before, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is like acupuncture for your emotions. Emotional Freedom Techniques is part of the wider field of Energy Psychology which is becoming increasingly popular.

Neutralise negative emotions with EFT

Many people are discovering the liberating and empowering effects of this emerging field. With this technique you’ll learn to use your fingertips to tap your acupressure points while ‘tuning in to’ a negative emotion. By learning and using this new skill you will neutralise troubling, negative emotions. You'll be released from the constraints of limiting beliefs, no longer held back by your past and able to move on with your life.

The premise behind EFT is that an emotional or physical trauma can disrupt your body’s energy system. These disruptions can often be felt in the body as an emotional ‘twang’ of discomfort. Experiencing such a ‘twang’ is your cue to do some work to discharge the emotion or issue. If not resolved, these disruptions can lead to limiting beliefs and sometimes physical symptoms such as aches and pains.

10 Reasons You Should Use EFT

Read on to understand why so many people turn to EFT to support their healing:

It is completely natural.
EFT can help uncover the root cause of a problem allowing the issue to be resolved completely.
It's measurable - before and after each round you’ll measure the strength of your emotion out of 10. Then simply keep on tapping until you've got your measurement down to 0.
You don't have to believe in its effectiveness, it just seems to work! Clients have skeptically agreed to ‘try’ EFT only to find half an hour later they've forgotten the emotion that was overwhelming them minutes earlier.
It’s fast working. Sometimes big issues can be resolved after just one or two rounds. Do be aware though, if miraculous results aren’t achieved immediately, stay calm and keep tapping - persistence is often the order of the day!
EFT is gentle and pain free.
Hidden benefits are common: as you resolve one problem you find you experience progress in another part of your life. For example after addressing an issue from your childhood you may find it easy to shed those last few pounds.
EFT can work for anyone of any age; I've used it with infants and octogenarians, and many ages in between.
You don’t need to always work with a therapist. Once learnt you can do it yourself. The techniques are simple and easy to learn and you’ll always have it with you in an emergency.
EFT can be used in groups which makes the therapy very cost effective. Taking turns tapping along with other people will still have a beneficial effect on you – it’s well recognised and known as ‘borrowing benefits’.

Remember

If you have a health concern you should consult your doctor. EFT is a complementary therapy and works well as an addition to medical treatment.

Insomnia? A tip to help you sleep

Posted on 6th July 201516th July 2019 by admin

According to a 2007 review in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine about 30% of adults experience one or more symptoms of insomnia.

Insomnia preventing you from sleeping soundly?

People suffering from insomnia either struggle to fall asleep or to stay asleep, some unlucky souls struggle with both. Insomnia is one of the most common symptoms patients report to their doctors.

Sleeping disorders can impact both mental and physical health. Insomnia can be accompanied by depression and anxiety disorders as the lack of sleep takes it toll. Stress is a common cause of acute insomnia with sufferers unable to switch off from the challenge of daily life.

If you are one of the 30% of adults trying to cope with insomnia, have you considered hypnotherapy? Hypnotherapy can disrupt the cycle of insomnia and help you to have regular, good quality night's’ sleep.

Call Heather Denny, the Hypnotherapist, for hypnotherapy in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL8 7NQ for a chat to find out how she can help you to get a good night’s sleep. Until then, here’s a simple tip that might just help you to sleep tonight.

Practice this relaxing exercise to help you get to sleep easily at night

First of all, settle yourself comfortably in bed and just start to relax. Next, simply take a in a full comfortable breath, and as you breathe out say to yourself ‘relax’. Then, take another deep breath and, while exhaling say to yourself again 'relax'. Give yourself permission to let go of any tension in your body. Really feel yourself sinking into the support of your bed. Now, as your breath becomes regular, mentally count the length of time you take to naturally breathe in. As you breathe out, aim to double the length of your out breath. So, if you counted to 3 on your in breath try and extend your out breath to a count of 6; if you counted 4 on your in breath extend your out breath to a count of 8, it’s really that simple. It might take a few goes to get into the rhythm but just focus on your breath and you'll get the hang of it.

It's a good idea to practice this technique during the day so you find it easy to do at night.

Sweet dreams…

How Many Hours Sleep Do You Need?

