Michael Mahoney Clinical Hypnotherapist Hypnosis CDs

Hypnotherapy solutions to help those affected by economic climate

2012-01-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

Confidence and Self Esteem

The start of a New Year. For most 2012 will be a testingtime.

Newspapers and news reports are full of doom and gloom, austeritymeasures taking effect, reducing spending power of families, jobless numbers rising and the outlook bleak.

The current economic climate for most of the populationis going to be problematic, and it’s fair to say the challenges placed onindividuals, families and society in general will become greater.

Anxiety Audio Program 120, structured self help audio program

All these challenges will increase anxiety, impacting thegeneral wellbeing of many of the population. Anxiety is rising and the drugsprescribed for the anxiety condition are rising too.

IBS Audio Program 100

IBS Audio Program 100 for Adults. Trusted IBS Help since 1998

People with Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS will be affected as stress; demands andanxiety take their daily toll. The digestive system is a delicate system and respondsquickly to stress and anxiety, mostly in a negative painful way.

Those who have lost their job through involuntary redundancyface many challenges as the private sector fails to increase job vacancies tomop up the redundancies in the public sector, though if there were less redtape and interference in SME’s the story could quickly change, as SME are vitalto the country getting out of this current economic mess.

And yet, all is far from lost. Each and every person has theability to do something about their situation. Success rarely if ever comesknocking on your door, you have to go and find it. We have to change the rulesof engagement. If we don’t have the confidence or self-esteem to make thingschange then do something to find it and develop it.

I started my internet business by re-mortgaging my familyhome, because I believed in what I was doing and that was researching and developingthe IBS Audio Program 100, my first self-help audio program for adults, whichis now a leader in its field.

It was rejected out of hand by a leading London PR companyas being unmarketable; it now goes to 45 countries! Time after time it was rejected and yet Ipersevered, and eventually the program took off and is trusted widely. A majorNHS referral hospital uses it, and self-help groups promote it.

I refused to accept the word no! I didn’t have the skills I needed so Ilearned them; I saw a problem and decided I could do better than what wasavailable. I learned from people, I questioned things, and yet these are notthings only the few can do, each and every person reading this can make adifference for themselves and their families, to their job prospects, if theywant to.

For me it wasn’t an option to do nothing, to simply wait forsomething to come to me. Of course those with IBS or Anxiety, or reduced confidence and self-esteem and those going through difficult times emotionally,need to deal with those issues first, before they can get the emotionalbalance, and the drive and motivation to make further positivedifferences. But once they have workedthrough those things in a structured way, then they can achieve whatever theywant to achieve.

Hypnotherapy Programs Hypnosis

And in this first week of the New Year, I have instructedthat all my Self Help Audio Programs downloads are reduced by 20% in price, myway of giving some support to those who really deserve to feel better, andthose who decide to make a difference for themselves, and their future.

www.healthyaudio.com

Help your IBS the long, hard expensive and frustration way!

2012-01-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

(Or take the short cut and use our way!)

You have been diagnosed with IBS, (you do need a diagnosis of IBS from a medical professional, since some of its symptoms can mimic more sinister conditions).

Your diagnosis is out of the way, You dutifully follow the advice and guidance, and medications given by your medical professional.

Then perhaps for the first few weeks / months you have hope,

but it fades as the medications, the repeat prescriptions and doctor appointments deliver very little benefit.

A few more weeks / months down the line

you decide to get a second opinion / more tests / try something different. Little helps, and your concern mounts as a nagging feeling develops deep at the back of your mind, that this is not going to go away quickly / it might be with your for ever!

After more time / tests / appointments / expense, you decide to try something else / anything to make a difference!

Hopes rise,

only to be dashed again, as the juices / potions / irrigation / over the counter medicines / are just not hitting the spot!
The nagging that was deep in your mind is now at the forefront of your mind, will this ever get any better? You even consider quick fix promise products / snake-oil products / way out there stuff / obvious funnel sales sites, sucking you in slowly to make a sale, because there has to be something, out there, Doesn't there?

Your mood may be getting lower / relationships more difficult / lost days at work or college increase / you have spent a fortune and no closer to improvement.

The alarm bells are ringing, a reluctant resignation creeps into your life, you worry this is it, for the rest of your days, the pain, the urgency, the rushing, the bloating, constipation, deeper mood swings, tenderness, no light at the end of the tunnel, anxiety, life closing in, relationships strained after so many dashed hopes and so it goes on.

You either give up or keep searching.

But it doesn’t have to be this way, Okay you’ve heard this before, but not from me!

Did you know Hypnotherapy is recognised as a valid treatment option for IBS?
(You might not know how words can help IBS let alone the physical / emotional aspects, but they can, and often do!)

Did you know in the UK Hypnotherapy is one of the recommended talking therapies RECOMMNEDED to DOCTORS to use with patients, by the National Institute of Clinical Health and Excellence (NICE) the body which governs medical treatment in the UK?

But, it suggests only after 12 months of non effective pharmacological treatment. Quite why it is seen as secondry treatment option, when it has so much evidence of being beneficial, and when many GPs and consultants admit they have little to offer in the longer term!

Did you know there is over 25 years proven, medical and scientific studies in the UK / USA and elsewhere showing hypnotherapy is a valid treatment option for IBS?
Okay, but they are all conducted in clinics, selected patients etc. Some might not consider it the real world.

Maybe, but our program has been proven in the real world with real people, many who have tried everything else, some referred, some stumbling upon us, many with multiple and diverse symptoms and backgrounds, but many found our IBS Audio Program helped them)

And did you know the leading IBS Audio Program is ours. The IBS Audio Program 100 which has 14 years proven history of helping many sufferers of IBS.
(Successful, because it was developed over many years, by myself, who took the time to learn about the IBS condition, and after working with many patients successfully.

I worked with IBS patients when all else failed, when no one else would listen or believe / with those who had been referred to me with intractable IBS by the medical profession who recognised my approach worked for their patients.

I believe I was first to incorporate the importance of the emotional self into my program / Even now the importance of the emotional aspects of IBS are only just being recognised in some research quarters).

A program specifically developed for IBS sufferers.(It was specifically developed for IBS symptoms / of body / mind / emotions.
Now used in over 40 countries, a full home use course, no travelling / no appointments / no repeat costs, enjoyable & structured and cost effective)

And, for the first week in January there is 20% discount on the immediate download, and 10% off the CD sets.

So when you have tried everything else, when you really want to try one more time, then try our IBS Audio Program 100, many users wish they had used it first / but at least now you have found us!

Back to work hypnosis program

2011-09-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

My hypnosis program called Laid Off, Move On which isdesigned to help people back to work after being laid off or made redundant isnow 50% discounted for downloads.

Creating the right framework for getting people back to workmust be one of the main goals for government to get the economy moving again. However it is private business not the state whichcreates wealth, but with red tape and employment taxes this is not easy.

Laid Off Move On audio ProgramTo compound the problem for private businesses they alsoneed to find people for the jobs they create who can get up to speed quickly,interact effectively with new co-workers and understand new policy and procedure’swith confidence.

Unfortunately many people who have been laid off or maderedundant often have emotional baggage caused by the way their redundancy washandled. Confidence and self-esteem can be affected deeply, memory andconcentration can also be impacted and many other areas of the individual’ssense of well-being can often be reduced.

And yet confidence and focus and individual surety are someof the things that are looked for and needed by potential new employers.

My Laid Off, Move On audio program was designed specificallyfor these individuals, to give the individual an edge over their rivals. Torelearn their own self-worth, drive and determination, and to help them to moveon.

Having being made redundant in the recession of the 1980’s Iunderstand the emotional impact of being out of work, so the Laid Off, Move On,audio program is based on not only my personal experience, but 25 years’ professionalexperience as a clinical hypnotherapist, alongside my outplacement experience someyears ago.

The program is 50% discounted for immediate downloads. With2 CDs, 7 tracks and listening schedule, it is an important part of returning towork process.

Click here for more information

IBS Hypnotherapist goes to Palace

2011-07-15T08:32:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday 12th July 2011,

I attended the Queens Garden party at Buckingham Palace after being nominated for my research and development work and my ‘innovative health solutions programs’ which cover Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) in adults, and also in children. Along with my work in emotional recovery after breast cancer, and others.

The Garden Party is a long-established reward to those whose toil for their local communities, or success in their professions, deserves recognition. By coincidence a few days earlier I was celebrating my 25th year in practice.

And yes, for those interested, I did partake the famous cucumber sandwiches on the palace lawns!

The day was very enjoyable, and my guest thought so too, certainly a day to remember.

