We know that the best intentions seem to be hijacked by our old, familiar patterns. Why? Your brain makes pathways according to what you are paying attention to. If you are stressed and paying attention to what is stressing you out, your new choices can default to years of old patterns.

The great news is…you can change! Truly! (Remember: All we are is change.)

My advice to you as the holidays move faster than light speed – pay attention to your soul, your heart, the true inner you. Take time for yourself, even if it’s only 10 minutes in the morning and/or 10 minutes before bedtime. Breathe. Slow down. Think of anything you can be grateful for. Family. Friends. Health. A sunburst. There’s a gem to focus on each and every day, no matter how small. And, focusing on the positive will help retrain your brain to make patterns that benefit you in the long run.

And, as for many of us, if the holidays are really stressing you out, causing you to overeat, not sleep or exercise well like you know you should, plan on joining me in January for “De-stress and Lose Weight” classes. Time spent in these classes will be focused on you and only you – and on changing unhealthy patterns that typically crank into high gear for many of us over during the holidays. You can get back on track. You can retrain your brain. You can make healthy choices that stick.

Happy holidays to you and yours!
With many loving blessings, Diane

Experts now agree that overeating is triggered by emotions as many of us are using food to cope with our feelings. Adults and children both seem to be eating high fat and high sugar foods to soothe emotional tugs in an attempt to relieve stress and anxiety. Stress eating in our fast paced world is so common! People are rushed, pushed, and crunched for time, making it easy to make bad food choices which adds to weight gain. Weight gain then adds more stress and sometimes depression.

Hypnosis is a very powerful means of losing weight, and I offer many weight loss management classes yearly that help people greatly. But like so many fad diets out there (and we all know diets don’t work!), hypnosis only lasts for so long if you do not address and solve the emotional reasons you are eating. Anger, sadness, hurt, guilt, fear, anxiety, depression are just some of the emotions involved in the unhealthy habit of overeating.

In my classes, I spend time teaching tools for “naturally thin eating” and then we get to root of the problem (or “problem emotions”) and solve them.

It’s amazing how much weight a person can lose and keep off if they are in charge of their emotions! It has been the reason for my success with weight loss clients – I won’t work with clients who aren’t willing to solve their emotional reasons for eating as they might initially take off the weight but they won’t keep it off if they aren’t ready to tackle serious emotional problems behind the self-destructive behavior.

Everyone has the power to achieve their best weight. But it’s not all about the food – it’s also about an emotional diet. If you’re already feeling stressed, take a moment to consider the real triggers. Family? Friends? Work? Not enough alone time? Now, what are the emotions behind those triggers? Fear? Feelings of “not enough”? Insecurity? Performance? When you take stock of what’s truly going on inside, you can then begin to see patterns. Then, and only then will you be ready to commit to making healthy changes that benefit you and those who really care about you and your well-being, too.

In my experience, avoidance is probably not the best strategy as typically the emotion you are trying to avoid comes back with a vengeance. Negative emotions can fester, too, which then can transform into fatigue or other severe health problems. Not the kind of transformation most of us seek.

There are many steps I teach my clients to take to resolve negative emotions in order to help them regulate their energy and give them their power back.

If you avoid your feelings, or are plagued by fear and anxiety, you can do something for yourself immediately. This isn’t a quick fix but a first step at help until you can get the appropriate assistance to guide you in resolving the root of your true problem.

Take Time Out
Sit comfortably. Begin breathing in through your nose, and out through the mouth with your exhale lasting approximately twice as long as your inhale. Count to yourself to guide this practice. Raise your head every so slightly. Look up and find a spot on the wall or some area or object you can focus on. Soften your breathing as you focus on this spot. Keep your eyes fixed on the spot or object and start spreading your awareness to the periphery. Notice while keeping your eyes fixed that you can also see to the sides of yourself. Now, consider the space above your head, then the space below your body. Keep expanding your awareness all the way out, reaching, stretching this awareness to encompass the room, your space, your world, the universe.

Keeping your breathing soft, notice how you feel. Now soften your thoughts. You can even imagine space….in….between….each….of….your….thoughts. You can also imagine breathing through your heart. Notice how good this feels. (It sounds weird, perhaps, but give it a go!)

Spending just a few moments practicing this technique can really diffuse a stressful situation. If you are having a hectic day, use this visualization to help you to regain control while you’re still in the situation, right when it makes a difference.

And, practice, practice, practice. Your mind and body love repetition! When you make this exercise part of your regular practice it will work better, and become an automatic response geared to help you through stressful, fearful situations.

When helping a trauma victim heal, it’s critical for them to be able to relax in order to address the traumatic events and resolve them. If you are having anxiety, practice this important breathing exercise often.

