Lunch and Learn

Turning Your Therapy Side Hustle into a Full-Time Profession A Realistic Guide

Ah, the tantalising dream of turning a passion project into a full-fledged career. As the mental health sector burgeons, the prospect of transitioning your therapy side gig to a profession feels enticing. But let’s be clear: it’s not merely about having the expertise or the good heart. To truly thrive, you need business acumen. Here’s my two-penneth on how to make this ambition a reality.

The Power of Mentorship

I vividly recall the early days of my venture, when a leading PR maven in Sheffield, having listened to my vision, charmingly dismissed it as a ‘lifestyle business’—but that moment of redirection led me to invaluable resources. That’s the magic of having a mentor or business coach. These experienced guides don’t just offer advice; they’re the lighthouses on your entrepreneurial voyage, illuminating pitfalls and opportunities alike.

Network Like Your Career Depends On It (Because It Does!)

You might think networking is the domain of suited-up corporate folks. Wrong! Therapists like you and me need a network – not just for referrals but also for collaborative growth. Sites like Eventbrite are teeming with local business networking events. And then, there are tailored communities such as The Growth Community and BNI. The latter instil the ‘Give As Gain’ ethos, which isn’t about selling but educating others about your ideal client. The right network turns peers into your personal marketing squad.

Remember, each networking mode has its quirks. Online offers convenience, face-to-face promises depth, and hybrid? The best of both! Your goal? Become the therapist everyone “knows, likes, and trusts.”

It’s Not Just Business, It’s Personal

Recognise this: you’re not merely offering a service but catalysing life transformations. So, price your services rightfully. And it’s not just about that session hour. Consider the prep, post-session documentation, and the plethora of unseen tasks. You are your brand, and your price reflects your value.

Show Me the Money

Making a career leap demands financial acumen. So, seek grants and funding opportunities. For instance, when I ventured into becoming a Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Sheffield Launchpad was my financial godsend. It might take grit and a bit of resourcefulness, but with a hawk-eyed search, you can locate the funds to ease your transition.

Boundaries and Resilience

Every so often, doubts and setbacks will knock on your door. In such moments, let a personal mantra or quote reignite your fire. And as you grow, don’t shy from seeking external support, be it a virtual assistant or a marketer. Know which hat you don at every juncture – are you the therapist, the marketer, or the admin today? But amidst this hustle, remember to hit pause. Rest is not just crucial; it’s non-negotiable.

The Final Word

Turning your therapy side hustle into a full-time profession sometimes feels like threading a needle in the dark. But with a strategic approach, a robust network, financial planning, and oodles of resilience, you’re setting yourself up for success.

Embrace this journey with its highs and lows, for on the other side lies a fulfilling career waiting to be moulded by you. Take the leap, and your future self (and those countless lives you’ll touch) will be eternally grateful.

Behaviours that will Boost Self Confidence During COVID-19

Fear and uncertainty are the most common reasons why people feel stressed, anxious and helpless. With the coronavirus pandemic putting a halt to our daily routines and lives as a whole, people in the UK and worldwide are facing a severe mental health and wellbeing crisis.

With a growing number of lives lost, accelerated changes to our lifestyles, mandatory physical and social distancing, and the wearing of protective face coverings, people are feeling frustrated, worried, anxious, overwhelmed, detached and less confident.

Insecurity has been around for ages, but never more so than today—the global pandemic has only heightened such feelings. Human beings crave security; we’re more confident as a species when we know what to do. It is becoming increasingly difficult for many people to cope with the current uncertainty.

If you’re feeling anxious and less confident due to the impact of the pandemic, know that you are not alone. There are positive actions you can take; join the increasing number of people who have decided to improve their self-confidence.

To help you come out of this crisis stronger, the five behaviours below will, if you implement them now, boost your self-confidence and enable you to rediscover your identity. You will feel more motivated, confident, and in control of your life as a result.

Accept the Situation AND Tackle the Things You Can Control

Though scientists worldwide are working around the clock to develop a vaccine, we don’t actually know how long we will have to adhere to varying levels of restrictions.

Come to terms with the uncertainty in the world. Rather than worrying about circumstances you can’t control, focus on the things you can control. This mindset will help you rebuild your confidence.

Practice Mindfulness

Rather than worrying about how things will unfold in 2021, focus on living in the present. While there may not be much to look forward to, practising mindfulness will help you achieve a calm and peaceful mind.

We can, of course, still plan for the future, set goals, and work towards achieving our personal and business objectives—the pandemic doesn’t have to infringe on our imagination, visualisation skills or our ability to take positive steps towards the outcomes we desire.

Ask questions of yourself and try to understand your feelings. Once you know the reasons behind the negative thoughts in your mind, practising mindfulness can help you transform them into positive thoughts.

