Our brain chemistry is based on the balance of neurotransmitters like dopamine, oxytocin,  serotonin and noradrenalin which do play a big role in how we feel and can easily be knocked out of balance leading to addiction, depression and anxiety.

There isn’t and will never be such thing as a happy pill or any compound which can give us all the elements of happiness. The correct balance of neurotransmitters can lead to wonderful experiences like ‘Flow States‘.

In addition different things make different people happy as 50% of our neurological wiring in the brain  is the same and the other 50% the wiring depends on life experiences. This means that different things excite, interest and please different people.

Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter that is involved in what we perceive as enjoyable, but there are other factors. Dopamine is involved  pleasure, learning, movement, motivation, addiction and boredom.

Too much dopamine is bad and is linked to psychotic episodes and too little results in Parkinson’s diseases,  It is about balance or the ‘goldilocks amount’.

Dopamine and Pleasure

When we do something pleasurable,  dopamine is released and our brain learns what that stimulus was and motivates us to do more of it to get more pleasure. Your brain will then prompt you to seek out this enjoyable experience again, which if allowed to go out of control can lead to addiction. Unfortunately your brain can associate all sorts of things with pleasure and some of them are not socially acceptable or healthy.

Cocaine, sugar, exercise, pornography, video games, shopping, sex, gambling, arguing, shouting,  getting likes on social media, eating junk food, smoking cigarettes, giving people gifts, helping people,  watching sport and  extreme sports are some activities which tend to give a good dopamine hit. Not all of these are bad of course, particularly in moderation!

The problems also comes down to dopamine floods and dopamine drips. activities which create a dopamine flood like a sugar rush, cocaine and the exhilaration of gambling are a big problems as the dopamine receptors get used to the flood so you need more and more to get the same effect. Over time things which you used to find fun or pleasing like having a bath, a cuppa and a laugh with friends or a nice walk become boring, as your brain has become de-sensitised to simple pleasures. This will have an impact on your happiness.

The dopamine pool needs time to refill, so there will be a horrible low while this happens after a dopamine flood. You can’t feel exhilarated or totally amazing all the time, our brain chemistry doesn’t have the capacity or resources.

However,  you can feel content and happy most the time if you let the dopamine drip out at a slow steady pace and have the odd dopamine flood now and again for fun. 

That was a little bit about some of the biochemistry of happiness and pleasure.

Do you have an addiction or something you feel might turn into one?

Is your habit impacting your relationships or affecting how you function as a human being?

Is it stopping you from doing other things you enjoy?

Is it making you feel like a bad person ?

Are you keeping secrets about how often or how much you are spending on your habit/hobby from friends and family?

Are you rushing home to have a drink,  a joint, go online or play a video game rather than doing something social?

What do if you think you are addicted to something

You do not necessarily need to see a therapist as you can manage things yourself. In general there is the pulling the plaster off in one go or pulling it off gently, but the plaster has to go.

Fasting does not only apply to food, you can have social media fasts, Netflix fasts,   dry January etc.

Fasting from food  is very helpful for overcoming junk food and sugar addictions as your taste buds and brain will re-sensitise over time and normal food with start to taste amazing again. This is true for other activities if you do them all the time, they are no longer special.

However if you do seek therapy, a good therapist wont judge or laugh and could well have been addicted to something themselves. Therapists specialise in different addictions so you can seek out one who specialises or has experience of yours.

Get in touch if you would like some help

Sara

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As I am a biologist, I am talking about the biological manifestation of depression rather than the psychological side. It is true that some depressions are a result of trauma or childhood experiences. From my experiences, I have found a biological and neurological approach very effective in reducing or eliminating depression.  I’m writing from the point of view of someone or to people who doesn’t want to talk to anyone about it or see a therapist or has tried anti-depressants and they didn’t work or doesn’t want to take ‘shrink’  pills but might consider a different biological approach.

In part depression is somewhat normal as we do have natural ups and downs.  Our bodies have their own biological rhythms and our environment changes with the seasons.  Women have a monthly cycle in which levels of hormones fluctuate and so does mood. Hormones decline with age, but studies show that our agreeability increases with age up to about 65. Therefore we do not necessarily become more miserable as we get older.

As we all know what goes up must come down, so being stressed, wired, drunk or high for an extended period means that eventually you will have to come down and it might be with a crash. Most people also know or have been told by their doctor or ‘google’ that movement or exercise is good for depression, but what do you do if you are active and still depressed. What next?  What other avenues are there to explore?

Like pain depression can be a way for a your brain to say ‘Hey you, you are doing things in life that I don’t like, so I’m going to put a stop to it or make you slow down’.

