Latest / The Hypnotist / Overcoming Fear of Blood Pressure Tests with Hypnosis - Calm, Confident, and in Control

Transcript

Overcoming Fear of Blood Pressure Tests with Hypnosis - Calm, Confident, and in Control · The Hypnotist

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Welcome to The Hypnotist, the show that gives you inside
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access to cutting edge hypnosis with real.
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Clients facing. Genuine.
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Issues. Brought to you by The
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Hypnotherapist, Demanded by celebrities, CEOs and even
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royalty, Adam Cox. These recordings took place live
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from Adam Smith in London's world famous Harley Street.
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So get yourself comfortable and enjoy today's episode of The
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Hypnotist. Do you ever feel anxious or
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nervous when seeing doctors or going to a clinic, having things
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like blood tests or blood pressure tests or any other
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health checks? This white coat syndrome can
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actually cause anxiety where people feel nervous about either
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the test or the people at the doctors or even the place like a
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hospital. And because of that, the anxiety
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can then actually change certain readings.
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And blood pressure is one of those readings that it can
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change. If you're feeling really, really
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anxious, you're going to get a different blood pressure result
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than if you're feeling very calm and relaxed.
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And this can create a self fulfilling prophecy because most
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people deem certain health check results as indicative of their
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health, not indicative of their emotions.
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And I've worked with quite a few people that have a fear
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specifically of blood pressure tests, and it tends to come from
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two different places. 1 is that either they've had an experience
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where the reading wasn't what they wanted it to be and then
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concerned faces of nurses really freaked them out and caused them
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to panic a bit. Or someone they knew had a blood
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pressure check and then died within a few months of that.
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And then there is this attribution error where they
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start thinking that it was the test that killed them rather
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than the test actually figuring out some kind of health problem
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that was underlying. The client that I was working
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with here had a blood pressure result in a very extreme
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situation many years before, and that led them to believe that
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then the actual blood pressure test was the problem rather than
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anything else. So this session is going to be
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useful for anyone with that particular feeling.
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So I would recommend that you find a quiet, comfortable place
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where you're not going to be disturbed.
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Relax and enjoy the session. Take a deep breath in, and as
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you breathe in, breathe in that calm, relaxing feeling.
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And as you exhale, I want you to allow yourself to release any
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feelings of worry, stress, or tension.
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Just allow the possibility that these feelings aren't real,
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they're just echoes, and allow the echo to feel like it's
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leaving your body in that outward breath.
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As you breathe in and breathe out with your eyes closed, I
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want you to focus on a point on your forehead, almost like your
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eyes are looking upwards into your skull, focusing, fixating
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on that point. Allow yourself to temporarily
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strain your eye muscles to focus on that point and then take an
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even deeper breath in, still focusing on that point.
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And as you exhale, just release all the tension in your eyes and
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in doing so feel a deeper level of relaxation and then focus on
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a point in your chin, almost like your eyes are looking
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through your jaw straight to that chin.
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Feel the tension. Breathe in a deep breath of
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relaxation, and as you exhale, release all of that tension and
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just feel that relaxation spreading down into your jaw,
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your neck, your shoulders, down your arms.
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That's in. As you breathe in and breathe
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out, maybe you can notice a gentle wave of calm, almost like
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it's spreading through you as you breathe out.
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The deeper you breathe, the more relaxed you feel, and the more
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relaxed you feel, the deeper you breathe.
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And as your body relaxes, your imagination awakens.
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And I want you to imagine floating back, back in time, but
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also through space, to observe a version of you looking daunted,
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even anxious, perhaps in the front seat of a car.
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You're just the observer. But I want you to observe
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something powerful. I want you to observe that even
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though you were anxious or cautious, you took action.
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And by taking action, just observe how quickly that anxiety
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went away because action creates experience.
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Experience creates familiarity but also evidence.
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Evidence that you can do that thing, creating a wonderful
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feeling of self efficacy. Trust in your ability to do the
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thing. And intuitively you know that if
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you avoided doing that thing, it would be more and more
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challenging each time you attempted it.
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But you didn't. In that moment was courage.
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So rewind it to the point of that courage and step into that
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version of, you know that the anxiety was real, but the
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willingness to take action exceeded it.
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And that is the courage. And I want you to identify
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perhaps a location of that feeling of courage.
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If anxiety is in the gut and stress is sometimes around the
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neck or the shoulders, courage also has a home.
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And I want you to see if you can locate that feeling of trusting
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that things will be fine. And if you can find that feeling
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of courage, or your intuition has a hunch of where it may be,
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just point to that location. That's it.