There are countless ways to practice mindfulness, e.g. yoga, guided meditation, healthy eating, exercising, talking therapies, etc. Another reliable method is seeking the help of a wellbeing expert.

A wellbeing practitioner can provide support to those suffering from a lack of confidence and lost identity, and who, as a result, have lost their direction in life for more than a year.

Surround Yourself with People You Trust 

Let go of the people in your life who drain your energy. Identify instead those people who uplift, motivate and love you—spend quality time with them.

There’s a saying that goes, ‘If you lie down with dogs, you’ll get up with fleas.’ If you don’t want fleas, don’t lie down with dogs. In other words, if you don’t want negativity in your life, don’t hang around negative people.

‘You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.’ ~ Jim Rohn

Spending time with family and friends and expressing your problems can provide support, relief, and increase your confidence.

Social and physical distancing is mandatory, but that doesn’t mean you must completely disconnect from the world. Use the communication channels available to us to your advantage; reach out and forge healthy relationships.

Learn to Thrive in The Face of Uncertainty

Don’t let fears and worries have the upper hand in your life. Accept the uncertainty that comes with specific situations. And like Bertrand Russell said, ‘The trouble with the world is that the stupid are so confident while the intelligent are full of doubt.’

What You Can Do Right Now 

Identify Your Trigger Points: a pessimistic outlook on life leads to self-generated uncertainty. And while external factors can play a part by adding to the same, you must learn what initially fuels your negativity.

By identifying your triggers, you can find ways to deal with them, so that you can avoid feeling helpless. Identify conditions that make you feel stressed and anxious, and study how your body and emotions react.

It’s essential to experience all kinds of feelings and emotions. Acceptance is the first step towards building confidence. When you come to terms with your emotions and trigger points, with practice, you will learn to let go.

Next Steps

I’ve created an easy, effective, powerful system that anyone suffering from a lack of confidence, motivation or resilience could immediately apply and benefit from when they work with me. I help people rediscover their identity, so that they feel physically robust and better equipped mentally; ultimately, they feel in better control of their lives.

Please contact me directly for more information about how this can work for you. Email enquiries@mikelawrence.co.uk or call 07967 052585.

stop smoking in Sheffield hypnosis stress relief

Why I’m Changing The Way I Support Smokers To Become Non-smokers

stop smoking in Sheffield hypnosis stress relief

The first country in the world to introduce mandatory packaging for tobacco products was Australia – and the UK followed suit in 2017. But will the UK copy Australia’s plan to keep increasing taxes until a packet of cigarettes costs AUD$40 (£24)?

The average price of a packet of cigarettes in the UK rose over a tenner last year putting the average cost of a packet of 20 cigarettes at £10.80

Therefore a 20-a-day smoker keeping up their habit saw themselves an extra £178.85 out of pocket over a year.

Take a look at the numbers more closely, a smoker who typically smokes 20 cigarettes per day will cost him £70 per week, that’s £300 per month and a whopping £3650 a year.

Smoking ten years £36,500 and for many, it’s over 20 years, especially those that come to see me who’ve been smoking since they left school £73,000.

Can you afford £300 per month to help you manage your stress, anxiety or any challenges that life will put in your path over your lifetime? Or are you willing to look at a healthier natural option that is designed to improve your health and wellbeing?

Quitting smoking does lead to a more abundant life in more ways than one; however, for most smokers, quitting is a difficult process. Many smokers attempt to quit repeatedly before they succeed, with some relapsing even after a lengthy period of abstinence.

Many people have used smoking to deal with stressful situations in their lives. So, when you experience stress after quitting, it may trigger intense craving for a cigarette.

My research highlights that anyone who has suffered trauma, anxiety, or stress is prone to relapse unless additional support is sought or provided.

Following a free consultation, I now offer my clients two options to become a non-smoker. The first option is the standard 2-hour smoking cessation session, which is designed to get you to stop smoking immediately. In this timeframe, we will be dealing specifically with the specific triggers for you that causes you to smoke.

The 2nd option follows the same process but incorporates 11, 1-hour sessions over 11 months.

The sessions provide the scope to analyse the past triggers for smoking and continued reinforcing coping approaches that will assist you to stay a non-smoker for years to come.

Therefore, should you be faced with any trauma, anxiety or stressful situations, I will be at available to assist and support you throughout your journey to be a permanent smoker.

If you’re seriously considering quitting smoking permanently, get in touch and discover how hypnosis could help you to save money, and improve your health, please call 0114 327 2683 or email enquiries@mikelawrence.co.uk for a FREE 20 minute no-obligation consultation.

stop smoking hypnotherapy in Sheffield

Why It’s Easier To Stop Smoking Now Than Ever Before

stop smoking hypnotherapy in Sheffield

Ask any smoker who has tried to quit, and they’ll tell you how difficult it is. All the benefits that urge a person to stop – COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), cancer, cost, etc. seem just to fade away when nicotine craving kicks in and you need rest bite from the stress or other unknown habits because you’ve been smoking for so long. ‘Some of the typical excuses people use not to quit smoking include anxiety, boredom, addiction, stress, driving or a having a cigarette with a cup of tea or coffee.