We tend to be in a better mood in the summer when the weather is better and it is well know that lack of sunlight causes seasonal alteration disorder or (SAD) AKA winter blues. There are plenty of artificial lights but many of the lights for sale aren’t bright enough. Here is what you need  to know. Lumens are a measure of how much light a lamp produces. Lux are a measure of how much light you get. These are not the same, the further away you are from a lamp, the less light you get.

Full daylight is about 100,000 lux, the closer you get to that, the better, some SAD lamps are only 2500 lux which is far too low, a minimum of 10,000 lux is needed.

I mentioned hormones, from experience the first two and the most common to play a role in depression are testosterone and thyroxine, not serotonin. Serotonin is touted as the ‘happy chemical’ but serotonin  is a primitive adaptive stress hormone produced mostly  in the intestine particularly when the gut is stressed, as serotonin in the gut is part of the vomiting response when you eat something your gut decides it want to get rid of. That means that ‘leaky gut’, ‘IBS’, high bacterial endotoxin or just a bad diet can contribute to mood issues Serotonin inhibits the mitochondria and increases cortisol, estrogen, and prolactin. It is well know that cortisol is  involved in mood and high cortisol is linked to certain types of anxiety and depression. So the role serotonin plays in depression is small, if it was just one chemical out of balance then depression would be super easy to fix with drug, but it isn’t so there is more, a lot more.

 Depression can be a result of a gut problem so you may be looking at the wrong body part to fix your depression as it might not be your head that is the issue.

Both men and women need testosterone for a variety of functions in the body and testosterone is known to be a natural anti depressant.

 Low testosterone for both sexes manifests as low mood, or just feeling shit and sensitive.

If you are in your 20s or 30s with low sex hormones or thyroid function then it is important to find out why you are suppressed as the glands which produce these hormones should be functioning well. Estrogens is the environment, drinking water and some foods can affect sex hormones and lower testosterone levels. Any synthetic sex hormone such as contraceptive pill or anabolic steroids can affect sex hormones and we all react differently to these compounds, and some people are more sensitive than others. For example for some unlucky men just one cycle of steroids can shut down their testosterone production forever so they have to be on testosterone replacement for the rest of their lives, the same as a few individuals take one ecstasy tablet and die.

Thyroid hormones are also a player in mood issues  as the thyroid  runs our metabolism.

Some people’s depression manifests as just feeling like they can’t be bothered and often they are found to have low thyroid function . As we age, from about 30yrs old, unfortunately there is a decline in all hormone levels, however like most things in life we all respond differently.The thyroid gland can be quite sensitive and there are many ways to upset it. Extreme dieting and over training can suppress the thyroid this is called ‘crashing your metabolism’. Imbalances in sex hormones, particularly high estrogen, poly unsaturated fats (e.g sunflower, canola or peanut oil) and too much fluoride can interfere with thyroid function as well.

It is very easy to get a blood test to see what your thyroid,  testosterone or other hormone levels are like. If you have low levels you  get your own testosterone or thyroxine supplement of which there are many brands and varieties. Some people get hormones  on prescription, while others buy them themselves as they prefer to manage their own medication becasue there is more choice if you buy your own. Triiodothyronine  (T3) which is the active form of thyroxine (T4)  is not available on prescription in the UK, but it is in other countries.

In the same way that you can crash your metabolism, you can crash your brain biochemistry.

This happens by either chronic stress and lack of sleep, which we all know about. Drugs which over stimulate or are just part of  dopamine or serotonin pathways in the brain, if over used can cause ‘depression’, low mood, paranoia or anxiety. The best known of these type of  drugs are cocaine and amphetamines, but amphetamine  has lots of little cousins which are new drugs with similarities to amphetamines. These drusg which interact with dopamine, noradrenalin and serotonin systems in the brain are  available on prescription or in general circulation. Some examples are phentermine which is an appetite suppressant, ‘wakefulness’ drugs like Modafinil  and drugs for ADHD like  Methylphenidate (Ritalin) are used legally and illegally by millions people each year. Even if you might think it serves people right if they mess up their own biochemistry, but some people are prescribed these drugs and other people have their own reasons for using drugs or are just party animals.

In any case if this has happened to you or someone you know there is a compound developed in Russia called Selank which has caused excitement and interest, so is worth looking up. Selank is not only neuroprotective but it also has  anti-anxiety and anti-depressive properties, aids alcohol withdrawal, it can also rebalance the catecholamine system in the brain. Catecholamines are dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline, so in lay terms Selank can re-balance brain chemistry, including after drug abuse.

I may have said this before, taking drugs and supplements can be dangerous  even if you  know what you are doing, so I am not encouraging this in any way,  but leaving your  hormones unbalanced or your biochemistry in a mess is just as dangerous and it degrades your quality of life.

In terms of neurology for those who have no interest in any kind of supplements what are the initial options for depression?

Low left brain function is often associated with depression.

So how would you go about stimulating the left side of the brain?

