Aspire Therapy Blog

The Celebrities Who Were Able To Think Themselves Young

If you enjoyed watching the transformation undergone by the elderly celebrities in the BBC's The Young Ones, then it is worth considering whether the lessons of the experiment can be applied to a wider range of people and experiences.

The six celebrities from the 70s and 80s, all aged over 75,  spent a week in an environment where they not only had to fend for themselves, but were transported back to the world of 1975. The impact on their health and well-being was impressive and amazed BBC science expert Dr Michael Mosley.

If through the simple power of mind over matter we can actually reverse significant aspects of the ageing process, not just improving our mental state but also our physical well-being, then what are the impications for dealing with the kinds of problems for which people seek medical and psychological help? It's certainly encouraging for clients coming to us for hypnotherapy.

Powerful Evidence of the Influence of Mind Over Matter

Powerful scientific evidence of the influence of ‘mind over matter’ was provided by BBC 2’s Horizon programme in a recent episode entitled Don’t Grow Old.

The programme set out to discover how close scientists have got towards finding an ‘elixir of youth’. One of the strongest messages that came out of the programme however was that changing how you think can improve how you age.  

This is an important message not only for those concerned about growing old, but for all of us who are interested in how much influence and control we can have over our own health and wellbeing.

Are You In Control Of Your Thoughts?

Are you in control of your thoughts or do you allow your thoughts to control you? We like to think of ourselves as autonomous, independent, self-sufficient beings and yet all to often we play the victim when it comes to our own state of mind.

This is particularly the case when we are suffering from loss of confidence, low self-esteem, depression or lack of self-belief. The thoughts we have about ourselves can seem unalterable and inescapable.

But negative, self-critical thinking can be challenged or diminished through a process of careful self-questioning, or by letting the thoughts become objects of detached contemplation. These are two approaches that we use in hypnotherapy.

Seeing the World Through Another Person’s Eyes

What might it be like to see the world through another person’s eyes? Sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but it’s so easy to become locked in our own way of seeing that perhaps we should pose this question to ourselves more often.

Inevitably we see the world from our own point of view – and ultimately cannot do otherwise. But sometimes it is worth taking an imaginative leap and thinking about the other perspectives.

After all, as we often point out, the imagination is a very powerful resource. Through films and television fiction we allow ourselves to enter into other people’s lives, seeing the world through the eyes of our hero or heroine and losing ourselves in the process. Perhaps we should apply this skill more often in our everyday lives.

Rise and Shine!

How do you start your day? Think back to this morning. What were your very first thoughts? What did you tell yourself as you heard the alarm go off?

Psychologists have found that the way we start our daily routine can actually have an amazing impact on how we experience the remainder of our day.

In fact, that very first hour we awake has been likened to the rudder of a ship, which serves to steer a course for the rest of our day, according to Dr Robert Holden (see our earlier article).

So where is your ship headed?

How Happy Are You?

Did you know that you can train yourself to be a happier person and that it is possible to actually re-wire your brain to think happy thoughts naturally and automatically?

So says Dr Robert Holden who first came to the public’s attention in 1996 when he featured in the now famous BBC QED programme ‘How to be happy’.

According to Dr Holden, (also known as ‘the happiness psychologist’), we are responsible for the level of happiness and fulfilment that we enjoy on a day to day basis.

A Room With A View

We live out much of our lives in what could be regarded as trance states, caught up in our own world and in our own way of thinking.

This notion may seem puzzling at first, but if being in hypnosis is simply this kind of absorbed attention, then it can be seen as a frame of mind which dominates our experience of life.

In our article When is a Trance Not a Trance we have talked about trance states being part of our everyday life, but to say we spend large periods of our lives in trance states takes this idea a step further.

The fact we inhabit such states is inevitable and not necessarily something that should worry us. But it can mean that we become closed off to alternative possibilities and to different ways of viewing our lives and our problems.

A Change of Perspective

A brisk walk can be one of the best ways of relieving the mind of stress, anxiety or depression. As you walk try not to allow your mind to get caught up in that incessant weave of inner thoughts. It’s precisely those thoughts which are probably causing you to feel the way you do.

Open yourself up to your surroundings. Actually see, here and feel where you are. Breath in the fresh air if you’re in the countryside or by the sea - see the sights, hear the sounds, feel the feelings…

So often, even when we’re out walking, we shut ourselves off from the world around us. Only by becoming aware of the fact we’re doing this can we break the habit.

The Miracle Question

Suppose tonight, while you slept, a miracle happened….

When you awoke the following morning – you found that all your problems were magically resolved.

What would your life look like? What would you be doing, thinking or feeling? How exactly would you know that a miracle had occurred?

These are some of the questions posed in The Miracle Question written by Linda Metcalf and published by Crown House Publishing, which advocates a ‘solution focused approach’ to our problems – but what does this actually mean and how can it help us?

Become a Time Traveller

Our understanding of time has an important bearing upon our feelings of mental and emotional well-being.

Clinical Psychologist, Michael D Yapko, well known for his work on the application of hypnosis in therapy, believes that the person who is in good mental and emotional health thinks flexibly about time.

These people are able to move freely between the past, the present and the future. This means that in dealing with everyday living they can draw equally well upon past experiences, future possibilities and perceptions of the present.

Some individuals however get locked into one way of experiencing time and this can be associated with particular forms of behaviour.