Saying goodbye to emotional baggage (plus free hypnotic recording download)
I often talk about unpacking boxes in the counselling room. We might open a box called ‘My Mother’ or another called ‘My First Marriage’, have a good look inside, a sort through and then decide to discard a few bits you no longer want or need. We then pack the box up again. The New Year seems like the best possible time to de-clutter your emotional world by sorting through some of your baggage.
So let’s have a look at what would be there if you were to do your own Review of the Year. Look back over 2011 and pick out a few events – good and bad – for each season. What have you picked? What upset you and why? What delighted you and why? And most importantly, what can you learn about yourself from these experiences? Pause for a while and answer out loud as though you were talking to me…
Therapy works by processing thoughts and feelings that are caused by distressing experiences in the here and now, or those that arise from past events which you have pushed down because you were not able to deal with them at the time. We all instinctively know that talking our problems through helps us in times of trouble or when we are in distress. Talking seems to take the sting out of our pain, so that each time we talk about upsetting events the pain is reduced until it is comfortable enough to settle in a better place. Most people need to process their feelings, and it helps to talk, think and even dream about them to look at your experiences from all angles. You may need to do this over and over again, and therefore it is most helpful to do this with a trained listener who can help you gain new self-awareness and insights so that you can move forward with your life again.
Socrates said ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’. So let’s examine 2011, say Goodbye to the old stuff holding us back and say Hello to 2012 with renewed hope and optimism. The New Year will be full of opportunities to learn, change and grow. Let’s be ready to grab them with both hands. The track below will help you on your way:
A New Year gift for you
My good friend hypnotherapist Claire Benson has recorded an exclusive free hypnotic download that will help you let go of anything that may be holding you back so you can move forward and make 2012 your best year ever. It’s the perfect partner for this theme. Click on the link below and then on the picture of the happy faces garland:
http://www.unstuck-thinking.co.uk/mind–body/promotions/make-2012-your-best-year.html
My friend Tamzin Freeman who works with acupuncture & energy therapy has shared these essential health and wellbeing tips to help get your new year off to a great start:
7 easy ideas that will make you feel great
1. Drink lots of water (6-8 large glasses a day). We all know this, but before you spend anything on vitamin pills, therapy or organic food, just do it!
2. Avoid processed food. We’re surrounded by it all the time: white bread, biscuits, white pasta, pastry, cakes, biscuits, white rice, confectionery, carbonated drinks, juice drinks and certain breakfast cereals. It’s all too tempting, but you’ll feel better without.
3. Avoid sugar. Check the labels – it’s hidden! When you start reading labels it seems to be in every food: bought mayonnaise, tomato soup, Special K, cranberries, and that’s the healthy foods!
4. Walk for 20+ minutes a day, ideally in nature, even if just in a park or by the river.
5. Each evening recall 3, or more (!) good things that happened in your day, and dwell on them.
6. Start to notice how you feel, what makes you feel good? What makes you feel bad, both emotionally and physically, and start to be guided by it.
7. For smokers, when the time is right, save your money and your health and finally kick smoking. Acupuncture is proven to overcome the cravings and make the transition to a non-smoker easy. The acupuncture NADA protocol is used in drug addiction clinics and will also work for nicotine addition.
Here’s to a happy and healthy 2012. If you feel good, anything is possible.
http://www.tamzinfreeman.co.uk/