IBS Awareness Month ~ New IBS Video

2011-04-08T06:57:00.000-07:00

Three little letters have such a huge impact on an estimated 20% of the population. IBS are three letters that are commonly heard but less often understood. IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a common digestive disorder which negatively affects the lives of millions of people every day. It is a condition that affects people physically and emotionally and there is no medical cure. That being said there is plenty of hope for relief of IBS symptoms both physically and emotionally. The IBS Audio Program 100 for adults has more than 12 years history in helping people in over 40 countries to reduce and manage the symptoms, some people simply ‘walking away from the symptoms’ completely. This IBS home use program uses specific interlinked hypnotherapy processes along with the proven ‘ongoing progressive session induction method’ (OPSIM) to maximise user experience and outcomes. For the younger IBS sufferer the IBS Audio Program 60 for children is available. In the UK hypnotherapy is a suggested treatment option for IBS patients after 12 months of non effective pharmacological treatment. Please take a look at my informational IBS video http://www.healthyaudio.com/

Irritable Bowel Syndrome New Year, New Start?

2011-01-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

Much has been written about the New Year and overcoming challenges and looking to new opportunities and change for 2011.

But for many people who suffer with Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS, which affects as many as one in five or 20% of the population, the challenge for overcoming IBS is sadly, ongoing from year to year.

One of the biggest aggravations can be the way IBS is perceived even by the medical community who provides the diagnosis. So many times, the condition is dismissed as “only” IBS. How demeaning this is to the one who suffers with it. I have had one IBS patient tell me that her gastroenterologist could treat the severe pain of his colon cancer patients with better success than he could treat his IBS patients. So how can this condition be defined so dismissively?

Yes, it is true, that a diagnosis of IBS is not a fatal one. And for that, patients are relieved and grateful. But once that reassurance has been comprehended, the new reality of living with a disorder that affects every single aspect of their life can be so daunting, that some IBS patients may entertain some dark thoughts about going on living in constant pain and with debilitating symptoms.

To be told that the diagnosis is “only” IBS by a medical professional simply shows lack of understanding of the impact IBS has on the individual’s life.

I first started working with patients diagnosed with IBS in 1991, so I feel well placed to tell you IBS is serious, it affects the lives of millions of people, it costs industry millions in lost working days and productivity, it is a drain on health service providers, and it impacts family and friends. It is serious because it takes away options of choices made in everyday life, it limits outlook on life and can cause anxiety and in some depression or even some dark thoughts of continuing existence as mentioned.

I developed the IBS Audio Program 100 which has helped thousands of IBS sufferers since its launch in 1998, and it continues to do so to this day, if it is given a chance. The IBS Audio Program 100 is a structured process of interlinked sessions developed specifically for IBS. Of course it is not a cure or panacea, there is no one single treatment option existing which is, but many people have found it to help when other treatment options have failed.

As with any treatment method, the program needs time and effort to be spent on it. It needs to be completed and the listening structure followed as outlined. The IBS Audio Program 100 is developed in such a way that even when it is completed it continues to aid the listener.

Over the years I have spoken to people who said they tried it as a last resort, when nothing else had helped. Their symptoms improved 10 or 20%, but they didn’t feel it was enough of an improvement, so they gave up. Some simply did not want to spend time on themselves. What they fail to understand is a 10 or 20% improvement, when nothing else has helped them in the past is a good improvement! They simply do not see it. Asked if they completed the program the answer is often no, so they sabotaged themselves. And then they think the program failed them, so they move onto the next thing, prepared to fail again.

Even though there is no cure for IBS, there are many people who have used the IBS Audio Program successfully and are now getting on with their lives. And the vast majority of those who have seen success with the program, did not obtain relief from previous treatments. Those who saw success put in the necessary time and effort, they are the ones who decided at some time in their lives that they would meet the challenge, do something different to help themselves and stick with it.

It is for those people that the IBS Audio Program 100 was developed for. Our website, www.healthyaudio.com does not have hard sell approach, we provide information and leave it for the reader to decide whether to buy or not. In fact my staff tell people if they are in any doubt, not to buy any of our programs, it is better to wait until they are sure, when they have tried everything else first, and then when they are ready to work with any of our programs that is the time to buy.

So as we move into 2011, we all would like to be optimistic. Some things we have no control over, but we do have some control over how we can address our health issues, and if you have IBS, you do have an excellent chance to overcome your IBS. All it takes is listening and relaxing for about one-half hour per day, and completing the 100 day listening schedule. If you need help and support along the way, or you feel you aren’t improving as you would like to, that support is available to you. Giving up before looking into all of the options provided by the IBS Audio Program and our staff, is short-changing yourself - diminishing your opportunity for success.

In the UK and perhaps for other countries, it is expected to be a pretty tough year on the economic and social fronts, with rising unemployment, increasing pressures on those in work, pressure on incomes and ultimately family and relationships. For those with IBS, this will only serve to aggravate the condition, increase anxiety, reduce confidence and self-esteem in many individuals.

I sincerely hope that people understand that without the determination to change, and to stick with those choices, things will stay the same, without motivation, situations will remain the same or deteriorate, and that we need to be pro-active when it comes to our health and simply blaming others for our own lack of resolve is a diminishing option of choice.

To those who have read this far, I thank you for your time, and wish you and all those you love a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2011

Loss of Job has psychological implications.

2010-11-22T06:46:00.000-08:00

In these times of increasing job losses, more and more women are feeling the impact of redundancy. There was a time when it was by and large men who filled the dole queues, but times have changed.

Women are being hit hard by job losses, because more women work now than used to. Now it is often out of necessity, not just the earning of 'pin money' as it used to be called.

With increased taxes, cost of living soaring, household and utility costs going through the roof it is no longer little luxuries that are earned, it is simply often a matter of survival.

With more women having well paid and senior level positions, the loss of a job can have serious implications to the household budget, mortgage payments etc.

And yet there are serious psychological implications of being made redundant too. It is bad enough if there is an earning partner to fall back on, but for many working woman, there isn't, and if there is the woman may be the higher wage earner.

Shock, panic and a serious shaking of confidence and self esteeem is often felt. So redundancy is more than just about the loss of income, it is also about the emotional impact redundancy has on the individual too.

However it is also a time for re-evaluating career direction too.

It is important that the emotional impact of redundancy or being laid off whatever term is given to it, is dealt with properly, and in a structured way.

There are reports of ten or more people chasing each job vacancy. It is important that you make yourself as marketable as possible. And that includes being positive, flexible in attitude as well as working methods. It means putting the disappointment of redundancy behind you, and to be emotionally well balanced, energetic and keen to learn.

People with IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and anxiety may often experience increased symptoms, compounding the impact of being jobless.

Future employers will be looking for individuals who can fit into the current work model, for those who will not need to much 'hand-holding', someone who will be able to contribute to the new employer quickly. Searching for as job, you will need clear thinking drafting your CV, and in interviews.

An aid to all this, is the self help audio program 'Laid Off, Move On' or LOMO from Healthy Audio Limited, the distributors of the acclaimed IBS Audio Program 100 for adults, and Emotional Recovery after Breast Cancer, and many more.

LOMO, was produced specifically for people who have lost their jobs due to redundancy. It is for men and women who want to put the disappointments behind them, and deal with the loss of job, deal witht the guilt, and lack of confidence and many other emotions losing a job brings.

The program is available on CD set, or on immediate download.

More information can be viewed here.

Home use IBS Treatment Audio Program

2010-05-31T07:05:00.000-07:00

IBS Treatment Audio Program

Since 1998 the IBS Audio Program 100 has been helping people with all variants of IBS.
Now used in over 40 countries this trusted and proven home use audio program has quietly been providing relief for thousands of IBS sufferers.

IBS, as all sufferers will know is a common digestive disorder affecting up to 1 in 4 of the population at some time in their life. The most common physical symptoms are an urgency to need the toilet, pain, diarrhoea, constipation or alternating bowel habit, excess wind, bloating, bladder problems, fullness, nausea, pain in the back passage, lack of sex drive, pain during or after intercourse, disturbed sleep amongst others.

Modern medical science has no clear understanding of what causes IBS nor is there a medical cure; though through research some progress towards understanding the condition is developing.
As a clinical hypnotherapist who has spent many years researching and studying the IBS condition, in tandem with working with patients I believe the success of the IBS Audio Program 100 is based on several things, one being the understanding (which leading research bodies are now recognising) of the importance of the psychological impact of IBS on the individual.

People with IBS so often despair that the emotional impact of IBS is either ignored or simply not recognised by many in the medical profession. Anxiety, lack of confidence, diminished self esteem, weepiness, impatience, intolerance, poor memory and concentration and much more.

