Month: June 2023

Hi,

I hope you are all well , this month I thought I’d share some fascinating facts about the brain, you never know it might come in handy for a quiz or two !!

The brain really is amazing and its responsible for all the body’s functions.  The human brain weighs about 3 lbs. (1.4 kilograms) and makes up about 2% of a human’s body weight.  It’s a complex organ that controls thought, memory, emotion, touch, motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, hunger and every process that regulates our body.  Neuroscientists have been studying the brain for decades and have made great strides in understanding it and continue to do so. So here goes,

• Exercising can make you smarter. When you exercise, blood flow to the brain is increased. Your brain also releases hormones that can help you learn. So, get moving to get smarter.
• The human brain can recognise and distinguish between approximately 10,000 different smells.
• The brains storage capacity is estimated to be equivalent to about 2.5 million gigabytes which is roughly the equivalent to the storage capacity of 3 million hours of TV shows.
• The bran can recognise and process information in 13 milliseconds , which is faster than the blink of an eye.
• The neurons in your brain make enough electricity to generate a low-watt light bulb.
• The brain of an adult human weighs around 3 pounds (1.5 kg). Although it makes up just 2% of the body’s weight, it uses around 20% of its energy.
• The brain processes information through a complex network of neurons that can transmit signals at speeds of up to 250 miles per hour/400km per hour !!
• The brain’s hippocampus, a structure crucial for memory formation, continues to produce new neurons throughout life. Physical exercise, learning, and a stimulating environment can enhance neurogenesis.
• The brain’s memory is not like a video recording but rather a reconstruction of past events. Memories are subject to distortion and can be influenced by various factors, including emotions and other memories.
• The brain’s memory is not like a video recording but rather a reconstruction of past events. Memories are subject to distortion and can be influenced by various factors, including emotions and other memories.
• The brain releases a chemical called dopamine, which is associated with pleasure, reward, and motivation.
• When we listen to music, multiple areas of the brain are activated, including those associated with memory, emotion, and motor control. This is why music can evoke powerful emotional responses and influence our movements.

So I hope you enjoyed those, as you may already know Solution focused hypnotherapy combines psychotherapy and clinical hypnotherapy, and encourages the mind to be forward thinking. When we visualise how we want our lives to be, we can concentrate on all the smaller steps we need to take to become the person we truly dream of being, creating change with ease.

Interested? I offer a free initial consultation, if you’d like to find out more or book please get in touch, you can call or text me on 07516 962361 or email info@louisebarneshypnotherapy.co.uk

Enjoy July,

Best wishes

Louise

Welcome to June,

Its so nice to have the warmer weather with us. We have been keeping up with the DIY and spending some time with friends and family  which has been great and a well deserved rest too.  I hope you are enjoying yourselves too? What’s been going well?

As many of you will know I am always looking to improve and gain additional skills so I am excited to have started some additional training that will help people who are stuck in a rut, or are struggling with extreme stress or anxiety that is stopping them from moving forward.  It’s a package that has been designed to clear trauma, anxious/depressive states, emotional triggers and limiting beliefs over several sessions.  This therapy package permanently removes all the unhelpful patterns and beliefs that were formed in early life.  One of the major advantages of this approach is that you don’t need to disclose any details about what happened to you, we describe this as content free. There will be more detail on this in the next few weeks or so.

For now I’d like to share an article by Fleur called “That Weekend Feeling “I hope you like it too.

Thank Crunchie it’s nearly Friday! 

For most of us, this means a whole weekend away from the work routine – being able to relax, no alarms dictating when we get out of bed, and choosing how we spend our moments, doing what feels good – whether connecting with friends or family, being restful or productive, having the freedom to be spontaneous and just to be on our own time clock.

Why does this time ‘off’ feel so golden? It basically comes down to routine. When we are in work mode, our brains become very streamlined so they can achieve more. Routine engages automatic pilot mode which aids productivity. We go through the motions when in ]work mode’, eg get out of bed, clean teeth, put on work clothes. These activities are hardly even noticed because they are so embedded into our daily lives. You travel to work, sit in your office, make a coffee, and read emails. Again, unless something is unusual, these moments are easily forgotten. You chat to colleagues, clients, or customers, with routine conversations of “How are you?” “Fine thanks, you?”, “Doing anything nice on the weekend?”

No wonder work feels DULL!!! Of course, we can’t wait for the weekend! Our brains are so firmly in automatic pilot mode that we barely notice or remember a thing.

My suggestion to you is to get off the grey conveyor belt of work. Shake it up, just a little. Make every day more interesting by doing things in a different order, alter your routine a touch. Take a different journey to work, use a different mug for your coffee. Consciously look through a different lens as you approach each task. Try putting your left shoe on before your right, and swap the following day. Being aware of our bodies’ actions for each mundane task encourages mindfulness and pulls us into each present moment. Give each of your senses a chance to digest by taking an extra millisecond to breathe. Allow yourself to be on a Sensation Scavenger Hunt. Wake up each routine activity by really experiencing it – by being in the actual moment.

It’s OK if the feeling of mixing it up is a little uncomfortable. This is because our survival instincts like everything to stay exactly the same. When everything is completely consistent, we do not challenge our comfort zones, but we can create a claustrophobic safety net. We have two distinct parts of the brain that we use everyday – the intellectual brain, and the primitive brain. The primitive part of the brain’s job is solely used for protection, and it believes that the dangers around us might still be lions, tigers, and bears. This is because it hasn’t evolved since it was created to survive the cavemen era, and thank goodness it was there because without it we wouldn’t be here right now. This part of the brain is not creative or intelligent. It is not concerned about feelings of happiness, fulfilment, or joy. So, to find contentment in each of our lives, we must push the boundaries set by exploring the edges of our comfort zones and allow our intellectual brains the chance to sit in the control seat.

Ideas for your Sensation Scavenger Hunt

• How many yellow things can you see on your way to work?.
• How many smiles can you witness in an hour of interaction?
• How many breaths does it take for the kettle to boil?
• How does it feel to alter the order of getting dressed?
• How many birdsongs can you hear as you stand outside?
• What order do you taste each mouthful of lunch?
• What is the nicest smell you can discover today?
• How does it feel to touch the floor as you wiggle your toes against it?
• How alive do you feel after splashing cold water on your face?

Fleur Demeranville Dash

Lets enjoy the Month, take notice of things we have not noticed before, how ever small, maybe taken a few moments to think about the thoughts we have and a little reminder to have fun, life is to be lived !!

Best wishes

Louise