During the course of a lifetime, approximately half of all men and women will exposed to or experience at least one traumatic event, such as an assault, vehicular or work related accident, serious sports injury, domestic violence event, or natural disaster (earthquakes, hurricanes). Some people can resume their normal lives after such an experience while others will suffer significant distress or impairment. Traumatic experiences impact both the brain structure and processes.

But, what is trauma? Trauma is characterized as a rare and overwhelming event that produces an intense emotional response (fear, helplessness, horror). It’s not just an external event – the event is traumatic and/or intensely scary.

Trauma also has a psychological response. For many years mental health professionals and others have recognized that exposure to trauma produces enduring psychological consequences. Many people mask or self medicate the symptoms that develop from exposure to traumatic stress as a form of numbing.

Trauma can be traced to a natural defense mechanism that all human beings share. It is referred to as the flight or flight or freeze response. In the face of stress or danger, the body releases a chemical called adrenaline, which results in a wide range of physiological and psychological responses such as increased heart rate, overall hyper arousal of the bodily systems, and increased pupil size. A lesser known fear response is the freeze response or immobilization. This reaction to fear or terror often leaves people with the belief afterward, “why didn’t I do something?”. Freezing and fleeing are often defensive responses that are connected to unrealistic and debilitating feelings of guilt and shame in the aftermath of trauma.

A few symptoms that a person who has experienced trauma may also have:
• nightmares
• avoidance of people, place, and other situation is associated with trauma
• visual, auditory, and kinesthetic flashbacks
• intrusive thoughts
• persistent anxiety, increased arousal, and hypersensitivity
• sleep disturbances
• diminished interest or participation in previously enjoyed activities
• feelings of detachment and isolation
• psychic numbing

Symptoms can be mild to severe. Ongoing symptoms are very taxing on a person’s nervous system and people can try to self medicate for relief. Anyone who has grown up in a household of alcoholics or drug addicts or family that is depressed or anxious (who often have had their own history of trauma) can be well aware of the symptoms mentioned above.

There are countless studies about trauma. For more information on trauma (and related PTSD) please visit LifeForce or Sara Gilman.

Sit upright in a comfortable chair with both of your feet balanced on the floor. Breathe deeply and slowly from your diaphragm (not just the top part of your lungs). Notice when you start to relax. If you want to change your physiology a bit, move around a little, wiggle your toes, take another breath. You’re settling in for even deeper relaxation! Now, try to focus your attention on your heart. Try “breathing” through your heart. (Think about this for a minute so you can get a visual that works for you.) Note the sensations your body, breath and brain experience through this sequence..

Now go ahead and think about something entirely opposite from what was the initial cause of your stress – maybe a happy moment or fun time in your life. As you fill your mind with a pleasant thought (or memory, or visual) this will actually help to change the fight or flight response in your brain and body. Fight or flight response changes the biochemical mix in your body – swapping for a pleasant thought will help alter your mind/body chemistry, too.

In this exercise, I like to think about what and who I am grateful for – people, places, things, situations that make me feel good. This not only brings a smile to my face, but helps make more positive connections in my brain that then allow me to deal with stress triggers in a healthier way.

Go ahead…try it now!

In 2002, Americans also spent $1.1 billion on prescription sleeping pills. Seven of the top ten best selling drugs are for stress-related ailments. However, this is not just an American problem. Developed nations across the globe report higher levels of stress, anger, anxiety and dissatisfaction.

Something’s gotta give.

We are constantly “on”—email, internet, cell phone, television—there is endless noise in our lives. And more and more we are experiencing the stress of others. Their energies, reactions and words. We are all get bombarded by too much information, too much chatter, too much negative energy from the busy world around us.

In my office, people will tell me they actually need their stress to get things done. It’s almost become normal to some people to think stress is a good thing. My advice and reframing of that thinking is wouldn’t it be better to have motivation, drive or power—instead of stress—pushing us forward? Remember, too much stress quickly transforms to overwhelm. Energy, clarity and creativity decline. More aches, pains, restless nights and here come the ants (automatic negative thoughts) abound. Stress truly robs us of our enjoyment and our vitality.

Symptoms of stress can include:
• irritability
• lack of humor
• worry
• excessiveness
• forgetfulness
• aches and pains
• anxiety
• fatigue
• illness
• and so much more..

In understanding stress, consider for a moment that stress is not really about the external things, like the boss, the wife, the job, the sport, the performance, the big win. It’s how you perceive (or filter) any situation and how you respond with your emotions that truly causes symptoms of stress.

Many of us reach a point in our lives when we have a negative experience. Many, too, experience emotional ups and downs. Negative energy builds up as it has nowhere to go. Our anxiety, anger, frustration, blame, can all build up inside us until we either blow up, hide under our covers, have a panic attack, or worse.

But, there really is hope! New research and modalities in therapy can help us all to have more calm and inner peace. At even the most sensitive and volatile point in life, I truly help my clients reverse the negative thought patterns. By working together, even the very, very stressed out can learn how to consistently change their reactions to almost anything life throws at them.

