Guilt is a natural emotion that comes as a result of the person doing something that is against his or her values. It is like a built-in self-correction system that notifies you the second you get out of harmony with what you consider right or wrong.

Many people wrongly interpret guilt thinking that guilt is a notification of a sin.

Because of this reason some people stay in this emotion until they get depressed and feel unworthy.

Guilt, however, was never intended to be interpreted this way. Guilt should not be dwelled in, its only purpose is to notify you of your deviation from your values.

If you find it hard to understand the purpose of guilt, think about it as your car’s navigation system. If you are going from Rome to Paris but you suddenly take the wrong road, your navigation system will give you a signal that you are off-track. When you hear the signal, you don’t beat yourself up and regret taking the wrong road. You simply get back on the right road.

So the same goes with guilt. When you feel guilty, don’t get upset about it. Simply take a note of it and don’t make the same mistakes as before.

If the answer to the question what is guilt? is now clear to you, you are probably wondering if guilt notifies you of the sin that you’ve just committed. So let’s deal with this question next.

If you see two people arguing and both of them honestly think that they are right, they both are. They simply have a different understanding of the situation based on their different beliefs and life experience.

So when you feel guilty, this emotion notifies you that you’ve deviated from what you consider right or wrong.

Call me today on 07-2555225 to discuss whether hypnotherapy can help you to sort out your feelings of guilt once and for all. Or you can contact me via email by clicking here

Most of us want to find a partner to share our lives with. When we finally fall in love and commit to a relationship that we believe will last us to old age, we have expectations that we will act together to realise our dreams.

Inevitably though, every couple will experience relationship difficulties. Couples will always be confronted and sometimes overwhelmed by challenges they face, but mostly they are able to deal with them and move on.

However sometimes these challenges leave each partner feeling alienated and alone and unable to sort out the issues, no matter how hard they try. The same old arguments occur, with the same frustrating outcomes, and both partners can feel stuck.

As time goes on one or both may start considering separation.

Sadly, separation and divorce statistics are high, yet many of the difficulties that threaten the survival of relationships can be sorted out, with the right help. The information below may be a starting point for you.

What causes relationship problems?
There are a number of patterns and situations that can develop within a relationship which will contribute to problems occurring.

Neglect of the relationship
Research shows that the foundation of a happy relationship is friendship. Put simply, this means that you can enjoy each other’s company, share values, interests, friends and extended family, and believe you care, support, understand, and in every way are ‘there’ for each other and work together as a team.

This friendship needs to be nurtured, because if neglected it will inevitably deteriorate. This means couples need to be regularly spending time together doing things, talking about things that matter to each partner, and making plans for the future.

This seems obvious, but work pressures and other personal issues, the demands of parenting, and the general busyness of life mean that we too easily put off spending the necessary time together to stay connected. As a result couples drift apart.

This is often the case for high achievers, parents of teenagers, or ‘empty nesters’ who have neglected their relationship earlier on.

Conflict
Staying friends is more difficult when there is ongoing conflict which leaves you feeling angry, disappointed, frustrated or hurt. It is really important that this conflict is dealt with in a way that doesn’t drive your partner away or leave a build-up of resentment.

Conflicts often begin early in the relationship when those differences that we knew were there, and may have admired or managed in the early stages of our relationship, become challenging. Each thinks all would be well if only the other partner would change.

The blame game begins.

Although change can happen, we are less likely to consider changing if we feel we are being misunderstood, misjudged or attacked for who we are, how we behave, or what we want or need.

Research shows that when one partner’s request for change in the other becomes criticism, the other partner is likely to become defensive. When the conflict grows over time, criticism can become contempt, and is likely to be met by the other partner blocking it out or ‘stonewalling’.

These behaviours can be deadly for the relationship. Therefore it is really important to find ways to manage the issues that are leading to conflict.

The distress that accompanies arguments leads to behaviour that often brings out the worst in us, and that is certainly not to our advantage when we are dealing with our partner for life.

When we are worked up, we don’t think straight. We can say or do things that we later regret, and cause growing damage to the relationship. It is really important to calm down before tackling difficult situations.

Poor management of differences between partners
Differences between partners will always be there as we are all individuals with different values, priorities and ways of dealing with issues.

