Smokers needing operations would have to try to quit under Cardiff and Vale health board plans.

Obese people will have to complete weight loss programmes before they can have operations, if proposals by a Welsh health board are approved. Cardiff and Vale University Health Board also says requiring smokers to go on courses to help them give up before surgery may save over £400,000.

It would not apply to cancer patients or people needing emergency treatment. The board would have to cut costs by £90m to break even in the next financial year.

“Whilst the increased availability of courses for smoking and obesity is to be welcomed, I am concerned that failure to participate in these will be used as an excuse to delay operations for patients in need of treatment” Andrew RT Davies, Leader, Welsh assembly Conservatives

Welsh Conservatives said it showed the NHS “needs an urgent transfusion of cash”. Members of the health board will be asked to approve measures to address “lifestyle risk factors” at a meeting next Thursday, 28 March. Any smokers must have been offered, accepted and completed smoking cessation programmes before they can be listed for elective surgery.

The move would save an estimated £41,941 to £437,650 a year.

via BBC News – Cardiff and Vale NHS weight loss plan for operations.

The post BBC News – Cardiff and Vale NHS weight loss plan for operations appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

If governments were REALLY that concerned about protecting people’s health surely they would just ban them. Unless they LIKE all the revenue that cigarettes generates for them??

New York City is marking 10 years since its ban on smoking in indoor public places, with officials saying the move has prevented 10,000 premature deaths.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that “fewer New Yorkers are smoking” and “we are living longer”.

He added that critics’ fear that the ban would hurt the restaurant and bar business had proved to be groundless.

via BBC News – New York smoking ban in public places marks 10 years.

The post New York smoking ban: 10 years on appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

IF they go solo and have to look after their own out of their own pocket then changes will have to be made. Scotland is traditionally a VERY unhealthy country so it won’t take much to bring about some improvement to the country’s population.

The idea of only 5% of the population smoking is excellent and should be applauded. Other governments around the world SAY that they want to protect health but it looks like they like the tax revenue smoking generates too much to actually try and stamp it out.

Scotland on the other hand is strapping on a pair and seem to be talking the talk AND walking the walk!

Well done Scotland!

Plain cigarette packaging is to be introduced in Scotland under a plan to make the nation “tobacco free” by 2034.

The Scottish government said it wanted to see less than 5% of the population choosing to smoke by the target date.

Ministers also pledged to ban smoking in hospital grounds by 2015 and set a target for cutting children’s exposure to second hand smoke.

Smoking accounts for more than 13,000 deaths in Scotland each year and is the main cause of early death.

Treating people with smoking-related conditions costs NHS Scotland about £271m each year.

The Scottish government’s plans, contained in its new tobacco control strategy, are the latest in a series of measures to cut smoking.

via BBC News – Ministers aim to make Scotland ‘tobacco free’ by 2034.

The post Scotland ‘tobacco free’ by 2034 appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

Domestic Goddess Nigella Lawson forgot to mention a key ingredient when revealing the secret of how she lost over two stone in weight – large helpings of hypnosis.

The self-taught cook, who has sold three million cookbooks, put her impressive weight loss down to the three Ps – pilates, a personal trainer and portion control.

But Nigella, 53, also had a course of £295 sessions with a heavyweight in the hypnotherapy world – Susan Hepburn, who counts Lily Allen among her clients.

Curvy Nigella visited her Harley Street clinic in Central London, where she was induced into a “relaxed state of consciousness” before being encouraged to eat smaller, more controlled meals.

via Nigella Lawson’s two-stone weight loss secret revealed: £295 sessions of hypnosis – 3am & Mirror Online.

The post Nigella Lawson’s two-stone weight loss secret revealed: hypnosis appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

The family of a medical student who suffered from bulimia and died after taking an overdose of a banned weight loss drug have called for the drug to be made illegal.

Medical student Sarah Houston was found dead by her housemates after she had taken a combination of antidepressants and the banned fat burning pill DNP.

Sarah Houston was found dead by her housemates after she had taken a combination of antidepressants and the banned fat burning pill DNP, which she was taking in secret.

The 23-year-old was to be the fifth in her family to become a doctor and was studying medicine at the University of Leeds. She was taking antidepressants to treat her bulimia and had managed to get hold of DNP – which has been banned from human consumption because of the side effects it causes – through the internet.

via Family of medical student Sarah Houston call for Government to make drug used for weight loss illegal – Telegraph.

The post Call for Government to make drug used for weight loss illegal appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

“In the two decades I’ve worked as a hypnotherapist, the biggest myth I’ve encountered is that we mess with people’s minds. It’s completely unfounded. Hypnosis isn’t about disappearing into another realm and handing control to someone else. It’s simply a deep state of relaxation, through which you can free yourself from certain behaviour patterns, negative thought processes or phobias.

