October 2022 – Allison Biel

Cause and Effect Model

The cause and effect model is a way of looking at how you respond to a situation or issue. If you feel in control, empowered and able to see the connection between issues and yourself then you are said to be “at cause”. If you are being fatalistic, feel there is no way to control a situation and can’t see the effect you may be able to bring about, you are said to be “at effect”.

The table below shows some typical vocalisations of the two states.

“at cause”	“at effect”
I influence	Life is random
I take responsibility for things that happen	I can’t control what others do or say
I am proactive	I react to things
I make things happen	Things happen to me
I control my environment	Someone should do something about that
I challenge the status que	I accept things
I lead	I follow
Take responsibility	I blame others
I am decisive	I procrastinate
I run my business the way I want. We are lean and responsive to change.	There is a recession. I can’t do anything about that.

This is a powerful way to examine your world view, state of mind as well as your reaction to a challenge. You may generally be a positive (at cause) person, but a crisis or problem may have trapped you in a negative (at effect) frame of mind. Knowing this can cause a realisation and initiate a change in perception and mind-set.

Now, if you are in a mind-set you would like to change then there is a method you can use. This technique, based on Meta Model Questioning, is to systematically challenge the limitations and assumptions you feel you have about a situation. This can be done with someone else, or you can do it yourself. For example, you think ‘I never meet the right person to have a relationship with’. You might question Never? The right person compared to whom? What stops you? What would happen if you could…?

Typical questions in the Meta Model are: Who Says? According to Whom? Who Specifically? How? What? When? Where? Never? Nobody? Nothing? No one? All? Always? Everybody? What do you mean by that? Compared to whom? Compared to what? How do you know that? Why do you assume that? What stops you? What would happen if you could? What would happen if you did? What would happen if you didn’t? Tell me more? And?

As Kendrick Lamar (American Rapper, Songwriter and record producer) said, “My moms always told me, ‘How long you gonna play the victim?’ I can say I’m mad and I hate everything, but nothing really changes until I change myself”.

Past trauma and events can cause you to become stuck in the ‘at effect’ mode. Hypnotherapy can help you change your mind set, become more positive and explore the root cause of these feelings. If you feel I can help you with this, then contact me.

Menopause Day

18 October is World Menopause Day and is organised by the British Menopause Society (BMS). Established in 1989, the BMS is a specialist organisation that seeks to educate, inform and guide healthcare professionals and the public on menopause and all aspects of post reproductive health.

Menopause is when menstrual periods stop permanently and a woman is no longer able to bear children. Menopause usually occurs between the age of 47 and 54. Although a small percentage of woman experience the menopause earlier than this. During this time, women often have hot flashes, sweating, reddening of the skin, vaginal dryness, trouble sleeping and mood changes.

The menopausal transition usually lasts three to four years. Menopause usually occurs naturally but some medical treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hysterectomy or complications of tubal ligation, can induce it.

While not everyone experiences problem with menopause, it can be a very difficult time for some. For many the physical, mental, and emotional effects of it are strong enough that they significantly disrupt the life of the woman experiencing it. As Lisa Lampanelli (American stand-up comedian and actress) said, “I don’t like any of it. I’m sick and tired of menopause”.

Treatments can include Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). It has also been found that mindfulness, Hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy can decreases the severity of some of the symptoms.

For World Menopause Day 2022, the BMS has partnered with Louise Minchin (British television presenter and journalist) to produce a news-style programme called ‘Menopause: Continuing the Conversation’. The idea is to cut through the noise and give straight talking, clear guidance and advice from BMS menopause specialists, healthcare professionals and BMS members. It includes information from industry experts, providing support for women to recognise and improve their symptoms.

It seems that talking about menopause and women’s health generally is becoming more acceptable. And while we still have a long way to go, it is good to see these topics being discussed. As Konnie Huq (British television and radio presenter, screenwriter and children’s author) said, “A problem shared is a problem halved, but as with so many problems affecting women – periods, menopause, post-natal depression – we often feel embarrassed, as if we’re moaning or just plain wrong to air them”.

Hypnotherapy is such a great tool to help with the issues of menopause that I have made a short video about how it can help. If you think that Hypnotherapy can help you with the symptoms of menopause then get in touch.

Mental Health Day 2022

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises World Mental Health Day on 10 October every year. The idea of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues globally and to mobilise efforts in support of mental health generally.

The last few years has been difficult for all of us. Be it the pandemic, rising energy prices or the cost of everyday items. And this has challenged many peoples mental health through isolation, disrupted support services and networks and anxiety over their finances. Even in 2019 (before the pandemic) an estimated one in eight people globally were living with some form of mental health issue. Since then the situation has become worse with an estimated 25% rise in depression and anxiety. And this at a time when mental health services, where they exist at all, are being disrupted and coming under much greater pressure.

To make things worse, this comes at a time of growing social and economic inequalities, wars, political division and public health emergencies affecting whole populations. A staggering 89.3 million people worldwide had been forced from their homes by the end of 2021 in places such as Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar.

As a world and as the human race we must deepen the value and commitment we give to mental health and strengthen mental health care. We must continue to work to overcome the stigma and discrimination against those who are suffering. We should all play a part in increasing awareness about preventive mental health intervention work and the World Mental Health Day is an opportunity to do just that. We need to create a world in which mental health is valued, promoted and protected. A world where everyone has an equal opportunity to enjoy mental health, to exercise their human rights and where everyone can access the mental health care they need when they need it.

