Supporting men during the pandemic
“I’ve lost weight, I’m fitter than I’ve been in years, and I have goals and plans now.
“I can do things for me, how and when I want, and rebuild my future as to how I would like it to be; not constantly oppressed or fitting into a world that was not or never would be shaped with my assistance. Divorce is never good, but it was the best move I could have done.
“Naomi at WCH has given me the ability to challenge what I want to do and how to do it.
“She helped pull me out of that rabbit hole and, whilst I always joked about hypnotherapy, it has been the best thing I have done to help me. I now understand why people snap and take their life – you become all consumed by everything and you just want the pain to stop.
“It’s the ones who snap that are the concern. The ones who shout about it from the rooftops are not always the issue- it’s the quiet ones; the ones like me who just smile on the outside and deal with it and then go to pieces the second you close the door.
“I learned to open my soul last year and talk about things, take help and learn to use people skills to keep me here for my children, family and friends.
“Don’t just sit there and bottle it up, talk to someone. Don’t be that person who puts on a front every time you go out or talk to people.
“Learn to share things, learn to take help and learn new skills to help you.
“I still have a way to go with my home life, but it’s exciting to see what’s coming, what’s next, what can I do for me?
“The best thing I did was talk to Naomi at WCH and, as a bloke, I’m not embarrassed to say that!”
“I was so fortunate to find Naomi and West Coast.” – Mook Alexander Burns, North Ayrshire.
“When I first came to West Coast Hypnosis for treatment, I had been experiencing the symptoms of chronic anxiety my whole life.
“The first panic attack that I can remember happened when I was four-years-old, and they remained a relatively normal part of my experience aged 42.
“Chronic anxiety had become the background, and too often the foreground, to my daily life.
“Each day I woke, it felt a bit like I was being born - I was fearful, bewildered, and already the signs of anxiety were present in my body, appearing as a tight stomach, tense muscles, rigid body.
“Anxiety was my everpresent companion, even on holidays. I would look at other holidaymakers with envy. They seemed so calm, so relaxed.
“On holiday I might experience short periods of respite, but more often I’d find myself sitting on a cruise ship, with a glass of wine and a book, still noticing the tension in my stomach or that my thoughts kept nursing some anxiety about the future.
“Over a number of years, I developed strategies for managing the anxiety and bringing myself down from panic attacks, and they did improve my experience of life.
“They did not change my daily symptoms, but they were helpful in helping me cope with spirals, or sometimes prevent them. I was grateful for my wee toolbox of techniques but had resigned myself to a life of chronic anxiety whose symptoms I would just have to manage.
“It was during a particularly tricky acute period of anxiety that I reached out to Naomi Hill at West Coast Hypnosis. I had considered hypnotherapy now and again over the years, but I was partly put off by the misunderstandings and misrepresentations of hypnosis by the media and stage performers.
“I also had found the
hypnotherapy industry baffling when I tried to research it. “Which of the qualifications therapists displayed were actually any good? Which certificates were worth the paper they’re printed on?
“I was so fortunate to find Naomi and West Coast. From the moment I met her, I had confidence in Naomi as a person, and by the end of my first session I had confidence that hypnotherapy could help me.
“I remember phoning my sister at the end of my first session. “How are you feeling?” she asked. “Actually .... fine” I replied. “We were both pretty amazed by this, because for weeks I had been a tight ball of frazzled nerves, troubled thoughts and rising fears.
“Within a few sessions, my life was transformed. I know that might sound dramatic, but it still surprises me, several years later, to be able to write it. I no longer experience anxiety as a chronic, daily experience. I take it for granted that I will wake up without that tight ball in my stomach. That is a gift for which I will always be grateful.
“I remember my first holiday after my successful treatment programme was completed. I sat with a book and a glass of wine, and I felt .... relaxed.
“I smiled and said to my wife, “So this is why people come on holiday!
“Today I woke up without any anxiety; I had a cup of coffee, I played with my cats.
“Now I’m heading out to enjoy my day.”
● Naomi at West Coast Hypnosis can be contacted at their practice on Barns Street, Ayr on 07941 106921, through their social media channels or by visiting their website at www. westcoasthypnosis.co.uk.
The best thing I did was talk to Naomi at WCH and, as a bloke, I’m not embarrassed to say that!