Emotions matter, plain and simple! Each thought we have creates a physical response, if the thought is about IBS, which for many starts the moment they open their eyes in the morning, then the body will respond. In the case of an IBS-D sufferer, if they are a teacher, what happens if they need the toilet in class, or a policeman on the beat, a fire fighter on call, or a mother picking up her child from school? What about the office worker who dreads meetings or presentations because of 'stomach gurgling', or even walking frequently to the bathroom? What about the cancelled trips out, the same too for the day trips out with the family, the last minute cancelling of social engagements? What clothes should they wear, if stomach distension and tenderness develop during the day? What if the agonising cramps and stabbing pains get to bad to walk, work or socialise.

All these and many more situations have an impact. And it builds over the weeks, months and years the IBS sufferer has to manage. They spend a fortune on ‘snake-oil products’, they are desperate, and therefore vulnerable. These thoughts have to be taken seriously.

See my video describing the importance of emotional energy and some of the impacts of low emotional energy in the lives of IBS sufferers.

The IBS Audio Program 100 is not a panacea, but it was developed specifically for IBS sufferers. Nor is a simple CD dealing with stress. It is structured listening program, the benefits of which often turn the lives around for listeners. We often receive unsolicited testimonials from around the globe thanking us for our work developing this program. We say we work quietly, but our work can cause a positive storm of excitement and positive developments in improving the Quality of Life (QoL) of our customers.

Two things trouble me however. Firstly it is the fact that even though the IBS Audio Program 100 helps many people to walk away from the IBS condition, I can’t say it is a cure. Why? Because IBS is a collection of symptoms, and although the medical profession do not find anything physically wrong, after looking for more sinister conditions of which IBS symptoms can mimic, the IBS label is attached.

And as mentioned earlier while the IBS Audio Program 100 isn’t a panacea, because no medication or treatment or therapy is, we can’t use the word cure for those who walk away from their physical and emotional symptoms, because the medical profession say there is nothing physically wrong to begin with!

And secondly, hypnotherapy has been an advised treatment option in the UK since February 2008 where the NICE guidelines state, hypnotherapy for IBS, deemed a psychological therapy by NICE, should be considered after twelve months of non effective pharmacological treatment, so why isn’t it? And more to the point, if I can add one further question, why should it be a last resort, not a first option, for in the same report hypnotherapy for IBS in children is suggested to be a first treatment option?

I am sure greater brains than mine are thinking about this, but it is a frustration for me. I know for my patients and users of the IBS Audio Program 100 also.
So many of whom walk away with great improvements in their quality of life, wonder why they had to experience years of pain, reduced quality of life, disappointment, repeated intrusive investigations, in some cases professional disbelief, spend literally thousands of pounds / dollars seeking for a solution before finding one. For them it is beyond frustration!

I wish you well,

Michael

Avoid Self Destruction ~ Saying Yes to You!

2010-05-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

As a Clinical Hypnotherapist in practice I work with clients presenting all kinds of problems and conditions, such as IBS, Anxiety, Emotional issues, bereavement, confidence and self esteem, depression, insomnia and much more besides. I may also do some counselling work which weaves in nicely with any hypnotherapy sessions taken.

“Who is the most important person in your life at the moment” is a question I often ask my patients.
They stop talking, they peer at me looking for clues what to say, but all I want is an honest answer to what is after all a simple question. And given they are in my practice room, a safe, non judgemental environment where honesty is expected, the answer generally is indeed an honest one.

When they start telling me who the most important person in their life is, I raise both hands and count off the people they mention, encouraging them to name more names, husband or wife, children each one adding to the raising number of digits, aunties, uncles, brothers, sisters, friends even the cat, dog budgie sometimes, each one adding to the number of fingers I display to them as they speak.

When they get to 10, and sometimes it is much less than that if they stall answering the question, in those cases I given them more times and usually they add a few more.

I then ask another question, do you remember the question I asked you?

Yes, they reply, it was “who is the most important person in your life at the moment” often said with pride.

My next question often however brings an important point to light.

Still holding my raised hands in front of them, with all fingers and both thumbs outstretched I ask “and where are you in this list”? And of course the vast majority understand straight away, they have ignored themselves; their own needs put to one side. This is laudable, but often detrimental to them.

I say to them, “we found quite quickly (and it often only takes 1 minute) 10 people which if anything happened to you, a hole would be ripped out of their lives. This is a sobering thought.

All too often we as individuals do not notice the importance of our lives in the lives of others, so often we say no to ourselves so we can say yes to others. Even when we know we are saying yes and no in the wrong places!

This is, as I said earlier laudable, but if you think about it, it makes no sense. Of course we have to be flexible at times, we have to do things we don’t want to do, I am not advocating complete selfishness, but we have to recognise that we can say yes and no where we want it to fit, we should take time out for ourselves and say yes to ourselves, so we can feel better, contribute more in the longer term, be more relaxed and rested in mind, body and emotions.

During these difficult social and economic times, we need to look at every which way we can be at ease with ourselves, to regain our confidence and self esteem, to be more relaxed, to find ways of enhancing our relationships with others and finding ways to help us be who and what we are capable of being.

The airline industry presents us with a great example of this.
Anyone who has flown and taken some interest in the safety procedures demonstrated by the cabin crew pre take off, will no doubt have noticed that adults are instructed in the case of any emergency where oxygen masks drop down in front of passengers, it is important that adults put on their oxygen masks before aiding their children with theirs. It makes perfect sense, you as the responsible adult can help your child much more effectively if you are not gasping for every breath; oxygen starved trying to help your child before you pass out, in which case your child will not stand much of a chance without you.

This much more dramatic example portrays the importance of looking after ourselves. In my office I come across people who are doing a slow motion version of not putting their masks on. They are struggling to help others while they are slowly driving themselves to despair, distraction and destruction.

And so it is we take responsibility for what we choose to do, and what we choose not to do.

I hope, those readers who have got this far, will consider looking after themselves, for simply it is not selfishness, it is self preservation.

I wish you well,

Michael

New Help for Job Seekers after Redundancy

2010-05-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

To help job-seekers who have been made redundant I produced a home use audio program which is available from Healthy Audio Limited. The program is currently on offer, making it even more affordable for those who want to make a difference in work and family lives.

The ‘Laid Off Move On’ audio program available on double CD or MP3 Download.

Program Overview
Firstly, This home use audio program was developed to be a foundation program. Everything else you need to be successful in your job search such as those listed below, all have one thing in common:

CV writing,
Interview techniques,
Networking skills,
Financial planning and others,

They need you to be interested! They need your drive, determination, focus and confidence in yourself and your abilities for them to be effective. But you may not feel you have them at the moment!

This program could help you to be in the right place emotionally to make the most of all the other things you do to gain employment.

For you to be successful in any or all of the above, you need the right foundation to build upon:

The right mental attitude,
You need to understand the emotions redundancy brings,
And, you need to deal with them.

Future employers will be looking for balanced, motivated people, and they have their pick. They have masses of people to recruit from, so you need to do everything you can to put yourself above the rest. Because your competitors most certainly will.

By building the right foundation, you can rebuild your prospects, build your understanding of what has held you back, rebuild your confidence, motivation and drive, and get going again.

Secondly, This program is a continuation of your training. You have had training in the past from your employer. This was to make you better at your job, to make you a better employee, more effective and more productive.

You should view this program as you taking additional training for yourself.
A resource to help you be more effective in yourself, and in helping you to be a better proposition to future employers, and to get the most out of whatever else you do to help yourself to move back into employment, or self employment.

In short, it is about you, and about helping you. It may even help to ward off causal depression, common in those who go through this often life changing experience.

I and later Healthy Audio Limited out years ago developing a solution to IBS a common digestive disorder, we took up the challenge of emotional recovery after breast and other cancers. We guide how to build confidence and self-esteem reduce anxiety, and we help in emotional renewal, and pain management and other areas too.

And in 2008 I took up the challenge of helping those made redundant.

Politicians talk about unemployment statistics; we work with the individuals affected. We are interested in supporting and encouraging our customers, we exist to bring support and guidance, hope and motivation. And we do it quietly, leaving the grand posturing, the sound bites and the spin to others.

We believe in times of crisis the worst thing we can do is bury our heads in the sand and hope it will go away. Nor should we talk ourselves into a deeper crisis, socially or individually. At these times, we have to be creative we have to develop new ways of working, thinking and feeling and viewing things in new perspectives. These difficult times will pass, but for now we have to make the best of a difficult situation. That change starts with you, helping yourself to move on, better and more confidently than in the past.

This crisis came about by people making investments in things that few could even understand, and it failed. But the rest of us can invest in ourselves, and you are the best one to do it.

We can build ourselves up again; we can make a massive difference individually and collectively. It has been said the wisest investment is in our selves, there is no greater feeling than that of self investment.