Posted on 1st July 201526th June 2019 by admin

Your requirement changes with your stage of life. Roughly speaking, adults require between 7 and 8 hours each night.

Do you struggle to achieve 6 hours, let alone 8 hours of rejuvenating slumber?

Many people are unaware that the amount you need will increase if you've not been getting 7-8 hours in the preceding nights. There’s no avoiding it, if you don't get enough it produces a "sleep debt". Just like being overdrawn at the bank; sooner or later that debt has to be repaid. While you may appear to function normally on less than the recommended 7-8 hours’, it is very likely that your judgment and reaction time will be impaired.

Sleep and Willpower

When you’re sleep deprived it has a negative effect on the front part of your brain which plays a major role in your ability to exercise willpower. If you don’t get sufficient this part of your brain suffers from your low energy levels. As a result your sense of discipline and self-control goes into disarray. So, it naturally follows that a full night’s sleep is essential if you are trying to stick to a diet.

The Perils of Staying Awake

Another concern for the sleep deprived is micro-sleep. As the name suggests these are very short periods of sleep, only seconds in duration. Here's the thing, many people are not aware they are experiencing them. In 2012 an ABC News reporter Ron Claiborne worked with medical researcher Charles Czeisler to study the impact of micro-sleeps. To mimic the effects chronic sleep deprivation, Claiborne stayed awake for 32 hours. Researchers then monitored Claiborne’s brain activity while he was driving around a test track. Even though Claiborne’s eyes remained open, his brain activity confirmed that he took more than 20 micro-sleeps during the drive. While they last only a few seconds if they occur while driving, the outcome could be devastating.

So, how many hours do you need? Are you one of the many people who suffer with insomnia? Do you struggle to nod off or do you find your mind racing with troublesome thoughts during the night? If so, hypnotherapy can be very effective in breaking the cycle of insomnia and poor sleep. Hypnotherapy for insomnia treatments are available in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL8 7NQ. Just call Heather Denny, The Hypnotherapist - on 07834 754608.

Dental Anxiety: Do you suffer?

Posted on 25th June 201526th June 2019 by admin

Dental anxiety, or the fear of visiting the dentist, is more common than you might think. It is estimated that around 12% of the British population experience extreme fear when visiting the dentist. 25% of us will experience some sort of anxiety at the prospect of a trip to the local dental surgery.

Dental Anxiety and its Causes

There are many possible causes of dental anxiety, some include:

a previous negative experience in the dentist’s chair
the sound of the drill
feeling of vulnerability in the dentist's chair
fear of an injection, or that it won’t work
anxiety about being able to breathe or swallow
fear of having a panic attack
fear the dentist will trigger the gag reflex; or
it could be a learnt behaviour from a relative or friend

Whatever the cause of your dental anxiety, Hypnotherapy, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) can all help you. They work very effectively to eliminate phobias; resolve bad memories; and calm and relax dental patients. These techniques are powerful antidotes to fear, panic, and anxiety.

Some patients even get anxious at the thought of making an appointment with their dentist. Relax! Be gentle on yourself and take one step at a time. Speak to your local hypnotherapist directly and find out how they can help those fears melt away.

A number of studies have shown that relaxation techniques can help reduce levels of stress hormones as well as pain and anxiety so, until you see the hypnotherapist, here’s a tip to help calm you in the meantime.

Heather Denny, the Hypnotherapist offers hypnotherapy for dental anxiety in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire AL8 7NQ. Give Heather a call on 07834 754608 to find out how hypnotherapy for anxiety can help you overcome dental anxiety

Practice this relaxing breathing exercise to help lower mild dental anxiety:

Find yourself a place to relax; take a deep breath and as you exhale say to yourself ‘relax’.

Now, as you settle down and your breath becomes regular, mentally count how long it takes you to naturally breathe in. Then as you breathe out try to double the length of time for your out breath. So, if you counted to 2 on your in breath try and extend your out breath to a count of 4; if you counted 3 on your in breath extend your out breath to a count of 6, you get the idea?