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Then just relax your arms. But imagine if courage had a
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colour, what colour would it be? And if courage had a shape, what
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shape it would be? And then imagine a
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three-dimensional shape of that colour in that location.
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And notice that you can amplify the courage if you make the
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colour brighter, the shape bigger.
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But also notice if the shape moves, pulsates, rotates,
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vibrates, and whatever it's doing, make it doing a little
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bit more. Give a sound to that courage and
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perhaps even a phrase that you would link with courage.
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Let's do it. For many people is the
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representation of courage, knowing that there are risks,
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insecurities or fears, but choosing to do it anyway.
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And if you could imagine that colour of that shape moving in
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that way at that brightness, perhaps with a glow around it.
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Let me know about nodding your head.
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That's it. And notice that when you utilize
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that courage, how quickly those fears went away.
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Because most fears are unfounded.
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Some people think of fear as an acronym FEAR False evidence that
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Appears real, and sometimes it's circular.
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The anxiety itself is used as justification of the validity of
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the fear. But what if real anxiety is
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based on that false evidence or that false evaluation?
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Some people spend their whole lives avoiding something, then
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if they just did it once with a sense of courage, the whole
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House of Cards would come crumbling down.
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And maybe there's other times, previous events that once felt
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unfamiliar, but you did the thing, it became familiar, and
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now you do it without thinking. So with every breath, just
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imagine exhaling any unnecessary tension.
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And I want you to think of those old association stories or
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meanings connected to blood pressure tests that the test
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itself tells you if you're healthy or not, in danger or
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not. I want you to get a feeling that
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you know from all these tests you've done yourself that a test
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can show a false reading, not based on your health, but based
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on your emotions. And as you start to let go of
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those old stories and associations, notice your body
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settling into a state of calm curiosity.
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And I want you to think of a time perhaps when you've been in
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an airport and you've seen those moving walkways, kind of like
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escalators, but on a flat surface.
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It moves smoothly and it always goes forward.
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And when you're standing on one of those, you don't have to rush
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or strain or even walk. It just carries you naturally
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forward. Imagine being on a long walkway
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like that, and I want you to get a feeling that there's nothing
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you need to do. Just being there makes you move
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forward. And perhaps you can imagine
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every now and then you pass small milestones, perhaps
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memories or moments where you once faced something new, did
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the thing, and came out stronger.
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Each moment on this moving walkway reminds you that you can
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adapt, you can learn, and those things that once felt daunting
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don't have to remain that way. And as this walkway moves
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forward, imagine it taking you to a place where you feel calm
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and safe. Maybe a place you know well, but
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a place where you can explore your thoughts and feelings with
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a new perspective. And I want you to imagine in
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this place, in this calm, safe space, I want you to imagine
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something simple, A home blood pressure test, not as a
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challenge, but just as practice. Another moment of curiosity, not
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even needing courage. Now it's just practice, a shot
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to nothing, an opportunity to learn.
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And there was a time that doing this by yourself would have
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caused anxiety, but you did it in safe places with curiosity
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until all of that anxiety went away.
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And that's because when you test it on yourself, it was just
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practice. And what if that's true even if
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someone else is doing the testing?
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I want you to get a feeling whether you do the test or
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someone else does. It's just frequency repetition.
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Practice equals familiarity, Nothing to lose and everything
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to gain. I want you to get the feeling
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then they're just numbers. Whether it's high or low,
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accurate or not. It's just feedback, a data
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point, a moment of progress in the real journey of
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desensitisation where every attempt is one more step up the
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ladder on your own game board of confidence.
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For a while, you thorn, One bad event could take you all the way
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back down to square one. But that's not true.
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I can't undo the progress you've already made.
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I want you to feel that you doing things that gives a vote
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of confidence in your future self is a ladder.
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And whatever happens in that test is also another ladder.
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You're either desensitizing yourself or taking a big step
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forward by feeling confident and calm.
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And I don't know if it will be the next blood pressure test or
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in three or five or ten times in the future.
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I just know that there is a number, the number of which
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that's the number of tests you've done with other people
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that feels exactly like if you were doing it by yourself at
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home. And therefore every attempt gets
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you closer to that number. And I want you to think about
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courage. Now, some people think of
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courage as the absence of fear, but it isn't real.
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Courage is taking action even in the presence of fear.
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Because if there's No Fear, why is courage needed?
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It's just doing the thing to be courageous.
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There has to be anxiety, fear, or a perceived risk.
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And I want you to feel that glowing shape there in your
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heart expand and glow. Feel that you are activating
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your courage. You could even imagine early
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explorers and pioneers sailing off into the unknown with no
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idea of what would happen. But by doing the thing, they
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found that the beliefs that had stood for centuries came
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crumbling down like that House of Cards.
