Nearly all of us suffer from some form of depression at some point in our lives.  It may be a short-term thing following bereavement, the loss of a job, or relationship break-up.  Something of great value has gone from our lives and it’s quite natural to feel down.  Usually, we recover from this sort of set-back in a few weeks.  If the bad feelings linger, a bit of help may be required to overcome that loss and move forward.  A consultation to explore and understand the feeling of loss and some encouragement to move forward can be a great help.  This is reinforced by some positive suggestion therapy in hypnosis.  The old bad feelings subside and are replaced by a much more positive outlook.

Other forms of depression can persist for months and years.  These may require more in-depth analysts and treatment.  Many of us pick up bad feelings from childhood experiences, which we don’t even remember as adults.  This can have a very profound effect on us.  These incidents can be explored in hypnosis, using well known techniques. The experience is revisited through adult eyes.  While it was important to the child at the time it often seems just like a misunderstanding now.  These contradictory perspectives can be reconciled by the client and the therapist working together.  The bad feeling and discomfort, which the client may have endured for years, is lifted and the client’s life improves dramatically.

Many people with depression have two voices going on in their heads.  They know that the “right voice” is the one that they should follow, but “the wrong voice always wins”.  The wrong voice often has its origins in our evolutionary past. For example, some people are driven to over-eat by that wrong voice.  This voice is one of “self preservation” under stress, so it’s not an irrational response, it’s just a response that has the wrong outcome – weight gain.  These two voices can be reconciled by counselling and subsequent hypnosis.  The volume of the “wrong voice” is turned down, the client’s behaviour changes and the damaging habits disappear, along with the associated anxiety.