• Moving limbs on the RIGHT  side of the body only
• Massage on the RIGHT side of the body only
• Smell into the LEFT nostril
• High pitch sound into the LEFT ear
• Eyes looking LEFT
• Listening to music such as jazz or rap
• Activities involving logic, numbers or sequences.
• Red orange and yellow are considered left brain colours so those coloured tints or lenses in glasses can be useful. Using a red infra red lamp
• 

There are many more neurological exercises for depression, but there is not room the blog post. Also I’ve only touched on the biochemistry as it can get very complicated very quickly as our brains are complicated. We are allowed to have more than one imbalance so there could be
several hormones playing up and some funky neurology going on. When it comes to making changes in your body its a bit like getting an orchestra to play in tune as there are many elements which all need to be in sync and even just one instrument out of tune can affect the whole orchestra.

What is confidence?

This is a word we all know what it means to us, but if asked to describe or explain exactly what  confidence is then it’s not easy summarise in once sentence.  If you look confidence  up in the dictionary there are several definitions.  The definition below matches most closely to  the kind of confidence we are talking about.

A feeling of self-assurance arising from an appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities

To me this sentence means confidence is about how much  I  believe in myself on a personal level and how good I feel I am at doing something or performing a skill. There isn’t any mention of other people in this it’s all about my view of myself.

This is good as it means I can take ownership of my confidence, I can develop it, train it I can become confident at multiple skills and I have a lot of control over my confidence. The same applies to you! You can easily learn about confidence and about how to improve yours.

The brain and nervous system control everything in the body, which means they play a key role in mood. Confidence is not like blue eyes and is something you are born with, it is a skill, talent, attribute that you can easily improve with the correct training.

If you would like to try my FREE online neuro-hacks confidence building and anxiety reducing program please click here  or on the picture below

Thank you for reading

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This week I’m talking about non verbal communication and it will be a short blog as it includes a video to show how to use this to induce  hypnosis. About 3/4 of communication is non verbal, which is why emails and texts are so often misunderstood, as physical gestures, facial expression and synchronicity of body movements are missing, as well as voice tonality.

In terms of neurology the right side of the brain deals with non verbal communication and face recognition.

The left side of the brain deals more with actual language and speech, but both side of course work together to some degree with how we interact. Most people are aware that certain ways of standing can be friendly or threatening. Going to hug someone is the most open form of a welcoming gesture as you fully open your most vulnerable parts to the person in front, whereas closed arms, flexed hips and hunched shoulders are a threat stance.

Other very obvious gestures are touching of the collarbone area, which is when somebody is ‘self soothing’, usually because there is something, maybe you ‘stressing them out’. The further away from the brain the body part is the more difficult it is to control under stress, so often the feet point in the direction the person wants to go, so if the feet are pointing towards the exit or tapping, this often means the person wants to leave the current environment.

Mirroring is when gestures are in sync with each other, I like watching couples to guess if they get on or not. Often those who’s movements match are in a good place, as in the pick up their drinks at the same time, have similar hair flicking activity and generally just move in a similar way.

In terms of hypnosis or NLP something called pacing and leading is used.

Pacing is subtly copying the other person, if this is over exaggerated then it looks odd, the other person will think ‘what is this weirdo doing’ and the rapport will be broken. If done properly your movements will synchronise. Leading is doing a movement or gesture and observing if the other person unconsciously copies you.

In this video below there is an example of using hypnosis to pace and lead, with the aim of inducing a trance state. Then I use amnesia to check the person is hypnotised, I decided to jump in and go for a ‘forget your name’ suggestion. I then use this to help the person forget something that has been bothering them, so that I can give them something of value for allowing me to work with them . Like I say hypnosis is like an erection, don’t waste it.

In the same way hypnosis can be used to forget or create confusion, it can also be used to enhance memory, thought clarity and brain function, which is why I love it. There are also many neuro hacks using functional neurology and powerful smart drugs around which are just as good if not better  I will tell you about in later blog posts.

Thank you for reading and please get in touch if you are interested in finding out more about the brain

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Today I’m going to talk about creativity and some ways you can work to improve yours,  using some brain exercises and hypnosis. My latest work with creative hypnosis was  with an art student with my help and the help of one of my colleagues, she got got a 1st class   honours degree this year. There is a video with a bit about the project and what we did if you are interested in art, it was mainly hypnosis that I used to enhance creativity on this occasion.

Creative hypnosis can be used for all kinds of other disciplines such as dance, art, martial arts, brainstorming,  music  or pretty much any thing  that requires creative thinking, or creative performance.