Examples include attitudes to money, where we like to spend holidays, how much time we spend with extended families and friends, how much time we spend together or alone, how we show our love, how to discipline children, where we send our children to school, how we drive the car, how tidy to keep the house, how much effort goes into buying presents and the list goes on.

We of course tend to see that our way is the right way, and that means that our partner is wrong and should change. However it is more sensible to find a way to manage these differences rather than try to wipe them out.

Withdrawing care
We tend to become stubborn in our determination to have our way.

We often try to let our partner know how wrong they are by telling them, and as that usually does not work, we then punish them by removing things from the relationship that we know our partner values – for example a man may stop discussing issues with his partner, or a woman may stop showing interest in sex.

As talking and sex are two important ingredients for feeling close to our partners it is not surprising that both partners end up feeling lonely, despairing and misunderstood.

Loss of compassion
All of us like to feel that our thinking, feeling and behaviour is understood by the other, and not judged as being wrong. Understanding does not mean agreeing.

Unfortunately if partners don’t seek to understand, good will can disappear. Until each feels the other is willing to understand them, they are unwilling to understand the other. Empathy and compassion for how the other is feeling is lost. Acts of care and love vanish.

It is not surprising then that a partner may consider separation, or find value elsewhere – such as spending more time at work, on committees, with the children, on the internet, or with someone else.

It is also not surprising that behaviours that result from a relationship under stress – including anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug use, eating disorders and gambling – can add to the difficulties.

Times of crisis
Understanding, compassion and friendship are particularly important when life sends along a crisis.

Individuals act differently to issues such as a retrenchment from a job, death of a parent, infertility, miscarriage, a child’s disability, fire or drought, and these differences need to be understood.

If couples can support and care for each other, and stand together as a team, working through and recovering from life problems can strengthen a relationship. If not, couples can be torn apart.

Call me today on 087 255 5225 to discuss if relationship counselling can help you to sort out your relationship issues once and for all. Or you can contact me via email by clicking here

The body is the most extraordinary mechanism. Breathing, heartbeat, digestion, hormone release, cellular renewal and thousands of other functions take place without the need to think about them. However, our unconscious mind is very much involved with many of these processes. In hypnosis it is easy to turn all sorts of bodily functions on and off.

There are three steps involved in hypno-healing:
1. Identifying whether the disease has an emotional cause (often this is a repressed emotion or experience). It is possible to communicate with the unconscious mind to investigate possible emotional links. The emotional cause is then treated.

2. The use of special imagery. If the emotional cause has been treated, or if there is no emotional link, the next stage is to use positive imagery—the unconscious mind is primitive and works with pictures. Programming the mind with positive imagery causes it to bring about healing.

3. Strengthening the new programming with positive suggestions and affirmations.

Call me today on 087 255 5225 to discuss if hypno healing can help you. Or you can contact me via email.

Ever had butterflies in your stomach, that dizzy and nauseous feeling when asked to speak to a group of people?

Even days before, you seem somewhat uncontrollable and disoriented. And when you get to the rostrum or stage, you just want the floor to swallow you up? That feeling that gives you the jitters and that you just want to back out?

Alas, you are not the only one. I guess that would relieve you a bit, knowing you are not an isolated case. A lot of people are horrified having to talk in front of a group of people. You share this social phobia of public speaking with just about millions out there. It is one of the worst fears people have, in fact, in surveys, it came out as the number one fear.

Public speaking is when you speak to a group of people in a deliberate manner either intended to influence, entertain or inform your listeners. And the fear of that is public speaking anxiety. There are lots of ways to overcome this fear and soar high with your public speaking engagements.

Some Tips for Confident Public Speaking

These few tips may help prior to your public speaking date. Have a mind set that 99% of your worries do not actually happen, and that leaves only 1% that they do. So if you set your mind that you will not fumble, then you won’t. Do not memorise verbatim. It will baffle you once you lose a word or two. Instead it is advisable to have pointers or notes. Pause regularly, in that way you don’t get to speak so fast.

Emphasise on points that you are more familiar with. This is a great confidence booster. And when you are led to negative thoughts regarding your public speaking commitment, redirect these thoughts and focus more on positives. In that way, it will also attract another positive outcome.

