I’m no longer ‘Just Mum’

I have been fortunate enough to be a stay at home Mum for the last 20 years. With my youngest son off to university I knew it was time to get back out in the world.  Being at home during my children’s formative years was an amazing privilege however it’s not great for your confidence.  I had become an expert at getting the stains out of rugby kits and could bake a reasonable cake but the thought of going out to work was very daunting!

Within the last couple of years we had as a family seen first-hand the true value of hypnotherapy and what powerful change it can bring about.  My husband had been commuting for five hours a day and after nine years this started to take its toll and he began to suffer panic attacks on the train.  Visits to the doctor and several sessions of counselling had little impact and then quite by chance I came across a leaflet that on one side exactly described Sean’s symptoms and on the other explained how hypnotherapy could help.  Sean had regular sessions of hypnotherapy with Gary Johannes, a senior lecturer at CPHT and a Practicing Hypnotherapist of Inspired to Change for a couple of months.  Almost instantly Sean started to feel better and within a few weeks he was back at work.  I was fascinated by the power of hypnotherapy and started to look into training courses.

As if it was meant to be, Sean received an email from Gary to say that he was starting a CPHT Hypnotherapy training course. The Clifton Practice Hypnotherapy Training (CPHT) is a nationwide training body providing a Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma Course. Hypnotherapy is now considered to be one of the fastest growing professions in the UK and CPHT has enabled hundreds of students to become successful hypnotherapists. I already knew just how powerful this form of hypnotherapy was and so had no concerns about the subject of the course itself however I was nervous about my own ability to study after all these years. Gary was very reassuring, he explained that it was a very practical course where you are encouraged to start seeing clients from the very beginning and you are well supported throughout.  The academic side clearly explained and you are given plenty of time to complete the work.

I thoroughly enjoyed doing this course, yes it stretched me but I learnt so much about myself as well as how to really help and make a difference to my clients.  Don’t let age or lack of self-belief stop you from doing this course, it is good to stretch yourself and discover what you are truly capable of and think of all the good you can do for so many people.

Looking for a new career? Have you considered hypnotherapy? It is one of the fastest growing careers in the UK and here is why.

1 in 4 of us will suffer from some form of mental health issue in 2016. The pressures of our moderns lives means stress, anxiety and depression are on the rise and our National Health Service is struggling to keep up.

4 years ago I was one of those 1 in 4. A diagnosis of M.E. (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) had seen me go from someone who ran twice a week, swam twice a week and worked just as hard in a very successful career to someone who struggled to put one foot in front of another and string together a decent sentence.

The uncertainty during the 2 years it took to get a diagnosis sent my anxiety rocketing and my confidence plummeting and, what had started out as a physical health issue spiralled into a mental health issue too.

I’m pleased to say I am no longer one of the 1 in 4 – I’m now one of the 1 in 36,000. I’m one of the growing body of professional hypnotherapists who are leading the way in the mental health arena, helping those 1 in 4 overcome their stress, anxiety or depression, building their confidence and self-esteem so they can move forward with their lives.

Hypnotherapy helped me get my life back on track. I recognised that the high stress work environment I had thrived in before was no longer doing me any favours. I was so inspired by how hypnotherapy had helped me that I rather rashly decided the solution was to retrain as a hypnotherapist myself.

It sounded great as I imagined it in my mind – how lovely it would be to help others every day, to choose the hours I wanted to work, to ditch the daily commute. What a fulfilling life I would have! But then reality hit, I couldn’t just give up work and retrain and set up a new business – I had a mortgage to pay!

My hypnotherapist recommended I contact CPHT as they provided the best qualification in the UK – if you’re going to do something you’ve got to do it properly right! I had a mixture of excitement and disappointment swirling around my mind as I picked up the phone to them – I’d read about their diploma course and it sounded amazing but I couldn’t see how I could find the time or the money to retrain. So I was delighted to learn that I could do the course at weekends and pay for it in monthly instalments! So there really was nothing holding me back.

Three and a half years on from making that phone call I don’t have to imagine how lovely it is to help others every day, I don’t have to imagine what it’s like to choose when I want to work.

I don’t have to imagine what my life would be like without the daily commute and the stressful work environment. I live that fulfilling life every day on the other side of the 1 in 4 – as part of the solution, not feeling stuck in the problem.