However, with increasing awareness of smoking cessation, people have managed to become non-smokers and achieve this challenging task. If you’re a smoker too and quitting smoking is one of your goals that you’ve made this year, here is your quick, no-nonsense 5 Ds guide to quitting smoking.

The 5 Ds to Stopping Smoking

Deferral – After quitting smoking, it takes approximately 3 to 4 days for nicotine to leave your body entirely. That is why the first few days following quitting smoking can be amongst the toughest: this is when cravings first begin and are at their most intense. Cravings last approximately 5 to 10 minutes, you might find this slightly uncomfortable but try to wait it out.

But fortunately, these initial cravings are don’t last long. While it may take your brain chemistry upwards of three months to return to normal, cravings ordinarily begin to decrease in strength and frequency after the first week and are usually entirely gone in one to three months. Crating time-based targets to delay your smoking will reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke each day. Slowly, you might consider increasing the duration of time-based goals until you are ready to quit.

Divert your attention – Countless people who stop smoking find mindfulness assists them to cope with the cravings. It is an activity that can take time to master before gaining the benefits. Mindfulness is paying attention to what’s going on around you at the time. It is being fully aware of the emotions, thoughts, and physical feelings internally, also what you hear, see, smell, and touch.

Practising mindfulness incorporates breathing, techniques and guided imagery, to relax the mind and body. Guided imagery allows you to use all your senses to direct your imagination to a relaxed, focused state. Mindfulness is a skill you can practice in all areas of your life.

Drink water – Our bodies are composed of 65 per cent to 70 per cent water, every cell in the body is dependent on water for healthy functioning. Water also helps flush residual nicotine out of the body, and by keeping yourself well-hydrated, you’ll feel better overall. That can only help as you make your way through the discomforts of nicotine withdrawal.

Deep breathing – Most people aren’t aware of how to breathe correctly. In my early years of training to be a therapist, I was offered the most crucial piece of advice that people should change to improve their health, “Breathe.”

Most people don’t breathe deeply. Shallow breathing leaves humans feeling tired, deprives us of air, and produces tension inside our body. It’s common for smokers only to breathe deeply when they are filling their lungs with smoke.

Instead of a smoking break, I suggest you take a walk outside for a breath of fresh air, merely pausing what you’re doing to take a few slow, deep breaths. Continue at home with 3-part breathing, which is the art of slowly filling the three chambers of your lungs with air, which begins with the abdomen and moving up through the ribs and the upper chest. Then, release the breath fully in all three chambers. It’s incredibly effective at releasing tension. You simply can’t be stressed out when you are breathing deeply.

Discuss – You do not have to be alone in your battle. If your will power starts to wain and you feel the cravings or urge to smoke, talk to a friend or someone who has successfully quit smoking to bring the inspiration back again. Even though you know all the reasons to quit smoking, talking to a non-smoker can keep you motivated.

Hopefully, you’ll remind yourself of these D’s whenever the battle to kick the habit gets tough. Good luck!

Stop Smoking Hypnotherapy In Sheffield

As a highly qualified and experienced holistic professional holistic hypnotherapist in Sheffield, I would be more than happy to help you quit smoking. If you’re considering stopping smoking and would like more information and learn how hypnosis would help you, please call 0114 327 2683 or email enquiries@mikelawrence.co.uk  for a FREE, no obligation consultation.

stop smoking hypnotherapy Sheffield

10 Things to Consider When Stopping Smoking

stop smoking hypnotherapy Sheffield

Nicotine withdrawal isn’t the only concern that many smokers have when wanting to stop smoking. People who quit cold turkey usually have worse symptoms than those who seek assistance from a hypnotherapist, NHS or utilise smoking devices (including nicotine replacement therapy).

Many fear it will take a long time to see improvements in health and well-being, but the timeline for seeing real benefits is faster than most people realise. Health benefits begin in as little as an hour after the last cigarette and continue to improve.

Here are some key points about smoking cessation and what you should consider before stopping smoking.

1. Smoking is Expensive

…and you might be surprised at how it all adds up. On average, most people who quit save around £250 each month. That’s nearly £3,000 a year going up in smoke. What else could you spend that money on?

Click on the SMOKEFREE website quick cost calculator to find out how much money you will save

2. Nicotine Craving

…is one of the most challenging and persistent symptoms of quitting smoking due to the nicotine withdrawal. The cravings you feel are caused by nicotinic receptors in the brain. When sudden deprived of nicotine, the brain will no longer release the “feel-good” hormone dopamine which the body has grown accustomed to.