…

Unfortunately, this film directed by Danny Boyle – in which a Harley Street hypnotherapist, Dr Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson), works with an art expert, Simon (James McAvoy), to find out where he put a stolen painting – will do nothing to dispel this stereotype. It feels 20 years out of date: we’re right back to the cliche of the swinging watch.

Dr Lamb proves a malign influence on Simon – and the film seems to suggest anybody working as a hypnotherapist is intrinsically sinister. This is unfair; we’re here to help, to heal. Hypnotherapy is ripe for demystification and respectability. And as for a romantic involvement with a patient – that’s completely unacceptable. Anyone who crossed that boundary would be immediately struck off.”

via A hypnotherapist’s view on Trance | Film | The Guardian.

————————————————-

My Opinion:

What an astoundingly silly review of Danny Boyle’s new film by Deborah Marshall-Warren! As a hypnotherapist I have a couple of problems with her review.

Deborah could have used a common hypnotherapist’s tool, reframing, and turned a more positive focus on the film. Instead of saying “This film is improbable/unbelievable/not representative of the industry” she could have said “It is fantastic that hypnosis is getting a featured role in a massive film by an internationally renowned director and is increasing the profile of the industry.” 

You wouldn’t expect someone to say “This book about a lion, a witch and a wardrobe is completely unbelievable!” Of course it is! That is the point! If films were completely factual and entirely based on reality then we would have a LOT fewer films to watch and what is out there would be dull as ditch water. People want something based on reality which is then twisted, adapted and modified to create something engaging and entertaining…but believable! That is what Trance does.

The film shows people changing habits, obesity and phobias, it doesn’t sound like the only representation of hypnosis in this film is “intrinsically sinister”. I think most intelligent people know that things represented in films are not always 100% accurate. 

I have a bigger problem with supposed professionals like Deborah Marshall-Warren saying things like “We are here … to heal”. I have never “healed” a single person in my time as a hypnotherapist. I don’t have any messiah-like abilities and neither does Deborah. We have both helped people to think and feel differently and for some people this is transformational and has a HUGE impact on their life.

To be relieved of this burden can feel to the individual that they have been “healed” but in reality they have been helped to be a way they were already capable of being. Deborah does NOT have the ability to “heal” and to use language like this is rather surprising of a trained professional.

Personally I think it is great that hypnosis is reaching a bigger audience through this film. Go see it!

The post A hypnotherapist’s view on Trance appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

Richard is extremely professional, approachable and understanding and I have felt completely relaxed and at ease during our hypnotherapy sessions. I recommend him 100%.”

By Michelle

Read the full review on the Focused Hypnosis Freeindex page

The post Review Of Hypnosis For Weight Control appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

Pregnant woman

I wanted to share this article from The Guardian as I feel it completely misses the point of hypnosis and I wanted to redress the balance a little.

To focus on one small part of how hypnosis could help women manage labour in a more natural and drug free way and to say that hypnosis for birth as a whole has no evidence base is like saying because a car has a flat tyre it needs crushing and you have to buy a new one!

The evidence base for hypnosis is strong and getting stronger all the time as researchers a more able to explore the field without being scorned by their peers for working in an area that, they believe, has no scientific validity. If you are looking for the evidence for the effectiveness of hypnosis it is here:

• The reduction of anxiety: studies of some of the many issues about which people can be anxious show hypnotherapy effective treatment (e.g., Gay,2007; McGuinness, 1984; Flammer, 2003)
• Birth: preparation for (Brown, 2007; Mehl-Madrona, 2004
• Pain control (Elkins, 2007)
• Surgery: preparation for (Montgomery, 2002; Lang, 2002) – assuming you go down the planned c-section route

There have been studies confirming the claims that, compared to general population figures, hypnosis and self-hypnosis during childbirth leads to:

• decreased average length of labour
• lower caesarean section rates
• decreased use of pain relief medication such as gas and epidurals
• increased ease and comfort of labour and birth (self-reported and observed)
• emotional satisfaction of having their birthing partners informed, involved and supportive

Evidence for the above is from: “Non-pharmacological Methods for Relief of Labor Pain”. Obstetric Anesthesia Handbook: 85–93. 2010, “Nonpharmacological Means of Pain Relief for Labor and Delivery”. International Anesthesiology Clinics 40 (4): 103–114. 2002 and Phillips-Moore, Julie (2012). “Birthing outcomes from an Australian HypnoBirthing programme”. British Journal of Midwifery 20 (8): 558–564.

I think most women giving birth would want these as features of their birth, whether that is at home, in hospital or somewhere else.

The Guardian, Thursday 21 March 2013

“The very people parents should be able to trust are now reduced to selling their patients what may be no more than snake oil” ‘What’s the problem?”, the NHS reformers always ask, cod innocence and superciliousness mingled in their faces. “Healthcare will still be free at the point of need.”