Developing our skills and being and feeling competent in ourselves and our abilities. During a TV interview last year I reinforced our determination and resolve to this audio program and our other programs too, simply put, “the human cost is massive, we all have a duty to do something to make it easier”. And we are, and so can you.

You can never lose by investing in yourself, and we believe it, we have invested in the development of this program, so you can help your own development.

Laid Off, Move On Audio program on CD or immediately available on MP3 download.

Whether it’s called being laid off, (UK/US) or redundancy (UK) for those who have lost their jobs, the impact is the same. For many it means an unexpected emotional roller-coaster ride which so often seems outside of your control. For some perhaps even depression.

Loss of status and peace of mind are experienced, feelings of security and confidence and much more are eroded or disappear all together.

Fortunately however, when you focus your mind and get the shock, panic, sadness, disappointment and anger (and other associated emotions) out of the way, with a little guidance you will find that your thoughts and therefore your future can be more within your control.

The emotions felt when laid off are a normal reaction and when you understand them, you realise they are a natural part of the process of dealing with the job loss, and then you can reduce and replace them.

These initial emotions can be intimidating and even somewhat frightening when you don't expect them. Learn to manage them and you then feel better, and more productive and more focussed.

Realise you have much to offer a new employer. Begin helping yourself to move on. Be more confident in yourself.
When your future looks and feels brighter, when you can see opportunities, you can think more clearly and once again you move on ~ more easily. This hypnotherapy based audio program is not meant to replace any of the many books on job seeking but many of them lack the detail needed to help the reader to move on emotionally.

This audio recording will aid the emotional recovery and renewal. It will give:

~ Insights into the mind body connection (the effect of the mind on the body),

~ Suggestion and imagery and relaxation, all the things in fact that my work has become well known for doing.

In the early 1980’s l was laid off and understand the pain, the hurt the fear and the anger, as well as the pressures and demands which come with such a situation.

‘Laid Off, Move On’ includes Two CDs covering 7 tracks with over 130 minutes of structured recording and a suggested listening schedule.

I believe it is vital to show people how they can make a difference to and for themselves and their loved ones. Even if the picture of events cannot change, we can see them through different eyes, and that helps us to see things in a new perspective, to help motivate us to move on, to make the changes needed.

The innovative and therapeutic sessions in this program aim to provide you with new insight, and tools to create new thought processes, and to adapt and move on, not only on an emotional level, but with positive action as well.

I wish you well,

New Year New Start

2010-01-30T08:37:00.000-08:00

2010 and an observation

After a well deserved break I returned back to the office seeing patients and working on Healthy Audio Limited projects in mid January. This is the first opportunity I have had to say Happy New Year, although belated no lesser meant than if said on the 1st of the month.

I am amazed at how quickly time passes, February in just couple of days. There is so much to do, patients to help, planning and development and lots more besides.

I do hope that we don’t talk ourselves into more economic decline, though the US economic figures released yesterday show growth, the UK certainly has some way to go at a mere 0.01% growth.

I am puzzled how, in the UK at least, we have to have two consecutive quarters of economic decline to say we are in recession, and yet only one quarter to say we have come out of it! I am sure there are greater brains than mine which will have an official reason (whether it will hold logic though that is another thing) for this but I am yet to learn it.

As a therapist however, I and many therapists like me are at the ‘coal face’ working with the human cost of recession and economic decline. It is not only the economy a recession breaks, but also people, families and societies.

Economists speak of possibly 3 million unemployed in the UK in 2010, it is a frightening number, but all the more frightening when we remember that figure represents individuals. Lost jobs, lost homes, dreams, relationships.

That is what I see in my working day, and the ill health which these bring, the higher stress and anxiety, the drops in confidence and self esteem, the fear and worry in peoples eyes, looking, searching for solutions to problems not of their own making.

The anger aimed at greedy bankers and uncaring and allegedly dishonest politicians many of whom in the UK at least are simply waiting for their pay off when they leave office, leaving the whole sorry mess behind for others to clear up.

There is an injustice somehow to a recession, the innocent and hard working individuals and families paying the price for the recklessness of those who should know better, those in trusted positions having betrayed that trust of the people.

While the bankers are out of voters reach, politicians are not, and with a general election due in the coming months, it is any ones guess what the outcome will be. But I suspect the long memories of the millions of economic victims will play a key role in their decision making at polling booth. I know from the patients I work with, they are itching to exercise their right to be heard.

Whatever 2009 brought to your life, I do hope 2010 brings you the best of your dreams and aspirations, and that things get better for us all.

Learning from 2009

2009-12-28T08:45:00.000-08:00

As the few remaining days of 2009 tick by, I wonder how this year, and the last decade will be viewed by history. I wonder how history will view world events; view our country, our politicians, and our society? I wonder if we will be brave enough to look at ourselves and what we have and haven’t done.

Time will tell, I hope our leaders will learn from it. I hope we as individuals will learn from our past too, because it is only by remembering our past actions and our inaction that we can feel sure footed enough going into our future. As long as we learn from the mistakes, and avoid them in the future, as long as we build on the positive times, we can move into the next year and decade better than we leave this one.

Those of us who take an interest in the news headlines and look a little deeper, will not be surprised that our society is going to have some testing times over the coming few years. Economically we can expect hardships, those who are hoping to avoid those hardships will, in the main be disappointed, for only a small percentage of individuals will be untouched by the pending economic storm.

For the rest of us, it will be a case of heads down and hard work. We will need to develop innovative products and services for our businesses to survive. We will have to learn self development methods to meet the challenges which will inevitable be faced, and we will have to take responsibility for our selves.

None of the above however is beyond us; we are more than capable of meeting the economic storm which is gathering. We have done so in the past, and we will do so again. On a personal level, I developed my IBS Audio Program 100 because there was a real need for it, and the many other programs I have developed over the years were developed because there is a real need for them. Some of them I hope will be used to help us to rise to the challenges to come. Dealing with the disappointments and negative emotions of being made redundant is an obvious example. Developing greater confidence and self esteem will be necessary for many people. Dealing with anxiety should be high on the to do list too. For those who struggle with irritable bowel syndrome IBS and its physical and emotional symptoms may well find the symptoms become worse during stressful times and events and considering new options of choice may be needed.

Every day of my working life I meet and work with people who are prepared to learn, to let go of old negative thought patterns, who invest in their own self development, learning to meet challenges in their every day lives and relationships.

Meeting the challenges of highly stressful events at work, and out of work, I work with people who have chosen to take responsibility for them selves, and to help themselves to live a happier, more comfortable and more balanced life.

Some of them come from difficult backgrounds and up bringing, others just setting out on life, in their teens and early twenties but all of them exhibit one thing, a common thread through them all, and that is one of an inner strength, an inner resource which has helped them to over come, sometimes even the word survive is not to strong for some of their journeys, but that strength is there, and they have chosen to use it to help them to move on, to something better, and invariably they are successful, because they know and realise that they can do, and be better, than they are when we first meet.

And that same strength I believe is in each and every one of us. I believe that each and every one of us, regardless of background can achieve more, if we first identify the need and desire to move on, and then act upon it. Finding what we need to help us to move on, identify what we want to achieve and then find the help, in whatever form to help us be more balanced and productive human beings.

So when we see the headlines in the papers and on the news in the coming months, let us remind ourselves that headlines sell papers, and grab attention, but let us remember that we can choose to be victors or victims, we can choose to wait and see, or we can choose to go out and grab what we want, and as long are we are not scared of hard work, and don’t always expect a quick fix, if we have patience, but also a drive to move on, then we can look forward to something better.

I see the possibilities very day with patients, and receive emails from people using my programs who have trusted themselves to make a difference. And usually it all starts by acknowledging the past, and learning from it, and then moving on in a different way to create a better life for themselves and their families, and therefore a better future too. And this often ripples out and touches those around them too.

My hope for 2010 and beyond is that we use what we have learned from the past, to map a better, brighter future for ourselves and society in general.

2010 New Year, New Hope?

2009-12-26T08:28:00.000-08:00

What do you expect 2010 to bring you and those you love?

Are you one of those people who simply ‘go with the flow’ and believes you just have to put up with whatever life throws at you? Or are you someone who decides what you want and goes out and gets it?

Which ever type of personality you are, both individual types have the ability to achieve what you want to achieve?

The secret, if it is a secret is to simply believe what you want is achievable, learn the skills needed to help you on your journey and go for your goal.
If you are out of work for example, do something to help yourself stand out from the crowd, to make yourself a more attractive selection to a new employer. Consider becoming self employed, can you adapt a hobby or pass time into a business venture? What do you need to help yourself in the job market?

My audio program ‘Laid Off, Move On’ for those made jobless through redundancy is perhaps something for you to consider.