Nicotine cravings normally last for five to 10 minutes. They may be uncomfortable but try to remind yourself that the feeling will pass.

3. Weight Gain

To avoid weight gain when you quit smoking, make diet and exercise part of your stop-smoking plan. It’s common to gain weight after you stop smoking, especially during the first several months — but it isn’t inescapable.

4. Mood Changes

The side effects of quitting smoking can be extreme for some. Many people feel like they have the flu when they’re going through withdrawal. This is because smoking affects every system in your body. When you quit, your body needs to adjust to not having nicotine. It’s important to remember that these side effects are only temporary.

5. Coping with Stress Without Smoking

Managing stress is a key part of quitting smoking. People often tell me the reasons why they smoke are to calm their nerves, dealing with stress, boredom and to feel at ease in social situations.

6. Develop a Persistent Cough

People will often become alarmed when they develop a persistent cough after they quit smoking. As odd as this may seem, coughing at this stage is a sign that your lungs are getting better, not worse.

7. Health Benefits

Your body’s collagen production returns to normal levels, so your skin looks healthier, the stains on your teeth and fingernails could diminish and the blood flow to your hair follicles increases, which may result in hair regrowth or thicker hair.

8. Constipation

Nicotine affects the small bowel and colon. When you remove the nicotine, you may experience constipation as your body adjusts to going without it. This symptom will gradually decline during the first 1-2 months of quitting.

9. Restless Sleep

…is a common side effect of nicotine withdrawal and can run the gamut from insomnia to requiring more sleep during the day. The symptoms are also closely linked to the irregularity of dopamine, the hormone of which is also involved in sleep regulation.

10. Quitter’s Flu

…also called smoker’s flu, is a slang term used to describe the flu-like symptoms that nicotine withdrawal can sometimes produce. Is worth noting that smoker’s flu is not an infectious illness.

If you’d like help to stop smoking then contact me on 0114 327 2683 to book a session. I offer a full money back guarantee for smoking hypnotherapy. Click here to find out more about my stop smoking hypnosis.

stop smoking in Sheffield hypnosis

Stop Smoking In Sheffield via Hypnosis

stop smoking in Sheffield hypnosis

In the UK, 15.1% of people aged 18 years and above smoked cigarettes, which equates to around 7.4 million people in the population.

Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable deaths in England, accounting for nearly 80,000 deaths each year. One in two smokers will die from a smoking-related disease.

60.8% of people aged 16 years and above who currently smoked said they wanted to quit and 59.5% of those who have ever smoked said they had quit.

But what stops smokers from quitting? In one-word nicotine.

The nicotine in inhaled tobacco smoke moves from the lungs into the bloodstream and up to a smoker’s brain within seven to 10 seconds. Once there, nicotine triggers a number of chemical reactions that create temporary feelings of pleasure for the smoker, but these sensations are short-lived, subsiding within minutes.

As the nicotine level drops in the blood, smokers feel anxious and agitated—the start of nicotine withdrawal. In order to relieve this discomfort, smokers light up another cigarette and then another, and another. And so, it goes the vicious cycle of nicotine addiction. One cigarette is never enough, a fact that every smoker knows all too well.

In order to quit smoking successfully for the long term, it helps to understand the nature of nicotine addiction and what it takes to break free of it. In fact, my clients are often surprised to learn that they are addicted to a substance. Many of us believed that smoking was just a bad habit; something we could stop easily when we decided it was time.

The Chemicals in Cigarettes

Tobacco smoke contains a deadly mix of more than 7,000 chemicals; hundreds are harmful, and about 70 can cause cancer. Smoking increases the risk of serious health problems, many diseases, and death. Even ostensibly ‘low’ levels of smoking can be harmful. One long-term study concluded that people who smoke between 1 and 4 cigarettes a day have a significantly higher risk of dying early than non-smokers.

Help to Stop Smoking Now!

Statistics show that only a small percentage (approximately 7%) of people who try to quit smoking without support are still smoke-free a year later.

However, those who have joined my smoking cessation program that includes education about nicotine addiction and a solid support group, do much better.

Comprehensive Smoking Cessation Session Plan

The smoking cessation session is tailored especially for you, based on your experience and reasons for smoking. A range of techniques is used to create a unique treatment solution that you need.

A range of methods on its own could be 100% effective for you—however, we use a whole “toolbox” of the best techniques to ensure success.