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And each time you do it, the fear dilutes and dilutes until
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it is insignificant. What if a blood pressure test is
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not a test? But just a signal of progress.
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A visit to a pharmacy becomes practice.
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A blood donation becomes a gift to others.
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And what if a full health screening becomes irrefutable
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proof that you are free of a once confining fear?
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And in every one of those moments, you could choose to
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treat the ACT as something mundane, pragmatic.
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No drama, no threat, just something that you're choosing
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to do, like tying your shoelaces or brushing your teeth.
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No big deal. Where focus goes, energy flows
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and you are in control of your focus and the meanings you
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attach to experiences. These things now are just more
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stepping stones of progress, opportunities to break free from
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a fear, a step upward towards calm, capability and self trust.
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So in that safe place, just imagine a giant cinema screen
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showing you the future. And I want you to see the first
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thing you see on that screen is yourself walking into a
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pharmacy, not with anxiety, but with calm curiosity.
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See yourself being tested, almost with the look of boredom,
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just calm, detached. See yourself sitting down,
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breathing gently, and you could observe the numbers, but it's
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almost neutral, like a weather forecast for a place you have no
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plan on visiting. No judgement, no meaning, just
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numbers. See yourself leaving the
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pharmacy with a smile. Maybe it's relief, maybe pride,
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or maybe something else. And then imagine yourself on
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that screen, arriving to donate blood.
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And maybe you can imagine a date, a location, even a time of
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day, see yourself waiting, looking calm and relaxed with
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the expression of someone that is thinking of someone else,
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maybe possible lives that could be saved.
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And before the blood is taken, there is a blood pressure test,
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but your eyes are looking elsewhere, some random thing
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nearby, the colour of shape. I want you to see that version
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of you calm, relaxed and detached.
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The blood pressure finishes, see them and taking the blood and in
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15 or 20 minutes later see yourself leaving with a a little
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plaster and bandage over the point of extraction.
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But see yourself smiling, calm and confident.
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You see yourself as someone that's done something good,
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something generous, and the numbers that came before it just
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numbers, either clues of progress or another opportunity
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of familiarity. And then see the screen change
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to a place maybe weeks from now. Imagine yourself arriving at a
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clinic for a full health check. Blood pressure, pulse, blood
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tests, everything. But at this point, this is not a
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battle with a nemesis. It's you seeking confirmation
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that all the work leading up to this point just means that
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nothing can faze you. Now see yourself sitting calmly,
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chatting casually with the nurse or the doctor, completely at
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ease. See yourself so relaxed that
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you're laughing and joking, smiling in a peaceful way.
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You've done it before, and each time you've grown calmer that
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all the familiarity has led to this point.
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And maybe in that moment, you realize that the fear never
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really had power over you. It was simply waiting to be
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called out, to be seen for what it was.
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A paper tiger, an imaginary monster under the bed that was
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never real. That's it.
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So take a deep breath in. As you exhale, imagine breathing
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out the last remnants of tension.
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And I want you to feel. Feel that glowing, moving shape
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there in your heart. Think of the sound or the words
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that resonate without feeling of courage.
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A willingness to reveal that many fears are false evidence
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appearing real stories and narratives that you once
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believed but now don't. And before long that courage
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won't even be needed. There was a time when you need
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courage to drive on unknown roads, and then you didn't.
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You don't need courage forever. Just for those first few times
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until experience and familiarity then is the reassurance that you
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need. Just allow all of those
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wonderful feelings to take place, changes to update the
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software of your mind and see one final image on that screen
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perhaps a year or two from now. Imagine yourself perhaps just
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after a blood pressure test. None of your choosing.
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It was just routine and that version of you was unfazed
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throughout. Step into that future version of
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you and feel how it would feel like all of that past was just
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something you lived with for a while but is now gone.
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That's it. Get a sense that this future is
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where you're heading to. It just becomes mundane like
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anything else. A routine dental check, like
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getting on the scales and seeing your weight.
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Before long, a blood pressure test will be just the same as
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any of those other things. And would you get a sense of
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what that would be like? Let me know by nodding your
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head. That's it.
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And it's time to return now to the here and the now, taking all
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of these changes, new thoughts, new strategies with you.
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Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your
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nose. Just wiggle your fingers and
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wiggle your toes. Connect and calibrate into the
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here and the now as I now count from 1:00 to 10:00 to awaken
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you. Starting to count 123 waking up
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456 more alert 7-8 open your eyes.
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Open your eyes 910 Wide awake, Wide awake.
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Wide awake. Thank you so much for joining me
30:56
on today's episode of The Hypnotist.
30:59
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