What impact would it make on your CV and in your job interview if you could say:
“You realised, while unemployed you had to stand out from the crowd, to become a better proposition to a new employer, and so you invested in yourself (both in time and money) by learning about releasing negative thought patterns and destructive self limiting beliefs related to being unemployed, so you could concentrate better, become more confident in your abilities recognising that you are valuable and that you have retained those skills and talents and experience”.

How would that sound, especially if this investment in yourself reduced the time it took for you to be trained in your new role, integrating more quickly, learning new policy and procedures more readily, and generally having no baggage from the previous period of joblessness, helping you to be a more rounded and balanced individual.

Another plus for your new employer would be reducing the time spent managing or over-seeing you in your new job role, not only making you productive more quickly, but also reducing the dilution of existing resources within the new company, returning the individual training you to full productivity more quickly, this is a definite win-win situation for your, your employer and your future and loved ones.

And at least something to consider! If you have found this useful, visit my Hypnotes section of writings which may help to inspire you, or at least give you ‘food for thought’.

Visit my site Healthy Audio

2010 the begining of the Decade of Anxiety

2009-12-24T09:12:00.000-08:00

One newspaper article today has called the next decade ‘the decade of anxiety’. With the continuing demands and pressures which most ordinary individuals have been facing through much of last year, all of this year, and with the same or worse to look forward to over the next few years it might be a fair comment.

But, I really do hope that we don’t talk ourselves into even more doom and gloom, we seem to have done a good job of doing that when the recession was looming, all the headlines of doom and gloom, the widely off the mark projected deaths due to swine flu which fortunately were drastically reduced when level headedness returned, all contributed to high levels of anxiety in the general population.

However it is fair to say the next few years will be difficult for most of us, anxiety will be running high, especially if interest rates start to rise in the spring as predicted. Unemployment rates are also not expected to get any better in the next 12-18 months, even if the UK comes out of recession soon.

So I can see the foundations of the statement of the decade of anxiety, but one thing the writer did not mention is what we can do for ourselves. We can help our selves, we don’t have to simply sit by and let circumstances over take us. For those who do feel anxious help is available though my Anxiety Audio Program 120, a major self help anxiety treatment program.

For those that are jobless, the first step to getting back into employment or self employment is to acknowledge the negative and harmful emotions that are so often associated to being laid off, if these are not acknowledged there is a risk of secondary or causal depression to creep in, sabotaging recovery and ability to move one. My Laid Off, Move On program was developed specifically to help in such situations.

For many, whether employed or not, confidence and self esteem are often affected by circumstances at home, in the work place or due to economic or social circumstances. Without confidence and self esteem life can be difficult, self limiting and self sabotaging. See my confidence and self esteem program to help you structure a new or re-learned approach to developing your confidence again.

2010 will be full of opportunity as well as some challenges and it is for each and every one of us to embrace the opportunities, and equip ourselves with the skills to enhance our already existing talents, gifts and knowledge to help us overcome or get around the challenges.

Whatever you do this Christmas, I wish you peace and happiness and good health and prosperity in the New Year.

Hypnotherapy & Cancer workshop

2009-12-15T08:44:00.000-08:00

After a very busy couple of weeks my feet have finally touched the ground again and I felt had to write about my visit to Swansea on the weekend of 5 / 6 December to deliver my workshop on working with cancer patients. A workshop for hypnotherapists in practice who want to know more about the benefits and uses of hypnotherapy with cancer patients.

At the request of Alan & Bridgette of Zodiac Therapy of Swansea
I re-visited them again after a trip in the summer when I delivered a workshop on the benefits and uses of hypnotherapy with Irritable Bowel Syndrome patients.

The feedback from attendees has been welcome and positive, and I look forward to my visits again in Swansea in 2010 (see Zodiac Therapy website) for cancer and IBS workshops. If you can't make it to Swansea see my site for information

Watch out for my new workshop on IBS in Children and also practice development.
To all those who attended the workshop many thanks for your kind words.

IBS in Children

2009-11-15T08:27:00.000-08:00

During November Healthy audio Limited are offering 15% discount on their IBS Audio Program 60 for children.

The program was developed by myself, and follows the proven Ongoing Progressive session Induction Method (OPSIM) which I developed for the acclaimed IBS Audio Program 100 for adults.

Researchers are recognising hypnosis for IBS in children is just as beneficial, though many doctors prefer not use the word hypnosis which is a little strange since the word Hypnosis was a term first used by James Braid, a Scottish Physician in approx 1842!

This Hypnosis Audio Program is suitable for ages 8-13 years, it has an informational summary for parental / guardian listening, two introductory tracks for the child and six interlinked sessions, and has an accompanying booklet including listening schedule, check list, progress log and other relevant information.

IBS in Children is a troublesome distressing condition, for both child and parent. For those with children suffering with IBS you don't have to be told this! For those parents who have not considered hypnotherapy for the IBS condition then I hope the information on my website gives you hope, and whether or not you decide to use my program or seek out a therapist who has worked in this field, I wish you and your child well.

Emotional aspects of Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS

2009-11-15T08:05:00.000-08:00

For the last few weeks I have been working with a team of videographers to produce my first You Tube video. I decided to do this because I feel it is important that people with IBS recognise the emotional impact IBS has on their well being, just as well as they identify the physical symptoms.

I passionately believe that until and unless IBS sufferers recognise that IBS has this dual impact on their lives they will find it hard to break free of IBS. Each day in my practice I explain this important facet of IBS, and literally all are unaware of it. It is part of the IBS condition largely ignored or unrecognised by the medical community.

In fact only recently a report was produced by a well known research establishment that finally acknowledges the importance emotions play in IBS, and how they have to be addressed if the sufferer is to obtain relief from their IBS. Fortunately the IBS Audio Program 100 has been explaining this to its users for the last 11 years!

So this video gives the viewer some insight into the importance of how the emotions are drained and the impact that has on the individual and their every day life.

The IBS Audio Program 100 for adults carries a fuller and deeper explanation, but I believe, and hope this video will at least bring an awareness of the importance of the emotional impact IBS has on their life.

Anxiety Treatment Hypnosis

2009-10-19T09:41:00.000-07:00

Late last week I received a wonderful email from a

user of my Anxiety Treatment hypnosis program. I was delighted with this feedback which captures, what I wanted to achieve when I developed the program. The user as you will read below has not yet completed the program, but I suspect she can look forward to more benefits.

Hi Mike, Just wanted to say thanks for the anxiety programme I am really enjoying it and find I can really relate to all the things you say! Although not yet finished it I thought I would send an update. I found the resource libraries very good and explanations you give are an excellent description of the way it sometimes feels! Basically it feels as though the whole programme was written for me personally! When I get my dizzy spells I just think to myself its only anxiety its just a thought! I have made some positive progress feeling a lot more confidant
On the whole I am feeling pretty good still have bad days but they are just that days as opposed to weeks. Thanks again ~Laura B Cheshire England

I think it is important for all those who are anxious and see no way out of their anxiety feelings to understand that there are options. I suspect this program will be used as a last resort by many users, this was the case with my IBS Audio Program 100 in the early days. For some it is difficult to understand how just listening to a CD can help. (This program is 6 CDs, or MP3 download, contains 2 resource library tracks, 2 familiarisation tracks, 10 interlinked sessions, a listening schedule, symptoms check list and other relevant information for the user.

The very short answer I give people when I am asked about this is as follows.

It's really quite simple, each and every thought creates a physical response, so if you change the thought you change the response. If you change the thought of expectation you change the response too. If you choose to think differently life too can be different.

So anyone who is suffering with anxiety and panic attacks,

1st: remember reading this,

2nd: bookmark my site, and

3rd: when the time is right (there is no hard sell on my site. Ever!) consider using it as

it might be the best thing you did to help yourself.

Irritable bowel Syndrome IBS in children

2009-10-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS is a common motility problem of the digestive system. Research often cites the number of lost working days, social impact and other examples of how IBS blights the lives of sufferers. Many report in fact the majority reports are relating to the impact of IBS in adults, but what about children who have irritable bowel syndrome, what is their story?

Some 10 years ago I released the IBS Audio Program 100 for adults, as I was one of the first to recognise the emotional impact this condition has on the IBS sufferer, now it appears others in the field of gastroenterology are more fully recognising the importance emotions play in compounding the IBS condition.

But what about IBS in our children? What about the fear and unknowing this condition brings to our children, in addition to the physical aspects of the condition? What about the missed days at school, what about the social impact and the missed days from work for parents or guardians?

In 2008 I was delighted to receive a local business innovation and research award for my work in paediatric IBS and the program I developed the IBS Audio Program 60 for children

For the ages of 8 – 13 years this audio program has interlinked sessions using imagery and suggestion to help reduce the physical symptoms and of course the emotional symptoms of this condition.