Pre-Treatment

  1. Client encouraged to delay smoking of the first cigarette for as long as you can each day.
  2. Monitors smoking behaviour and maintain a record of thoughts and feelings about first.
  3. cigarette smoked each day.
  4. Attempts to restrict stimuli associated with smoking by only drinking water while smoking, if possible, and doing nothing else.
  5. Listen daily to a 25-minute Preparing to be a Non-Smoker Self-Hypnosis audio (may clients report that they have reduced the daily number of cigarettes smoked without thinking about it having listened repeatedly to the audio.

Primary Therapy Session – 2 hours

  1. Session overview and agenda explained.
  2. Assessment for contra-indications, etc.
  3. Reasons for wanting to quit are discussed and reinforced verbally.
  4. Trigger situations are identified for relapse prevention.
  5. Simple cue-controlled relaxation techniques are taught to prepare the client for further work and provide stress management tool.
  6. Shown visual imagery exercise.
  7. Taught thought-stopping with positive coping statements to deal with cigarette cravings, targeting key trigger situations.
  8. Demonstrate covert rehearsal to prepare to cope with a variety of challenging situations by mentally rehearsing coping skills (e.g., assertiveness) and coping statements /positive affirmations.
  9. Hypnotised and cognitive imagery is used to reinforce reasons for wanting to quit and positive goal imagery.
  10. Provide suggestions of ego-strength and self-efficacy with focus on controlling habits, etc.
  11. Confidence building and motivation.
  12. Provided with Tip Sheet (Easily Staying a Non-Smoker) and 20-minute motivation audio – celebrating and staying a non-smoker
stop smoking hypnosis Sheffield hypnotherapy

Stop Smoking Hypnotherapy in Sheffield

Where Are You In Your Plans To Stop Smoking?

stop smoking hypnosis Sheffield hypnotherapyA few people can stop smoking just by throwing away their cigarettes. But for most people, quitting smoking is not that easy. Quitting takes more than willpower it takes a plan of action.

Most smokers like to smoke at specific occasions. It may be as soon as they wake in the morning, driving to work, following a meal or when they are having a cup of coffee. Some people light up whenever they talk on the phone or get into a car.

Often the triggers for smoking are feelings and emotions. Smokers sometimes smoke more when they are unhappy, anxious, or stressed. Reaching for a cigarette is used as a coping mechanism in an attempt to deal with the problem, such as a problems in the workplace, a breakdown in a relationship, or more often than not it becomes a habit which they struggle to shake off.

Why Do Most Smokers Have Trouble Quitting?

It is because they are addicted to the nicotine in their cigarettes.

Smoking cigarettes gives a smoker regular hit of nicotine. After a while, the body gets used to it. For an addicted smoker, being without nicotine brings on feelings of withdrawal.

But the nicotine is NOT what causes the major health risks of smoking. Cigarettes are filled with thousands of other chemicals. Doctors believe the deadly chemicals in cigarettes and tobacco smoke cause the bad health effects of smoking. Most brands are high in tar. Tar in cigarettes causes lung cancer. Cigarettes also have carbon monoxide, which takes oxygen from the blood and can lead to strokes.

Nicotine is an addiction, but quitting is possible.

There are many ways a smoker can gain control over urges to smoke. Here are some ideas.

  • Drink a glass of water or milk while having a cigarette – and when you smoke only smoke – don’t do anything else (e.g. don’t be on the phone etc.)
  • Try to change the place where you smoke (e.g. if you always smoke in the kitchen then smoke in the garden)
  • Cut back on caffeine (coffee and tea). Caffeine increases agitation in your nervous system – leading to more stress and tension
  • See how long you can go before having your first cigarette each day.
  • Change your brand of cigarettes (to break habitual associations)

It may not be easy but stick to it until you succeed! Don’t give in. Then go on to the next thing you want to change.

Keep going until you have checked off all the smoking triggers on your checklist. If you can stop smoking at your key times, you are well on your way to stopping. Regardless whether you smoke 10 a day or 40 a day these tips will work for all smokers.

If you always smoke in the car, instead of smoking, listen to some of your favourite music.

Don’t try to do everything at once. Change one thing at a time. Set a date and a reason for wanting to stop smoking and stick to it.

You should choose a specific day to quit. Having a ‘Quit Day’ gives you a goal to reach. It is a promise to keep to yourself and your family. Setting a Quit Day 2 to 3 weeks in advance gives you time to get prepare. Circle your Quit Day on a calendar. Write it down. Carry it with you and inform your friends and family.

Your Quit Day is very important. Ask anyone you know who used to smoke. Five years from now, the day you gave up cigarettes for good will be a day that you remember, like the day you got married or passed your driving test.

Think positive thoughts. Say to yourself, “I can do it this time!” even if you have tried before. Think about how much better you will feel after you quit for good, the money that you’ll save and the health benefits.