Curious about what awaits you? Try my CDs—Stay Calm, Stay Confident, Stay Connected—to learn more about how to manage stress this spring.

The American Health Association and the American Medical Association have stated that stress is the number one reason for doctor visits. Stress is anger, sadness, hurt, guilt, fear, and the old voice that echoes “I’m not good enough” that manifests in your mind and in your body. People in the United States are now working more hours with less sleep and (surprise!) not experiencing as much enjoyment or fulfillment in life. This scenario sound familiar? Well, it can be turned around.

My personal breakthrough coaching helps you align with your true purpose and goals, and enables and activates your own inner strengths to lead you to resolve the negative patterns that are preventing you from having the life you want. Individual coaching works wonders with clients who really wish to deal with and minimize stress in their lives by creating effective, healthy patterns. Changing your response to your personal stress triggers is key – when you change your thought patterns you do indeed change the physical manifestations stress can have on your body (migraines, twitches, aches and pains, insomnia, and more).

It’s best to jump start this process to healing with individualized sessions. Then, on your own, my specialized CD programs can help reinforce the positive changes you experience in individual coaching sessions.

What are you waiting for?

The quantum Zeno effect (aka “a watched pot never boils!) is a concept you might be familiar with. This quantum phenomena was first demonstrated by George Sudarshan at University of Texas in 1977, and, in 2005, Stapp and Schwartz applied the quantum Zeno effect to mental experience. They found that attention and focus stabilize brain circuitry. Paying attention to any specific neural connection keeps the associated circuitry open dynamic and alive. Rapid and repeated observations not only stabilize transient chemical links, but eventually can alter physical changes in the brains structure. (Similar studies are conducted via neuro-plasticity research and can be read in The Brain That Changes Itself. All fascinating.)

So, the moral of the story is we get what we focus on–unconsciously!

And, you probably want to avoid the negatives in life, right? Suppose you have a panic attack. Your brain now has a neural pathway called anxiety or panic…then it happens again…so your brain now is really paying attention to panic. You could go to talk therapy and talk about your panic attacks. but what is happening in that situation? You are focusing on the panic and therefore repeatedly observing the panic, which then causes the neural pathway to light up and here comes the symptoms again. It’s quite a cycle of negativity.

I always tell my clients it’s like going down the same railroad track over and over again, consciously and unconsciously. And, not one client in over 20 years has told me that they can hardly wait to panic or are excited to be depressed. But, remember, by the time you experience panic there is already a mental pathway there for it to easily occur. Our work together is to help shift your conscious attention (your own attempt to solve the problem, the panic) to increased redirected unconscious activation (a new railroad track – get on it!)

Stay Confident, Stay Connected, Stay Focused are all effective CD programs that can be used to help your brain change to discover new neural pathways that can positively affect your life.

I always teach the athletes I work with to access the part of their mind that is beyond the conscious mind. This means to tap into their subconscious or unconscious mind. To best illustrate this, you might think of a computer or ipod with all of the amazing capabilities they both have. The face of the computer is the conscious mind and all the programs and capabilities the computer has is the subconscious or unconscious mind. Wouldn’t it be valuable to learn how to operate your subconscious mind to peak performance levels? That subconscious mind is running your body, after all. We all have and are born with this ‘hardware’ but usually it is our parents, teachers, friends, who add to or build our software. These software programs may or may not be working for you; few of us know how to use them. I teach my clients how to switch to the program they want to use when they are competing (or in other areas in life that doesn’t have extreme competition).

State of mind control is the most important talent to develop. We each have an inner switch (like a light switch) that allows us to turn on the confidence or turn off the negative chatter. There are many modalities I teach to allow my clients to be able to consistently accomplish this power. Think of the implications here – how these skills could improve performance or how these skills might improve your life.

My CD called Power Circle presents a state of mind switch that is easy to listen to and easy to follow for learning to retrain your brain to be confident. This is one technique that everyone can easily accomplish with a little effort!

I believe that people have actually untrained their brain in the ways of sleeping. Sound crazy? Well, the causes are simple, and all round us. Too much stress, anxiety, anger, sadness, and fear get in the way of our positive thoughts. We churn on these negative elements far too often. When we experience crises and traumas, we pave the way for those negative life experiences to make serious impressions on our brains and how we process information.

Ready to break such unhealthy patters? Ready to rest so you can be at your best? Ready to sleep? My sleep CD programs are designed for the purpose of retraining your brain – to sleep! (Remember there was a time in your life when you did actually sleep!) Stay Relaxed is designed to put you to sleep; Stay Asleep is designed to encourage your brain to let go so you can go to sleep. Repeated listening of all CD programs puts you in charge of your sleep patterns. What are you waiting for? Get to sleep so you can recharge!