With a parental CD and listening schedule included for support, guidance and understanding this program is like its adult version, leading the way, quietly but effectively.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS ~ save money

2009-10-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

The IBS Audio Program 100 is the leading home IBS treatment program of its kind, developed for irritable bowel syndrome sufferers and has been available since 1998.

Now we have some 'nearly new stock', this is stock which has come back in from trade fairs or shows or for a number of other reasons.

IMPORTANTLY they are not seconds, they have never been used, and the packaging is intact too. We call them nearly new, because they have been out of our offices, and have been logged back into secondary stock.

To find out more click the link above or click here.

There has never been a better time to get this program. Stock is limited however.

Also on our IBS pages you will find lots of information to help you understand IBS too. Don't let this troublesome condition blight your life any longer.

Retirement phobia & bad dreams

2009-10-15T09:23:00.000-07:00

I worked with a lovely lady recently who had a couple of problems, one of bad dreams; the other was a phobia of retiring. She has been a high flying professional business lady, self employed and had built a successful business with an equally impressive reputation. I will let Wendy Edwards tell her story.

Please click her to see and hear her story

The reason I have posted this is to show hypnotherapy is a treatment option that is often overlooked. However the types of problems it can help with is as wide and diverse as we are individuals.

People think of hypnosis for smoking and weight loss. Many people know of my work treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) personally and through the successful IBS Audio Program 100 along with anxiety and breast cancer recover. But as Wendy attests the more unusual problems can be helped too.

Redundancy and being laid off

2009-10-15T08:32:00.000-07:00

The news reports state more job losses, but the spin on the news is that the UK figures were not as bad as expected. This is no comfort for those who have been laid off redundant or for those who face the prospect of redundancy in the future.

In fact I was dismayed when I tried to get help from my local member of parliament (MP), who basically didn't answer any of my emails when I wanted help regarding my 'Laid Off Move On' audio set. This audio program was developed specifically to help those individuals affected deal with the emotional aspects of redundancy, the panic, anxiety, the mood swings, the lack of confidence, the feelings of guilt, self blame and much more. I simply wanted some guidance how to move on with this Audio CD set.

However not only were my emails ignored, our publicist's phone calls were not returned either. We are deciding how to respond to this, perhaps the answer is to just go to the national press and let them know about this apathy, but is there any news there given the public perception of most of our elected representatives at present?

Personally I find it beyond belief that a representative of the people is choosing to ignore the people, especially at these difficult times. There is plenty of hot air and spin on what is being done, but trying to quantify it is a different thing!

The program I developed is designed to help people to come to terms emotionally with redundancy, so they have the emotional energy and belief and drive to pull themselves up, to begin to look at CV preparation, to help them to a place where they can make good decisions regarding financial planning, to help them to be motivated to re-train and more.

All these are needed to help the individual and also society, but underpinning it all is the individuals own belief system and that is the foundation for growth, without it no matter how much the politicians want to make us belief they are helping, ignoring (or not even recognising it) this important aspect of individual growth, and thereby economic growth is folly. Not to mention the implications on other family members, economic costs and social costs.

I will continue to ask questions to those who are in a position to help me, and the many thousands who could benefit from this program, but I no longer expect any answers from the obvious areas.
However I do live in hope. And I do belief, despite the seeming apathy from some quarters, eventually I will be heard, since the message I have for the redundant jobless is too important to be ignored.

An Aid to Emotional Recovery After Breast Cancer

2009-10-05T17:19:00.001-07:00

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, I thought it right to give a gentle reminder of my CD program entitled ‘An Aid to Emotional Recovery After Breast Cancer’.

An Aid to Emotional Recovery after Breast Cancer© is a recording with a difference; Different because it was developed, recorded and piloted specifically for sufferers of breast cancer ~ women and men, and has helped many breast cancer patients over the years.

Having worked with cancer survivors for many years I identified a common thread of experience and often distress in my patients.

Simply, emotional support was either ill defined or explained to patients. This lack of knowledge and expectation often led patients to falter in their recovery, when they and everyone else expected it to continue. This recording explains why and how, and guides the listener back into recovery, gently and with sensitivity.

This audio recording is designed to help the individual emotionally during and following recovery. It is so often mentioned by recovering breast cancer patients that “people now just seem to think I am alright again”. Few people who have not gone through an emotional and physical trauma can understand the impact such occurrences have on the emotions of the individual. This audio program goes some way in helping in the all-important emotional healing which is needed before true recovery is felt and achieved.

As the title suggests, the CD (also on MP3 download) is an aid to emotional recovery. It is not an alternative to breast cancer treatment. The connection between mind and body is well known in medical circles, a positive mindset is acknowledged to aid both emotional and physical recovery.

The program has been reviewed and accepted as a suitable aid for breast cancer recovery by hospitals throughout England. Each hospital breast cancer team consisting of numerous physicians, oncologist nurses and specialists reviewed the CD before it was even considered to be recommended to patients.

Now, this program is not only available to patients via these hospitals, but to breast cancer survivors through my website as well.

It is my hope that this audio program is a start to providing additional resources in the area of emotional healing and support to those women who may not otherwise have had access to support of this kind previously.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome patients survey

2009-09-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made a post about an interesting study on IBS.
My commentary observations are below.

A revealing study entitled: International Survey of Patients With IBS: Symptom Features and Their Severity, Health Status, Treatments, and Risk Taking to Achieve Clinical Benefit has been published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology: July 2009 - Volume 43 - Issue 6.

In it, it was reported that some surveyed “IBS patients would give up 25% of their remaining life, an average of 15 years, in order to receive a treatment that would make them symptom free.” This is quite an astonishing revelation. It was also reported that a combined 14% would risk a 1/100 chance of death and/or serious and disabling side effects in exchange for elimination of symptoms .

This is an astonishing finding, and is probably a fair representation of the frustration and despair felt by a good majority of refractory (resistant to treatments) IBS patients worldwide.

It was interesting to note that even with a listing of medications as well as complementary and alternative treatments, only two mind-body approaches, meditation (5%) and relaxation (5%), were reported as being tried by only 10% of the respondents.

There was absolutely no mention of the use of gut-directed or gut-specific clinical hypnotherapy reported. Yet, there has been over twenty years of its successful use in clinical trials. How astonishing it is to know that an individual would prefer to put a potentially harmful substance in their body before considering an extremely effective treatment method that is virtually free of side-effects.

It is certainly understandable why IBS patients who have already had years taken from their lives in pain and frustration, would opt for such a extreme consideration. Society is geared for instant results. Take a pill today and feel better within a few hours. Or perhaps, take a pill or two daily, and over a few weeks, feel better.

But what happens when the pills don’t result in the patient feeling better, no matter the duration of time? I have had a few people object to allowing themselves a mere ½ hour a day to relax and passively listen to a series of different guided interlinked imagery/hypnotherapy sessions for IBS over the course of a mere 80 days for a journey to feeling better. (The IBS Audio Program 100 is structured over a 100 days which includes 80 days of listening for only ½ an hour on those days).

For a few very severe refractory IBS cases, it may take a few more days, but the reality in my world, is that the vast majority of patients greatly reduce and even eliminate symptoms within the 100 days of their entire life. There is no risk of negative side effects; there is no risk of less years of life. Yet people are willing to take such risks, and they don’t have to.

The only thing standing between the IBS patient and starting to feel better and reduce symptoms is knowledge. IBS patients it seems are just not aware of all of their options. Clinical hypnotherapy, or guided imagery specifically designed for the IBS patients, such as the IBS Audio Program 100® for Adults and Teens and the IBS Audio Program 60® for Children have shown over many years that this treatment is not only safe, it is also extremely effective for the vast majority of patients.

For the IBS sufferer, there is a big difference between being willing to shorten their life by an average of 15 years in exchange for being symptom-free and a mere 100 days to take the journey to feeling better.

A big difference. Fifteen years or 5,475 days vs. 100 days.
That’s 5,375 days difference.

All rights of the report owners acknowledged.

IBS sufferers prepared to die early for relief from symptoms

2009-09-17T09:58:00.000-07:00

In a recent study by the respected International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD) and in collaboration with the equally respected University of North Carolina (UNC) Centre for Functional GI and Motility (all rights and copyright acknowledged) it was identified that some sufferers of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) were prepared to accept a chance of death or serious and disabling side effects if offered a medication that would give them total relief of their IBS symptoms.

Respondents report on average 73 days or 20% of the year where sufferers needed to restrict their activities due to IBS. The report makes serious reading, and I welcome it, because in the report it recognises the importance of the emotional impact of IBS on the life of the sufferer as a result of years of frustration and suffering with the physical symptoms.