Stopping Smoking – You Will Feel Better In The Long Run

Things will get better soon. The “quitting blues” do not last forever. The feelings of giving up cigarettes tend to be strongest during the first week. You may not feel like yourself or may cough more at first. The worst part will be over soon—2 to 3 weeks after you smoke your last cigarette. After a month, you will feel better than you felt when you smoked. So, be patient. Take it one day at a time.

It takes time to get over the urge to smoke. The urges will be strongest in the places where you smoked the most. In the beginning, you may want to avoid places where you used to smoke. After a while, the urges will get a lot weaker.

Avoid smoking even one cigarette. While a single cigarette may not drown your efforts to quit, any smoking makes it easier to relapse into addiction. It is not worth the risk.

If you do get the urge to smoke, don’t act on it. Instead, write down what you will do instead of smoking. It may be as simple as reaching for a notebook which contains the reasons why to stop smoking instead of reaching for a cigarette.

Some people who are still smoking may try to get you smoking again. Be ready to keep saying NO. Your life and your health are at risk. And no matter how much you miss your cigarettes, don’t start smoking e-cigarettes.

Stop Smoking Hypnosis in Sheffield

We are so confident in our ability to make you into a non-smoker that we offer a full 100% money back guarantee if we do not succeed.

Find out more about our stop smoking hypnotherapy here.

Bark certificate of excellence life coach Sheffield

Bark Certificate of Excellence – 2019 Winner

Bark certificate of excellence life coach SheffieldMike Lawrence is delighted to have won a Bark Certificate of Excellence Award 2019.

Every day thousands of people visit Bark online to hire professionals to help them suffering from stress, feeling depressed, suffering from chronic pain or struggling to cope with some aspect of their life, therefore, seeking a life coach.

The Certificate of Excellence Awards acknowledge the best professionals on Bark who stand out from the crowd and offer an outstanding service to their clients.

Mike Lawrence Holistic Therapies is privileged to have been recognised as one of the best in the category for Holistic Therapy.

 

International Stress Conference

How To Actively Take Control of Your Time and Your Life 2019

Price: £27 EarlyBird booking if you book before 29th December 2018, price will then increase to £47

Do you want to get more done in 2019?

Are you ready to take more control of your life and reduce or even completely stop procrastinating?

Or have you been feeling that it’s about time I made significant progress towards my life’s ambitions?

Then come to our workshop in Sheffield where we will learn and discover methods on how to make 2019 one our best years yet!

Price includes:

  • Entrance to the 3-hour event
  • Receive 7 Top Tips packed with nuggets of information that will transform your life and help you follow through with your New Year’s resolution
  • Individual (one-to-one) 40-minute follow-up coaching session either face-to-face or Skype after the event
  • Refreshments and snacks at the event
  • Networking opportunity and maybe finding an accountability partner to keep each other on track
  • Demonstration of benefit of holistic therapy treatment

We all know that everyone makes resolutions and commitments to things that they want to change or otherwise improve. Everything from losing weight, giving up smoking, stop gambling, making more money, finding true love, or getting a better job. And of course, around the holidays people get really excited setting goals. But unfortunately, statistics show it only takes 2-3 weeks before almost 80% of them give up!

That’s right. Nearly 80% of the people who said they want to make significant changes in their life never actually do it. So why do so many people give up? We’ll discuss that as well at the workshop.

Just look at Levi Roots. Musician, restaurateur and philanthropist, who was guest speaker in Sheffield recently. He said, mentors (coaches) can help to offer a sounding board to explore new ideas, as well as helping to connect business owners with the support and advice they need.

He said: “After appearing on Dragon’s Den my career took off in so many exciting directions and at an accelerated pace. Once again, the coaching I received from Peter Jones proved to be instrumental in the development of my business. His guidance and business expertise were crucial to the final outcome.”

We don’t all have businesses, but we’re all looking to keep becoming better.

Also, a client who was a member of the 2018 workshop wrote: “I am delighted to have been introduced to Mike, he was brilliant. The reason I contacted him was to seek advice about the broken relationship between my partner and I. Mike was not only a very good listener, he also made me feel at ease, whilst he uncovered some of the issues which I had which were underlying. This was by talking through with me about the situation, which was seemingly beyond repair. However following Mike’s coaching, my partner and I have become a lot closer than ever before. We now enjoy the most fantastic loving relationship. I am over the moon and the last few weeks have been amazing! Thanks so much from us both Mike.”

This is why we are offering this workshop in Sheffield, so you can witness first-hand the benefits of having that little extra bit of help and support towards your goals.

