As a Hypnotherapist, one issue which I see affecting patients constantly, is something called self sabotage.  This is where a person unconsciously and repeatedly undermines their best efforts and intentions.  Self sabotage can take many forms but some of the more common ones are: delaying or putting off some positive action, forgetting to do something important, making positive progress with an issue and then undoing any good work, or simply just doing the very thing you promised to yourself you wouldn’t do.  Self sabotage affects many people and can be a major obstacle to most positive behavioural changes such as trying to lose weight, stopping smoking, passing interviews and tests, sports performance, beating habits and addictions and conquering fears and anxieties.

For example, I may decide to join a gym to exercise more. I find a local gym via the internet and promise myself I will join the next  day. On the following day I find I am so busy at work I never get around to joining  the gym, so I put it off until the next day. Procrastination and finding excuses for not doing things are an obvious form of self sabotage. However there are more subtle kinds of this unconscious behaviour, for instance, supposing I have made it as far as joining the gym and am even preparing to leave for my first session. Just before leaving I remember a friend has asked me to call her for a chat about some emotional problems she is having. I decide to call her before going to the gym.An hour later I have finished being a helpful and supportive friend but it’s now too late to go to the gym. I could have phoned my friend after going to the gym, but for some reason I decided to do it there and then. My conscious mind will probably come up with all kinds of excuses as to why it was more important to phone my friend than go to the gym. But from the outside this looks more like another case of self-sabotage.

Self sabotage has its roots in childhood and is tied up with issues of self esteem and self worth.  Its almost as though there is an unconscious part of our mind which won’t allow us to because it would contradict our unconscious image of ourselves as people not good enough to succeed.   Many of us do not even realise we are self sabotaging, we just call it laziness or bad luck. However, whether its because we start smoking again after many weeks of succeeding in stopping, or whether we always fluff our golf shot at the crucial moment or whether we always end up saying the wrong thing in interviews, it usually has something to do with self sabotaging behaviour.

Fortunately, because the mental and emotional processes behind self sabotage are all learned patterns of thinking, they can all be unlearned with the help of Hypnotherapy.  Using Advanced Hypnotherapy and NLP techniques  I have helped hundreds of patients release this debilitating behaviour pattern.  When self sabotage is no longer an issue, most people can forward in a positive way in their lives more easily without constantly tripping themselves up.

Paul offers Hypnotherapy at the Changing Room in Bushey for a range of issues including; weight loss, stopping smoking, habits, fears, self confidence and much more.

To find out more information visit www.hypnotichealth.co.uk or to book a session call Paul on 07528646923