“Well,” we counter, “these reforms mostly amount to a process of privatisation. Often, the private sector is not the bargain it’s cracked up to be. Often its savings just come from cutting wages. Often the private company is only cheaper until it’s the only provider – then it is suddenly radically more expensive, but there’s nothing you can do about it.

Often it fails to build up and reward pro-social behaviour (a psych word for “kindness”) in its staff, because paying them so little exhibits so little kindness towards them. Often, often, often … but no, we can’t prove it. We can’t prove you’ll ruin it until you’ve ruined it.” … Conversely, the natal hypnotherapy wheeze is designed to spin profit for the hospital – Chelsea and Westminster “hope to make £8,000-£10,000 annually.

This will be reinvested into maternity services at the trust, such as training for staff and volunteers and equipment for the wards.” When did training staff and buying equipment become a bolt-on that you fundraised for with a hocus-pocus service for couples with more money than sense? Does it look to you as if they’re downplaying the figure, given they deliver about 1,200 babies a year in a very affluent area?

If half the parents signed up for the “treasure” experience, that would be more than £100,000. … But I can also read, so I know that – contrary to the implied assertions of the weirdly worded press release – the evidence simply isn’t there to support the claim that hypnosis results in “reduced need for drugs and intervention”.

The largest and most recent study found no difference in the need for epidurals between the hypno-birthed mother and the regular mother. The consensus on PubMed, the US database of clinical effectiveness reviews, is a stern “more evidence required”. via This hypno-birthing quackery shows profit has no place in healthcare | Zoe Williams | Comment is free | The Guardian.

The post This hypno-birthing quackery shows profit has no place in healthcare appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

I thought that they were a con I must be honest. I said hypnotherapists were jumping on a band wagon that would roll out of town very quickly. I thought that the weight lost by many people was done far too fast to be safe.

I had a look at some of the ‘training’ being offered in this area and found that much of it was lack lustre, minimal and not up to the standard I would expect. There are one or two notable exceptions out there but most of the recognised brand names in hypnotic gastric bands could be providing a much better service.

I was so dissatisfied I set about creating my own protocol that would deliver the results people expect and deserve.

I set to work with a very experienced hypnotherapist and between us we have developed an approach that we think is excellent.

Gastric Band Hypnosis Can Work WITH Your Desire For Change

For some people they have got it into their heads that they think they need something more than ‘standard’ weight management hypnosis. They convince themselves that the only thing that will help is gastric surgery and if that isn’t available then a hypnotic gastric band is the next best thing.

For these people to become more healthy they have decided what needs to happen. It is better to work with someone’s preferred way of doing things than against it which is why I now offer gastric band hypnosis.

There is a problem though

Hypnosis for weight reduction (the way I do it) is about empowering the person to be more aware of options and choices and how their emotions and thoughts can play a large role in what they put into their bodies.

Contrast this with surgery (either hypnotic or actually being operated on) and the procedure is done TO you not with you. You hand yourself over to an expert who makes you be a different way.

These two methods are in conflict which is why the system I have co-developed works to bring these two approaches closer together much more than other systems of hypnotic gastric band do.

Safe and Steady Weight Loss

The approach I have co-developed is about safe and steady weight loss. This gives your skin the most time and opportunity to bounce back which seriously reduces the chances of excess skin that is associated with rapid weight loss. For a more detailed look at this read about the chef who had 4 stone of excess skin on his body after gastric surgery.

If you have any questions about weight management or gastric band hypnosis you can call me for a free, no obligation chat on 0114 383 0123

The post Gastric Band Hypnosis – Why I Changed My Mind appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

Jason Young, 29, from Nottingham, ballooned to 31 stone and underwent the £10,000 surgery eight years ago. His weight has since plummeted to 18 stone and he has been left carrying huge folds of saggy skin. But Mr Young claims the follow-up operation he was promised to remove the skin has been repeatedly turned down.

He says the excess skin is now making his life so miserable he’s even considered suicide. Mr Young – who says he gained weight because of an under active thyroid – said: ‘I was delighted when I was accepted for the gastric bypass.

“After years of putting on weight as a teenager I thought my life would finally change for the better. ’They promised me a follow-up operation to remove the skin, but they keep fobbing me off and I’m getting desperate.”

via Chef whose weight plummeted after gastric bypass is furious after NHS refuses op to remove his FOUR STONE of excess skin | Mail Online.

The post Chef whose weight plummeted after gastric bypass is furious after NHS refuses op to remove his FOUR STONE of excess skin | Mail Online appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

We left it a week before my first session and when I arrived I was slightly nervous as I’d never been in a trance before but after 5 minutes I was calm and relaxed and I was in such a deep trance he said it was hard to wake me up. It was hard at first to see if things had actually worked and I think I was looking for obvious signs but after about 5 days something to clicked in my head an I was like ‘hold on I didn’t used to think like that a week ago’ and since then things have only got better.