Some of the things we’ll be going through are:

  • Addressing any negative emotions, you are feeling
  • Getting clarity on what you want from life
  • Identifying a better career path
  • Working through relationship issues
  • Support on improving your health or losing weight
  • Stop smoking with hypnosis
  • Figuring out why you are struggling financially
  • Getting unstuck from any situation that may be holding you back
  • Ridding yourself of fears and phobias
  • Fear of flying

But please be aware that we can only accommodate a limited number of people throughout the day. Because we are providing focused sessions, we want to make sure we have enough time to help everyone who signs up. So, if you are ready to tackle the New Year and stick to your goals and commitments, make sure to sign up early!

Looking forward to meeting and supporting you as best as I can.

Click here to reserve your place.

Health Sheffield, stop smoking, stress management, life coach in Sheffield

People Must Take Responsibility for own Health

Health Sheffield, stop smoking, stress management, life coach in SheffieldHealth Secretary, Matt Hancock, triggered a row after urging people to take greater responsibility for their own health to tackle the rising toll of illness from diseases such as cancer and obesity.

In a speech on Monday the Health and Social Care Secretary called for a big increase in people making healthier lifestyle choices, such as reducing the amount of alcohol and junk food they consume.

Speaking ahead of the speech Hancock said “We need to do far more to personally take responsibility for our own health.”

In his speech outlining plans for a major push to prevent ill health, Hancock will say: “Prevention is also about ensuring that people take greater responsibility for managing their own health. It’s about people choosing to look after themselves better, staying active and stopping smoking. Making better choices by limiting alcohol, sugar, salt and fat.”

Professionals criticise health secretary’s call for adoption of healthier lifestyles.

Simon Capewell, a professor of public health and policy at Liverpool University, said the minister was right to emphasise the need for effective prevention of epidemics such as obesity, diabetes and dementia.

But he added: “We must recognise the huge power of our lived environment and avoid naively just focusing on ‘personal responsibility’ and ‘individual choices’. People do not ‘choose’ obesity or diabetes or cancer. They have just been overwhelmed by a toxic environment.”

Stress Relief At Work – How To Alleviate Work Stress

Earlier this year I was invited to Frankfurt to deliver a workshop on how to alleviate work stress at the 4th International Conference on Depression, Anxiety and Stress Management.

Let’s take a look at some interesting findings

  • Image-conscious women spend more than twice as much money every year on looking good than they do on feeling good
  • Materialistic Britons believe having money is more important than enjoying good health or a happy family life
  • Women spend more years of their life in poor health than men
  • Brits spend more time on the loo than they do on exercise

Ageing Well: How Can We Make Longer Lives Healthier?

Public Health England October 2016 claimed the number of people living today aged 60 and over has doubled since 1980, and by 2050 we can expect to see the number of people aged 80 or more quadruple to 395 million.

Over four million (or 40 per cent) of people in the UK over the age of 65 have a limiting long-term health condition, such as diabetes, heart disease, respiratory disease, cancer, arthritis and dementia.

Many of these conditions are linked to lifestyle and modifiable behaviours and declines in mortality have not been matched by declines in morbidity with marked inequalities between the least deprived and the most deprived areas remaining.

It Is Never Too Late To Make A Change

Our experiences throughout life can have a negative or positive influence on health, affecting the risk of chronic disease and other health outcomes in later life.

Timely interventions during midlife and beyond offer great potential to increase wellbeing, maintain health in both body and mind and reduce the risk of losing independence.

Research evidence sets out key actions for professionals to promote a healthy lifestyle for people in midlife and beyond. These include:

  • Stopping smoking: it is never too late to stop smoking, and after the age of 35-40, a person loses three months of life expectancy for every year of continued smoking.
  • Being more active: research shows that physical activity in older age has multiple benefits, including reduced mortality, improvement of physical and mental capacities and enhanced social outcomes.
  • Reducing alcohol consumption: chronic conditions caused by alcohol misuse include liver cirrhosis, and evidence suggests that regular excessive drinking increases the risk of the most common forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia
  • Improving diet and maintaining a healthy weight: a healthy diet is key to staying well as people age, and there are a number of causes of malnutrition in older people including socio-economic hardship, a lack of knowledge about nutrition, disease and the use of medications and social isolation

These are times when people may consider adopting new healthy behaviours or may be at risk of adopting unhealthy ones.

stop smoking hypnosis Sheffield hypnotherapy

Stoptober – Your Natural Guide to Stopping Smoking In October

stop smoking hypnosis Sheffield hypnotherapyStoptober is a health initiative run by the NHS, encouraging people to quit smoking for 28 days during the month of October. The premise is that after abstaining for this period of time, individuals are five times more likely to quit smoking permanently. Therefore, feel healthier, save money and improving overall health and wellbeing.

But as any smoker who’s quit or tried to quit before, smoking can be a difficult habit to kick so where do you start?

How do I stop smoking? Where do I start?