The WHO is working with partners to launch a campaign with the theme of “Making Mental Health & Well-Being for All a Global Priority”. This is an opportunity for people with mental health conditions, advocates, governments, employers, employees and others to come together to recognise progress in this field and to be vocal about what we need to do to ensure that Mental Health and Well-Being becomes a Global Priority for all.

As Sanam Saeed (Pakistani actress, singer and former model) said, “We need to start identifying the triggers that aggravate mental health issues in our society – bullying, social media negativity and anxiety, gender based violence, substance abuse, stigma around issues such as maternal issues, etc., and we need to speak up about these more and get to the source of the problems”.

As a Hypnotherapist I often come into contact with people who are suffering from issues with their mental health, be it anxiety, depression, low self-esteem of other health issues. These are becoming increasingly common and being aware of our own mental health and those around us is key. If you think that hypnotherapy could help you or someone you know then get in touch.

National Work Life Week

National Work Life Week (10 – 14 October) is Working Families’ (a UK based work-life balance charity) annual campaign to get both employers and employees talking about wellbeing at work and the importance of work-life balance. Their mission is to remove the barriers that people with caring responsibilities face in the workplace. This year, they are focussing on increasing access to flexible working and finding the ‘flex’ in every role.

So, what is flexible working? Well basically it means altering the way you work to better suit your life. Examples of flexible working include:

reducing your hours to work part-time
having flexibility with your start and finish time (sometimes known as ‘flexitime’)
doing your hours over fewer days (‘compressed hours’)
working from home or elsewhere (‘remote working’)
sharing the job with someone else (‘job share’)

Flexible working empowers you to choose what time you begin to work, where to work and when you will stop work. It’s an effective way to fit working in around other aspects of your life, such as being a parent, carer or having another interests such as sports or hobbies. Any employee with 26 weeks of service with an employer has the right to make a request to work flexibly. You don’t have to be a parent or a carer. But you can only make one request in any twelve month period. Now this might sound great, but you have the right to request it not a right to have it granted.

One upside to the recent pandemic has been that many office based workers have been able to prove to their employers that working from home and other flexible arrangements work. A request must be made in writing and explain what changes you want to make and why. If you want to do this, then Working Families’ has a handy guide to help you.

The benefit are not just for the employee. Providing flexible working has been shown to increased productivity, increased morale / motivation, decreased absenteeism / presenteeism and reduced staff turnover.

As Cara Delevingne (English model, actress and singer) said, “When you have balance in your life, work becomes an entirely different experience. There is a passion that moves you to a whole new level of fulfilment and gratitude, and that’s when you can do your best… for yourself and for others”.

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Sugar

Do you have a sweet tooth? I know I do and while this may make losing weight a bit more difficult, does it do any real harm? Well is seems sugar is more potent than you might think. Sugar is a mood altering and highly addictive substance that can cause any number of problems and ailments from mood disorders to restless legs.

Now, it’s important to draw the distinction between added sugars and naturally occurring sugars in foods like fruits and vegetables. These foods contain vitamins, fibre, and other micronutrients. It’s added sugar that is the problem as they add calories, but no added nutrients. Added sugar is the main ingredient in candy / sweets and is in many processed foods and drinks, such as soft drinks and baked goods.

And American Chef, Tom Colicchio, agrees. He said, “This is what people don’t understand: obesity is a symptom of poverty. It’s not a lifestyle choice where people are just eating and not exercising. It’s because kids – and this is the problem with school lunch right now – are getting sugar, fat, empty calories – lots of calories – but no nutrition”.

With modern processed foods, sugar is basically everywhere. These days rather than chilli chicken you have sweet chilli chicken. Instead of pickles you have sweet pickles. At least with these the product description is giving you a clue. Surprising foods like bread, yogurt, breakfast cereal, soups, dressings and sauces can have added sugar and sometimes in alarming amounts. One pet hate of mine is yogurt. It’s often advertised as fat free, which is true, but it is often packed with sugar.

We probably all realise that the food we eat, or not eat, can change our mood and emotions. If you are hungry you may feel angry or grumpy. When your stomach is full you may feel content and perhaps sleepy. But, consuming large amounts of sugar triggers chemical imbalances in the brain. These imbalances can cause depression and increase the long term risk of developing other mental health disorders in some people.

The human body is not used to consuming such large amounts of sugar. A study in 2007 found that the brain’s sweet receptors are not adapted to high levels of sugar. This intense sweetness stimulates the brain’s reward centre and may be more pleasurable than cocaine, even in people with a drug addiction. Put simply, the high from sugar is stronger than one from cocaine. This means it’s very easy to become addicted to sugar. Frankly, your self-control is no match for sugar’s strength.

So, cutting the amount of sugar you consume is a good idea. The first thing to do is to look at how much sugar there is in the food you eat and try low sugar alternatives. Rather than drinking soda or juice drinks, try water instead. If you are cooking or baking then try alternatives to sugar such as cinnamon, nutmeg, almond extract, vanilla, ginger or lemon. There are also sugar substitutes or artificial sweeteners such as Stevia or Canderel. Although in some cases these can cause an upset stomach, so experiment before you use in significant amounts.

If you are struggling with sugar addiction, to lose weight or breaking other habits and routines then Hypnotherapy can help. Contact me for more information.