It's not what you are that holds you back: it's what you think you're not

Do you struggle to achieve any of your goals, and constantly put yourself down for it? Do you think you'll never be enough: thin enough, or clever enough, or attractive enough, or popular enough, or successful enough? Or maybe, all of the above? And that you've always have been like this, and always will be?

Learn how to switch off the destructive voices of low-self esteem and lack of confidence, so you can live the life you want. Solid confidence and self-esteem are the foundations of a healthy, happy life. Healthy self-esteem means you rate yourself well in most areas of your life, and confidence is the ability to act based on the fact that you trust yourself to do your best.

What is low self esteem?

It is important to realise that being confident doesn't mean you expect to be perfect or succeed all the time. In fact, having healthy self-esteem and confidence means whether you make it or fail, you don't take it as a reflection of your personal worth. You still value and respect yourself, while you learn from your experience.

At the root of lack of confidence and low-self esteem is a common mistake: we unconsciously accepted the negative or untrue input from influential figures in our early lives. This negative content in our subconscious reduces our confidence and leads us to expect experiences and interaction that reinforces our low opinion of ourselves.

Our thoughts condition our experience, with roughly a third of our thoughts being the same every day, so what we repeat to ourselves everyday has a huge impact on our levels of self-esteem and confidence. The result is a vicious cycle in which our negative core beliefs about our intelligence, appearance and abilities undermine our confidence and self-esteem. This affects some or all areas of our life, including our health, relationships and work.

Symptoms of low self-esteem and lack of confidence

If you have low self-esteem and a lack of confidence, you may experience some/all of the following:

• ongoing anxiety and worry
• comparing self negatively with others
• strongly self-critical
• perfectionism, need to be in control
• negative thinking
• aversion to change
• frustration
• procrastination
• low energy, disturbed sleep and digestion
• negative effects of harmful coping mechanisms eg (comfort eating/drinking, smoking, working too much)

It's worth noting that a lack of confidence and low self-esteem is often a key element in the formation of anxiety, phobias, depression, weight control and eating disorders, and addictions. So, increasing your self-esteem and building your confidence can be the start of positive changes in many areas of your life.

How hypnotherapy can help with low self-esteem and lack of confidence

Hypnotherapy is uniquely suited to working with the content of the subconscious, so can be very effective for helping you improve your confidence and self-esteem. During the deep relaxation of the hypnotic trance, the subconscious is more receptive to updating your views of yourself using words, images and emotions, for the most powerful transformation that allows you to correct past distortions and negative input.

As a result, you become more able to challenge old, negative views, and start to perceive yourself accurately and positively, in more areas of your life. You begin to find from experience that you are not as bad as you thought you were, giving yourself credit where it's due. And that setbacks are most often temporary, and not a reflection on you personally, unless you allow them to be. You start to give yourself the benefit of the doubt, while encouraging and supporting your efforts to live the life you want.

For more information about hypnotherapy for improving your self-esteem and confidence, or to book an appointment, contact Sian on 07725 732810 or email.

...Our sessions have really helped me to understand how what I think and do affects my levels of self-confidence. I feel much less frustrated and overwhelmed, and am seeing a real difference in how I deal with situations I used to avoid...
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...Sian's supportive and non-judgemental manner during the sessions enabled me to work out what I wanted and increased my confidence that I could achieve it. I now have a job which provides the ideal work/family balance. And the self-hypnosis technique continues to help me relax and stay focused whenever things get a bit stressful...
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...I have to say that my recent therapy achieved far more than my expectations. After only three sessions, I have managed to put some very negative past experiences behind me, and I can already see huge positive changes in my outlook and ability to cope with anxiety and stressful situations...
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