I’ve set myself a 5 year career plan and am full focused on achieving my goals. My relationship is 10x better and my confidence has seemed to go through the roof. Thank you for all the help Richard you’re a really nice guy it was nice to work with you, I would definitively recommend to anyone seeking hypnotherapy!!!”

By Daniel

Read the full review on Focused Hypnosis’s Freeindex page

The post Review Of Confidence Hypnosis By Daniel appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

“I’m just nipping out for a fag” is NOT an option!

The Prison Officers Association has recommended that a smoking ban be implemented in all prisons so their members are not subject to second hand smoke from prison inmates.

According to the Mirror the “Prison Service accepts that cigarettes must be stubbed out for health and safety reasons and to avoid compensation claims from officers claiming to be victims of passive smoking.”

When the nationwide smoking ban in public buildings was introduced in England and Wales in 2007 it did not extend to prisons. Prison riots are predicted to ensue if the ban, expected to be introduced within the next two years, goes ahead.

POAUK reported a smoking ban due to be introduced in prisons, along with a threat to remove Sky television from some prisons, was postponed over fears of riots.

Prison officers have been advised to check if an inmate is smoking in their cell before entering, to avoid the risk of passive smoking.

It is estimated 80 percent of inmates smoke.

The Swedish High Court overturned a smoking ban in Swedish prison cells in 2011, ruling the ban was illegal.

via Smoking to be banned in all U.K. prisons.

The post Smoking to be banned in all U.K. prisons appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

She said: ”I went to hypnotherapy for stage fright years ago and it completely worked.

”I always get nervous, but it was getting to the point where it would mess with my singing.

”My mum said that if you stop getting nervous you stop caring but there’s nerves and there’s complete meltdown.”

via daily sun | Culturetainment | Dido hypnotised to cure stage fright.

The post Dido Hypnotised To Beat Stage Fright appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

The star has been having the treatment in LA in a bid to conquer her anxiety over her upcoming Oscars performance.

Adele is booked to perform her Bond theme Skyfall at the ceremony on February 24 – where it is up for Best Song – but is so scared about it that she’s suffering from panic attacks and sleepless nights.

Pals say the nerves have got worse since she heard her idol BARBRA STREISAND will also be singing.

A source said: “A friend in LA recommended the hypnotherapist because Adele was getting so nervous about the gig.

via Adele has hypnotherapy to cure her stage fright over Oscars performance | The Sun |Showbiz|Bizarre.

British singer Adele is allegedly seeking hypnotherapy to help overcome stage-fright in the run up to the Oscars.

Adele, winner of numerous Grammys, Brits, world records and now an Oscar nomination, is due to perform her song Skyfall at the Oscars on February 24. Unfortunately, the 24-year-old mother of one has a history of crippling stage-fright.

Given her incredible talent and global success, Adele isn’t the first person you’d expect to shy away from public performance.

However, this is not the first time she’s been struck down with debilitating stage-fright. In 2011, Adele was so afraid to perform at the Grammys that she spent much of the evening vomiting in the toilet.

via Hypnotherapy Directory » Blog Archive » Oscar-nominated Adele tries hypnotherapy for stage fright.

The post Adele Has Hypnotherapy To Cure Her Stage Fright Over Oscars Performance appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.

Limited Offer

So, how are those new year resolutions working out? Did you even try to do those things you said you would change? Did you even bother to make any resolutions??

If there is an aspect of how you think, act or feel that you sincerely wish was different then hypnosis in Sheffield with Focused Hypnosis could be the answer.

My name is Richard and I am a full-time hypnotherapist based in Sheffield. I could help you achieve your goals.

Take a moment and think about what it is that you would like to change….

Now think about what life will be like once you have made those changes….

How will you be different? What will people say about the changes? How good will it feel?

Sheffield Hypnosis Discount Voucher

50% Hypnosis Discount

The months of February and March are often low months, mood-wise, for many people. The high of Christmas is wearing off and the weather is pretty grim.

This is a perfect time to start working on yourself. Get those good feelings flowing and get yourself geared up for a great spring forward into the new you.

To get a half price initial consultation for whatever it is you want to change just go to the Focused Hypnosis Facebook Page and claim your discount but hurry because numbers are limited and so is the time you can redeem the voucher.

This offer in no way affects my free 20 minute chat, free recordings of treatment sessions and satisfaction guarantee which all still stand.

If you have any questions about this special 50% hypnosis discount offer call me on 0114 3830 123 today

The post Half Price Hypnosis Consultation In Sheffield appeared first on http://sheffield-hypnosis.co.uk.