Hypnosis also helps public speaking anxiety. It has been used for many years now to relieve nervousness. The fear of public speaking is all in the mind, the sub-conscious mind. Because you foresee pessimistic things, you tend to feel those stress inducing negative effects.

Through hypnosis, the mind is reprogrammed to have a different view of public speaking. It purges your mind of your negative expectations thereby positively attracting your mind to a successful presentation.

So dread no more. Conquer your fear and avoid those knots in your stomach.

Call me today on 087 2555225 to discuss if hypnotherapy can help you to sort out your fear of public speaking once and for all. Or you can contact me via email.

Or you can click here for details of our Relax & Float Away Stress Audio

Do you wish that you could be confident and not blush in front of people? Do you sometimes wish that the floor would open and swallow you in when you blush? Well if you have a problem with blushing, you can now get the help and solution that you need and desire from hypnosis.

So, how great would it be not to have to worry about your blushing as it was a thing of the past? How much would your life improve and your confidence increase knowing that you’re blushing is in the past? Well maybe you would like to find out and let the results of hypnosis speak for themselves.

Hypnosis works with your sub-conscious mind to achieve the results that you want. It changes the parts that need to change and gives you a boost to your self esteem, allowing you to feel more confident and more in control.

Harnessing the power of your sub-conscious mind may sound like a difficult and timely job, however this is not always the case as hypnosis with its speed and effectiveness, gives you the results that matter in a very short time – that’s why we refer to hypnosis as ‘brief therapy’ as it takes a fraction of the time that other approaches take.

While in hypnosis you will feel relaxed and comfortable as you slowly start to harness the power of your sub-conscious mind and get the results that you want and desire.

Call me today on 087 2555225 to discuss if hypnotherapy can help you to stop blushing once and for all. Or you can contact me via email.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an illness that causes people to have unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and to repeat certain behaviors (compulsions) over and over again. We all have habits and routines in our daily lives, such as brushing our teeth before bed. However, for people with OCD, patterns of behavior get in the way of their daily lives. Most people with OCD know that their obsessions and compulsions make no sense, but they can’t ignore or stop them.

What are obsessions?

Obsessions are ideas, images and impulses that run through the person’s mind over and over again. A person with OCD doesn’t want to have these thoughts and finds them disturbing, but he or she can’t control them. Sometimes these thoughts come just once in a while and are only mildly annoying. Other times, a person who has OCD will have obsessive thoughts all the time.

What are compulsions?

Obsessive thoughts make people who have OCD feel nervous and afraid. They try to get rid of these feelings by performing certain behaviours according to “rules” that they make up for themselves. These behaviours are called compulsions. (Compulsive behaviours are sometimes also called rituals.) For example, a person who has OCD may have obsessive thoughts about germs.

Because of these thoughts, the person may wash his or her hands repeatedly. Performing these behaviors usually only makes the nervous feelings go away for a short time. When the fear and nervousness return, the person who has OCD repeats the routine all over again.

Call me today on 087 255 5225 to discuss if hypnotherapy can help you to control your compulsions once and for all. Or you can contact me via email.

A great way to deal with stress is to learn and practice relaxation skills. Most people don’t realise how much tension we carry in our muscles. Over time, some muscles can become chronically tense. This is especially true for people that are constantly “on the go”. During the day tension builds, resulting in ever increasing tension throughout the body. The problem is tense muscles make you feel more ‘on edge’ and ‘tuned in’ to your already high level of anxiety or stress.

Click here for details of our Relax & Float Away Stress Audio

Tense muscles also respond to your emotions. So each time you feel frustrated, anxious, angry or upset, which regularly happens without you even noticing throughout the day, your muscle tension increases. Additionally when we become stressed or anxious stress hormones are released into the blood. This can result in physical changes such as increased heart rate, breathing, dilation of pupils and a shut down in digestion just to name a few. It can develop into a vicious cycle. Relaxation techniques have the ability to decrease our levels of arousal or anxiety and reverse the stress response.

How does relaxation work?

 The good news is that learning to relax can actually reverse this vicious cycle. Relaxation techniques have the ability to decrease our levels of arousal or anxiety and reverse the stress response. By learning a relaxation technique, you create pleasant body sensations. Your tension, anxiety, stress and worry as well as any pain you may be experiencing eases and you gradually increase your sense of calmness and peace of mind.

