Author Archives: Tina

Menopause Health – The Natural Way

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The Menopause, that time of life where a womens reproductive organs stop functioning.  When we enter a different stage in our lives something natural that we are supposed to do happens; in fact we have no choice, it just happens and yet it seems to cause a lot of problems for many women.  This seems to stem from a lack of hormones, and until the body readjusts to these lower levels certain symptoms can be experienced and in many cases are expected. Anyway, here are a few suggestions which may help.

Symptoms of the menopause?

I found as I was approaching this stage in my life that a lot of my friends were pre-occupied with wearing layers of clothing (to cope with hot flushes); worrying about sleeplessness, using their hormone levels to excuse bad memory or grumpiness.  These are the only symptoms that I encountered amongst my friends and clients; although I have recently discovered that there are 34 symptoms that are accepted as being part of the menopause varying from those mentioned above to Panic Attacks.

In one study amongst menopausal women from Hong Kong, Pakistan, Mexico and Japan it was found that only 10% suffered from menopausal symptoms; whereas they found that 75% of women in the USA did.  Their conclusion was that the main differences were diet, lifestyle and stress.

The symptoms last whist the body acclimatizes to the new hormone levels; and do not tend to occur in men as they don’t experience such a rapid decline as women do.  Although some treatments for prostate cancer can suppress testosterone production to such an extent that men can experience a response similar to menopausal hot flushes in women.

Whats a Girl to do?

Some women decide to go for the pharmaceutical answer, taking HRT and have been very happy with this.  Although nowadays they are discovering that this isn’t always the answer, and there are side effects connected to taking HRT.

Personally I’m a great believer in natural answers especially when dealing with something that is supposed to be natural, and especially when I know that there are women who do not have any of these so called symptoms.  This tells me that there is a way for my body to make these changes easily.

Research has found that menopausal symptoms can be more persistent in women who have a low body weight, and in women who take little or no exercise and in women who smoke.

Many women have found that by cutting out all diary from their diet and switching to soya that they have found a huge difference and improvement.  Soy isoflavones have shown benefits in providing relief from menopausal symptoms; they can reduce hot flushes and promote increased bone density those helping to prevent osteoporosis.

Supplements that may help with the menopause

Black Cohosh, is a flowering plant from Eastern North America and contains phytochemicals that are thought to assist in relieving symptoms of the menopause.  It also contains isoflavones as found in Soya.  Isoflavones bind to the estrogen receptors in your body and these plant estrogens work in a similar way to your bodies natural estrogen.

Dong Quai or Chinese Angelica is a herb native to China; its nickname is the female ginseng.  It contains phytoestrogens that bind to the estrogen receptors in our body, increasing estrogen levels and also contains vitamins E, A and B12.  Dong Quai dilates blood vessels and increases blood flow which helps to reduce hot flushes.  Its also considered to be a mild sedative and can help reduce mood swings and stress.

Maca Root has been used in South America for centuries; it was thought to be an aphrodisiac and is still used today for its sexual benefits.  It does not contain plant estrogen but instead is an adaptogen; that means it can help balance your body’s own hormone system and encourages the production of hormones.  It also contains calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin B1, B2, B12, C and E.

Red Clover is from Europe and Asia and also contains phytoestrogens which help increase the levels of estrogen in the body.  In a recent study in the Netherlands 44% of women taking red clover reported a reduction in menopausal symptoms and due to its high amounts of calcium its thought it may slow down or even prevent bone loss due to osteoporosis.

(Please remember that herbal remedies can be potent and always consult a trained herbalist before taking any supplements.)

These are just a few supplements that are on offer to menopausal women and what they have in common is said to be an ability to increase levels of estrogen.

Self help for the menopause

When working with women who want help dealing with menopausal symptoms my strategy comes from the experience I gained when I went through this period in my life.  I found that hypnosis techniques enabled me to move through the menopause simply and easily without any of the so called symptoms.  Using hypnosis to re-balance mind and body to acclimatize to the new lower hormone levels.

Its suggested in the various studies that have been held that Stress is a major factor in dealing with the menopause. Hypnosis and self hypnosis has proven to help reduce stress and taking time each day to relax and or meditate can be beneficial.

Simple stress reduction technique.

Use this technique to learn how to become calmer and more relaxed.  The more you practice them, consciously at first before they become unconscious automatic responses.  With practice you can become more relaxed and create a more resourceful state of mind.

  1. Make yourself comfortable
  2. Begin by focusing on your breathing, breath out completely, empty your lungs
  3. And inhale slowly completely filling your lungs to a count of 10.
  4. Hold your breath for a few seconds and then
  5. Exhale as slowly as you can to a count of at least 10 completely emptying your lungs
  6. Repeat this process and as you exhale each time relax
  7. Begin by relaxing your jaw, gradually moving all the way down your body
  8. Relaxing your shoulders, your chest muscles, your arms, legs
  9. Breathing in comfort and relaxation with each deep slow breath.

The above exercise can also be used to reduce anxiety; and will also work with sleeplessness.

How to relax and sleep easily

During the menopause some women find that hot flushes, or night sweats awaken them in the night.  Once awake some find it difficult to get back to sleep.

  1. If you are having problems getting back to sleep; pay attention to your thoughts.  Most people having difficulty sleeping have very busy thoughts.
  2. Slow the thoughts down in your mind, change the tone to a sleepy one
  3. Now focus on your breathing breath out completely, empty your lungs
  4. And inhale slowly completely filling your lungs to a slow count of 10.
  5. Hold your breath for a few seconds and then
  6. Exhale as slowly as you can to a count of at least 10 completely emptying your lungs
  7. Repeat this process and as you exhale each time relax
  8. Begin by relaxing your jaw, gradually moving all the way down your body.