37% of respondents were using complementary and alternative medicine.
8% of the 1966 respondents would accept a 1 in 100 chance of death to be symptom free.
6% of the 1966 respondents would accept a 1 in 100 chance of serious and disabling side effects to be symptoms free. See the full report here

The authors have to be congratulated on the breadth and depth of the report. One of the things which pleases me most about this report is the formal recognition of the emotional importance of IBS. IBS is not simply a physical condition - it has significant emotional aspects too.

As someone who has worked with IBS patients since 1991 (and still do), I have often wondered why so many IBS patients leave their medical doctor with the feeling they have not been listened to. The IBS Audio Program 100 was designed specifically for both physical and emotional aspects of IBS, and its success for many of its users is in the structure of the program and the recognition of the emotional symptoms.

To the authors, congratulations for an excellent report which will resonate with users around the world. As a clinical hypnotherapist with more than 18 years experience of working with IBS, I hope this report will be a springboard to show at last the importance of all aspects of IBS, not just the physical impact, and for anyone willing to give up an average of 15 years of their remaining life for symptom alleviation (another statistic from the report) I would simply say it is a high price to pay, when other options may be available.

Hypnotes Column

2009-08-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

Readers may be interested in my monthly Hypnotes column which is featured for many years in Warrington-Worldwide magazine.

Articles range from subjects such as the economic downturn to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, my IBS Audio Program 100, to adapting to change, to taking time off in recovery and many more.

I hope you enjoy them.
Regards
Michael

Redundancy

2009-07-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

Having been made redundant in the early 80's in that recession I have a feeling and memory of what it is like to be redundant, out of work, laid off and all the other descriptors brought to this situation. None however seem to sum up what it really means.
It is not only the job that goes, it is the perception for many of reduced social standing, many find confidence and self esteem are impacted, ability and willingness to socialise are reduced. Quality of life can go down, memory and recall can be affected, emotions such as anger, guilt blame, shame, frustration, weepiness and many more besides can be experienced. For those who feel this way, consider clicking here, to read more about my Laid Off, Move On CD program set, specifically for this situation.
I wish you well, and a speedy journey back into employment.
Regards
Michael

Anxiety & Hypnosis

2009-07-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

Anxiety / Anxious
These are those terms we use far to easily, like stress, we use that term to easily in every day life too. It, she, him, that stresses me, I feel / felt anxious all to commonly used in every day communication. Yet it is something we should be careful about doing, because these words Anxiety / Anxious / Stress, can close an individual down, stop them going out, socialising and living life to the full. Their effects can ripple out and touch the lives of partners and children, friends and work colleagues.

These conditions make life miserable, truly miserable for the sufferer, I know because I work with these conditions almost every day of my life, and have in the past experienced first hand the impact of them. And because of this, I decided to do something about it. Just as I did in the past when I decided to do something about the effects of IBS or irritable bowel syndrome and made a difference to the lives of thousands of people in the process. Just as I did when I developed the CD An Aid to Emotional Recovery After Breast Cancer. I do not find it an option to do nothing.

So, I developed the Anxiety audio program 120, the largest program I have ever undertaken, and I am pleased to say it is having the desired effects on users. It is heartening too to know that making a difference to the user, will ripple out positively to those supporting the anxiety sufferer. And that has to be good.

To all those who suffer with anxiety, be aware that all things are transient, they will pass. Remember too each moment is an end and a new beginning, and that simply means just because we feel anxious one moment, doesn't mean it will remain that way.
I wish you all well
Michael

Back Again!

2009-07-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

After a few months away form the blog, its good to be back again. In the time away many things have been happening, but somethings have to always take priority, such as customers!

I insist on maintaining service levels, and product availability, and answering emails as soon as possible. Certainly no-one should have to wait more than 6 working hours for a reply even if it is an acknowledgement we are dealing with the email. Even in our most busy times.

In addition to the normal routines, I have been optimising our site, adding new pages, overseeing the promotion of my Anxiety audio program. We have a new person with us now too, Carl, will be looking after promotion and PR so he will free me up to do other things.

I continue to work with patients on a one to one basis too, in addition to my time in Healthy Audio www.healthyaudio.com

My hypnotes column in Warrington-World-Wide continue to attract readers and comment so that is good. If you would like to look at my hypnotes selection click here www.healthyaudio.com/content/articles

Its good to be back.
Keep well

Hypnotherapy: An explanation

2009-02-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

You may wonder how hypnosis, hypnotherapy and guided imagery can actually be of any benefit to you and help you to improve various medical or emotional conditions. Hypnosis is not stage hypnosis, nor mind control.

Hypnosis simply puts you into a normal and natural state of mind that all individuals experience many times throughout the day. It is a state of intense concentration. Experiencing hypnosis or hypnotherapy is not sleep, unconsciousness, nor mind control, it is simply an altered state of consciousness. Day dreaming for example is another altered state of consciousness, you remain alert and aware of your surroundings but your focus of attention is elsewhere.

Generally experienced as restful and relaxing, it is different to slumber. During hypnosis (the altered state of consciousness) you are aware of your surroundings, hearing sounds, smelling smells, also being aware of movements and in control of your actions. Consciousness is NOT lost, rather it becomes more selective.
It is typical to be more aware of internal processes than in the outside world’s activities and distractions. Contemporary scientific studies show trance is a natural and normal state of mind and like other states, such as alertness or pleasure, which have many different and individual components.

When a therapist uses this very same state in hypnosis to guide and assist you, this becomes therapy – hypnotherapy uses the state of hypnosis as a form of therapy – and anything the therapist says, you can accept or reject freely. Being in the state of hypnosis is not only natural, but it is voluntary, and you are able to speak, hear, and communicate if needed.

Guided imagery or visualization is one aspect of hypnotherapy where descriptions of images for you to visualize help you to work through various medical or emotional concerns either by direct suggestion or use of metaphor in the imagery. It is often said that imagery is the language of the subconcious mind. These images may not be “rational” to your conscious mind, but they are symbols that can be very powerful tools in helping to guide you to heal or improve yourself for many conditions. Other times, the therapist will give you suggestions to help you on your healing journey. Each person interprets these suggestions, or views the imagery in their own way, according to what is needed by the person at the time – you will experience the very same session differently from another individual, because your own subconscious mind knows exactly how to interpret the images or suggestions in the way that is just right and tailor-made for you.

For more about being always in control, about the brain, brain waves and more, follow the link provided.

The PR Company!

2009-02-17T08:25:00.000-08:00

The PR Company didn’t quite reply in the way I was hoping they would! After years of researching and development of the IBS Audio Program 100, the PR Company who will remain nameless to hide their blushes, sent back the IBS Audio Program 100 unopened with a nice note on what looked like expensive letter headed papers.

Dear Mr Mahoney, Thank you for your recent communication.
Having reviewed your product; the IBS Audio Program 100, it is, it is in our opinion
unmarketable and therefore return it to you.

Thank you for contacting us,
We wish you well for the future.

Yours sincerely….

So there it was. Failure at the first hurdle! They sent it back even without even opening it, which initially hurt me, but then decided (after a few days of internal searching of where I had gone wrong!) they were wrong not me.

I had seen first hand what this condition did to the lives of people. I had learned through my research into this that my program worked. So I decide to keep going.

(And for anyone connected to that company, I can tell you, your lack of foresight, and perceived laziness did me a great favour in the long run. The program is now used by IBS sufferers in 43 countries, and from me, and the thousands it has helped. THANK YOU!)

Without that knock back, I wouldn’t have been spurred on to do more, to keep persevering, so again thank you.

Time passed and people got to know about my IBS Audio Program 100, I got great positive feedback from it. And for some considerable time I focussed on that. Then I was asked to do a follow up program for people who had done the IBS Audio Program 100 and wanted to work on other areas of their life, and so my next program was developed, Towards Inner Peace. Over the years, I did more research in more areas and subjects, until today we have 17 programs which are helping lots of people in many different ways.

Next Hypnotherapy

Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS

2009-02-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS
The birth of the IBS Audio Program 100

In 1991 I was visited by three women in the same week at the medical centre where I am based, all presenting with IBS, irritable bowel syndrome a common gastrointestinal condition for which there is no medical cure, nor is there any real understanding of why it develops in some individuals and not in others, but there are some excellent theories and lots of medical research still going on so the hope for a cure out of a bottle is still alive.

In that week of 1991 I saw the misery first hand this condition brings to people. I didn’t know much about the condition but in that week I had seen enough to know this was something I wanted to become involved in. I didn’t work with the three women as I didn’t know enough about it to give me confidence enough that I could help. So I started researching, I started learning lots about the IBS condition.

I saw there was research being done using hypnotherapy to help IBS sufferers, I learned about that too, and after several years I was confident I could start to write my own scripts. But I wasn’t going to do it the way I had discovered in my research of others, I believed I could do it differently, but still as (hopefully more) effectively as what was already being done.