Many people say they only realised how tense they were after they learned relaxation techniques and how to relax. Guy Leech, famous Australian ironman athlete commonly used relaxation techniques to prepare him before competition “Relaxation was a great way for me to prepare for an Iron Man race. Whilst all my competitors were on edge, hyped up and looking around, worried about their opponents, I was calm, focused and clear on what I needed to do to win!”

Call me today on 087 255 5225 to discuss if hypnotherapy can help you to release your stress once and for all. Or you can contact me via email.

Grief occurs in response to the loss of someone or something. The loss may involve a loved one, a job, or possibly a role (student entering the workplace or employee entering retire-ment). Anyone can experience grief and loss; however, individuals are unique in how they experience this event.

Grief, itself, is a normal and natural response to loss. It is important to acknowledge and allow the grief to happen because it promotes the healing process. Although each person can have very different experiences of grief.

These grief reactions may contribute to crying, trouble sleeping, a change in appetite, absent-mindedness, social withdrawal, dreams and nightmares, avoiding reminders, and trying to stay busy. Expect that you will have ups and downs from day to day. Grief counselling can help you through this difficult time.

When grief doesn’t go away
It’s normal to feel sad, numb, or angry following a loss. But as time passes, these emotions should become less intense as you accept the loss and start to move forward. If you aren’t feeling better over time, or your grief is getting worse, it may be a sign that your grief has developed into a more serious problem, such as complicated grief or major depression.

Call me today on 087 2555225 to discuss if grief counselling is right for you. Or you can contact me via email.

Every athlete on a team has a different sports motivation psychology. Perhaps one team member knows he is the best and wishes to prove it while another may be good at the sport but is motivated only by the money he can make while still another is looking for approval from someone.

The difficulty for the coach is to take all of these diverse motivations and use sports psychology motivation applied in different ways for each team member as well as motivation techniques for the team as a whole. That can be a lot of balls to juggle in the air at once and is no simple task.

Recognising that the life of a professional athlete is an unusual one with many outside influences and pressures that can result in poor choices and worse performance on the field also adds a challenge for a coach.

Many professional athletes showed such promise as children that they never developed the emotional maturity and valuable life experience they need to cope due to the choice of long practice hours and adherence to strict diet instead of hanging out with friends. This makes them easy prey for bad influences.

Part of the coach’s job is to help them to develop the tools to manage personal relationships, and build social and emotional maturity, which will ultimately improve performance on the court or field, and reduce the risk of damaging behaviour.

The importance of motivation in sports is obvious. But your athletes have issues with family, friends, money or the media they will not have their heads in the game.

A team that is has any individual in it who is not liberated to play his best, instead is weighed down by personal worries and stress, will soon become a losing team.

Contact me to discuss how I can help you as an individual or as a team member to gain more motivation and focus. Phone me on 087-2555225 or send me an email.

In many cases, panic attacks strike out of the blue, without any warning. Often, there is no clear reason for the attack. They may even occur when you’re relaxed or asleep.

A panic attack may be a one-time occurrence, but many people experience repeat episodes. Recurrent panic attacks are often triggered by a specific stressful situation, such as crossing a bridge or speaking in public – especially if that situation has caused a panic attack before.

Usually, the panic-inducing situation is one in which you feel endangered and unable to escape.

You may experience one or more panic attacks, yet be otherwise perfectly happy and healthy. Or your panic attacks may occur as part of another disorder, such as panic disorder, social phobia, or depression. Regardless of the cause, panic attacks are treatable.

There are many effective treatments and coping strategies you can use to deal with the symptoms.

Signs and Symptoms of a Panic Attack

Panic attacks often strike when you’re away from home, but they can happen anywhere and at any time. You may have one while you’re in a store shopping, walking down the street, driving in your car, or sitting on the couch at home.

The signs and symptoms of a panic attack develop abruptly and usually reach their peak within 10 minutes. Most panic attacks end within 20 to 30 minutes, and they rarely last more than an hour.