Menopause health

Obviously do contact your doctor if you have concerns about your health. The suggestions here certainly helped me, and seem to have been benficial for a number of my clients, and I hope that you find them useful too.

Tina Taylor

NLP Fast Phobia Cure – Does It Last

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When helping my clients let go of their fears there are a couple of questions I am regularly asked.  The first is “does this really work” and the second is “how long will it last?”

Happy Memories…

These questions often trigger memories of my training to be an NLP Practitioner.  One of the most powerful moments of that course was when I realized that my feelings were created by a combination of thoughts; and that I could change the way in which I thought of something which in turn changed the way I felt about it.

Phobia Day

That day was known as Phobia Day.  This was the penultimate day of the course when the students were taught the NLP Fast Phobia Cure and how to help people let go of their fears.  I was ready, I had a phobia and I wanted to get rid of it.

It All Seemed So Easy

I watched the demonstration on the stage by Paul McKenna & Michael Breen; amazed at how easy it all seemed.  So wanting to be able to stop being afraid.  I was scared of spiders.  I used to check rooms as I went in, I even looked in my bed at night to make sure they hadn’t crawled in between the sheets, I checked my shoes before I put them on.  I slept deep under the covers so “they” couldn’t walk on me at night.

I Wasn’t Scared!

On that day I went through the NLP Fast Phobia Cure, helped by Steve Tromans, and learnt how to change my thinking.  After a while, I held the tarantula.  I wasn’t scared, I was curious as to how it would feel and it felt OK.  No it felt better than OK, It felt good, I was no longer scared.  I felt liberated!

How to let go of fear/anxiety

When Dr Richard Bandler was investigating ways in which to help people get rid of their fears/phobias he advertised for people who had already done this.  He spoke to hundreds of people and found out what they did.  They told him they got to a point when they had, had enough; they looked at their fear and realized just how ridiculous it was.  When working with my clients I first of all have them access a positive state, laughter is perfect for this.  When they have that state I’ll anchor it.

Anchoring a positive state.

Anchoring is the term we use when referring to a learned association between an external stimulus and an internal response. We are constantly creating and using anchors. It is an unconscious behaviour, one that we can make use of  create anchors that are more useful to us.

In the late 1900s a Russian scientist called Pavlov conducted some experiments where he would offer food to his dogs and at the same time ring a bell.  After a while the dog associated the bell with food and within a short while he would only have to ring the bell and the dog would salivate.  He had created an association between a bell and feeding time.  There was no logical connection between the two things, but through constant repetition, a neurological connection was created in the mind of the dogs.

Whenever we do something new, we create a new neural pathway so we can re-access that experience again more easily.  Each time we repeat a particular behaviour, we strengthen the associated neural pathway, just as when you walk down a path through a field it eventually becomes a clearer path.

To create a positive humorous anchor.

  1. Remember a joke or something that made you really laugh.  Fully return to it now – remember, see what you saw, hear what you heard and feel how good you felt.
  2. As you go through this memory, remember that time and all the feelings associated with it, imagine making it brighter and more colourful, the feelings getting stronger, and any sounds become louder.
  3. As you feel these good feelings, squeeze the thumb and middle finger of either hand together.
  4. Now squeeze the thumb and finger together and relive that good feeling.
  5. Repeat steps 1 – 4 several times with different positive memories until just squeezing your thumb and finger together brings back those good feelings.

Once I have the anchor set its time for the NLP Fast Phobia Cure.

NLP Fast Phobia Cure

I ask my client to think about what has been scaring them, if they can remember the first time they became scared we use this incident or one of the incidents when they were really scared/anxious and ask them to evaluate the incident.  “On a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is that you are very scared and 1 is that you are feeling calm where are you now as you think about that incident?”

Now put that incident to one side for a moment and close your eyes and imagine walking into a cinema/movie theatre in your mind and sit down in the front row.  In a moment you will watch a movie of that incident on the screen but before you do, float up out of your body into the projection room at the back of the theatre.  You are now looking down from the projection room watching yourself in the front row watching the screen.

On the screen the film begins, as you get to the beginning of the incident freeze the film so you have still colour picture.  Staying in the projection room watching you, watching the film; look at yourself on the screen whilst the film now runs all the way to the end.  To the point where you are OK, now freeze this last frame into a still picture and drain any colour out and make the picture black and white.

From your place in the projection room run the black and white film backwards 3 times.  Everything is going backwards at triple speed.  When you get to the beginning, freeze that picture and then jump to the still frame at the end of the film and run the whole thing backwards again.

When you have done this 3 times, stop at the last frame of the film where you are OK and float out of the projection room and into that last frame.  Re-associate fully into the still picture and one it backwards once more whilst firing off your positive anchor.

Now walk out of the screen and sit back down in the cinema and white out the screen.  Turn the screen white, then black, then white, then black.  Repeat this a further 6 times.

Now check how you feel on a scale of 1 to 10 and if necessary repeat.

Future Pace

Once the evaluation is at a comfortable level its time to future pace the next experience and think about a time in the future when you repeat a similar experience only this time you do so calmly and in perfect control.  Run through a few occasions in your mind whereby you are calm, confident and in control.

I’m not sure when I realized that I had stopped checking for spiders.  Over time I have thought less about my eight legged friends, and notice them even less.  One day my daughter came into my bedroom and said “mum theres a great big spider on the wall above your bed”.  “Oh yes so there is” I replied.  It was my husband who pointed out the different response, but of course I thought its only a spider after all.

At that time I never thought that I would be helping people let go of their fears, nor did I consider that I would be working alongside my liberator.

That was over thirteen years ago, so I think I can safely say from my experience yes it does work and yes it does last.

Tina Taylor

Read an article about how Tina worked to help cure fear of spiders on live TV – Fear Spiders Article