It might take a little while to get the hang of it but be gentle with yourself. With a little practice you will find that you start to feel comfortably relaxed. In fact I’ve taught this technique to many of my clients who have difficulty falling asleep and it works like a dream! In time, and with regular practice, you’ll find you’re able to introduce a little oasis of calm into your life by using this breathing technique when you feel a little bit stressed.

Is a fear of flying keeping you down?

Posted on 11th June 201526th June 2019 by admin

Fear of flying, or aviophobia, is estimated to affect 20% of the population. Often it’s the fear of having a panic attack, or loosing control, that worries many of my clients rather than fear of the plane crashing.

Fear of Flying – it’s perfectly natural

First of all, let me reassure you that having a fear of flying is not unusual, and there’s a very good reason for this. Your brain is hardwired to focus on the negative and so it has a natural tendency to fear the worst. All brains have evolved this way to help the human race anticipate danger so they are ready to respond appropriately. But I’m guessing this is of little comfort if your departure date is looming and your anxiety levels are rising.

The good news is you can calm your anxieties, allowing you to jet off on holiday with a relaxed confidence. All that’s required is some work with your unconscious – the part of your mind that automatically triggers these anxieties.

How good would it feel if you could look forward to your holiday with a sense of eager anticipation and no unnecessary anxiety?

Hypnotherapy and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) can help. These therapies work to resolve issues at the unconscious level and are great at lowering anxiety; neutralising the effects of previous upsetting experiences; and changing your fear of flying to one of calm, confident, positive anticipation.

Fear of flying can be resolved in just one session of hypnotherapy. Imagine how wonderful it will feel to have the world as your oyster and look forward to your next holiday!

Heather Denny, the Hypnotherapist offers Hypnotherapy for fear of flying in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire AL8 7NQ

A simple tip to help ease Fear of Flying

Until you resolve your fear of flying for good with hypnotherapy, here’s a little tip that may help your conscious mind:

Try this next time you’re being driven in a car by someone you know and trust. Close your eyes and listen to the sounds you hear the car make. Feel the sensations as the car progresses on its journey. Many factors can influence what you experience: the gradient; the road surface; potholes; which gear the car is in etc. These sounds and sensations probably don’t vary so much to those experienced during a flight. The difference is that you can rationalise the car journey because you’re familiar with these sights; sounds; and sensations. You can see changes in the road surface so you might anticipate the different sound the tyres make against the tarmac. You understand why the engine is making a straining sound as it climbs a steep hill; and as for potholes, everyone’s familiar with the bump and clonk of hitting one.

All the sensations and sounds you experience while your eyes are closed seem so much more intense, don’t they? It’s similar when you take a flight because you are less familiar with the sights, sounds and sensations during a flight. So it makes sense that you are more responsive to unanticipated changes until you realise that all is well, doesn’t it?

Emotional Freedom Techniques Works!

Posted on 20th May 201519th May 2019 by admin

Emotional Freedom Technique Works!

'Tapping' Clinical Trial Reports Great Results

This footage shows Professor Tony Stewart speaking to BBC Midlands about a Tapping pilot run by doctors in Sandwell. 35 out of 36 patients showed improved symptoms after as few as five Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) sessions. Click on the video above to hear the story!

This news report explains that after six weeks' EFT treatment, 35 of 36 patients were showing 'normal' on a range of measures. This successful trial has prompted the GP practice to train a further 20 EFT Practitioners. These additional practitioners will enable the surgery to extend this mental health service to a greater number of patients.

Emotional Freedom Techniques Works in Welwyn Garden City

Emotional Freedom Techniques, also known as 'tapping' or EFT, is available with Heather Denny, the Hypnotherapist in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL8 7NQ.

Every few months Heather Denny runs group sessions at the Quaker Meeting House on Handside Lane in Welwyn Garden City. At these sessions you can learn the techniques and even work one-to-one with Heather. Private sessions are also available close to the town centre.

Call Heather on 07834 754608 to chat about how 'Tapping' can help you overcome anxiety, trauma, negative emotions and more. In just one session you will learn enough about the technique to successfully give yourself some emotional 'first aid' Tapping. So, whenever you feel an uncomfortable emotion building, you can discreetly tap on yourself and feel more comfortable. Go on, give Heather a call!

What will you experience?

Your blood pressure returns to normal