Firstly a bit of neurology as the right side of the brain is the side which deals with creativity, but let’s dive in with some brain information first

The right side of the brain is the creative side

• The brain develops after birth by genes being turned on by environmental stimuli and there are stages or milestones when particular changes in the brain happen
• By 3 yrs old brain is 90% developed
• From ages 0-3 yrs right  left side of brain develops from  3-6yr left side develops
• Our brains are asymmetrical left and right, as in they are wired differently and have different functions.
• Sharks and reptile brains are the same left and right so both sides do the same job, they don’t sleep, they just switch off one side of the brain. So they have just half a brain functioning at a time

Other than being involved in creativity, what else does the right brain do?

• Right sees everything at once ‘the big picture’ – processes  immediately
• Movement of big muscles and muscle tone, connects with body
• Non verbal communication, social skills, emotional intelligence
• Loves novelty and responds to deep touch like massage
• Says no stop it
• Looks out for danger
• Controls withdraw emotions: fear disgust sadness

How can we stimulate the right side of the brain?

1. Sensation on LEFT side of the body 

2.Movement on the LEFT side of the body.

The right cortex controls voluntary movement on the left side of the body also the right side of the brain deals more with complicated movements of large joints such as hips, shoulders, elbows. The left brain deals more with small dextrous movements with the fingers.

3. Using smell in right nostril 

Smell is processed on the same side of the brain, right nostril – right cortex. Cover your left nostril and smell  something with just the right. Different smells will evoke different responses, but for now any smell will work.

4. Sound in the left ear

The opposite side of the brain processes more sound than same side, about 35:65. So about 2/3 of the sound that goes into the left ear is processed by the right side of the           brain. The right side of the brain deals more with low tones or low pitch noises, also white noise such as waterfalls or rain stimulate the right brain, as does classical music. Jazz and rap music           are more for left brain simulation

5. Hemi field glasses and Eyelights

The way the brain processes incoming light and images is very complicated, but its possible to buy special glasses which can selectively stimulate different sides and parts of the brain depending on the settings. Eye lights on the right are more sophisticated than the hemi fields on the left. The nasal portion of the visual field (inner part) stimulates more of the opposite cortex, whereas the temporal (outer) field is the same side of the brain. This is why the lenses in  glasses are split in half, the hemi fields have a blue and a red half, and the eye lights are shining light into the nasal portion of one eye and the temporal portion of the other eye.

6. Using Hypnosis

Although hypnosis uses many parts of the brain, visualisation is a right brain activity and many aspects of hypnosis require visualisation, but there is  more to hypnosis than just imagination, but imagination itself  is important for hypnosis to be effective. Its possible to improve your imagination by using hypnosis, which then makes future hypnosis sessions more effective.

Hypnosis and neurology can be used to enhance many other aspects of brain function, not just creativity. There are many methods to improve memory, coordination, dexterity, emotional resilience, performing under pressure, reflex speed, thought processing speed and more,  these will be covered in up and coming blogs.

If you have any questions please ask

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Relax for christmas and festive season. Christmas is a time to be merry, but for some its a particularly stressful time of year, so any form of relaxation is beneficial. Many people find that over-eating or drinking is an issue at this time of year, hypnosis is a great way to keep on top of eating/drinking issues.

New year is a time of resolutions and hypnosis is a great way to set goals and the perfect tool for helping you stick to them

Contact me if you are interested in attending a group hypnosis workshop

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So why train the cerebellum?

Firstly its the little brain behind the brain so it is very important for all cognitive functions. In a nut shell the cerebellum stops unwanted movements or activites and coordinates movements – its a perfectionist. So this  can be a joint movement like a golf swing, a tremor, unwanted facial movements or emotion. Remember you have a left and right cerebellum. Right cerebellum talks to your left cortex, left cerebellum talks to your right cortex. They are intimately linked and depend on each other.

The main jobs of the cerebellum and the important processes it is in charge of  are described below.

• Accuracy
  Balance
  Coordination
  Dexterity
  Emotional control
  Fluid movement & speech
  Learning
  Posture
  Walking

There are 3 parts to the cerbellum

Midline cerebellum – This controls eyes and spine

Intermediate cerebellum – This controls proximal limbs such as hips and shoulders, this area is involveed in coordination

Lateral cerbellum – This controls distal joints such as fingers, toes, hands and feet. The lateral part plays a big role in congition and learning as well as imagination and visualisation of movement

Vestibulo-cerebellum or flocculus. This is a whole piece of cerebellum that is intimately related to the balance system in the body, the vestibular system.

A quick way to exercise the mid cerebellum would be diagonal eye movements up and left for left CB up and right for right CB.

For the intermediate some hip circles or shoulder circles, it has to be a novel movement or a complex movememts, up and down is no good!

For the lateral, some finger figure of 8s, with eyes closed so you can imagine the movement.

For the vestibulo-cerebellum. VOR – look at a target. Keep your eyes on the target, turn head left for left CB, eyes stay on target, to the right for right CB.

Try these at home, do you notice a different left and right

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