A full-blown panic attack includes a combination of the following signs and symptoms:
• Shortness of breath or hyperventilation
• Heart palpitations or a racing heart
• Chest pain or discomfort
• Trembling or shaking
• Choking feeling
• Feeling unreal or detached from your surroundings
• Sweating
• Nausea or upset stomach
• Feeling dizzy, light-headed, or faint
• Numbness or tingling sensations
• Hot or cold flashes
• Fear of dying, losing control, or going crazy

Call me today on 087 255 5225 to discuss if hypnotherapy can help you to sort out your panic attacks once and for all. Or you can contact me via email.

Confidence is when an individual feels self-assured and has very real belief in their mental and physical capabilities. As you might imagine, CEO’s of large companies and world class athletes are the types of individuals who have higher than average confidence and self-esteem. Their confidence in themselves unlocks the door to significant success and achievement.

For the rest of us, confidence is a critical facet in enjoying success in work, in relationships and generally in life. A confident person will not be afraid to show interest in a special someone or will not be afraid to take a life-changing risk in order to accomplish their hopes and dreams.

Confidence can be thought of as a means of power.

But many of us are plagued by having a low level of confidence. Sufferers of a lack of confidence may feel that their work is not good enough or that they are not smart enough or attractive. These negative thoughts can stop someone right in their tracks.

A lack of confidence can lead to a roadblock that stops an individual from living the life they always dreamed about.

How Can You Build Your Confidence?

You can start building your confidence today through hypnosis. Hypnosis is a proven method that can help an individual build confidence.

Hypnosis works on a subconscious level of the mind. The subconscious mind stores over four-hundred million pieces of information that affect our personal attitudes, beliefs, values and thinking.

When an individual is placed into a deep state of relaxation the subconscious mind is highly receptive to new perspectives or ideas. Positive suggestions, confidence-building statements, motivation and a direct plan to build confidence are received by the subconscious mind.

An individual while undergoing hypnosis will form positive thinking and behaviour patterns that help to build confidence.

Hypnosis is an amazing experience that has many rewarding benefits. Hypnosis is a calming process that alleviates stress and anxiety while relaxing the whole body. The process of hypnosis is safe, gentle and positive. People of all ages can benefit from hypnosis.

Call me today on 087 255 5225 to discuss if hypnotherapy can help you to sort out your confidence issues once and for all. Or you can contact me via email.

Depression is very common – it is thought that one in five people in Ireland will develop depression during their lifetime. So chances are that you may know someone who has been affected by depression.

Everyone can feel a bit ‘down’ from time to time. In many people, this unhappiness is a reaction to an upsetting event, and they will start to feel better after a few days or weeks. It is a natural, short-lived response to stressful times in life.

However, some people are unable to escape this low mood, and find it difficult to carry on with life as usual.

They may experience long-lasting feelings of sadness and hopelessness, have unexplained aches and pains, suffer from poor sleep, anxiety, and/or lack of interest and energy. If this is the case, the person may be affected by what is called ‘clinical’ depression which is a treatable condition.

Depression affects different people in different ways – not everyone has the same symptoms. You can reassure your friend that it is important to seek professional help if symptoms have been present for more than two weeks or if they have thoughts of self harm or suicide.

But treatment is available and recovery is possible. Treatment often involves a combination of different therapies such as, psychological therapies, social support, and self-help techniques. This combined approach treats the person as a whole, and marks the beginning of the journey back to wellness and a normal life.

Call me today on 01 296 0611 to discuss if hypnotherapy can help you to lift the depression and enjoy life again. Or you can contact me via email.

Insomnia is the condition that keeps people from getting valuable sleep each and every night. Sleep is more valuable than most people realise, as it not only helps you recharge your energy, but allows the body to heal from the day before. Without the proper sleep schedule, the body does not function at its most efficient level.

Over the long term, this can lead to big time physical, mental, and emotional problems. Insomnia is something that most people feel that the have no control over. They usually want to sleep, but they have gotten so used to not being able to, that they just quit trying.

What Are The Negative Impacts Of Insomnia?

Some of the negative impacts of sleep deprivation and insomnia have been noted in studies over the years. Without the correct number of hours of sleep, a person’s chemical balance goes haywire. This can cause huge emotional problems and can cause large stress levels.

Those things are never positive and can eventually lead to even greater physical problems. In addition, insomnia effects people who have early morning jobs. If you can’t sleep, there is no way you will be fresh when that shift rolls around in the morning.