Every IBS patient that came to me I treated for free. I explained I was learning about the condition and if they were willing, so was I. And what I did made sense, I brought a structure to the learning about getting well, I could see the difference is a short time of the majority of people I was working with, physically and emotionally there were recovering, growing, getting well and enjoying taking part in their own healing. They gave great testimonials to their friends and family and their doctors. They couldn’t believe it, I was delighted and word spread.

I saw more and more people for it, and they were going to their doctors and the doctors started to send people to me. Eventually I had to start charging for the service, nothing major but there are economics in life, I had my family to keep, by his time our daughter had arrived and was eating us out of house and home along with her brother. But even then the clients and patients still came. I knew what I had developed was important.

One day I did a home visit to a chap, I recorded his session on my portable tape recorder as I always did, and he said, you need to record this professionally. I knew no-one who did recordings professionally, I had no idea about how I would go about it, and I certainly didn’t have the money to do it. So I parked the idea, but the thought never left me.

Then a few weeks later, I saw a patient who just in passing said she played the flute, and she was going to be recorded, she had a friend who did it. I was immediately interested, I asked if I could be introduced to her friend, I was and we hit it off immediately. We shared similar beliefs had similar morals and ethics and it worked well.

I had to restructure the scripts I had done, to make them more usable for listeners, I had to make sure the listening schedule was right too. It all mattered, it had to be right.

The first recording session was a nerve rattling experience. Even the slightest outside sound could be heard, the microphone was so sensitive. The recordings were getting done, but the work was taking me away from my patients and my income. It was costing more than expected. So I raised money by getting a loan and put my home up as capital. It was a nerve wracking experience, but I was so sure I was doing the right thing.

I also then had to get patients to try the recordings I had created, to follow the schedule for 100 days and to report back to me over the next three years. By this time it was late 1997 the logistics of the duplication, packaging, delivery and fabrication has been massively underestimated. But I learned, I found people I could trust and work with through trial and error I eventually had the packaging of the program done, by today’s standards it looks quite amateurish but it was the content that mattered, and to be honest at the time it looked fine.

I was sure the program would work, the results from the trials were very pleasing, and it was time to get the word out. My first decision was to contact a big Press Release company and so my labour of love, the IBS Audio Program 100 was sent off for its first commercial critique.

Tomorrow: Disaster!

My First ~ and almost last client!

2009-02-14T08:45:00.000-08:00

Now out of training, after all the study now it was time for the most exciting part of all, that of getting out into the real world, to make a difference, to help to heal those in need, comfort those in distress, guide those who had lost direction. My leaflets went out as inserts in the local rag, and I waited for the phone to ring, expecting a surge of calls and being in total demand.

Well not quite! It was now 1986, hypnotherapy in those days was pretty much unheard of, and it was seen as hocus-pocus, baloney and more. In fact in those early days I chose to get an answer machine, this to my friends made me a ‘Yuppie’ this may be another term unfamiliar to younger readers ~ (young upwardly-mobile professional) which was far from the truth. Little did my friends know I got the answer machine to field off the idiots who knew nothing about hypnosis and saw it as a means of doing harm, doing evil. In fact nothing could have been further from the truth. I had left a well paid job, did some serious brain testing studying to do what I had chosen to do. It was my choice to leave the comfort of a secure job, to help those in need.

They knew nothing about what I had been trained for, and what I knew was that I was not going to allow those types to concern me or worry my family. I knew I wanted to do this, and that was exactly what I was going to do. However it did provide a learning curve for me, I fell back on my training, not to be offended; some people get scared or abusive when they don’t know or understand something. So I let it go and moved on.

Eventually the phone did ring a client! Remain professional, it was exciting and I had to try and prevent that excitement getting in the way of being professional. A few days later I did a home visit. Now bearing in mind whenever I speak about a client, it will be about events over 10 years ago (this is about 23 years ago now) names and places will be changed to ensure anonymity.

Of all the things for a first client I had a chap with a sexual problem! Just my luck! And yet I had been trained for such clients and was entirely professional. All the usual first meet questions were asked, I told him about hypnotherapy. A few days later I returned and was setting up my audio tapes, one for ambient music, and the other to record the session to which he would listen in between times we would meet.

As I was setting up the cassettes he excused himself saying he needed the bathroom. He came back completely starker’s! As naked as a jaybird (although jay birds aren’t naked, the origin of that phrase poses a question perhaps for the wordsmiths among you readers). I was shocked, but I hope he didn’t notice, I simply told him there was no need for it and he should get dressed. He left the room and came back suitably attired.

I felt a bit uneasy, but all was fine, after all I am over 6ft tall and trained to look after myself so no physical threat was imminent, but I remained uneasy. I had explained at the initial consultation that hypnotherapy is a process not a magic wand and that there would have to be more that one session.

During the now regular post session discussion I hold with people, he made it clear that it wasn’t hypnotherapy he wanted, it was more me he wanted! That questions not only his sanity but his eye-sight in my view! I assured him nothing more was on offer. I packed up and left, after being paid of course.

I didn’t see another client for three weeks. I was disappointed, is this how it was going to be? Is this what I had left a good job for, had left good salary and security to satisfy some lonely mans fantasy! I didn’t see any other clients for three weeks out of choice, the leaflets were doing their work, I was getting calls, but after three weeks, my wife quietly said to me “why are you letting one person ruin what you want to do, what you have trained had to do and that you have a passion for”? She was right, and from that moment I changed, I was back to it again, enthusiastic and wanting to make a difference.

At my workshops I often tell this story in more depth, but I always add, if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone, so I always warn those therapists who do home visits, especially females, be aware!

Tomorrow ~ IBS

How it all started

2009-02-13T09:35:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my Blog.
For quite along time I have been thinking about writing my own blog and wondered what it was I would talk about. Yet anyone who knows me will be aware that I am rarely short of a word or several hundred, especially in the clinical environment.

I thought I would start this blog, by answering a question that is asked me many times, and that is, how did I get into hypnotherapy?

In the early 1980’s I was made redundant from my office job, and I already knew that I preferred working with people rather than shuffling paper. I wanted to do something productive, something really worth while, and I had inherited my mothers’ calmness and I hope some of her kindness and caring.

All around me I saw the devastation that redundancy was bringing to people, strong people reduced to tears and frightened. I had a baby son a few months old at this time, and a new mortgage so things were pretty tense. Somehow I had a calmness in me, I saw it as an opportunity to move on, to get into the caring profession, but which one and how?

One day I opened a broadsheet and saw an advert to become a clinical hypnotherapist, it struck me as different; in fact I had no idea what it was about. I sent off for some information and in due course it arrived back, I was bitten by the healing bug, just reading about it, how it could help people, how it could remove fears and dread, how hypnosis could enhance an individuals self esteem and confidence, remove physical and emotional problems, simply by talking, and as previously mentioned I could do that alright!

So to cut a long story sort, I went and took my entrance exams and passed those and then had to wait for the new course to begin. In the meantime I got a job in the computer industry, at that time I knew nothing about them, PC’s were brand new. I remember the first computer I saw, it was a single floppy machine ~ you may be to young to know what that means, but it was, as they say nowadays ‘mega’

This big box, with a big deep monitor, was attracting interest from many quarters. It was a mono screen and in those days this simple machine by today’s standards cost thousands of pounds, the software for it was limited and expensive too, yet it seemed the way things were set to go.

Soon afterwards, although now I can’t really recall exactly how soon afterwards, the duel floppy machine came in, and then wow!! a hard disk machine. A 10Mb hard disk arrived. That really got people excited.

I was pretty sure I wanted to stick with my pending training in hypnotherapy, the temptation to stay in the industry was quite high, and there were promises of lots of money if I worked hard. As it happened during some of my training and then licentiate membership I returned to the industry to earn more money.

The hypnotherapy course was looming and in a relatively short time, I had established a presence in the computer company, and the progression allowed me to ask my boss for a golden handshake, though it wasn’t called that in those days, I was leaving and wanted some money to help me though my training, I still had to live and had a family to keep and mortgage to pay. Through sheer cheek I got what I needed, the computer industry was awash with money in those days, and I had done a good job, and was recognised for it. Three cheers to my boss!

Then I started my hypnotherapy training, I loved every minute of it, I worked hard to understand and learn, I kept up, I worked harder, I wanted to be the best in the group. I was certain it was what I wanted to do, and eventually after training and in service training I got my grade and was let loose. And what a scary time that was! Now I had to apply what I had learnt, and it is fair to say, no matter how good the training was, and how structured it was, the real learning began as soon as I began seeing clients, and after my first client things could only get better!

Tomorrow ~ my first client!