  • Choose a date to stop and commit to it
  • Tell friends, family and colleagues that you’re quitting
  • Get professional advice from your local pharmacist, GP, or therapist
  • Don’t worry if you don’t succeed at your first attempt – it can take several attempts to quit smoking but the health benefits of becoming a non-smoker means that it’s worthwhile
  • Reward yourself for quitting – with the money you’ll save by becoming a non-smoker!”

What treatments can help me quit smoking?

There are several types of treatment available, including nicotine replacement in the form of patches, gum, inhaler, nasal spray, microtablets or lozenges.

Prescription pills such as Zyban or Champix and e-cigarettes are also good stop-smoking treatments, and e-cigarettes if other treatments haven’t worked for you.

Can hypnotherapy stop me craving cigarettes?

Hypnotherapy (or hypnosis) is a popular treatment for quitting smoking. Hypnosis is the most effective way of giving up smoking, according to the largest ever scientific comparison of ways of breaking the habit. Willpower, it turns out, counts for very little.

‘Combination’ techniques, combining, for example, exercise and breathing therapy, came second with a success rate of 29 per cent. Smoke aversion, in which smokers have their own warm, stale cigarette smoke blown back into their faces, achieved a 25 per cent success rate, followed by acupuncture at 24 per cent.

The least successful method turned out to be advice from GPs, which appears to convince virtually no one to give up. Sheer willpower proved little better, with a success rate of only 6 per cent. Self-help, in the form of books or mail-order advice, achieved modest success – around 9 per cent, while nicotine gum was a little better at 10 per cent.

In the New Scientist report David Pollock, director of ASH, said he was surprised by the success of hypnosis, which anecdotal evidence had suggested was not very effective. One organisation not surprised by the results is the British Society of Medical & Dental Hypnosis. Christopher Pattinson, the society’s academic chairman, said that current hypnosis techniques are a far cry from their
popular image of music-hall tricks involving swinging fob watches. The latest relaxation techniques achieve success rates of up to 60 per cent from a single session, he said.

Nonetheless, hypnotherapy isn’t licensed for NHS use, although lots of smokers try it and the majority of clients that visit Mike Lawrence succeed in quitting.

To find out if you can see a hypnotherapist on the NHS in your area, ask your GP or local clinical commissioning group (CCG)

Are e-cigarettes bad for you? Can they help me quit?

“E-cigarettes are believed by most experts to be a lot safer than smoking tobacco products. Most contain nicotine and so inhaling from an e-cigarette will replace the effect of nicotine in cigarettes, which accounts for their addictiveness. However 2018 in a March study published in Plos One suggests E-cigarettes cause more harm than good.

So, e-cigarettes can help you quit conventional cigarettes and can be especially useful in the early stages of quitting. However, because the long-term health effects of vaping are not yet known, the prolonged use of e-cigarettes is not recommended.

For more information, help and support please take a look at the stop smoking page, or if you’ve tried to give up and started again, read some of the testimonials from people who are now non-smokers click on the link Quit Smoking Now.

 

 

 

 

e-cigarettes stop smoking in Sheffield

E-cigarettes—is the UK throwing caution to the wind?

e-cigarettes stop smoking in Sheffield

The public health implications of e-cigarettes are a highly polarised debate, with mixed, largely low-quality, evidence and fervent advocates on all sides. It is therefore surprising that the UK’s House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report on e-cigarettes, released on Aug 17, contains chiefly positive testimonies from experts and organisations. If there are two approaches to the debate on e-cigarettes—precautionary and harm reduction—then the report promotes the latter.

Along with the growing trend from professional bodies in the UK, such as Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians, the report concludes that e-cigarettes are likely to be far less harmful than smoking tobacco. Despite the evidence being incomplete, the Committee suggests smokers be enabled to switch to e-cigarettes, with the potential for e-cigarettes becoming medically licensed and available on prescription. But the recommendations go much further: petitioning to relax the regulation of e-cigarettes to allow stronger refills, to rethink taxation and the convention of smoking e-cigarettes in public places, and to permit e-cigarette use throughout mental health facilities. Most worryingly, the Committee suggests reviewing the regulatory pathway for novel tobacco products post-Brexit to make it easier for products like heat-not-burn and snus oral tobacco to get to market as part of a more “risk-proportionate regulatory environment”. They go on to propose a more lenient approach to advertising and discard concerns about e-cigarettes being a gateway for adolescents to smoking tobacco as an anxiety that has not materialised.

Although the evidence is weak, it is reasonable to believe that e-cigarettes have a part to play in smoking cessation as a less harmful alternative to tobacco. But e-cigarettes are big business, with tobacco companies having a large stake in many of the products. It is naive and premature of the Committee to confuse an absence of evidence with an absence of harm. The more extreme recommendations from this report lack a firm evidence base and are disappointingly ill advised at this time.

Article published in the The Lancet 25 August 2018