For those with families, not being able to sleep can create problems. Insomnia has been the cause of many divorces, so it is best to simply nip the problem before it becomes extremely serious.

In the end, insomnia is a mental problem that afflicts people. Their brain is controlling their body’s sleep functions. In order to shake insomnia for good, there needs to be some changes within the mind.

How Can Insomnia Be Treated?

There are a few different ways to achieve this, but one of the most reliable is hypnosis. Over the past decade, hypnosis has become a much more highly accepted form of treatment for problems like insomnia, along with a host of other problems.

In my time as a hypnotherapist, I have treated patients for insomnia as well smoking cessation, blushing, alcoholism, and some other things.

If you feel like you want to get to sleep, but you just can’t do it, then maybe hypnotherapy is for you. In the least, you owe it to yourself to find out what hypnosis is all about. With so many people having positive results with the technique, what’s to lose by giving it a try?

Perhaps after doing a no obligation chat with me, you will discover that hypnosis or self hypnosis is the catalyst that could set you free from your problems.

Call me today on 087 255 5225 to discuss if hypnotherapy can help you to sort out your insomnia once and for all. Or you can contact me via email.

Find Some Alone Time

You should make sure that you find time to recover from stress by spending some quality time with yourself. You can go to a spa and enjoy a relaxing massage.

If you do not wish to go out and face the horrible traffic, you can stay at home and read a book or listen to music. Sometimes, something as simple as a bubble bath could relieve much of the stresses of the day. Inform of your family and friends of your alone time so that there will be no distractions from relaxing.

Click here for details of our Relax & Float Away Stress Audio

Exercise

Physical activities can help you remove stress in your life. It is believed that endorphins or the “happy hormone” is triggered by exercising. When you exercise, even for 15 minutes a day, you effectively relax your muscles, which become tight when you are feeling stressed out. An added bonus is you would also look great after continuous exercising, making you feel extra confident.

Insomnia

A person who lacks sleep will be unable to fight off stress. In fact, you will be more susceptible to stress if you are constantly losing sleep. An adult person must sleep 6-8 hours a day to fight off stress. If you fail to complete your sleep, your immune system would probably break down causing you to be sick. You would not want to be stressed out and sick at the same time.

Some stress is caused by reasons such as work pressures or family issues. Most people become stressed with their finances as well. Your psychiatrist will help you manage stress by finding out the exact reasons for your stress.

Call me today on 01 296 0611 to discuss if hypnotherapy can help you to sort out your stress once and for all. Or you can contact me via email.

They are actively seeking out treatment from a qualified, experienced therapist or counsellor to deal with their issues.

How Do Fears and Phobias Start?

A very common fear is the fear of dogs. This can be bewildering to a person who has a love of all sorts of different animals and birds, yet can’t understand why they have such an irrational fear of dogs.

One such patient came for therapy to finally sort out his irrational fear of dogs. In the course of the therapy a memory that had been long dormant was recovered. When the patient had been a toddler he was out one day with his mother in his push chair. His mother stopped to talk to a neighbour who was out walking her dog, a big friendly German Shepherd.

The dog was of course right at the level of the push chair and all the child could see what seemed to him to be a big slobbering monster with large teeth and a lolling big tongue.

His mother had no idea of the frightening experience her son was having looking at the dog as she was engrossed in conversation with the neighbour. When the child started to cry she didn’t realise the dog was causing her son the distress. And so the seeds of a life-long fear of dogs was sown.

Phobias such as the fear of spiders, fear of heights, fear of water etc. can have their basis in such innocuous circumstances, and a lot of these fears and phobias have their roots in early childhood.

How Are Fears and Phobias Removed?

Is it necessary to be able to remember the incident that triggered the phobia in the first place for a successful treatment?

Most people when they present themselves for therapy to deal with a fear or phobia have no idea what caused it in the first place. And it’s only by using therapy which can take the form of psychotherapy, counselling or analytical therapy that the root cause of the issue can be uncovered. But there always is a root cause for the problem, and once this is uncovered the road to recovery can begin.

Ian Epstein has been a counsellor and hypnotherapist in Dublin for 16 Years. To find out how hypnotherapy can help deal with phobias and fears as well as other issues please contact him for a free introductory consultation.